Baby Beets, Braised Beet Greens and Horseradish: Two Ways

I read a New York Times article earlier this summer about beet greens and how it’s so tragic when people ask the farmer stalls to cut off the tops to take up less room in the bag.  The article’s author suggested chopping the greens up and serving them as a salad, but personally, I find them too tough and bitter to eat raw.  However, when lightly braised, the stems and leaves get completely tender and taste like a cross between swiss chard and kale.  Horseradish is a natural pairing for beets, with an acidic spicy kick to contrast their sweet, earthy flavor.  Beets are a vegetable that require some work to prepare but they hold up well for a few days once cooked, so make a couple bunches at a time and try both of these delicious dishes for the work of one.

Horseradish Crusted Salmon with Beets and Potatoes

Smoked Trout and Beet Salad with Horseradish Vinaigrette

Soft-shell Crabs Meunière with Fava Beans and Polenta

In honor of Mothers’ Day this year, I decided to make one of the first dishes my mother taught me: Soft-shell Crabs à la Meunière (“in the style of the miller’s wife”, or dredged in flour).  It was around the time Disney released The Little Mermaid and unlike most children, who would probably have sided with the crabs, I began singing the crazy French chef’s song, “Les Poissons”, while cleaning them with kitchen shears.  Though soft-shells are quite possibly my favorite food, the peak season is painfully short, from late April to mid-July, when blue crabs shed their shells to start their summer growth.

Choosing soft-shells requires close attention; most importantly, they should be alive, medium size (3.5”-4.5”), with supple skin (not “leather-backs”), and two claws.  Normally your fishmonger will clean the crabs for you, but if you are not planning to cook them within a few hours, they are best stored live, refrigerated in an open container, covered with a damp paper towel.  Cooking is a breeze—just coat in well-seasoned flour, shake off the excess, and sauté in a hot pan with olive oil and lemon slices until golden; finish with a touch of butter and parsley, et voila! Seasonal perfection.

Difficulty:  Moderate

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cups Chicken Stock

2 cups Milk + 2 cups for soaking crabs (optional)

Sea Salt & Esplette

1 cup Polenta

2 Tbsp. minced Chives or 2 Green Onions

2 lbs. Fava beans, removed from pods*

8 medium Soft-shell Crabs (3.5”-4.5”)

¾ cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp. Mousa spice blend (optional)

1/8 tsp. Cayenne or ½ tsp. Esplette

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Lemons, 8-¼” thick slices and the rest for juice

2 Tbsp Butter, divided

1 Tbsp. chopped Parsley

Technique:

• Polenta: In a medium pot, bring chicken stock and milk to a boil, season with ½ tsp. sea salt and gradually add polenta.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 35 minutes, stirring frequently, until grains are thoroughly tender.  Season to taste with salt & ½ tsp. Esplette; cover and hold warm.

• Right before serving, check consistency (add a touch more milk if too thick) and stir in chives or green onions.

• Fava beans: Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and add fava beans.  For larger beans, cook for 1 minute, then chill quickly in ice water.  Cut off the tip of the bean on the thicker side and squeeze it out of the shell.  Set aside.

o *Tip: When buying fava beans, select the widest pods available to yield larger beans for less prep work. Make sure they are firm and fresh looking, not soft and flexible.

• Crabs: Rinse live soft-shells in cold water and with a pair of sharp scissors, cut off the front ¼” of the crab (including the eye sockets).  Pick up the flaps from the tips on either side of the crab and trim off the gills/lungs.  Turn the crab over and remove the flap under the belly.

o (Optional) Add cleaned crabs to a bowl and cover with milk if you are not cooking them right away.  This will tenderize the shells and remove any bitterness.

• In a small container, combine flour with spices and ½ tsp salt.  Lightly pat crabs with paper towels, but leave them damp enough for flour to adhere to their shells.  Heat a large sauté pan on medium high and add 2T olive oil.  Dredge the crabs in the flour one at a time, and shake off the excess.

• Add crabs to the pan, belly side up, and arrange lemon slices around them.  Cook until golden, 3-4 minutes, turn and repeat.  Add 1 ½T butter in small pieces throughout the pan, along with lemon juice and parsley.  Place a browned lemon slice on each crab and remove to a warm serving dish next to the polenta.

• Add the remaining ½T butter to the pan and swirl around with fava beans until hot (10-15 seconds).  Season with salt & pepper, and serve over the hot polenta.

**I also love to eat soft-shells for breakfast with scrambled eggs, a tradition started in my mother’s family.  Soft-shells are best as soon as they split & shed their shell (before it starts getting hard again, aka. “leather-backs”), so the idea is to catch them in the bay right before they molt.  They would keep them in a pen, which my grandfather built in the shallow water in front of their beach house, and in the morning the children would run out and see how many were ready to eat for breakfast!  Brilliant 😉

Spicy Grilled Calamari with Lemon, Baby Arugula & Fennel Salad

Mezzaluna is an Italian trattoria and true neighborhood gem around the corner from my apartment where I often go with family to enjoy a casual meal.  As soon as we sit down, I pre-order the grilled calamari since it’s a popular item and I prefer to get the disappointment out of the way if they’ve run out.  Finally the other day, as I was eating yet another plate of the chili-spiced squids, Dr. France asked me why I hadn’t made this favorite dish at home.  So last night I picked some up from the market and continued my current trend of the ‘zip-lock marinade & grill’ technique.  This recipe utilizes a mix of standard Mediterranean ingredients (lemon, olive oil, parsley) plus a pinch of chili flakes and Esplette to pack some punch.  Like other grilled seafood, it is important to sear them hot and fast so the squid don’t get overcooked and tough.  Finished with a healthy squeeze of lemon and a baby arugula salad, this dish brings seaside summer off the boat to your city kitchen.  Add grilled marinated vegetables or lemony fregola pasta as an extra side dish.

Difficulty:  Moderate

Prep Time:  15 minutes

Cook Time:  5 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 lb. cleaned Squid, heads and tails

zest and juice of 2 lemons, divided

½ tsp. Chili flakes (med-spicy)

½ tsp. Esplette

½ tsp. Sea Salt

1 Tbsp. chopped Shallot

2 Tbsp chopped Parsley, divided

½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided

4 oz. (115g) Baby Arugula

½ Fennel bulb, shaved thin

Fleur de Sel

Technique:

• Rinse the squid in cold water and drain on paper towels.  Score the heads (white parts) by making shallow slices ½-inch apart, without cutting all the way through.

• Prepare the squid marinade in a large zip-lock bag.  Combine the zest of 1 lemon, juice of ½ lemon, chili flakes, Esplette, shallots , 1T parsley and ¼ cup olive oil.  Mix well, add calamari, seal the bag and shake until evenly distributed.  Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

• Prepare salad dressing by combining the zest of half a lemon, juice of a whole lemon, salt and pepper; whisk in 3-4T olive oil.

• Heat the grill pan on high until smoking hot.  Add calamari and press down with a spatula so they don’t curl too much.  Cook for 2 ½ minutes on each side and remove to a warmed platter with remaining parsley and half a lemon.  If cooking with vegetables, start them 3-4 minutes before calamari.  

• Toss arugula and shaved fennel with dressing, season with salt and pepper and serve.

Honey Mustard Chicken and Raisin Rice Pilaf

Some days there simply isn’t time to stop by the market and peruse the produce aisle for a fresh dinner, but instead of ordering-in the other night, I decided to make do with whatever was in my pantry and freezer.  It is for these moments that I always buy whole chickens, even when a recipe simply calls for legs or breasts, and freeze the other parts separately for a last minute meal (along with the carcass for soup or stock).  Condiments can make great roasting sauces, and this honey and grainy mustard combo caramelizes beautifully in a hot oven.  Brown basmati pilaf takes slightly longer to cook than the chicken, so start the rice first and you’ll finish at about the same time…

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 ½ Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided

½ yellow onion, finely diced (optional)

½ cup (100g) brown basmati rice

1 cup (100g) chicken stock

2 Tbsp. (25g) purple raisins

1 bay leaf

sea salt & pepper

1 small spring garlic head (sub. 1 medium garlic clove)

1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt

2 Tbsp. whole grain mustard

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp. honey

1 ½ tsp. sherry vinegar

2 chicken legs & thighs, rinsed at patted dry

Technique:

• In a medium pot with a tight fitting lid, sweat onions (optional) in 1T olive oil for 5-7 minutes until translucent.  Stir in rice to coat; add chicken stock, bay leaf, raisins, salt & pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cover; set a timer for 55 minutes.  Turn off heat, fluff with a fork, season to taste and hold warm.  (For other varieties of rice, follow package directions.)
  
• Preheat oven to 375˚F, line a sheet pan with foil, and grease with the remaining ½T olive oil.
• With a mortar and pestle, or on a cutting board, mash the spring garlic and coarse salt into a paste; combine with both mustards, honey, and vinegar.
  
  
• Season chicken legs with salt and pepper; lay on the greased sheet pan with the inside of the thighs facing up; add 1/3 of the mustard mixture and cook for 20 minutes.  Turn over, spread remaining mustard evenly over each piece, increase temperature to 400˚F, and cook for another 20 minutes.  Make sure the foil is well greased when you turn the chicken so it doesn’t stick.
   
• Garnish with thinly sliced spring garlic stems or fresh herbs of choice.

Strawberries and Cream Macarons

The art of the French macaron is fundamentally the same for most flavors, however the fillings make the real difference in each unique cookie.  A good fruit based filling uses the same technique as jam, with slightly more pectin to keep it firm.  Swirl the confiture into vanilla buttercream and pipe through a star tip for a whipped-cream effect.  This batch is for my friend Vance’s wedding (big parties inevitably have food-allergies) so I kept some of them dairy-free by using straight jam, and will serve them slightly defrosted rather than room temperature.

Difficulty: Difficult

Prep Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Makes 65 macarons

Equipment: 4 cookie sheets, candy thermometer, electric mixer, piping bag & 5mm tip, parchment paper

225g (1 ¾ c.) Almond Flour

350g (3 c.) Confectioners Sugar

4 Large Egg Whites

Red Food Coloring

200g (1 c.) Sugar

70g (1/3 c.) Water

3 Large Egg Whites

1 pinch Salt

• Preheat oven to 285°F
• Sift together Flour and Sugar into a med-large mixing bowl to remove any lumps.  Add 4 egg whites and food coloring; whisk together into a thick batter.
  
• Combine Sugar and Water in a small saucepan and heat on med-high.  Keep a candy thermometer inside to monitor temperature.
• Meanwhile, whisk 3 egg whites in electric mixer on medium-low (4) speed while sugar syrup heats; when it passes 230°F, turn mixer up to med-high to bring whites to soft peaks.
  • Soft peaks means when you stop the mixer and lift up the whisk, the whites take form, but do not hold completely firm.

• When sugar syrup reaches 240°F, remove from heat and stream into egg whites and turn up mixer to med-high for 20 seconds then turn off and remove bowl.
  
  
• Add 1/3 whites to the almond batter, gently folding in with a spatula…then remaining 2/3.
• Pour into a piping bag fitted with a 5mm round pastry tip.   Hold straight, ½” above the silpat or parchment paper lined cookie sheet and allow batter to flow out into 1” wide dots, disconnecting with a circular swoosh.  Leave at least 3” space between each macaron so they have room to spread without running into each other.
  
• Allow macarons to rest for 20 minutes before baking to create a ‘skin’ that will not stick to your finger (skin forms faster in front of a fan).
• Place macarons in the 285°F oven for 6 minutes then turn and rotate pans in oven so they cook evenly.  Lower temperature to 275°F and bake 6 more minutes on the other side.
• Cool completely before removing from silpat or parchment.

while they bake, rinse out that mixing bown for a Swiss meringue…

Vanilla Buttercream

100g (½ c.) sugar

2 large egg whites

175g (6 oz.) butter, room temperature

¼ vanilla bean

• Whisk sugar and whites in bowl of electric mixer over double boiler (pot of simmering water) until mixture becomes hot to the touch.
  
• Whisk sugar and whites in bowl of electric mixer over double boiler (pot of simmering water) until mixture becomes hot to the touch.
• Transfer to mixer and whisk on med. speed 2-3 minutes until it thickens to a soft, shiny meringue & cools enough not to melt butter.
• Switch to paddle and begin incorporating butter 1T at a time.
  Once all butter is incorporated, increase mixer speed to med-high (7 on kitchen-aid) until buttercream firms up (4-5 minutes).
  

Strawberry Confiture

350g quartered strawberries (stems removed)

50g creamy honey

¼ vanilla bean

2 Tbsp. fruit pectin (follow package directions)

• In a heavy bottomed pot, combine strawberries and honey and cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until it comes to a boil (about 10 minutes).  Reduce heat to low, add vanilla bean, and simmer for 20 minutes.
  
• Crush fruit with a mashing tool, add pectin and reduce for 2-3 minutes.  Check consistency on the center of a cold/frozen plate and tipp—if it gells before reaching the border, it’s ready to chill.
  
• Chill, cover and use (I like to make extra & store for up to 2 months in a well-sealed glass jar) as a filling. I use these German glass, tight-sealing jars (found in the East Village on Great Jones Street).  A little goes a long way when swirled with vanilla-bean buttercream.  Macaron heaven!
  

Snow Pea Salad with Corn, Ricotta and Mint

What better way to celebrate the onset of summer than a refreshing bowl of crisp snow peas, sweet yellow corn, and light, creamy ricotta?  Perfect for entertaining, this salad makes a colorful addition to any buffet and won’t wilt in the heat like leafy greens.  The vegetables are dressed in white balsamic vinaigrette with hints of citrus, mint, and herbs de Provence.  Farm-fresh ricotta takes center stage, with a touch of heat from the piment d’Esplette and a crunchy mix of toasted cashews, sunflower and pumpkin seeds.  Use part-skim ricotta or even light cottage cheese to cut down on calories for an even healthier take on this seasonal dish.

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time:  20-25 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar

zest of ½ lemon

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 ½ Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 pint snow peas, washed and trimmed

2 ears yellow corn, husked & cut off the cob

2 Tbsp. fresh mint (chiffonade)

½ tsp. herbs de Provence

sea salt & pepper, to taste

1 cup fresh Ricotta

2 Tbsp. quartered cashews

1 Tbsp. sunflower seeds

1 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds

¼ tsp. Esplette, divided

Technique:

• In a medium-size salad bowl, combine the lemon zest, juice, and vinegar; slowly stream in 2T olive oil while whisking.
• Julienne the snow peas lengthwise and cut in half to make 2” matchsticks.
  
• Add peas and corn to the bowl of dressing and toss with mint, herbs de Provence, salt and pepper.
  
• Season the ricotta with salt and pepper and serve in the center of the salad bowl; drizzle with ½T olive oil.
• In a small bowl, combine nuts, seeds, and Esplette.  Sprinkle over the salad and serve cold.
  
  • If preparing in advance, keep vegetables and dressing separate.  Season with salt and pepper at the end and finish with nuts before serving so they don’t get soggy.
    

Bonjour!

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