Chili Verde!
Oh tomatillos. They are everywhere. In my kitchen at least. It was a pretty full harvest from my garden and now I am elbow deep in them while trying to find the best salsa recipe. But before that, let me tell you about my most favorite stew. Chile Verde it’s called, and I just go bananas for it. There’s tomatillos, chiles, pork, cilantro… it’s a delicious thing. Since Seattle is slightly lacking in the Mexican food department, I’m long overdue for a bowl.
I started by roasting the tomatillos under the broiler with some garlic.
Then I roasted until black some chiles over the flame of my stove.
Lots of pork was diced up.
And browned in a wide shallow pot. Afterwards some onions were added to get nice and soft.
Then I pureed those toasted tomatillos, garlic and chiles with some fresh jalapenos and cilantro.
I added the puree to my pork and onions with some chicken stock and let her simmer for 3 hours. And then we ate ourselves silly.
CHILE VERDE RECIPE:
2 lb tomatillos
6 garlic cloves, not peeled
3 Anaheim or Poblano chiles
3 Jalapeños, seeds removed, chopped
1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
4½ lb pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1 to 2-inch cubes
Olive oil
2 small yellow onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBSP dried oregano
3 cups chicken stock
- Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well. Cut in half and place cut side down, along with 6 garlic cloves, on a baking sheet. Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- Roast the Anaheim chiles over a gas flame or under the broiler until blackened all around. Let cool and remove the skin, seeds, and stem. Roughly chop.
- Place tomatillos, skins included, into a food processor. Remove the roasted garlic cloves from their skins and add them. Add chopped Jalapeño peppers, Anaheim chilies, and cilantro. Pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed.
- Season the pork cubes generously with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed dutch oven over medium high heat and brown the pork chunks well on all sides. Work in batches so that the pork is not crowded in the pan. Using tongs, lift the browned pork out and place in bowl. Set aside.
- Pour off excess fat, leaving 1 or 2 tablespoons. Place the onions in the same dutch oven and season with salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until limp, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute. Add the pork back to the pan. Add the oregano, the tomatillo puree, and the chicken stock. Bring to a boil and reduce to a slight simmer. Cook for 2½ – 3 hours uncovered, until the pork is tender.
- Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt. Serve with rice and warmed flour or corn tortillas.
Nutter Butter Cookies
Give me a recipe that starts with cooking oats in butter and vanilla bean and you’ve stolen my heart. Throw in some peanut butter and you’ve convinced me to make cookies, something I rarely feel inclined to do.
It had been a while since I made a Nancy Silverton recipe, and now I feel the need to pull all her books off of my shelves and hit the kitchen with a vengeance. Seriously, she might be my pastry hero. Top 5 at LEAST. This cookie recipe came from her Sandwich book, a book I might never have paid attention to had it not been for her take on Nutter Butters.
As mentioned above, I started by toasting oats with butter and a vanilla bean.
I mixed those into a pretty straight-forward peanut butter cookie dough.
I rolled and stamped out little discs that I popped into the fridge to chill before baking.
While those were baking I made the filling, a salty, buttery, peanut fluff.
And then it was the best assembly line one can imagine. The funny thing is, these cookies actually get BETTER as they age. The first night I had them after a Monday night family dinner, with some ice cream. They seemed rich and intense, almost to the point of turning me off. I couldn’t eat a whole one and considered sending them away with my friends just to get them out of my house. The next day though, either I was hungrier or they mellowed out because I devoured one in 15 seconds flat. And they were so much more tender. So from now on, I’m making these little ones the day before I actually need them. And I’ll definitely keep them oreo sized next time.
NUTTER BUTTER COOKIES RECIPE (by Nancy Silverton)
Yield: 36 cookies
Cookies:
12oz unsalted butter, cool
1 vanilla bean
2 cups quick cooking rolled oats
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup chunky peanut butter, I prefer JIF
2 ¼ cups AP flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
- In a medium sized skillet, melt 4oz of butter over medium heat. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Toss the seeds and the pod into the butter along with the oats. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly, until the oats are lightly toasted and golden brown. Transfer the oat mixture to a bowl, discarding the vanilla bean pod, and chill in the fridge.
- Place the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer, cream the butter on medium speed for a minute with the paddle attachment. Slowly pour in the sugars and continue creaming until the mixture is light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the peanut butter and mix just until combined. Lower the speed and add the chilled oats, mixing until just combined.Turn off the mixer and add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together in a ball.
- Roll the dough into 2″ balls, or use a scooper to scoop out individual portions and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Slightly flatten each cookie and use a knife to score each cookie with criss-cross patterns. Chill the dough for about 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. They should be lightly browned. Cool completely.
Filling:
3oz butter, cool
1½ tsp salt
6 TBSP powdered sugar
1 cup + 2 TBSP natural chunky peanut butter
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and salt on medium speed for about a minute, until the butter is softened.
- Add the sugar and peanut butter and mix another minute to combine.
- Assemble and Enjoy!
Grape Jelly
Every now and then a fruit just makes you stop and take notice. Such was the case with these grapes. Blueberry grapes they’re called, and they literally taste like bubblicious grape bubble gum. Popping one into my mouth for a taste in the grocry store actually had me giggling, they’re THAT good. I bought a few pounds immediatly and ran home to make jelly.
It was my first time making jelly, and I was super excited. Not because I am particularly fond of jelly, but just because I had never made it. And grape jelly, well that’s just as classic as it comes. I started by cooking the grapes down with a bit of water, while smooshing them with a potato masher. Then I poured that hot mess into a strainer lined with one of John’s old t-shirts. It drained for about 10 hours.
I then boiled the liquid with lemon juice and pectin until I had a nice set.
And it worked! It’s translucent and jiggly and perfect! I’ve been eating grape jelly and peanut butter sandwiches like they are going out of style and I suspect I’ll be buying more of these magical blueberry grapes….
GRAPE JELLY RECIPE:
1x (2 quarts)
2 1/4 lb grapes
2/3 cup water
1 lb 4oz caster sugar
3 TBSP lemon juice
3 oz liquid pectin
- Put the grapes and water in a saucepan and smash them with a potato masher. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. The grapes should be very soft. Smash the grapes some more.
- Pour the mixture into a strainer lined with thin fabric (I used a worn t shirt) and allow to drip for 8-12 hours. Do not press the mixture or the jelly will be cloudy.
- Pour the drained liquid into a saucepan and add the caster sugar and lemon juice. Heat over low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, add the pectin and cook over medium high heat for a 3-5 minutes, until the jelly has set.
- Ladle into hot sterilize jars and seal.
Lemon Fluff for Miles
Disclaimer: These photos blow. The recipe however, quite spectacular. After weeks of thinking the photos too ugly for the blog, I relented, after requests were made for the recipe. Because seriously, this cake is worth sharing, ugly photos and all.
The cake I speak of is the Lemon Icebox Cake. In some circles (like my grandmother’s) it’s a classic that makes people get all misty-eyed. In my circle, it’s more of a novelty, as in “What’s an icebox?”, “Is the cake made of ice?”, that sort of thing.
Meredith, my friend of many months in Seattle, was leaving us. After a year of lawyering it up in the soggy Pacific Northwest, she had a job back in San Francisco waiting for her. I was sad, as she got me through many a rainy day while we were still learning our way around. It’s the rare person that is up for anything (hike? bike ride? lake swimming? bike ride to a hike that ends in lake swimming?). But mostly I just fed her. So for her last meal I wanted something special.
She’s mildly obsessed with lemons, so I considered recreating one of my first desserts at Delancey: Meyer lemon budino with anise caramel syrup, candied pistachios and shortbread. It made sense to end an era with the dessert that started it. But then I remembered this article in Fine Cooking magazine. It was one of those articles where two chefs classically recreate or reinvent a recipe. This had Rose Levy Beranbaum recreating a classic lemon icebox cake. It literally had me drooling. And it looked long and complex, two words that occasionally make my ears perk up in a recipe. So it was decided. Meredith’s last meal (with me) in Seattle would end with a lemon icebox cake.
There were a lot of eggs involved.
First I made an angel food cake, another food item I’ve been hoping to scratch off my list. I’ve heard stories that they were difficult, that the cakes sunk into nothing. I do love a good cake challenge. I started with a fluffy white meringue.
Into that I folded the tiniest amount of flour possible. I spread the batter into an angel food pan (courtesy of Molly, because I have limits to my cake pan collection).
It baked until it was golden and splitting. I pulled it from the oven and hung it upside down to cool. I know. Upside down. I suspect this is what keeps it from sinking, since it’s pretty well adhered to the pan.
Then I made some lemon “fluff”. That involved making a lemon curd that I then folded with whipped cream, that I then folded with gelatin laced meringue.
By the time that was ready my cake had cooled and was ready to be de-panned. I trimmed off the top and sliced it into four discs.
Then back into the angel food cake pan they went, layered with the lemon fluff. From there it was 12 hours of chilling in the fridge while I nervously fretted about how the hell I was going to get it out.
Somehow, it came out. That somehow involved propping it on a wine bottle and flipping everything onto a serving tray. It was a bit theatrical. But it was worth it for sure. Walking out to the table in the backyard carrying this gigantic jiggling mound of yellow fluff I felt like some kind of cake goddess. And it only took me about 16 hours.
LEMON ICEBOX CAKE RECIPE:
The only change I made was to not grease the pan before baking the angel food cake. Multiple sources confirmed that greasing the pan was a no-no.
The Best Shredded Dessert There Ever Was.
Years ago, while in architecture school, I had a roommate named Mimi. Well, actually her name was Omelmominin, but we called her Mimi. She was from Oman, and I have her to thank for introducing me to Middle Eastern desserts. Mimi didn’t cook much, but her mom did. And when her mom decided to spend a summer with us, I was ecstatic. I can still remember clearly the day I came home from work and started grinning ear to ear when I opened the door and smelled deliciousness being made in the kitchen. I almost lost it when I actually got into the kitchen in time to see Mimi’s mom pulling a pan of steaming hot baklava out of the oven. Having only ever seen it in restaurants and grocery stores, it never occurred to me that an actual person could make it for themselves (I was so young then…).
The real surprise though, came next. Because after she sat down the baklava, she pulled out a pan of what looked to me like cooked noodles. It was called konafa, and this my friends, is what I am here to talk about. That dessert stuck with me. It’s a rare one to find outside of the middle east, and even rarer to find one that tastes good. When done right, it is pure creamy bliss. Unfortunately there’s not much of a Middle Eastern population in Seattle, making it even harder to find than in San Francisco. It is meant to be eaten fresh from the oven, so really, I just had to make it for myself.
I started with the pastry, called konafa or kadaif. It can be hard to come by, you’ll probably have to get it from a Middle Eastern grocery store. Since it’s sold frozen, it will require some advance preparation so it can defrost in the fridge for 24 hours beforehand. The first step is to spread it out and unstick the strands that are all mashed together. I found this part to be particularly fun. Afterwards, I set the pastry back in the fridge.
Then I made the cream filling and the syrup that would be poured over the baked konafa. For the filling I cooked milk with rice flour and sugar, straining it afterwards to remove the lumps. The only change I made from the recipe from Claudia Roden was to use rose water in place of the orange blossom water. This was what Mimi’s mom used and I was going straight for nostalgia.
Then I spread half of the pastry (that I had tossed in melted butter) in the bottom of 2 pie pans.
On top of that I spread the chilled cream filling. I topped it with the other half of the pastry.
And then I baked the konafa until golden brown. I poured the cold syrup all over it and sprinkled on some pistachios.
And me and my friends dug in. It’s an odd flavor at first, but after a few bites something happens to the taste. I found that it got sweeter (though not too sweet) and the rosewater started to mellow. It was exactly how I remembered it. Mimi has been back in Oman for several years now, but I like to think that she and her mom would be proud.
KONAFA RECIPE (Claudia Roden):
Syrup:
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups water
2 TBSP lemon juice
2 TBSP rosewater or orange blossom water
- Bring the sugar, water and lemon juice to a boil for about 8 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in the rosewater. Leave to cool, then chill in the fridge.
Cream filling:
2/3 cup rice flour
5 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream
- Mix the rice flour with some of the milk to make a smooth paste. Bring the rest of the milk to a boil, then add the rice flour paste, whisking the milk as you do so to minimize clumping. Immediately turn the heat to very low and let the mixture thicken for about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir occasionally without scraping the bottom of the pan so as not to pick up any burnt bits.
- Add the sugar and stir well. If lumpy, strain. Leave to cool, then add the cream and mix well. Chill in the fridge.
Pastry:
1 lb konafa (also called kadaif) pastry
8oz butter, melted
2/3 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
- Place the pastry in a large bowl and separate the strands as much as possible. Pour the melted butter over the pastry and, with your fingers, work it in very thoroughly, pulling out and separating the strands so that they don’t stick together and are coated with butter.
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Spread half the pastry at the bottom of a two 8″ round pie pans. Spread the cream filling over and cover with the rest of the pastry.
- Bake for about 45 minutes, then raise the temperature to 425F and bake for another 15 minutes, until the pastry starts to brown. Remove from the oven. Immediately pour the cold syrup over the hot konafa and sprinkle with the chopped pistachios.
- Before serving, run a knife around the pie to loosen the sides. Slice it up and enjoy!
The eggplants have arrived!
Eggplants. They rock.
It took me a while to discover this. Mostly because of texture. An eggplant really has to be cooked down to its last dying breath before I want anything to do with it. Too few minutes in the oven and I might as well be chewing on a waterlogged Nerf ball. But those few minutes of cooking later and I’m feasting in eggplant heaven. And what better to way to pulverize an eggplant’s spongey texture than with baba ganoush.
First things first, roast the eggplant. I roasted it over the flame of my stove burner. This adds the smokey flavor that makes baba ganoush taste like baba ganoush. I roast it until it is completely mushy, practically falling apart. The softer you get it over the flame, the more buttery the puree will be. If you lack a gas stove, then it’s possible to roast in the broiler, but it won’t be as tasty.
Then I let the eggplants sit in a sealed tupperware for 15 minutes or so. The idea is to steam them a bit more and to allow them to cool down enough to handle. Resist the temptation to let them cool completely, because this too will result in a less smooth puree.
Once finished steaming I peel their purple skins off.
I put them (sans stems) in the food processor with tahini, lemon juice, minced garlic, salt and pepper. I let it puree for a few minutes. The result should be smooth and fluffy. Taste for salt, because every eggplant is different, you know? From here you want to let it sit for a while in the fridge. 4 hours is sufficient, 12 hours is better. Think of it like a soup, it just needs a little time to have all of its flavors meld together. Right before serving I like to stir in some fresh parsley and top it with toasted pinenuts. No photos of that today though, because well, we ate it too fast. It happens.
BABA GANOUSH RECIPE:
2 medium or 3 small eggplants
1/2 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
1 tsp salt
fresh parsley
toasted pine nuts
Blueberries!
They’re here!
Have I mentioned lately that I have a thing for blueberries? Beautiful, blue, bloomy blueberries…
This time of year I turn into a bit of a berry monster. The first couple weeks of berry season I tend to gorge on berries until I just can’t take any more. Then I stop just long enough to panic about their eventual disappearance. In response, I make jam. Lots of jam. I’ll make so much jam that I panic again and start giving it away. Then as I work my way through a couple of jars, I’ll start wishing I hadn’t given so much away. I’ll panic yet again, and if there are still berries around at this point, I’ll probably make more jam. You know, just in case I run out in January. So far this summer I’ve made a sun-cooked strawberry rhubarb jam, a black raspberry jam, and now, this absolutely perfect blueberry jam. It’s so straightforward that it seems silly to even share the recipe. But that’s its genius. Beneath all that obviousness is a jam that is so perfectly spreadable and so… blue. I’ve already eaten it on toast, biscuits, crepes and pound cake. And it’s only been 4 days.
Note on blueberries: With all jams, it is super important to get the best fruit possible. If you don’t want to smash your face into a pile of it, then it’s probably not jam worthy. Yes, it should be that good. I used Billy’s blueberries, arguably the best blueberries in the Puget Sound area.
BLUEBERRY JAM RECIPE:
2 lb 8oz (6 baskets) blueberries
2/3 cup water
2 lb sugar
juice of 3 lemons
1 package of Certo liquid pectin
- Put the blueberries and water in a heavy pot. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. The fruit should be quite soft.
- Lower the heat and add the sugar and lemon juice. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Turn up the heat and boil for 5 minutes.
- Add the pectin and boil for another minute or 2, until it has set. I test for set by spooning the jam onto a plate that has ben stored in the freezer. I place it back in the freezer for 10 seconds and then press my finger to it. If it wrinkles, the jam is done.
-Ladle into hot sterilized jars and seal. If you’re storing it at room temperature, it’s a good idea to process them. It’s ready to eat the next day.
I Grew That! And then I cooked it!
I’ve been debating about whether to share this part of my cooking world, out of worry that some might find it boring. But I just can’t hold back anymore, because my garden is fully intersecting with my kitchen now, and I suspect it’s only going to get more intense! So here it is: Since moving to Seattle, I have been gardening my little tush off. I signed up for a month long course at Seattle Tilth, ordered some seeds from Territorial seed company, hit the Home Depot store (many, many times) and I was off! First I planted perennials around my yard: a sour cherry tree, a pear tree, a meyer lemon tree (potted since they don’t love Seattle as much as I do), blueberry bushes, strawberries, raspberries, an artichoke plant and asparagus. Those won’t really produce much this year, as they’re busy building up their roots. But man is next year gonna be fun.
Once all of those plants were settled, I got to work on building veggie beds for my annuals. If you’ve spent much time in Seattle then you know that winter takes its sweet time passing the baton to spring. This makes for a shorter growing season than California, but a growing season that is JAM PACKED. I began in early March and after a couple rounds of spinach and arugula, things are in officially in full swing. It’s all so magical that I started taking photos of my bounty so I could prove it was really happening! So here’s my garden!
Beautiful (and spicy) french breakfast radishes.
Lots and lots of butterhead lettuce.
My first baby carrots!
Baby chiogga beets.
Russian banana fingerling potatoes!
And my personal favorite (which is great since we have them coming out of our ears now), English peas!
One of the (many) things I love about gardening is how things are just ready when they’re ready. And when that happens, you’ve got to act quick. Me and John received a CSA box for a few years before leaving San Francisco, so we started getting pretty good at designing dinner menus around what was in the fridge that week. Gardening is kind of like that, except you get all of one plant type at once! It was definitely hard keeping up with the mountain of arugula and spinach, but we did manage to eat all of our butter lettuce before the slugs took over. And the radishes and carrots, we destroyed them.
The peas, however, they just keep on coming! Everyday I harvest about 2 cups, shelled, and we just add them to whatever is cooking. I discovered that peas barely blanched and then tossed with butter, tarragon and a little black pepper REALLY rocks my world. Bucatini all’Amatriciana only gets better with a pile of peas thrown in. Chicken Tikka Masala? Add some peas! Last night John cooked dinner and he made a Venetian style risotto dish that I feel should be shared, (even though I suspect the rest of the country is well past pea season) because it showcases English peas beautifully. I suspect this recipe will make it into the pea rotation every spring (or summer if you live in Seattle).
RISI e BISI (Mario Batali):
Serves 4
1/4 cup olive oil
4 small shallots, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
2oz prosciutto, finely diced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
8 cups chicken stock, hot
1 1/2 cups fresh peas
4 TBSP butter
1/2 cul freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
salt and pepper
- In a 10-12 inch saute pan, combine the olive oil, shallots, celery and prosciutto and cook over medium heat until the shallots and celery are softened but not browned, 8-10 minutes.
- Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes, until it almost opaque. Add enough stock to just cover the rice, turn the heat up to high, and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, until the stock begins to be absorbed, then add another ladleful. As the level of the stock dips below the level of the rice, continue to add stock one ladleful at a time, to keep the rice covered, stirring constantly. After 15 minutes, taste the rice, it should still be quite hard.
- Add the peas and continue to cook for about 4 more minutes, adding a little more stock if necessary, until the rice is tender and creamy yet still al dente. The risotto should be quite moist, but not swimming (I actually like it swimming), you may have a little stock left over.
- Remove from the heat, add the butter and cheese, and stir vigorously for 25 seconds. Season with salt and pepper and eat immediately.
The Hottest Buns in Town
Whew. My first 4th of July in Seattle and wow, it was fun. Old friends in town, new friends coming over, lots of food and fireworks and slap scrabble. It was our first party in a Seattle and I’m so glad we did it. But WHEW! There was cooking going on in my tiny kitchen, SO much cooking. Four pies were baked: cherry almond, black raspberry (I didn’t even know such a thing existed until this week!), strawberry rhubarb custard and blueberry lattice. A gigantic cabbage salad with a peanut dressing. More baked beans than I think anyone wants to see in one place. And pulled pork sandwiches. I wanted pulled pork sandwiches badly. Having never made them, I turned to the Lee Bros. for their recipe. Did I mention that we’re talking about 13 lbs. of pork?
It was an intimidating amount of meat. And while the flavor was fantastic (think tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, cane syrup), I have to fault the Lee Bros. for tricking me into thinking that pork shoulder would get as meltingly tender as I wanted in the amount of time they claimed. I now know that pulled pork wants at least 8 hours if you’re on the low-oven-roasting path. It was a close one and I have Sam and Brandon to thank for pulling a delicious dish out of the mess I started, because by the time we realized that the pork needed several more hours of roasting to liquify all that fat, we had already eaten all of the salads, sides and pies in the house. Not to mention the copious amounts of wine I had befriended by then. Thank God for chef friends who are more than competent at drunken cooking!
At some point John made a diagram about when to stop cooking the meat. It was a question of quality vs. time, measuring the increasing quality of the pork as it cooked and our changing expectations relating to our hunger levels. I swear it was genius at the time.
By now you’re maybe thinking “Gee Brandi, your last 3 posts are about meat. What gives?” It’s true, we’ve been awfully carnivorous this month. Which is why I will now turn my attention to the real reason I’m here talking about a pulled pork dish that I can’t even begin to explain how it came to be. My point? The bun. I will admit that when I mentioned to some people that I wanted to make my own buns, there was some skepticism. It was too much work, they said. There are perfectly good buns out there that somebody else made. But I just didn’t buy it. I mean, EVERYONE has a pulled pork recipe up their sleeve (well, except me apparently), but when a girl really wants to take it to the next level, then it’s the bun that gets people’s attention. So I made them anyways. Even though with 4 pies (3 requiring pre-baked crusts), an ungodly amount of beans, and half a day’s worth of pork, we were totally out of oven space.
And you know what people talked about the most at the BBQ? Those sexy little buns of mine.
There were lots of them, rising all over the house.
They were glazed with egg and sprinkled with seeds.
And then baked until they were puffed and golden.
I don’t care how much effort they were (not THAT much really), I’m never buying a bun from the store again.
And just so no one thinks I’ve stopped caring about dessert, here’s a blueberry lattice pie that was devoured in about 15 minutes flat.
LIGHT BRIOCHE BUNS RECIPE (adapted from Comme Ça restaurant, printed in the New York Times):
3 TBSP warm milk
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 1/2 TBSP sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 TBSP unsalted butter, softened
Sesame or poppy seeds (optional)
1. In a glass measuring cup, combine one cup warm water, the milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about five minutes. Meanwhile, beat one egg.
2. In a large bowl, whisk flours with salt. Add butter and rub into flour between your fingers, making crumbs. Using a large spoon, stir in yeast mixture and beaten egg until a dough forms. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. You can either transfer the dough to a clean surface for this or knead it right in the bowl. It’s a touch sticky, but resist the urge to add more flour.
3. Shape dough into a ball and return it to bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in the fridge. This long proofing time will make a nicer flavor and also make it easier to shape while cold.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Gently roll each into a ball and arrange two to three inches apart on baking sheet. Cover loosely with a piece of plastic wrap lightly coated in nonstick spray and let buns rise in a warm place for one to two hours, until they almost double in size.
5. Set a large shallow pan of water on oven floor. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in center. Beat remaining egg with one tablespoon water and brush some on top of buns. If desired, sprinkle with seeds. Bake, turning sheet halfway through baking, until tops are golden brown, about 17-18 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
A Duck!
We all have our lists of things to be done in life, mine just happens to involve a lot of food. I’ve been wanting to confit my own duck legs since I first tasted it in Scotland (I know, unlikely location) 10 years ago. I knew it was relatively easy, I had several recipes and I had watched other chefs do it at work. I just never seemed to remember to get some duck meat for myself. While at the farmer’s market a few weekends ago I saw a sign advertising ducks for sale and well, all signs pointed to me hunting for copious amounts of duck fat. Luckily a chef friend who regularly confits keeps the fat around and offered it on loan. And now I had no excuses. So I began the meaty journey that is duck confit.
First step: Seasoning the duck and letting it soak up the flavor for a day or two.
Then the fun begins. I rinsed off the seasonings and placed the legs in a container large enough to fit them comfortably. Then I covered them in that glorious duck fat. I brought them to a simmer on the stove and then popped them in the oven to poach for 6 hours. Let me just say that there are few things better than spending the day bathing in the smell of duck. I was worried at first that after a few hours I would be turned off, but no, it only made me want to tear into that meat more.
Once the ducks were cooked (they fall to the bottom of the dish when done), I took them from the oven and let them cool to room temperature. Some of them I was using for dinner that night while the rest were going to be stored in the fridge for future use.
And they were magnificent. I braised them with lentils and bacon for friends and there wasn’t a drop left. I think I’m gonna be making this quite often.
DUCK CONFIT RECIPE (Michael Ruhlman):
6 duck legs
3 TBSP salt
4 whole cloves
8 black peppercorns
3 garlic cloves, sliced
3 bay leaves, halved
8 cups duck fat, enough to cover duck legs before cooking
- Sprinkle ducks with salt and place in a dutch oven or deep pan. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the peppercorns and clove and scatter over the duck along with the sliced garlic. Press a halved bay leaf onto each duck leg. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24-48 hours.
- Rinse duck under cold water to wipe off seasonings. Pat dry and place back in dutch oven.
- Preheat oven to 180°F. Pour duck fat into dish, completely covering duck. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Place, uncovered, in the oven and cook for 6 hours, until the duck is tender and has settled on the bottom of the pan.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely. Gently transfer duck legs to a dish for storage. Cover the duck with the fat until completely submerged. Seal with lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to one month.
- When ready to serve, remove duck legs from the fat (this will be much easier if you first warm up the fat). Place skin-side down on hot skillet and let skin crisp on medium heat until golden brown. Turn duck over to brown bottom and to warm meat through, about 5 to 7 minutes. Serve crisped duck confit immediately.
BRAISED DUCK WITH LENTILS
8oz bacon, chopped
6 duck confit legs
1 onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups red wine
6 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups french green lentils
1 TBSP tomato paste
4 sprigs thyme
salt and pepper to taste
- Cook bacon over medium heat in a large dutch oven. Remove from pot and place on paper towel. Remove all but 2 TBSP of the bacon fat.
- Sear the duck legs until the skin crisps and browns. Remove from pot and set aside.
- Cook onions and carrots in the bacon fat (add more if necessary) over medium heat until starting to become clear. Add garlic and cook on minute longer. Add the red wine and simmer over medium high heat until reduced by half.
- Add the stock, lentils, tomato paste and thyme and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Stir in the cooked bacon and nestle in the seared duck legs. Cover and cook over low heat for about 1 1/2 hours. The meat should be very tender. You could also cover it and bake it in a 325 degree oven for the same amount of time.
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