Chicken 101

Justin and Kate Meddis of Rose's Market and Sweet Shop performed a chicken butchery workshop at the market this weekend.

Their shop opens in downtown Durham soon and will feature locally sourced cuts of meats, housemade sausages, charcuterie, soups and stocks. They will also offer rotating dinner options and desserts. In the meantime, they're offering butchery classes and teaming up with local farms to create themed dinners, like their upcoming whole hog dinner with Okfuskee Farm.
Justin offered great tips during the chicken workshop. Some of my favorites were:

- Salt moves through meat at the rate of one inch per day, so season your chicken early and generously.

- instead of tying a chicken's legs together before roasting it, cut slits between the leg bones and Achilles tendons and slip one leg through the opposite slit.

- Meat should be room temperature when you cut and cook it. Roasting it straight out of the fridge will reduce the oven's temperature and cook unevenly. it takes about 90 minutes for a refrigerated chicken to reach room temperature.

- After Justin eats roasted chicken, he puts the bones back into a saute pan and roasts them in a 425 degree oven again until they're brown. Then he removes them from the oven and makes a stock. He doesn't season the stock, since you're going to season whatever recipe you add the stock to anyway.

Watching Justin handle his knife during the demonstration reminded me what an art butchery is. Try his tricks next time you buy a bird and check out their shop!

A Sicilian Salsa Cruda

I wrote about the wonders of fresh tomatoes last summer, particularly in a raw tomato sauce, also known as salsa cruda. I've always viewed salsa crudas as exlcusive to the summer, but that's not always the case in Sicily. Just because tomato season is coming to an end doesn't mean you have to start cooking all of your sauces again.

A recipe for salsa cruda in a Messina News article published in August 2010 provides a variation that includes, but does not necessarily feature, the tomato. It calls for ten cherry tomatoes, but they are just the backdrop for bold flavors like pistachios, almonds, anchovies, capers and orange. It's great with pasta, bread or grilled meats and fish.

I've translated (with help from Google) and copied the recipe below:

SALSA CRUDA ALLA SICILIANA

Ingredients for 4 people:
 
2 tablespoons pistachio nuts 
2 tablespoons almonds
1 tablespoon capers
2 anchovies, in oil
10 Pachino cherry tomatoes 
some basil leaves 
½ an orange, peeled and cut into wedges
extra virgin olive oil
salt (if needed) and pepper.

preparation:
1. Drain the capers and rinse them again under running water.
2. Drain the anchovies.
3. Place capers and anchovies in a blender and blend together with all other ingredients. 
4. Add the oil and season with salt and pepper.

Recipe courtesy of Fragolosi 

Basic Vodka Sauce

Last Sunday was my last day of summer vacation, as teachers reported back to school Monday for our annual week of work to prepare for the students' return on the twenty-seventh. To commemorate a great summer, I threw a pile of padron peppers in a frying pan, defrosted a box of Christopher Sauce, boiled a box of pasta and called it a party.

The padrons were so spicy that we all needed a beer before moving on to the pasta. Instead of crab and egg crepes, I kept it more traditional this time with sausage and rigatoni.

Vodka Sauce with Sausage 

Serves 4

1 pound sausage, casings removed

6 tbs olive oil

5 cloves garlic, diced

1+ tsp crushed red pepper

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes or 2 cups Christopher Sauce  or 2 pounds fresh tomatoes, cored, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup vodka

1 cup cream

1/2 tsp black pepper

12 fresh basil leaves, chopped or 1 tsp dried basil

salt

note: If you're using Christopher Sauce, you can skip steps 2 and 3. 

1. Heat 2 tbs olive oil in a sauce pan, then brown the sausage.

2. Remove the sausage and add the remaining 4 tbs oil and garlic. 

3. Before the garlic begins to brown, add the crushed red pepper and let cook for 30 seconds.

4. Add the tomatoes or Christopher Sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add salt to taste.

5. Add the vodka, stir, and let simmer for another 5 minutes.

6. Add the cream, black pepper and basil. Stir and lightly simmer for 5 more minutes.

7. Transfer the sauce to a blender or food processor and mix until it becomes a rough puree. 

8. Return it to the pan and add the pasta and sausage. Toss, simmer for a couple more minutes and serve.

Back in Action

It's been a long time since my last post, but I've stayed busy cooking and eating. Stay tuned for new recipes, and in the meantime check out the redesigned site and highlights from our time away.

 

Oysters, 

courtesy of Walking Fish

 

Steamer plate for two

Dock Street Oyster Bar

Wilmington, NC

 

Crab Nachos 

South Beach Grill

Wrightsville Beach, NC

 

Grilled Magherita Pizza

 

Hawaiian Haystacks 

(a Utah classic), 

Courtesy of Meghan Kennedy and Lloyd Rickenbach

 

Salad Nicoise

Vin Rouge

Durham, NC

 

Baguette

Vin Rouge

Durham, NC 

Shrimp linguini with collard greens

North Carolina's mild winters allow some crops to grow year-round. The best greens of the year come during the winter, when the cold temperatures increase the sugar content in the leaves and give everything from lettuce to kale a crisp texture and sweet flavor.

 Collard greens are especially abundant, inexpensive and nutrient-rich. You can saute them with anchovies and lemon juice and serve them as a side dish, or add eat them with pasta and shrimp like I prefer. 

Flounder, Piccatta Style

I'm torn each week when Walking Fish emails me a description of the week's fresh catch. I love the challenge of a new species, as it gives me an excuse to read up on them and decide how to prepare them. But I also love the old reliables, like clams and flounder, because they challenge me to find new ways to prepare them.

We receive flounder at least once a month. Shefali and I have eaten it grilled, oven baked, fried with chips, seasoned and sauteed, and even in po' boy sandwiches. This week, we substituted it for chicken in one of my family's favorite recipes.

Piccatta is traditionally prepared with veal and involves breading and frying the meat, removing it from the pan and building an accompanying sauce that features lemon and capers. Chicken is a very popular substitution for veal and my family's choice growing up (my mother refuses to cook or eat veal). We ate it over a bed of linguine.

When I prepared the flounder Piccatta style I chose not to pair it with pasta. A breaded and pan-fried meat holds its own in a subtle sauce, but when it's paired with pasta it often loosens up and kills the meat's texture. Cooks work so hard to achieve the golden, crunchy exterior that it's best enjoyed alongside some other starch. We paired ours with roasted potatoes and a salad.

Flounder, Piccatta Style

4 tbs olive oil

2 pounds flounder fillets

4 cloves garlic, diced 

3-4 tbs shallot, diced

a handful of fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine. I use a sauvignon blanc

2 tsp capers, drained and rinsed

2 lemons, halved or quartered

flour for dusting

salt and pepper, to taste

1.  Heat the olive oil in a pan.

2. Season a plate of flour with salt and pepper, then dredge both sides of the fillets. Shake off the excess flour, then fry both sides in the oil, about 3 minutes each.

3. Remove the fillets and add the garlic. As soon as the garlic begins to brown add the shallot.

4. When the shallots become translucent (about 5 minutes), add the wine, juice from 1 lemon and capers. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to break up the loose bits. They add massive flavor to the sauce.

5. Let the wine simmer for about 5 minutes or until it no longer smells of alcohol, then return the fish to the pan and add the parsley. Let the flavors combine and flip the fish at least once.

6. Add extra lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, then serve.

Christmas Comes Early

My mother-in-law, Arati, has arrived in the U.S. to help us care for our new son.

Just her casual Sunday dinner of channa masala, kofta curry, kachumber and naan. All made fresh and from scratch.

I have much to learn while she's here. Recipes to follow!

Don't Throw Away Your Carrot Tops

Last weekend I watched a market vendor cut the greens from a bunch of carrots and throw them into a large bin before handing the orange roots to a customer.

"What do you do with the greens?" I asked as I paid her for my own bunch.

"Feed 'em to the rabbits," she said.

"You don't cook with them?"

"We never have," she said. "The greens are chewy, and they taste like...carrots."

Intrigued, I kept my greens and asked her for extra from her rabbit bin.

"Knock yourself out," she said. "and let me know what you come up with."

I tasted a stalk and agreed that they are indeed chewy. And the greens do taste like carrots, but the texture and small leaves also remind me of parsley. Surely there's a meal that can utilize this forgotten part of one of America's most common vegetables.

As I thought of the foods most commonly paired with carrots - celery and onion in soups, cabbage in coleslaw, nuts and cream cheese in carrot cake, etc. - I recalled market director Erin Kaufman's recent note about pesto in her weekly email:

The word pesto originates from the Italian word ""pestare", which means to pound.  Pesto is just an adjective that means "pounded".  When we think of pesto, basil immediately comes to mind, since it is common and delicious sauce for pasta, potatoes, etc.  This week, after an illuminating conversation with Phoebe from Scratch (and a piece of pie that included radish top pesto), I was reminded that you can make pesto out of all kinds of things.  And right now, the Market is bursting at the seams with green things that you can pound up into a delicious paste that you can add to all kinds of dishes.
I'd seen pesto recipes that called for parsley to compliment basil and arugula. Since pesto is a good way to break down large quantities of greens and herbs into small but potent servings, why wouldn't it work with carrot greens?

It felt like a proud moment of culinary trail blazing (though I'm far from the first person to make carrot green pesto), and the result works great on sandwiches (especially leftover turkey sandwiches...), sitting on the surface of a bowl of soup, and even tossed with roasted potatoes.

Carrot Green Pesto

2 large handfuls carrot greens, stems removed

2 garlic cloves

1 small handful roasted almonds

15 basil leaves 

1/4-1/2 cup olive oil, depending on desired taste and thickness

1 handful Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

1. Combine the carrot greens, basil, garlic and almonds in a mortar and pestle or food processor.

2. As you mix, pound or pulse the ingredients into a paste, slowly add the olive oil until you reach the desired thickness.

3. Add the cheese, salt and pepper and serve. 

**Note: to thin pesto, add additional oil. To thicken it, add cheese.

 

Diwali 2011

For the first time since moving to the U.S. in 2001, Shefali celebrated the Diwali holiday in style by hosting a party and serving traditional Indian food.

Diwali is a Hindu celebration of lights. It occurs each fall,when a new moon arrives sometime between mid-October and mid-November (it fell on October 26 this year). Shefali's family also takes time during Diwali to honor Laksmi, goddess of wealth. They usually celebrate with fireworks, alcohol, gambling, and of course great food.

In preparation, we woke up early Saturday morning and drove to Cary's "little India" district to shop for authentic groceries like chaat masala, tandoori paste (I have never tried making my own), bitter mango, desi dahi and green chutney. After we hit Patel Brothers' grocery store we bought fresh kaju katri and golab jamun from Mithai across the street. The guys at Mittai make traditional desserts in-house, and they're the best we've had on this side of the world.

We returned home and began cooking around 2:30. Shef made a huge batch of her mother's world famous chicken curry while I threw together the kachumber, eggplant bhartha and broiled okra. The meal came together around 7 p.m., just as twelve friends and neighbors climbed our candle-lit staircase and joined us to feast.

After dinner we crushed the desserts, then laid a bed sheet on the living room floor. In honor of Laksmi, everyone drank beer and played poker. It was a great way to celebrate and share the holiday with others, especially since several of our friends ate (and loved) Indian food for the first time.

Diwali will likely become an annual affair, as we're already talking about how bottles of Kingfisher, Bollywood music and fireworks will make next year's party a real bash. Until then, enjoy the recipes.

Arati's Eggplant Bhartha

1/2 cup spring onions, chopped

3 large eggplants

1 15-oz can diced tomatoes

2 tsp corriander

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp red chili powder (to taste)

fresh cilantro

salt, to taste

1. Roast the eggplant in a 400-degree oven until the skin gets quite crisp (about 25 minutes), then peel and chop into cubes. Roasting the eggplant gives it a lovely smokey flavor.  

 NOTE: If pressed for time, skip step one and simply cube the eggplant.

2. combine all ingredients and cook on low heat for approximately 60 minutes. When the ingredients are blended together and the excess water from the veggies has dried up, balance the seasonings, add a handful of cilantro leaves and serve.

Broiled Okra with Chaat Masala

1 pound fresh okra, preferably small, thin pods

3 tbs olive oil

salt

pepper

2+ tsp chaat masala

1. Set the oven to broil, then half the okra lengthwise and toss with the olive oil and chaat masala.

2. Arrange the okra in a baking dish, skin side down, and broil until crisp, about 30 minutes.

3. Add additional chaat masala to taste and serve. 

Triggerfish

Walking Fish has been delivering a great variety of seafood this fall. I've received flounder, spot, shrimp, clams and triggerfish all in the past month.


Triggerfish live throughout the Atlantic and can grow to 13 pounds. They are a tall, narrow fish that hides from predators by fitting into thin crevices.

Triggerfish deliveries are especially exciting, not just for me but for the guy standing behind me in the pickup line last week as well.

"This is the reason I buy Walking Fish shares," he said, admiring the bags of firm, white fillets.

"How do you cook it?" I asked.

"Grilled or broiled, no seasoning. This fish has a rich, buttery flavor that stands on its own."

Inspired by his simplicity, I pan-seared the fillets in olive oil, adding only salt and lemon. Triggerfish have flesh similar to grouper, so they keep their shape as you cook them, even at high temperatures. I seared each side on high heat for 2-3 minutes.

The guy waiting in line behind me was right. This fish needs little to no seasoning. We ate it alongside fresh pepperonata, potatoes and salad.

The green plate was a bad choice.

Pepperonata is a great option this time of year, because nearly all the ingredients are available locally. There are hundreds of ways to prepare it, but this recipe is both substantial and unique because it includes potatoes. This preparation was largely influenced by the recipe in Toni Lydecker's Seafood Alla Siciliana. 

Pepperonata with Potatoes

Serves 4

4 tbs olive oil

4 cloves garlic, diced

1 small onion, chopped

5-6 small sweet bell peppers (or 2-3 large ones), cut into strips or squares

1 pound potatoes (preferably small and red-skinned), cubed

2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped**

crushed red pepper, to taste

salt, to taste

**To peel tomatoes, cut out the core, then immerse them in boiling water for about 30 seconds. As soon as the skin starts to separate, plunge them into a bowl of ice water, then peel them. 

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add the garlic.

2. When the garlic is fragrant but not brown (30-60 seconds)

3. Add the anchovies and stir them until they dissolve into the oil.

4. Add the peppers, crushed red pepper (optional), potatoes, tomatoes, salt (Lydecker recommends 1/2 tsp), and 1/2 cup water. 

5. Stir, cover and let simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Check the pan regularly and add extra water, if necessary. This side can be served warm or at room temperature.