Free time.
42: Put frying pan on burner / hotplate with heat at 40% of maximum.
Remove duck from oven. Transfer 2 tablespoons of duck fat from oven tray to frying pan.
45: Put 4 tablespoons of curry paste in the pan. Stir with wooden spoon.
47: Add coconut milk, fish sauce, lime leaves torn in half, beans, capsicum, and 150 ml of water. Stir.
Cut duck fillet in half crosswise, then into 1 cm slices along (previously) long dimension. Add duck to pan and stir.
Adjust temperature to maintain simmer.
62: Put rice on table.
Sprinkle coriander leaves over curry and serve. Advise diners to squeeze lime on their portions.
When guests are ready for dessert: heat barbecue grill to medium, put pineapple slices on, cook for 2 minutes each side, and serve.
VARIATIONS
Replace duck with chicken. You will not need to slash the skin to release fat, but in the absence of duck fat will need to use cooking oil or coconut oil sourced by separating coconut cream, which could be sourced from fresh coconut. If you are contemplating the latter option, you should consult a specialist Thai cookery book.
Add birds-eye chili or reconstituted dried chili at the same time as the beans (recommended).
Experiment with alternative brands of curry paste, and with red and green varieties.
Add a stalk of lemongrass cut into 5 cm lengths.
A variety of other vegetables can be added. I recommend baby corn, eggplant, and sweet potato (pre-boil in small pieces).
Roast a banana on the barbecue in its skin for 20 minutes and add to the curry just before serving.
Pineapple can be served raw rather than grilled. Or, after turning the pineapple over, pour 1/2 a tablespoon of dark rum on each slice (there will be flames).
COMMON RESOURCE MAINTENANCE: MINESTRONE SOUP
This recipe makes approximately 32 cups (16 serves) of soup, which can be frozen – enough for eight Friday meals for two. The quantity will fit in a 30 cm diameter x 12 1/2 cm high pot; if you are using a smaller pot, scale down.
However, minestrone is the world’s most relaxing (and potentially therapeutic and creativity-enhancing1) dish to prepare – routine work which does not require precision in timing or quantity2. You may wish to make it more frequently in smaller quantities and / or use the surplus for weekday lunches, as I do.
COMMON RESOURCES
300 g brown onions
3 carrots
3 cans tomatoes, 400g each
3 cans white beans3, 400g each
600 g green cabbage
500 g potatoes
6 cups chicken stock (see Common Resource Maintenance, below)
RECIPE-SPECIFIC INGREDIENTS
600 g zucchinis
300 g green beans
EQUIPMENT
Large enameled cast-iron pot
Freezer containers (to hold 2 serves of soup – 4 cups)
PROCESS
Time: minimum 6 hours, preferably longer, but you need to be present only for the first 40 minutes, and to terminate the cooking process and freeze soup.
Put 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in pot on burner / hotplate at 60% of maximum temperature. In sequence, prepare each of the vegetables as specified below, add to pot, and stir with wooden spoon. Timing is non-critical.
Onions – peel and cut into 1 cm cubes.
Carrots – peel and cut into discs 1/2 cm thick.
Zucchini – cut into discs 1/2 cm thick.
Green beans – cut off stringy ends and halve.
Potatoes – peel and cut into 2 cm cubes.
Cabbage – cut into 1 cm slices, which will then partially disintegrate (and compress).
Continue to cook for 15 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes.
Drain liquid from white beans and add to pot. Add tomatoes and stock.
Manage temperature to achieve and maintain simmer.
Leave to cook as long as practicable (I recommend turning it off 40 minutes before going to bed).
Turn off heat. Set timer for 5 minutes before bedtime. When timer sounds, freeze or refrigerate (see above).
COMMON RESOURCE MAINTENANCE: CHICKEN STOCK
In summer, autumn, and winter, since I do not have roast-chicken leftovers, I make stock using raw chicken. The negative is that the stock needs to be skimmed; the positive is that the recipe is totally scalable – the quantity is limited only by the capacity of your cooking pot(s) and freezer. Obviously, the frequency of replenishment will be inversely proportional to the batch quantity.
The stock will keep for 6 months in a refrigerator freezer. Do not store it in the refrigerator for more than 3 days without reheating – it is an excellent environment for breeding bacteria. Refer Spring Sunday for substitutes.
COMMON RESOURCES
4 brown onions
4 carrots
RECIPE-SPECIFIC INGREDIENTS
8 chicken carcasses (alternatively, 4 kg chicken wings)
EQUIPMENT
Largest available pot
Second-largest pot or largest bowl (whichever is larger), multiple if necessary, to hold strained stock
Large sieve
Freezer containers (to hold 2 cups each)
PROCESS
Time: minimum 5 hours, requiring occasional presence for scum skimming, plus later intervention to skim fat and freeze.
Put chicken carcasses in pot and press down to crush using hand or wooden spoon.
Peel onions and carrots.
Chop onions into quarters (or smaller) and carrots into 1 cm discs. Add to pot.
Pour cold water into pot to a level 5 cm above the top of the chicken carcasses.
Put pot on burner / hotplate on medium heat. Allow to boil; adjust heat to maintain simmer1.
Every 15 minutes for first hour, skim denatured protein (scum) from surface with small sieve. After first hour, reduce frequency to once every 30 minutes.
After minimum 4 hours: remove pot from heat and allow to cool.
An hour later: pour liquid through sieve into second pot or bowl. Refrigerate. Set timer for just before bedtime.
When timer sounds, skim fat from surface and discard. Distribute stock into freezing containers and freeze.
SUMMER MONDAY:
Greek Gazpacho; Barbecued-vegetable Ratatouille
Tonight’s meal is readily scaled up. I recommend that if you need to feed vegetarians, you schedule them for this day, move the piña-colada sorbet to today, and enjoy Tuesday’s lobster undisturbed.
Greek gazpacho is an idea from chef Jamie Oliver – brilliant use of leftovers and trivially simple to make.
Ratatouille is conventionally cooked in a pan with olive oil, but in summer I take advantage of opportunities to use the barbecue, thus establishing a second “happy place” for myself.
RECIPE-SPECIFIC INGREDIENTS: GREEK GAZPACHO
Leftover (“reserved”) salad from Saturday
COMMON RESOURCES: RATATOUILLE
1 large red onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp red-wine vinegar
1 lemon (zest only)
RECIPE-SPECIFIC INGREDIENTS: RATATOUILLE
1 eggplant (400 g)
350 g zucchinis
1 yellow and 2 red capsicums
1/4 bunch of basil leaves, with stalks
300 g cherry tomatoes (or conventional tomato)
EQUIPMENT
Enameled cast-iron pot
3 bowls
Bowl for refrigerating capsicum
Blender
PROCESS
Time: approximately 100 minutes.
Activate the barbecue (direct heat, 220 degrees – lid on).
Peel onion and cut in half.
When barbecue is heated, put onion and all other vegetables except cherry tomatoes on the grill, whole.
Put cherry tomatoes on flat barbecue plate or in a foil dish (to avoid them falling through the grill).
When tomatoes begin to shrivel and spurt juice (from 4 to 20 minutes, depending on cooking circumstances – log for future reference), transfer them to the bowl.
Turn vegetables to achieve 90% blackness on skin of capsicums and appearance of “cooked” for remaining vegetables (28 minutes), and process them as described below. Turn off barbecue.
Cut onion into 8 pieces and put in bowl.
Cut zucchini into 2 1/2 cm discs and put in bowl.
Cut eggplant in half and pull out flesh without breaking up. Cut each piece lengthwise, then crosswise to create cubes. Put in bowl.
Allow capsicums to cool (15 minutes, depending on your tolerance of heat / pain).
Peel capsicums with fingers, cut in half, and discard core and water.
Cut a red capsicum into 2 cm strips; put in bowl; cover with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of red-wine vinegar. Stir, cover, and refrigerate.
Cut remaining capsicums into 2 1/2 cm squares; add to bowl with onions, zucchini, and eggplant.
Tear basil leaves from stalks. Chop stalks into tiny pieces (30 seconds chopping).
Peel and chop garlic (1 minute chopping).
Put pot on burner / hotplate and set temperature to 40% of maximum. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the basil stalks, and the garlic. Fry for 6 minutes.
Add contents of the bowl to the pot, plus 1/2 a teaspoon of salt, 8 turns of the pepper grinder, and 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.
Put lid on pot and adjust heat to simmer for 30 minutes (non-critical).
When ready to eat the Greek gazpacho: put leftover Greek salad in blender with 8 small ice cubes. Blend until smooth. Serve.
When ready to eat the ratatouille: zest a lemon (put remaining lemon in refrigerator for future juicing). Add basil leaves (torn into smaller pieces if very large) and lemon zest on top of ratatouille, and serve.
VARIATIONS
This is a vegan, gluten-free recipe. The former is easily rectified, since the barbecue is already required. Simply add meat of your choice, barbecued as recommended, while the pot is simmering. I recommend merguez sausages or some other form of lamb. Other diners can choose whether they want this addition; the ratatouille can function as a main dish or a side dish. You may want to reduce the quantity.
Jamie Oliver, whose recipe provided the excellent idea of the lemon zest and basil, recommends serving the ratatouille with rice. I disagree – but he is a professional, so you should try it, possibly experimenting with different forms of rice.
SUMMER TUESDAY:
Grilled Figs; Lobster Salad; Cheese and Crackers; Piña-colada Sorbet
Guest night. Quantity for four people.
Recommended cocktail: pink-grapefruit margarita.
Recommended wine: oak-aged sauvignon blanc.
The lobster1 salad, based on a recipe by Melbourne chef Teage Ezard (inventor of numerous delicious but complex dishes), is a longstanding component of the Standardized Meal System: I served it to Rosie on our first “date.” This version has been vastly simplified, primarily through the use of pre-cooked lobster – which may be unavoidable, as live lobsters are difficult to source. This approach also eliminates the risk of traumatic (but conversation-provoking) encounters between guests and their dinner.
Even dead lobster is expensive and the amount specified is the minimum for four persons. Large prawns (shrimp), cooked and peeled, are an excellent alternative. Monkfish is known as “poor man’s lobster” and on that basis would seem to be an obvious substitute. Or (refer Variants) you can substitute a cheaper grilled protein and serve the salad “on the side.”
For the grapefruit margarita, add an equal quantity2 of freshly squeezed pink-grapefruit juice to the standard margarita recipe (refer Spring Tuesday). You can top the drink with soda if you or guests prefer it, or if the weather is hot. The drink can then be called a paloma.
COMMON RESOURCES: GRILLED FIGS
Balsamic vinegar
RECIPE-SPECIFIC INGREDIENTS: GRILLED FIGS
4 large or 8 small figs
8 slices prosciutto
COMMON RESOURCES: LOBSTER SALAD
Salad ingredients:
100 g somen noodles
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 tbsp hazelnut oil
1 tbsp tobiko (flying fish roe, frozen product)
1 sheet nori (or 1/2 tbsp green nori sprinkle)
1/2 lemon
Dressing ingredients:
1 egg (yolk only required – I use the white to make a pisco sour to drink while making the salad)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
40 ml Japanese rice-wine vinegar
2 tsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
150 ml peanut oil
1/2 tbsp dried dashi
2 tbsp dried bonito flakes
1/2 lemon (other 1/2 specified in salad ingredients)
RECIPE-SPECIFIC INGREDIENTS: LOBSTER SALAD
1 1/2 kg whole Australian crayfish, cooked, or equivalent lobster, langoustine, or tails of any of these (There is considerable inedible weight in a whole crustacean – in fact, if you are unconcerned about cost, you can double the amount of lobster specified. It will almost certainly be consumed, though you can probably omit the cheese and crackers. If using an alternative sea creature, or tails, seek fishmonger’s advice on “how much per person in a salad”.)
1 head witlof (Belgian endive / chicory)
1 large mango
1 large avocado or 2 small avocados
COMMON RESOURCES: CHEESE AND CRACKERS
Crackers
RECIPE-SPECIFIC INGREDIENTS: CHEESE AND CRACKERS
Cheese
COMMON RESOURCES: PIÑA-COLADA SORBET
Simple syrup, if needed (standard resource in the cocktail maker’s fridge – refer Autumn Tuesday)
RECIPE-SPECIFIC INGREDIENTS: PIÑA-COLADA SORBET
200 g frozen pineapple chunks (frozen on Saturday)
150 ml coconut milk (remainder of can saved from Sunday)
EQUIPMENT
Toothpicks
Serving plates for figs and salad
Scissors for cutting lobster carapace (feasible with a knife)
Kettle
Sieve
Blender or food processor
3 bowls (rinse between uses)
Salad bowl
Lemon squeezer
Platter for serving
Small bowl for serving dressing
Chopping board or plate for serving cheese
PROCESS
Time: 31 minutes preparation (after practice). Minimal time for other tasks.
Start early. The goal is to prepare the figs for cooking and the lobster salad in its entirety before guests arrive (as with any new process, the first time will take much longer). With most of the work done, you will be free to participate in interesting conversations, demonstrate barbecuing confidence, and drink alcohol (optional) with minimal pressure.
Prepare the somen noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Add the peanut oil, toss to coat, and put in refrigerator to cool.
If using large figs, cut them in half lengthwise. Wrap a slice of prosciutto around each fig / half and secure with a toothpick. Figs are “ready to go.”
Dissolve the dashi and the bonito flakes in 1 tablespoon of recently boiled water to form a paste. Put in refrigerator.
Extract the crayfish / lobster meat. This is a messy job. You should wear an apron (or clothes that you can wash immediately afterwards – change before dinner).
You may want to watch an instructional video on the internet before disassembling a lobster for the first time. Essentially, you need to break off all legs and claws from the body (diners will crack claws and extract the meat themselves), twist the tail off, use scissors to cut the white side of the shell lengthwise, and extract the white “tail” flesh in a single piece. Pull out the thin intestinal tract, which will be within the “head” end of the tail meat.
Wash flesh (the lobster’s and your own) to remove tomalley1
(greenish-brown paste that serves as liver and pancreas). Put lobster legs and claws in a bowl; cover and refrigerate. Do not put discarded lobster components in the garbage bin unless it is bin-collection night. It is summer, and they will rapidly decompose and smell terrible. Put in a plastic bag and freeze until bin night.
The messy work is over. A good time to separate the egg and make a pisco sour.
Cut off the base of the witlof and pull the leaves off. Slice each leaf lengthwise into 1/2 cm strips, put in salad bowl, add hazelnut oil, and toss to mix.
Make the dressing:
Add egg yolk, mustard, vinegar, and kecap manis to the dashi-bonito paste, and use blender or food processor (preferably) to puree. Still blending / processing, slowly add the peanut oil, very slowly at first, then faster until the mixture thickens (you will be familiar with the generic mayonnaise process and repair procedure if you have made Autumn Saturday Dinner; if not, check that day’s instructions).
Transfer to a bowl and squeeze the half-lemon in. Stir to mix. Refrigerate.
Slice the lobster tail into 1 1/2 cm discs (plus some untidy remnants) and put in a bowl.
Extract the flesh from the mango and the avocado, and chop into 2 cm cubes. Squeeze the remaining half-lemon over the avocado. Add mango and avocado cubes to the salad bowl. Add the somen noodles. Refrigerate.
If you are using a nori sheet rather than green nori sprinkle, chop the nori sheet into thirds, then each third into 1/2 cm strips 1/3 the length of the original sheet. Breakage is acceptable. Lobster salad is (almost) “ready to go.”
Remove cheese from refrigerator.
When guests arrive:
Activate barbecue grill (medium-high). I recommend the gas grill rather than preparing a charcoal fire for such a small task.
When grill is hot, put figs over direct heat. Monitor – they cook quickly.
After 2 minutes (or earlier, if prosciutto shows signs of burning), turn figs over.
After 2 minutes more (or earlier, if prosciutto shows signs of burning), transfer from grill to plate and extinguish grill.
Pour 1/2 a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar over each fig half and serve.
When ready to serve the lobster salad:
Pour over half of the dressing into the salad bowl and mix “gently.” Put surplus dressing on table.
Tip the contents of the salad bowl onto the serving platter. Add the lobster pieces on top. Distribute the nori sheet or “sprinkle” on top of the salad. Sprinkle the tobiko on top. Put the lobster legs and claws on the platter beside the salad. Serve.
Don Tillman's Standardized Meal System Page 5
