Six Seasons
Page 4
I prefer buying olives with their pits intact because I find it soothing to scoot out the pit by simply crushing one under my thumb or against the bottom of a small bowl. Hats off to the person who invented the olive bar at the grocery store; that’s my go-to source for olives.
Capers
I prefer salt-packed capers to brined because you can taste more of the fruity, slightly vegetal caper and less of the brine. Salt-packed capers need nurturing to remove excess salt. Rinse and then soak in a few changes of cool water, tasting at each step until the salt balance is to your liking.
You’ll sometimes find brined capers in grocery store olive bars, which is an economical way to buy them. Salt-packed capers are more often in the condiment aisle of a good grocery store, or you may buy them online.
Storage Store olives and capers in the refrigerator in their brine and they’ll last for weeks. Salt-packed capers are happy to be on the shelf before being opened and in the fridge afterward.
Go-To Recipes
I use these recipes throughout the book to enhance, support, texturize, blend with, and otherwise collaborate with fresh vegetables to make wonderful dishes. A few hours spent cooking on a quiet Sunday will let you load your fridge or cupboard with some of these components, making executing an amazing midweek dinner both possible and fun. Many are also freezable, so you can consume them over time, but you’ll find that most are so delightfully versatile that you’ll easily incorporate them into meals. We share a few ideas to get you started.
CRUNCHY THINGS
Torn Croutons
There is no need to cut croutons into perfect little squares! Just tear the bread—it’s easier and more fun, and most important, the croutons taste better because they have lots of raggedy edges that get crisp, and even slightly burnt. And stop cutting the crust off the loaf; the crust gives you more flavor, more texture.
What you don’t want are hard croutons. You always want a little bit of chew in the center, not on every single one, but every third one at least; the lack of uniformity helps this. You also want the croutons to absorb the juices from vegetables, the extra-virgin olive oil, the vinaigrettes . . . All that flavor is carried into the crouton better through the torn edges.
» Makes about 2 cups
2 large, thick slices country loaf (about 4 ounces)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oven to 400°F.
Tear the bread, crust and all, into bite-size pieces. Toss the torn bread with the olive oil and a light sprinkling of salt and pepper.
Spread the croutons on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake until golden brown, checking every 4 to 5 minutes and moving the outside croutons to the center of the pan so they cook evenly. Don’t let them get rock hard; leave a little bit of chew in the center. The total baking time will depend on the type and density of bread you’re using, but mostly likely will be 10 to 20 minutes.
Slide onto paper towels to absorb any extra oil and season again lightly with salt and pepper.
Store the croutons in an airtight container. (Be sure to make more than you need for your recipe because you’ll find yourself eating these as a snack.)
Dried Breadcrumbs
I use breadcrumbs for extra texture and flavor. Make a big batch and store them in your pantry, ready to finish a pasta, salad, gratin . . . anything that wants a toasty crunch.
» Quantity is up to you
The better the bread, the better the crumbs; I like whole grain. Cut the bread into ½-inch-thick slices, leaving the crust on. Cut the slices into cubes and then spread them in an even layer on a baking sheet (or more than one pan, if making a lot; a 12-ounce loaf should fit onto one pan).
Heat the oven to its lowest setting, usually about 250°F. Bake the cubes until they are fully dry, but not browned. This could take an hour or more, depending on the bread’s moisture and density.
Cool fully and then process into crumbs by pulsing in a food processor. The goal is small crumbs more or less the same size, though some bigger ones are fine—think Grape-Nuts. You want to avoid too much fine powder, however, so stop once or twice and pour off the finer crumbs or shake through a colander and then continue to crush the remaining big pieces.
Store the crumbs in an airtight container. If fully dry, they’ll stay fresh for a few weeks.
Brined and Roasted Almonds
These are the best almonds ever, period. I learned to make these while working in Rome at the American Academy; it has become a staple in my pantry. You can easily scale up the quantities, but the more nuts, the more steam in the oven, and therefore the longer you’ll need to cook them.
» Makes about 1½ cups
1 cup water
⅓ cup kosher salt
1½ cups raw skin-on almonds (8 ounces)
Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan. Add the salt and stir to dissolve. Add the almonds to the hot brine, remove from the heat, and let them soak for 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 375°F.
Drain the almonds thoroughly and spread them evenly in a single layer on a baking sheet (use two sheets if you need to).
Roast until they are lightly toasted and fragrant, about 12 minutes. Take one out to test by biting into it—the interior should be a light brown, almost the color of a paper bag. The nuts will still be soft at this stage, but once completely cooled they will be very crunchy and nicely salty.
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks (if you don’t eat them all sooner).
Toasted Nuts and Seeds
You can toast nuts and seeds a number of ways—in the oven, in a dry skillet, with high heat or low heat (or brined and roasted)—but in all cases, your goal is to go from raw, bland, and soft to fragrant and crunchy (pine nuts will stay slightly soft even when toasted). The color should be just a few shades darker than the raw nut or seed and should be even, not simply dark around the edges.
» Quantity is up to you
Heat the oven to 350°F.
Spread the nuts or seeds on a pan in a single layer. For a small quantity, a pie plate is good; for more, use a rimmed baking sheet.
Bake until you smell the nuttiness and the color is deepening slightly, 6 to 8 minutes for most whole nuts. Pine nuts will toast quickly, as will chopped or slivered nuts, and because of their small size, seeds cook the most quickly, so check early and often.
When the nuts or seeds are done, transfer them to a plate so they don’t keep cooking on the hot baking pan. Determining doneness can be tricky, because the final texture won’t develop until they’re cool, so at this stage, you’re mostly concerned with color and flavor. To be safe, take them from the oven, let cool, taste one, and if not done enough, pop them back into the oven.
Frico
Fricos are cheese crisps from the Friuli region of Italy. They’re traditionally made with Montasio cheese, but I make them with Parmigiano-Reggiano. The cheese gets baked and then cooled, at which point it becomes very fragile and crisp. I like them simply in their flat, natural shape, but some people like to drape them over a rolling pin to give them a curved “tuile” shape. I’ll add fricos to vegetable salads, either whole or broken into shards.
If you underbake the fricos, they will be more leathery than crisp. But of course if you overbake them, they’ll be bitter, so pay close attention during the final minutes. If you have extra cheese, you could bake a test frico first. Have fun with them—just remember they shatter easily!
» Makes 4 large lacy wafers
1 cup freshly shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (if possible, use a rasp-style grater with large holes)
Heat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper, or use a nonstick baking sheet.
Mound the cheese in 4 evenly spaced piles. Using your finger or a fork, spread each
pile out to a thin, even layer about 4 inches across.
Bake until the cheese has melted and is bubbling slightly and just starting to turn light brown, 6 to 9 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool for a few seconds to let the fricos set, then slide them off the baking sheet with a very thin spatula. Let them cool completely on a rack. You can make these ahead and store in an airtight tin, layered between paper towels.
More ways:
→Serve as an accompaniment to a cheese course.
→Break up and scatter on leafy salads.
→Offer as a snack with Champagne.
From left: Cacio e pepe, watercress, pickled vegetable, alla diavola, green garlic, and mushroom butters
CREAMY THINGS
Alla Diavola Butter
The Italians have a few dishes they refer to as alla diavola, which means “devil style”—in other words, spicy as hell. In this butter, I bring together layers of not just heat but all kinds of good chile and pepper flavors. You can adjust up or down, depending on how intense you like your heat.
» Makes 1 heaping cup
½ pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon dried chile flakes
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup finely chopped seeded pepperoncini (patted dry on paper towels after chopping)
1 tablespoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco
Fold all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula and pile into whatever container you want to serve or save it in. Chill the butter for at least 1 hour to firm it up and to let the flavors marry and permeate the butter.
More ways:
→ Stuff in the center of a chicken breast and roast.
→ Swirl into a tomato soup.
→ Smear over grilled skirt or flank steak.
In the kitchen A neat option is to spoon the butter in a line onto a sheet of parchment or waxed paper and roll it into a neat cylinder. Wrap that up well in plastic or pop into a freezer bag and freeze until you’re ready to use it. Then just slice off however much you need and keep the rest in the freezer.
At the market Smoked paprika is brilliant and should be in everyone’s pantry. You’ll find it in most well-stocked grocery stores now. It comes in sweet (dulce); semisweet, meaning medium hot (agridulce); and hot and spicy (picante).
Butters on a flank steak: Watercress, pickled vegetable, and mushroom
Cacio e Pepe Butter
The inspiration for this butter comes from the classic Roman pasta dish of spaghetti with Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper. I put those two ingredients—plus some Parmigiano to mellow the bite of the pecorino a bit—into a butter, which you can keep in your fridge for weeks. Photograph
» Makes about 1½ cups
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
¾ cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese
¾ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
½ pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
Put the peppercorns in a small skillet and toast over medium heat, shaking the pan or stirring constantly to toast the pepper evenly, just until you begin to smell a black pepper perfume, 2 to 3 minutes, depending on your skillet. Pour the pepper into another container and let cool completely.
Crack and grind the pepper, either in a spice grinder (or a coffee grinder you dedicate to spices) or with a mortar and pestle. It’s nice to have uneven consistency, from fine to coarse.
Fold the pepper and both cheeses into the butter with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula and pile into whatever container you want to serve or save it in. Chill the butter for at least 1 hour to firm it up and to let the flavors marry and permeate the butter.
More ways:
→ Fold into hot brown rice or quinoa.
→ Drop a big spoonful onto pasta, spring peas, or smashed potatoes.
→ Toss with simple pasta, like spaghetti or angel hair.
→ Top a filet mignon.
→ Gild the top of an omelet with a slick of the butter.
Green Garlic Butter
Green garlic is the immature garlic plant before the bulb fully develops into separate cloves. It looks a lot like a thick scallion or spring onion, but the flavor is stronger and more, well, garlicky. You could make this same style of butter with garlic scapes (which are the curly green shoots that the garlic plant produces in early spring—catch them while they are still tender and young, or they’ll be unpleasantly woody), scallions, or spring onions. Photograph
½ pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 bunch green garlic (about 6 stalks), trimmed, including ½ inch off the green tops, cut crosswise into very thin slices
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Melt a spoonful of the butter in a skillet, add the sliced green garlic and the salt, and cook over medium-low heat. You want to soften both the texture and the intense flavor but you don’t want to brown the garlic at all; this should take around 10 minutes.
Let cool and then fold this into the rest of the butter using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, and pile into whatever container you want to serve or save it in. Chill the butter for at least 1 hour to firm it up and to let the flavors marry and permeate the butter.
More ways:
→ Serve with raw radishes and coarse salt.
→ Smear on good bread and toast to make the best garlic bread.
→ Toss with sautéed sugar snaps or snow peas.
Mushroom Butter
This butter is a bit more complicated than the other compound butters in this book, but it’s a great use of mushroom stems. It’s also a nice way to preserve an in-season wild mushroom. I make the basic version using the stems and trimmings from mushrooms, which makes it more economical. Stockpile the stems in the freezer until you’re ready to use them in this butter or vegetable stocks. Photograph
» Makes 1 heaping cup
About 2 cups mushroom stems and trimmings, preferably wild mushrooms, wiped to remove any grit or debris
1 garlic clove, smashed and peeled
1 sprig thyme
½ pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
½ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
¼ teaspoon dried chile flakes
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Put the mushrooms in a medium saucepan. Add the garlic, thyme, and water to cover by ½ inch. Bring to a simmer and cook until you sense that all the mushroom flavor has leached into the water (do a taste test), about 1 hour. Strain the mushroom cooking liquid into a bowl (discard the solids).
Return the mushroom liquid to the pan and simmer to reduce it to a glaze, about 2 tablespoons.
Cool the mushroom glaze and then blend it into the softened butter along with the parsley, rosemary, chile flakes, and salt, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, and pile into whatever container you want to serve or save it in. Chill the butter for at least 1 hour to firm it up and to let the flavors marry and permeate the butter.
Double-Mushroom Butter
To make the butter more mushroomy—and a fantastic topping for a steak—toss ½pound mushrooms with a glug of olive oil and roast in a 400°F oven until they are shriveled and concentrated in flavor, about 20 minutes, depending on the size and moisture content of the mushrooms. Let cool and then finely chop (you should have about ½ cup). Fold that into the mushroom butter along with the mushroom glaze and seasonings.
More ways (for either of the butters):
→ Use to scramble eggs, finish with fresh chives.
→ Spread on a grilled, sliced rib-eye steak.
→ Swirl into creamy polenta.
Pickl
ed Vegetable Butter
Stay away from bread-and-butter pickles and the other basic cucumber-based pickles. Focus instead on a mix of vegetable pickles—such as carrots, green beans, fennel, radish, turnips, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts—which will give you more flavor and complexity. If you like heat, you can add some pickled peppers to the mix. Photograph
» Makes about 1½ cups
About 1 cup drained roughly chopped mixed pickled vegetables
½ pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
Drain the pickles and blot on paper towels. Put them in a food processor and pulse until fairly fine (you can do this with a knife if you like), but don’t puree them.
Fold the chopped pickles into the softened butter using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula and pile into whatever container you want to serve or save it in. Chill the butter for at least 1 hour to firm it up and to let the flavors marry and permeate the butter.
More ways:
→ Pair with raw vegetables on a crudité platter.
→ Spread on the inside of your bread when making a grilled cheese sandwich.
→ Top a piece of steamed cod or halibut.
Watercress Butter
I like the peppery spice of watercress, but any herb or tender green with personality would be delicious in this type of compound butter. Photograph
» Makes about 1½ cups
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
½ pound unsalted butter, at room temperature