Flowers in a Cake--Lavender & Lemon

My dear little Mom just trekked solo across the Atlantic Ocean to visit us for her 85th birthday. To celebrate her we had a lovely luncheon at home---attended by both young and old---of warming lentil soup and a special birthday cake. I've made this lavendar-infused cake a couple of times before, but it seemed not festive enough in its plain and naked state so after giving it some thought I decided to explore the synergy between floral and citrus. 
 Thus we have: Lavender Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting.  

Had I had been a bit more organized I would be posting step-by-step pictures, but alas, in my haste we made it, served it, ate it, and it wasn't until we were done that I thought to take a picture for posterity (and blogging). 

The batter is interesting and a bit different in that it calls for egg whites but no yolks, nor does it require the whites to be whisked much.

The Cake

Begin by making a lavender syrup of:

1 dl sugar
3/4 dl water
3 tablespoons dried lavender flowers

Mix all the ingredients in a thick-bottomed pot, bring to a boil and then turn down and let simmer 3-4 minute.  Set aside to cool while you make the cake batter.

Cake Batter

 1 and 1/3 stocks (150 grams) butter
2/3 cup (1.5 dl) sugar
 1 cup (2.5 dl) flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar)
2/3 cup (1.5 dl) heavy cream
4 egg whites

Melt the butter, add sugar, vanilla and the lavender syrup (I like to keep the flowers in the syrup because they add a nice texture and flavor, but you can also strain the out of the infusion). In a separate bowl mix flour and baking powder. Add this to the butter mix. Lightly whisk the whites and cream and add to other ingredients. 
Bake in a round spring form at 350 F (175 C) for about 30-40 minutes. Test with a toothpick that it is baked through. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Once cool, slice cake into two layers.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

 

 2x 8 oz packages of cream cheese
1.5 sticks butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 teaspoons lemon juice

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy
Add sugar, zest, vanilla and lemon juice.

Cool and refrigerate over night. If it seems to slippery when you are frosting the cake, add more lemon juice or sugar to make it easier to spread.

Assemble the cake, putting a nice thick layer of frosting between the layers, then cover the top and sides and finally decorate the cake with whatever you have.  One frosting hint is to repeatedly run hot water on your knife so that the frosting spreads out shiny and flat. And finally, I love the subtle sheen of silvered sugar beads as well as the fact that you can eat metal, but in the summer edible lavender flower, roses, or nasturtiums would be pretty addition too.

"Orange Soup"

As the Fall weather and a cozy darkness creeps upon my little house I get back into the kitchen in earnest. It's just been plain too hot and muggy to cook and blog during the summer.


Making soups, especially non-fussy ones like this is a favorite of mine. Ever since the boys were little this has been a Fall staple. It's one of those nice recipes that you really can't mess up. There are no picky measurements or ratios. It can can be made  fully vegetarian--or even vegan for that matter--as well as with chicken stock. For real intensity veal, or even beef stock, could be substituted but would yield a darker-colored soup. Anyway, the amounts and kind of veggies can be varied with abandon. It's equally tasty with or without potatoes, or you can use butternut squash, or no squash at all, going sweet potato all the way. Which is why we call it "orange soup" as any combination of golden-hued vegetables  go in the pot. It easily morphs into a carrot-ginger variety should you wish. Or, amp it up with cayenne and red pepper flakes. I like to keep it plain the first day and then add curry to the leftovers for lunch the next day turning it into a completely different flavor experience.

ORANGE SOUP

2-3 large sweet potatoes

2-3 potatoes, any variety

1 medium acorn squash

1-2 large carrots

1 red (or yellow) onion

2-3 sprigs of thyme

2 bay leaves

crushed black pepper

6-8 cups of broth (=2 cubes of broth plus water)

 A handful of toasted sunflower seeds

 

Peel the squash, sweet and regular potatoes as well as carrot(s). Roughly chop all the vegetables. Sweat them in olive oil in a large thick-bottomed pot until they soften and start to turn ever so slightly golden. Add fresh or dried thyme, bay leaves, pepper, broth cubes. Give it all a stir then add enough water to cover well.

Again, it's not an exact science. The amount of water dictates how thick your soup will be, so better to put a little too little than too much. After blending it can always be thinned using either water, broth or cream. Cook the vegetable at a high simmer for about 20 minutes. Poke them with a fork or toothpick, if they are soft then it's time to pull out the blender.

Carefully puree it in a food processor (I use my blender, working in batches). Beware of the hot liquid! Transfer to a large bowl and adjust seasoning.

Heat up a small frying and dry-toast the sunflower seeds.

Ladle the soup into pretty bowls and sprinkle the top with the toasted seeds or croutons and perhaps a little sprig of thyme or fennel to add crunch and to make it pretty. Adding a drizzle of olive oil or creme fraiche is a nice touch too.

This is an extremely low calorie soup, thus it cries out for a fairly substantive companion dish. I chose to make goat cheese, prosciutto, baby spinach and basil panini.

Rub a smashed garlic clove across the bread to add fragrance and flavor. Spread some goat cheese onto the bread then add the greens and prosciutto. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, add a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Grill or fry in butter or oil until crispy golden on the outside and melty-lovely on the inside. Skip the meat and you've got a perfect vegetarian alternative.

Salmon with St. Agur

My Mom, Marianne, likes to say she could eat salmon 5 days a week. And while that might prove to be a bit much even for me, perhaps it’s our Scandinavian genes making themselves heard. 

Nothing is so sad as dry, poorly cooked fish and salmon can be both of those on a bad day. Done right, however, it is a most sensual of fishes: soft, moist and silky, fatty yet gently so in a mild way as opposed to say bluefish or mackerel. Both I, and my boys, love it raw in sushi or as salmon tartar, seared, smoked, salt & sugar cured as we do in Sweden, or fully cooked.

Over the years I’ve tried a few different coatings and cooking techniques that allow the full, moist flavor of the fish to develop. So, in this quest I came up with this one a while back after finding a spreadable blue cheese I’d never seen before. I know that there are those who balk at the idea of cheese and seafood together, but I promise this really works, The distinct salmon flavor plays well off the tang of the cheese. On my last trip to Sweden I was in fact served salmon with chevre hiding in a little pocket inside the filet.  

This recipe requires a minimum number of ingredients and cooks well either on the grill, in the oven, or even stove top in a frying pan. I chose to use my grill. 

Salmon with St. Agur

1 salmon filet (approx.1/3 lb per person)

St Agur cheese (substitute goat cheese if you cannot find it)

Coarsely crushed black pepper

Olive oil

Place salmon skin-side down on an oiled piece of oven foil. Using a spatula or broad flexible knife smear salmon liberally with cheese. Sprinkle with pepper. Place on grill and cook about 10-12 minutes with the lid closed to help distribute the heat. Check for doneness by gently inserting a knife and pushing to the side. You can cook it all the way through, or, as I did leave it a bit raw in the middle.

While the fish was on the grill I made a salad of baby spinach leaves, yellow cherry tomatoes, and crumbled some regular blue cheese on top to tie into the flavor of the fish dish. A tiny dash of salt (because cheeses can be quite salty), pepper, a splash of vinegar and drizzle of olive oil completed the greens.

 

In less than 15 minutes we sat down to eat. Leftovers, what leftovers?

Soba with Asparagus--and the benefits of buckwheat

 The other night it was just me and my oldest man child Max--who has sworn off meat--around for dinner. But, it was a typical hot and muggy July evening, putting me in no mood to labor over a hot stove. And seeing as how I’ve gotten a few requests lately for more vegetarian creations this dish was born.

First a few words on soba noodles. Their dark color comes from the buckwheat flour used to make them. What’s really fascinating about their history is how they gained popularity during the Edo period of Japan when it was discovered that they helped stave off the dreaded neural affliction beri beri. The wealthier portion of the population made polished white rice, which is stripped of most of its nutrients, a staple of their diet. The well-to-do white rice eaters became ill in droves while the poor rural people who ate less refined items, like soba, did not. It turns out that buckwheat is rich in the B-vitamin thiamine which is critical for maintaining neural health.  Even if the actual link to thiamine wasn't understood until much later local soba shops began popping up throughout the neighborhoods of Tokyo.

OK, enough culinary history and on to the recipe...

 Soba can be eaten hot or cold. For many years it was a staple breakfast dish for my boys who liked to start the day off in a savory mode. For this dinner I chose to keep them hot.

Soba noodles with asparagus

Serves 2

1 bundle fresh green asparagus

2-3 scallions, green parts removed, sliced

2-3 tablespoons fresh chopped ginger

2-3 tablespoons sesame terikyaki sauce

2 bundles of soba noodles 

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Bring water to a boil.

Meanwhile, cut asparagus into ½ inch pieces on a diagonal.

Add oil to a pan, heat top medium, add asparagus.

After 2-3 minutes add scallions and ginger, sauté another 3 minutes until cooked but still crunchy, pull off heat

Cook soba noodles 7-8 minutes , they should still be a dente. The best way to test for doneness is to pull a noodle out and chew on it. Strain the noodles and add to sauté pan, mix well, add teriyaki sauce to coat, and that's it. Simple, fast, inexpensive, nutritious and delicious.

To add a protein I would suggest strips of cooked chicken or shrimp. Or to keep it vegetarian: cubes of firm tofu.

Camilla's Beet Pie and Love

 

During those final tumultuous years of marriage my two main sources of solace and support, the things that kept me sane and grounded, were my family and friends...and food. The loving support part is probably obvious, perhaps not so the food. But to me food is love, and love is food. So, I tried to never lose sight of the pleasure to be found in its beauty and the simple acts of preparing, serving and sharing sustenance with those who hold my heart. 

My annual summer treks to Sweden gave, and still do give me, both: unconditional love and the familiar flavors of childhood, but also tantalizing new recipes served up by someone else. Thus begins the tale of Camilla's beet pie. My nephew Leif and his family live an hour south of Stockholm. Once you've left the big highway the last few kilometers of driving takes you down a gravel road, right through the literal middle of a red painted farm with the farmhouse on one side, the barn on the other. After you've dodged the chickens and Vivi the pony who insists on standing in the middle of the road, you arrive at their sweet little house.

We'd been invited down for swimming and this is what darling Camilla made for lunch, and taught me to make. Some people say beets taste like dirt, and perhaps they do. But, being of the geological bent maybe that's why I find them so tasty. Good dirt. Eaten under the dappled shade of ancient lichen-crusted apple trees.

 

I also learned a few things about this recipe this time around:  white and chioggia beets are so sweet and mild flavored that they got a bit lost in the flavors, and really I missed the bright crimson of Camilla's version. A few tweaks that did work though were adding feta (her original recipe calls for only parmesan), and shallots. Goat cheese might work well too....next time.

The Crust

 Preheat oven to 400 F

3 deciliters regular flour

150 grams very cold salted butter

2 tablespoons ice water

The easiest way to make the crust is to add the flour and butter cut up in little pieces to a food processor. Pulse until oatmeal-like in texture, add the water and form the dough. Avoid working it too much or it will become chewy. It's fine if it has little chunks of butter visible. If you don't have a processo,r use a couple of dinner knives to distribute the butter in the flour and then work it with your hands.

Press dough into pie form and pre-bake for 15 minutes at 400 F.

 Beet Filling

5-6 two inch beets, grated

1 shallot, grated

4 tablespoons of feta, crumbled

1/4 cup parmesan, grated

A sprinkle of Herbamare herb salt & pepper

Mix everything but the Parmesan in a bowl, then put it into the crust. Sprinkle the top with cheese and bake for about 30 minutes at 375 F. That's a  bronze fennel frond from my garden on top. I find this pie tastiest served warm, but cold left overs weren't at all bad as Monday's lunch.

Kohlrabi Puré

This is a kohlrabi. 

http://sweetwater-organic.org/veggies/kohlrabi/

Up until last year I had nary a clue what to do with these oddly shaped bulbs.  I knew them to be members of the cabbage family, and that was about it. But, one day a friend served it at a dinner party, and it was like nothing I had ever tasted. So the next time at the farmer's market I bravely bought one, went home and googled it (I'm still not quite used to that being a verb) and found a recipe that seemed similar to what I had eaten. There has been no going back since. Now I give off a cry of delight when I spot these sweet little knobs. And here is an additional bonus: it turns out that one serving gives you 90% of your daily vitamin C requirement...who knew? All the more reason to love them. Look for 2-3 inch diameter young bulbs when buying.

This makes a lovely, silken side dish. The delicate, slightly crunchy kohlrabi plays so well off the mushrooms, which in turn provide a slight meatiness to the dish. And finally, the splash of cream rounds it all out to an ethereal creamy texture. This is not a fussy recipe so you can play around with the amounts of mushrooms and onions to your heart's delight.

Kohlrabi and Portobello Puré 

(I know, I know, it's not pretty, but it is yummy)

2-3 knobs kohlrabi

Do not peel, cube and boil in lightly salted water until just tender (10-15 minutes). Drain and set aside.

6-8 portobello mushrooms, diced

1/2 large onion, diced

3-4 cloves of garlic, diced

3 tablespoons heavy cream

salt & pepper

Heat a small pan, add olive oil or butter and cook the mushroom-onion mix until clear and soft. Do not allow to brown.

Add all of the ingredients to a food processor (or blender) and process to a fine puré. Adjust the seasoning, add more cream if needed. Serve warm. It goes very well with all meats, white fishes and chicken. We just had it with salmon which was ok, but perhaps not the ideal pairing. Salmon is tricky that way.

Raw Kale Salad from Food52

My favorite food blog Food52 posted a recipe for a raw kale salad the other day and I have to share it with you. So, please note that this is neither my recipe nor photo. I did tweak the recipe a bit, using lacinato kale, skipped the red cabbage, and added in some thinly sliced shallots and celery as a substitute for crunch. I was really intrigued by the concept of massaging salt and dressing into the kale to wilt it, and indeed it really works. This is a perfect summer salad.

Serves 4-6

2 bunches Curly kale, center ribs and stems removed, washed, dried, and chopped finely
1/4 cup Olive oil
1/4 cup Apricot preserves
1 1/2 tablespoon Apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoon Freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Sea salt
1 pinch Black pepper
1 cup Puy or beluga lentils, (substitute brown lentils if they’re what you have), rinsed and picked over
1 cup Red cabbage, shredded

1. Whisk together olive oil, apricot preserves, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, sea salt, and black pepper.
   
2. Turn kale into a large mixing bowl, and massage 6 T of the dressing into the salad. You’ll need enough dressing for the salad to be well coated and start taking on a “wilted” texture. Set aside.
   
3. Place lentils in a small saucepan with enough water to cover them by 3-4 inches (approximately 2 1/2 cups). Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat, add a pinch of salt, and let the lentils simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the lentils are tender but not mushy.
   
4. Allow lentils to cool slightly and add them, along with the cabbage, to the kale, and add another 2 T vinaigrette. Use hands to combine. Add extra dressing as needed, and season to taste.

Farmer's Market Bounty

This is my favorite time of year in terms of hunting-and-gathering. My local farmer's market is now in full swing and enough of the growing season has passed that they are, in fact, selling locally grown produce. The market, which transforms the M&T bank's parking lot into a bustling, burst of color and smells, starts off a bit sadly in early May with boxes of trucked in fruits and greens. Surely that defies the entire purpose of a local market? 

Up until last weekend I've been traveling and busy and the Sundays have slipped by.  Now the market has the real stuff, the good stuff, the things that make me feel like a kid in a candy store. So I finally get to dig out my cloth tote bags, stroll down the sun-warmed sidewalk into town to see what they have to offer. 

I duck in under the white-beige tents into piles and piles of leafy greens of delicate chartreuse and darkest blue greens...kales, chards, lettuces, spinach, harbs...where to begin...and where to stop? Before coming here my one stop was at the ATM, and I have a budget to stick to, but how can buying vegetables ever be the wrong thing to do?

Quickly my arms are burdened by gritty carrots, beets and salad greens, forcing me to stop and unload on the little wooden table by the register so I can double back and gather more.

As I shop I play food pairing games in my head...the kale will go with lentils and grilled shrimp, parsley becomes a foil to the soft sweetness of eggplant and delicate ricotta, crunchy carrots are destined to add texture to my lunch salads, their sugary flavor playing off the peppery hit of arugula. And there are real treasures to be found, never before have I seen white beets, and next to them organically grown Chioggias with their gorgeous striped interiors! Both the white and red beets have luscious leafy tops to be gently wilted in olive oil and sprinkled with salt. Not only will this be very tasty week for me and my boys, but our bodies will be chock-a-block full of vitamins and minerals.

I round off my purchase with bunches of both Thumbelina and purple carrots, a box of impossibly red and sweet strawberries, a loaf of crusty peasant bread, and joy-of-all-joys: hand made sheep's milk ricotta...so pale and silky soft.

Many meals will come out of this bounty, but I will share 2 quick recipes using the cheese:

Eggplant Dip with Garlic and Ricotta

This one was inspired by a friend of a friend who served this at her art opening recently.

It's not a very pretty item, hence no sexy food picture

• 1 large eggplant
• 5-6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4-5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup ricotta
• salt & pepper
• parsley

Split the eggplant in half, grill or oven roast it until it is soft and mushy, approximately 20 minutes. 

Set aside to cool a little.

Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a pan and gently fry garlic until just a little golden on the edges.

Scrape out the eggplant into the pan and let it cook for a few minutes to meld with the garlic.

Transfer the mix into a food processer and pulse until smooth.

In a large mixing bowl, add eggplant mixture, chopped parsley, ricotta, salt and pepper. Mix  until well-blended and adjust seasoning. Serve with bread or as a side dish. I also tried substituting goat cheese once but I got a grainy result. I'll have to test that one again as the flavor was fantastic but the texture not. I'm wondering if the eggplant was too hot and the chevre curdled.....live and cook and learn

Whilst grilling the eggplant my youngest came tearing through the yard all sweaty and hungry after hours on his skateboard.  He needed a quick snack, so I made this for him.

Strawberries with Ricotta and Balsamic Vinegar

 Slice up strawberries, add dollops of ricotta, a tiny dash of salt for brightness and drizzle with balsamic.

 In less than 30 seconds it was gone, as was he. Left behind: an empty bowl and the fading sound of skateboard wheels clattering on asphalt as he disappeared into the balmy evening. Happy kid, happy Mom.

Tacos de Pollo

Often as the day moves on towards afternoon my mind wanders to the inevitable thoughts of what to cook for my brood.  Mind you, these are almost always pleasant thoughts. Some days I have such a clear plan of attack, at times even laid out days in advance. And, well, there are others when I've much less of a clue and mild panic starts to build. Add to that some of late-in-the-day appointments and several days of non-grocery shopping and I was at a bit of a loss.

A couple of the staples I try to keep on hand are chicken and tortillas, two things you really can't go wrong with. The chicken freezes beautifully, defrosts in a snap, and tortillas keep for a long, long time in the fridge. So right there you have a protein and a carbohydrate. But, they call out for veggies and other treats to brighten the flavor and make a complete dish.

I'm blessed to have a local Hispanic grocery store close by. The front of La Bamba in Sparkill is a tiny, tidy well-supplied grocery while tucked in the back is an equally excellent and equally small restaurant. (Some day I will do a write up of their food, including the scrumptious tongue tacos). I love their  produce selection,  and not once have I gotten anything but a perfectly ripe avocado off the shelf.

Adolfo Godinez, owner of La Bamba restaurant and grocery store (Tania Savayan / The Journal News )

In less than 5 minutes I was back in the trusty Volvo with a bag full of goodies: tomatoes, a red onion, avocados, jalapenos, cilantro, limes, crema, and queso fresco (a fresh, mild farmer's cheese).

Years of experimenting have led me to the conclusion that boneless, skinless thighs are the only chicken cut to buy. The pieces cook up moist and tender, lend themselves to all sorts of dishes and spicings. I've completely abandoned chicken breasts after all too many sad, cardboard-like creations.

Mixing together a dry rub of salt, cumin, medium hot chili powder, smoked paprika, marjoram and black pepper I patted it onto the chicken. While the poultry cooked on the grill I put together a basic guacamole using:

avocados

tomatoes

onion

jalapeno

cumin

oregano

salt

fresh lime juice

and a little fresh tomato salsa  made of tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, salt,  and a tiny pinch of sugar.

By this time it was getting dark, so rather than stumble about outside at the grill I crisped up the tortillas laying them right over the gas flame of my stove. You have to move fast though, or they will easily burn. With the smell of toasted corn meal wafting through the kitchen I shredded the chicken on top of the tortillas added guacamole, salsa, then a dollop of crema and some crumbled queso fresco...done!!!!

Fruit of the Grill

 

The discovery of a new way to prepare a food, or a twist on an old familiar ingredient, entices me. Yet, I don’t prescribe to such recent trends as liquid nitrogen cooking where olive oil is turned into a solid bubble or frozen foam. As fun as they night be might to sample in a restaurant, they are so far afield from what a home cook can manage that it all ends up seeming a bit silly and pretentious rather than exciting.

It is swelteringly hot and humid today, so much so that kayaking and swimming in the Chesapeake Bay are on the menu too, but not until later in the day when the cooling late afternoon breezes arrive.

Thus, first a hunt and gather trip to the farm stand is in order. There, under the shaded inner rafters, the Mennonite girls bustle about in their long dresses and white muslin caps painstakingly arranging strawberries just so in green cardboard boxes.

My eyes are drawn first to the berries and then on to pyramids of peaches. Soft and fuzzy like miniature versions of a baby’s head, tinged with crimson and mauve. I heft one in my hand, the shape nestles perfectly in my palm. Not local for sure, but when I ask I am told they have arrived from the Carolinas. Their heavenly sweet smell convinces me. In my basket they go, along with a new selection of potted herbs for the garden. This batch includes rosemary, an additional two plants of sweet basil (you can never have enough basil)  and one of the ever so special purple basils. I have plans for this basil. I also have a vision of the peaches meeting the grill since it's far too hot to cook indoors.

5 basic ingredients and a few minutes of prep work gets the dessert part of dinner set in a few moments.

Grilled Peaches

Assume one peach per person

Firm but ripe peaches

Fresh butter

Powdered cinnamon

Honey

Basil (purple if you can get it). Mint can substitute.

Slice the peaches by holding them in one hand and split by running the knife in a circle all around down to the pit. Gently hold each half and twist in opposite directions and the two halves will pop apart. Remove pit if possible, if not it can be left in and removed when served.

Place the halves skin side down on a plate, add a pat of butter to the middle, dust with cinnamon, drizzle with honey (perhaps the tiniest sprinkle of salt to enhance the flavor).

Grill on medium heat, skin side down, until grill marks appear after approximately 5 minutes. Flip over and grill another 4-5 minutes. Gently scoop off the grill using a spatula. Return to plate and decorate with a basil leaves. Serve lukewarm with ice cream or softly whipped cream.

Pasta with clam sauce in 15 minutes

 

Here is another of my go-to dinners, perfect when you've worked, run to the doctor with a kid for a booster shot, voted on the school budget, been met by feline fur ball gifts inside the front door and just don't know what to make. 
You may have noticed we are heavy on the seafood around here lately as my oldest child has reached that moral age when suddenly mammals are off the menu. "I'm a pescatarian now," he announced a few weeks ago. This is probably a good thing since our meat intake had gone too high, and we are now happily bathing our little brains in Omega-3s thus staving off dementia. 
Of course, knowing the staying power of teenage convictions, we fully expect to return to carnivory in the not too distant future.

There are endless variations on this dish. Ideally, I would have had lovely golden fresh linguine, clams from the fish store, crisp white wine and parsley. But hey, I can't be Martha Stewart every day.

Pasta with Clam Sauce

Serves 4-6

1 lb pasta (all I had was angel hair)

4-6 cloves garlic
6 cans of clams
olive oil
basil
oregano
thyme
salt & pepper
hot pepper flakes

 

Start the pasta water.
Chop the garlic, or slice thinly if you prefer.
Chop fresh herbs
Drain the clams, reserving the liquid.

Heat 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil in thick-bottomed skillet. 

 

Add garlic and cook for a minute, do not let the garlic brown. 
Add clam juice, simmer to reduce for 7-10 minutes.
If using dried herbs, add them now.
 
Meanwhile add pasta to salted water.

When pasta is almost done add fresh herbs and spices to the clam juice, followed by the clams. Turn off heat under skillet or clams will become rubbery.

Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve on top of pasta in deep bowls. 
Drizzle with a good finishing oil.

 

Spicy Fish Soup

It's been raining now for weeks it seems, and the chill and damp put us all in the mood for a warming but not-too-hearty soup. Did I not in fact have a quart of shrimp broth stashed away in my freezer? And could I tweak my chicken tortilla soup recipe to work for seafood?
While the container of pink-tinted broth slowly bobbed and defrosted in a water bath in the sink I gathered up the rest of my ingredients.

Spicy Fish Soup

Serves 4-6

• 1 quart concentrated stock, can be shrimp, fish or even chicken broth. Cubed broth or canned can be used too.
• 1 lb monk fish (any white fleshed fish works), cut into bite-size chunks
• 1 bag of mussels
• 1 lb shrimp
• 1 small red onion
• 2 stalks of celery
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 head of flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 head of cilantro (chop stems and leaves separately)
• 1 tsp ancho powder
• 1 tsp green chile powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 fresh jalapeno, thinly sliced
• 2 large tomatoes, diced
• large handful of grape or cherry tomatoes 
• 4 potatoes, peeled and diced 
• 1 can hominy (see note below)
• 1 bay leaf
• salt
• olive oil 
• lime

Dice all the vegetables except the small tomatoes
Heat a large, low pan, add oil
Sweat the onions, garlic and celery under a lid for a few minutes, add chopped cilantro stems and some leaves and parsley, spices, tomatoes and jalapeno followed by the broth. 
Add additional 1 to 1 1/2 quarts of water to make a good amount of liquid. Once it comes to a boil, add potatoes and grape tomatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender.
Add hominy, salt and adjust seasoning as needed. Gently stir in seafood and simmer with the lid on lid for a few minutes until shrimp and fish are opaque and mussels have all opened. Discard any mussels that do not open.

Serve with crumbled blue (or yellow) corn chips and a dollop of crema. Sour cream or creme fraiche can substitute for crema.


The degree of spiciness of course depends on just how hot your chili powder is and the amount of jalapeno added. You can tame it by using less of both, or using a milder chili.
As with most soups, this was even tastier the next day when the flavors had melded and matured.

And finally, a note on hominy. Hominy is corn that's been put through a process called nixtamalization. It has a wonderful nutty-corny flavor along with a delightful al dente texture. Most American grocery stores carry it, but I was thinking of good substitutes and imagine that black beans would add an interesting taste and texture contrast, but I think I would omit the potatoes then and maybe stick with shrimp and no other fish. Try it and let me know!

Whole Salt-baked Branzino

Not all meals end up as planned. I had bought bag of mussels, but dallied a day too many and felt they looked a bit on the sad side which is the last thing you want to see with shellfish. So off to the fish store I went. There, buried in chipped ice, were silvery sleek Branzino (aka European sea bass). You find them more and more frequently featured on restaurant menus. The Italians have known about them, and how to cook them, forever. Americans are only now discovering how tasty a fish this really is.

My favorite way to prepare Branzino is also one of the most fun ways to cook fish:  a whole fish entombed in a salt cast. I know it may sound strange, won't it end up super-salty? But, in fact, the end results are a tender, succulent fish. And, it's really fun and easy to make and break down once cooked.
If the thought of dealing with a whole fish--head and all-- is too much, then ask your fish monger to gut and clean the fish but not to fillet it.


This recipe comes from one of my favorite cooking sources: Epicurious. I turn to them so often for recipes and ideas. They have a mobile app too which is perfect when I'm standing in the middle of a grocery store feeling uninspired, or want to check what goes into a certain dish, couldn't live without this site. If you want to see their version of the recipe, it's here.

For 4 servings you will need

• 2 whole Branzino, scaled, gutted, head and tail on
• 1 lemon,  thinly sliced
• 6-8 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 6-8 stems of parsley
• freshly ground pepper
• 2-3 lbs salt (semi-fine works best but I've used regular Morton's & coarse sea salt to good results)
• 3-4 egg whites

Set oven to 400 F. Place the fish on a sheet of oven foil. Lay lemon slices and herbs inside the cavity, season with pepper.
Mix egg whites and salt in a large bowl. The consistency should be that of wet sand, add more egg or salt as needed.
Using your hands cover the entire fish with a nice thick layer of salt/egg mixture.

My trusty sous chef Gustaf adding herbs

Bake the fish for 20 minutes, then let it rest for another ten. Gently crack open by hitting it with a spoon and discard the salt crust.  You can either transfer the entire fish herbs and all on to a serving plate or fillet out to individual plates.

With this we had asparagus. It is the season for it now so we have been eating a lot of it, and living the consequences (in my house it's called asparapee)

 ....and the salsa verde mentioned on Epicurious. 

I did skip the olives and capers as my youngest is not overly fond of either. It was a crisp, fresh foil to the delicate fish. When we were done, two adults and three teens had picked every bone clean. There was even arguing at the table as to whom would get the last bite of fish. Happiness.