Second Breakfast

This is a recipe my husband asked me to make after watching Mario Batali make it on his Molto Mario show.  Although Alan insists that Mario is my culinary nemesis (based on some offhand comment I made years ago…he has the memory of an elephant for these things), actually Mario’s philosophy on food has somewhat informed my own in that I try to cook based on what’s local, good, and in-season, and try to get the best quality I can afford for food.  I also cook mostly from scratch because its healthier and not that much harder.

This is essentially a risotto with peas and prosciutto, I made a couple of small changes based on practicality and our own preferences, and the recipe on food.com doesn’t actually quite reflect the cooking technique.

The result is quite satisfying, and well-balanced between the sweetness of the peas and the smoky/savory flavor of the pork.

Items

• 4 TB olive oil, or 2TB olive oil and 2TB bacon fat (yum!)
• 3oz prosciutto crudo (that is, the dried-cured ham available at most delis), sliced very thin,and cut into 1/2″ pieces
• 2 stalks celery, finely diced
• 4 shallots, finely chopped
  
• 12 oz (1.5 cups) aborio rice
• 48 oz (6 cups) chicken stock, brought to just under the boil (I like Kitchen Basics chicken stock for this, as it is a lot richer in flavor than, say, Swanson’s Organic stock.  I don’t make my own, are you kidding?)
• 2 cups of freshly-shelled peas, or 2 cups frozen baby peas (they’re sweeter I think), thawed
  
• 4 TB butter
• 1oz (1 cup) freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Method

1. Heat/melt the fat over medium heat in a large chef’s pan.  Sautee the prosciutto, shallots, and celery for 8-10 minutes, making sure that the mixture is very soft but not brown.
2. Add the rice, and cook, stirring, for two minutes.
3. Add enough of the stock to cover the rice, turn the heat up to high until it boils, and immediately turn down to low, just enough heat to keep the rice simmering but not boiling. The point here is to minimize the damage to the outer bran of the rice kernel, yielding a firmer grain with less “creaminess” in the final dish.  This is all about texture.  If you want a really creamy risotto turn up the heat.
4. Keep adding the broth in 1/2 cup increments to keep the rice just submerged in the liquid, stirring often.  Taste the rice for doneness at 15 minutes.  It should start to have softened but still be a bit hard.
5. Add the peas, and continue stirring and cooking for another 5 minutes.  The rice should be al dente:  not overcooked, with a bit of bite to it without being hard.  If not done, add a bit more stock (or water if you have to), and keep cooking, but 20 minutes is typically how long rice takes to cook.
6. Add at least 1 Tsp of salt and a few grinds of pepper, or to taste.
7. Add the butter, stir to combine, and add most of the cheese reserving a bit for serving on top of the rice at the end.

Serves 6.

I’ve had a rather busy summer.  As usual, every weekend has gotten booked with (fun) plans of various kinds, and a rather significant work project has finally come to fruition.  In this midst of all of this activity I’ve had little time to keep up here.

I’ve become increasingly interested in the whole idea of local foods, both because of the environmental benefits, and just the notion of combatting the increasing homogenization of our food and culture.  So every Saturday I can I trundle down to our local farmer’s market and buy what’s fresh and good.  Since its August, that means zucchini, and there’s more of the bright green and yellow squash than anyone could possibly know what to do with.

Here’s one suggestion. This is based on a modified version of a recipe I found at Epicurious.com, with my own simplifications.

Items

• 2 large zucchini, halved lengthwise, seeds and pulp scooped out to 1/3″ thickness
• 3/4 lb ground chuck (not too lean)
• 1/2 cup long grain white rice
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3-4 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3 tsp salt
• few grinds of black pepper
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
• 1 tsp ground allspice

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Halve the zucchini lengthwise, scoop out the pulp with a spoon, leaving 1/3″ or so as the hull of your little boats.
3. Saute the onion in a little olive oil for 5-6 minutes, then add the garlic, and saute another minute.  Remove from heat and let cool for a couple of minutes.
4. Take half the onion and put it in a separate bowl.  Add the rice, 2 tsp of the salt, allspice, and a few grinds of black pepper.  Mix thoroughly with your hands, and spoon into your zucchini.  Place the  zucchini in a 9×13″ glass baking dish.
5. Bring the remaining onion back to the heat.  Add the tomato paste and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, stock, remaining salt, red pepper flakes, and some more black pepper, and cook for 6-8 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
6. Pour sauce over zucchini, and cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Cook in the oven at 350F for an hour. Remove foil and finish under the broiler, spooning the sauce over the zucchini a couple of times to keep from drying out.  The dish is done when the rice are tender.

Serve with hommous and toasted pita wedges.  Serves 4.

We had something akin to this at Eve (the Restaurant) and I thought it represented a perfectly-balanced adult beverage.

Items

• 2 oz premium vodka (Grey Goose is a nice choice)
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp sugar (simple syrup is probably better but I’m going to make this at home)
• two thin slices of fresh cucumber

Method

1. Shake one slice of cucumber with the sugar, vodka, and lemon juice in a shaker with a handful of ice.
2. Strain into a chilled martini glass.
3. Serve with the remaining slice of cucumber floating in the glass.
4. Share and enjoy.

One thing that I love about living in Chelsea, MI is that we have a great little community of folks who grow and sell organic produce, meat, flowers, and other good stuff. So most every Saturday I get up a little early and head down to the Bushel Basket Market on Park Street right outside Jeff Daniels’ Purple Rose Theater.

My favorite producer there is Tantre Farm, and Alan and I feast on their bounty from May through November. I considered buying a share in their harvest, but our ability to process and store food is somewhat limited (no big freezer in the basement), so I’ve held off on that commitment. They grow fabulous heirloom varieties of tomatoes (stuff you’ll never find in the grocery store as they’re way too fragile to survive the rigors of industrial agriculture and long travel). Spring is asparagus season, and as much as we love asparagus, it is possible to overdo it (my husband asked me for a respite this week).

One thing I’ve seen at the market several times but haven’t used until now is garlic scapes, which are the green, curly tops of the garlic plant. I bought a bunch for a buck, and took them home and made a simple pesto out of them. The color is beautiful, and the flavor is savory and garlicky, but without the intense metallic bite that one associates with raw garlic. This works beautifully on pasta, or as a spread for bread or crackers. There are lots of recipes out there, but this one is mine.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Items

• One bunch of garlic scapes (about 8 stems), washed and cut into thirds
• Handful of pine nuts (1/4 cup, maybe 2oz)
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (or Peocorino Romano, or your favorite hard, dry grating cheese)
• About 4oz extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp lemon zest, or a few drops of lemon oil

Method

1. Add the scapes to the food processor and pulse a few times until chopped. Add the pine nuts and process for a few more pulses.
2. Remove the lid and add the cheese, salt, pepper, and lemon zest or oil.
3. Put the lid back on and turn on low and process.
4. Drizzle the oil in slowly with the motor running. You’ll see the pesto tighten up as the first of the oil goes in, then loosen up into a smooth paste as you continue to add oil. Add enough oil to get to the texture you’d like.
5. Test for seasoning and adjust to taste.

Makes about a cup of pesto, which is enough for a pound of pasta (thinned with a little of the pasta water) and a bit leftover for some bread the next day. This would double or triple easily, but you may want to pay attention to the salt and oil and adjust as needed.

Alan and I are big fans of Iron Chef America, and Steingarten is one of the regular judges on the show. Steingarten is often paired with Queer Eye’s Ted Allen, and their mutual annoyance with one another adds spice to an already entertaining affair.

Steingarten himself is a Harvard-trained lawyer turned food writer for Vogue, and the book is a collection of his erudite and witty essays, mostly from the late 80s and mid 90s. He’s a very fine essayist, and his ironic humor pervades these little essays on topics such as how to make the perfect pie crust, finding the best barbeque in America, fruitcakes, and my favorite, the essay on the artificial oil Olestra, titled “A Fat of No Consequence”.

A taste (not for the faint of heart):

The [...] current version of Olestra has been manufactured to stay quite thick at room temperature — it looks something like Vaseline until it is headted– which is why [Proctor & Gamble] always demonstrates Olestra melted.

Why did they formulate Olestra this way? Because the early, more liquid versions caused gastrointestinal problems. One of these–”anal seepage”, or, in my preference, “passive oil loss”–occurs when fully liquid Olestra separates from the food with which it was cooked and slips along the inner walls of people’s intestines, bypassing everything in its way. Drops of Olestra show up on their underwear or floating in their toilets. (The FDA actually abbreviates this as OIT, or “oil in toilet”).

There are some wonderfully laugh-out-loud moments throughout, and some useful tips and recipes and I’d definitely like to try.