RECIPES FROM BOOKS FOR COOKS
A selection of recipes from top chefs which will turn your cooking into something really special. These recipes are from selected publications and represent some of the top recipes of the month.
BEARNAISE SAUCE
Serve this sauce with a steak and your dinner guests will think you went to culinary school. Bearnaise sauce is simply hollandaise sauce without the lemon juice and with the addition of shallots, vinegar and peppercorns. This is one of the recipes adapted from James Peterson’s “Kitchen Simple.”
Makes 1-1/2 cups.
2 shallots, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
10 black peppercorns
4 sprigs fresh tarragon
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons cold water
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, clarified (recipe follows) or good-quality, unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
To make wine mixture: In small saucepan, combine shallots, wine and vinegar. Place peppercorns on cutting board. Using corner of heavy saucepan, press down on peppercorns with all your weight to crush them. Add crushed peppercorns to wine mixture in small saucepan. Add tarragon. Simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Strain. Discard solids.
To finish sauce: Add egg yolks and water to wine mixture. Over medium heat, whisk mixture for 4 minutes or until thickened. Immediately remove from heat. Whisk for 30 seconds so heat retained in pan doesn’t cause yolks to curdle. Whisk in butter in thin but steady stream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Note: If necessary, thin with 1 or 2 tablespoons water.)
To serve: Serve immediately or keep warm
for up to 2 hours (no longer) over pan of hot water or in Thermos.
CLARIFIED BUTTER
Clarified butter is great to have on hand. Regular butter can be difficult to work with when high heat is required because it contains proteins (aka milk solids), which burn at relatively low temperatures. By removing the milk solids, you will be able to saute potatoes or mushrooms or other foods that require browning over high heat. Be sure to start with unsalted butter.
Makes 1 cup.
1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
To clarify butter: In small heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes or until milk solids begin to coagulate on bottom and sides of saucepan. Reduce heat. Prepare bowl of cold water. Cook butter until milk solids turn brown, but not dark brown. Immediately remove from heat and plunge bottom of saucepan in cold water. Strain butter through fine-mesh strainer.
To store: Clarified butter, tightly covered, will keep in refrigerator for several months or in freezer for years.
SWISS CHARD, CHICKPEA AND TAMARIND STEW
This recipe from
“Plenty” originally ran as as one of the recipes of chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s column in the Guardian newspaper in London. The flavor combinations are amazing. Ottolenghi says adding the tang of tamarind is a great way to both flavor and lighten up slow-cooked savory dishes. And combining it with chard gives a double dose of sharpness.
Makes 4 servings.
Stew:
4 tablespoons seedless tamarind pulp
1 pound Swiss chard (stems and leaves), cut into 3/8-inch slices
1-1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 can (14 ounces) chopped plum tomatoes, with their juices
1-1/2 cups water
1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
2-1/2 cups chickpeas
Salt and black pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup Greek yogurt (optional)
1 big handful cilantro
Rice:
1-3/4 cups short-grain rice
1-1/2 tablespoons butter
3 cups water
To prep ingredients: Whisk tamarind with a little warm water until it dissolves into a paste. Set aside. Bring medium pot of salted water to the boil. Blanch chard for 2 minutes. Drain. Set aside. In small pan, dry-roast coriander seeds over medium heat. Grind to a powder with a mortar and pestle. Set aside.
To make stew: In large heavy-based pan, combine onion, caraway seeds and olive oil. Saute over medium heat for 10 minutes or until onion is soft and golden. Add tomato paste. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, water, sugar, chickpeas, ground coriander and chard. Season with salt and pepper. Strain tamarind water through small sieve straight into pot. Bring to a boil. Cover. Simmer for 30 minutes or until consistency of thick soup. (Note: To adjust thickness, add water or cook uncovered to allow liquid to evaporate.) Taste. Adjust seasoning.
To prepare rice: Meanwhile, in medium pan, combine rice, butter and pinch of salt. Stir over medium heat to coat rice with melted butter. Add water. Bring to a boil. Cover with tight lid. Simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Set aside, covered, for 5 minutes.
To serve: Spoon rice into shallow soup bowls. Make crater in center of each mound. Add lemon juice to stew. Stir to combine. Pour 1 or 2 ladlesful of stew into each rice crater. Add dollop of yogurt to each. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with lots of cilantro leaves.
CHICKPEAS AND DANDELION GREENS
This salad is one of the recipes from “Super Natural Every Day” is simple, filling and versatile – it can be eaten warm or at room temperature. It makes a great lunch for work because it doesn’t have to be refrigerated. If you can’t find dandelion greens, author Heidi Swanson recommends using chard, spinach or whatever other greens look good at your market. For more substance, top the salad with a crumbled hard-cooked egg.
Makes 2 main-dish servings, 4 side-dish servings.
2 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
Fine-grain sea salt
3 or 4 handfuls of young dandelion leaves, stems trimmed
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Put chickpeas in medium bowl. Set aside. In large, cold skillet, combine olive oil, garlic and red-pepper flakes. Place over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until garlic starts to sizzle. (Note: Don’t let garlic turn brown.) Add dandelion greens. Cook, stirring, for 15 seconds or until greens begin to wilt. Stir in lemon zest. Pour greens over chickpeas. Toss. Taste. Add a bit more salt if needed. Transfer to platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.
BLACKSTRAP PRALINE ICE CREAM
Each time I made one of the recipes for ice creams from “Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home,” I declared it my favorite. This is the latest. I used the organic Plantation brand blackstrap molasses, which I found at Cub in the natural-foods section. The coating from the molasses-shellacked pralines melts in the ice cream, creating pockets of flavor.
Makes about 1 quart.
Ice cream:
2 cups milk, divided use
4 teaspoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1-1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
Pralines:
1 cup pecans
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
1 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
To prep ingredients: In small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons milk with cornstarch to make a smooth slurry. Set aside. In medium bowl, whisk cream cheese and salt until smooth. Set aside. Fill large bowl with ice and water. Set aside.
To make hot milk mixture: In 4-quart saucepan, combine remaining milk, cream, sugar and molasses. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 4 minutes. (Note: Mixture may appear curdled from acidic molasses, but it will come back together in finished ice cream). Remove from heat. Gradually whisk in cornstarch slurry. Return to a boil. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat.
To chill: Gradually whisk hot milk mixture into cream cheese until smooth. Pour mixture into plastic bag. Seal. Submerge in bowl of ice water until chilled. (Note: Or pour mixture into container and refrigerate until chilled.)
To freeze ice cream: Pour chilled mixture into ice cream maker. Process, according to manufacturer’s instructions, for 20 to 25 minutes or until thick and creamy.
To make pralines: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On foil-lined baking sheet, combine pecans, brown sugar, molasses, butter and salt. Bake, stirring twice, for 14 minutes or until bubbly and dark. (Note: Nuts should look bubbly and somewhat dry.) Remove from oven. Cool completely, stirring nuts every couple of minutes to break them apart.
To store: Fold pralines into ice cream. Pack ice cream into storage container. Press sheet of parchment directly against surface. Seal with airtight lid. Freeze in coldest part of freezer for at least 4 hours or until firm.
- Kathie Jenkins
WINTER COUSCOUS
In his cookbook, “Plenty,” Ottolenghi says that when these recipes originally ran in the Guardian, someone complained about the long list of ingredients. But he knew the recipes were a success when a friend spotted it on the menu at a popular English restaurant. I made it and it does come together quickly and the end result looks just like the photo above.
Makes 4 or more servings.
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
8 shallots, peeled
2 cinnamon sticks
4 star anise
3 bay leaves
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
Salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon hot paprika
1/4 teaspoon chile flakes
2-1/2 cups cubed pumpkin or butternut squash (from 10-ounce squash)
1/2 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped
1 cup chickpeas (canned or freshly cooked)
1-1/2 cups chickpea cooking liquid and/or water
1 cup couscous
Large pinch of saffron
1 cup boiling vegetable stock
3 tablespoons butter, broken into pieces
2 tablespoons harissa
1 ounce preserved lemon, finely chopped
2 cups cilantro leaves
To roast vegetables: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place carrots, parsnips and shallots in large ovenproof dish. Add cinnamon sticks, star anise, bay leaves, 4 tablespoons oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, ginger, turmeric, paprika and chile flakes. Place in oven. Roast for 15 minutes. Add pumpkin. Stir. Return to oven. Roast for 35 minutes or until vegetables softened but still retain a bite.
To add apricots and chickpeas: Add apricots and chickpeas with their cooking liquid and/or water. Return to oven. Cook for 10 minutes or until hot.
To make couscous: Meanwhile, about 15 minutes before vegetables are cooked, place couscous in large heatproof bowl. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, saffron and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pour boiling stock over couscous. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let rest for 10 minutes. Add butter. Using fork, fluff couscous until butter melts. Cover. Keep warm.
To serve: Spoon couscous into deep plate or bowl. Stir harissa and preserved lemon into vegetables. Taste. Add salt if needed. Spoon vegetables onto center of couscous. Sprinkle with plenty of cilantro leaves.
Soup recipes with Bill & Sheila
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