Category Recipes by Ingredient + Prep

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Recipes by Ingredient

Armenia: Lamb and Orzo

Jan 5, ’12 7:18 PM

For 2012, I told myself that I would go back to writing. This week, when I returned from my Christmas-birthday and New Year trip in San Francisco, I immediately got back to cooking. It wasn’t just to eat; it was to start updating this Web site as soon as possible to keep up with that resolution.

While in San Francisco, I cooked beef stew for a family of five who was renting a house by the ocean in Montara, a few miles away from downtown and minutes away from beautiful Pacifica. I only had a couple of hours to feed all of us–we were all tired from our respective full day–so I felt like I didn’t deliver as much as I could have if I had more time or if I was cooking in my apartment back in New York City with all the necessary equipment. They ate the food though, and I honestly think they enjoyed it; or they were just really being polite!

To make up for that shortcoming that’s still eating me a little bit inside, I asked an Armenian co-worker for a tried and true winter stew recipe. He emailed me a rough draft of this lamb and orzo recipe and I put my own spin to it when I got home. While I was cooking, I remembered that back in 2006, I had started this mini-project to cook as many traditional family recipes from people I know who hail from different countries.Unfortunately, I stopped updating it in 2008, but now I have another excuse to go back to writing.

I don’t know much about Armenia. Okay, I know nothing besides what I learned from Ararat, the 2002 movie about the genocide. But even my co-worker blames his too-American father for knowing more about Chinese culture (his wife is Chinese) than his own. When he visits his family in Colorado, this dish is one to be served during their stay. They save it for special occasions–perhaps because lamb was more expensive to procure back in the day–but also because it was hearty and brought the family together.

I now wish I can get another chance to cook for that same family in Montara so I may redeem myself, impress a little bit more and bring the members back together again.

Ingredients:
1 stick of butter, cut in quarters
1 1/5 lbs of lamb stew cuts
salt
pepper
1 yellow onion, minced
beef broth
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 large green pepper, seeded, chopped
1 15-ounce can of tomato purée
2 cups of orzo pasta

1. In a large heated Dutch oven, add the butter until browned and almost melted. Add and brown the lamb pieces on all sides. Season with salt and pepper. Add the onions and mix until translucent. Cover the pot and cook for 1 hour in low heat.
2. Check after the first 25 minutes and add a splash of beef broth so that the meat doesn’t burn or stick to the pot. Gently stir with a wooden spatula. Repeat after the next 25 minutes to avoid burning. Add the tomatoes and the bell pepper after the hour is up and cook for another 30 minutes. Add another splash of broth after the first half of the 30 minutes to avoid burning the vegetables.
3. Boil some water in a separate pot and set aside. Uncover the Dutch oven and add the tomato purée to the lamb and vegetables. Slowly add some hot water splash by splash, or until you have the desired consistency. Your stew must be somewhat saucy, not too thick but not too watery either.
4. Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the orzo and cook by constantly stirring everything with your spatula, about 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente. Feel free to add a jig or two of the hot water to make sure your sauce does not thicken too much. Season with more salt as necessary. Turn off the stove and cook the pasta for the last 2 minutes with the remaining heat by stirring some more.

Related post/s:
Cooking the World: Global Gastronomy

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Homemade Pici Pasta with Tripe

Dec 22, ’11 1:14 PM

I had to waste four cups of flour before I perfected this recipe. The first recipe I found online did not require eggs nor all-purpose flour, just semolina and water. I thought that was odd, but I gave it a try anyway. I should have trusted my instinct. The “dough” refused to stick together and just ended up becoming a shredded mess. I found another recipe that required eggs but did not list semolina, so I thought I’d combine the two instructions until the dough felt right in my hands, just like I learned in my gnocchi class last year.

And what exactly is “right”? I’m not sure if I can describe, but after I mixed the flour with the eggs, I freely sprinkled the kitchen counter with semolina and started kneading. Every time the dough got a little sticky, I dusted with more semolina to allow me to continue kneading it. I stopped until the dough felt pliable enough to cut and roll into snake-like noodles. That’s the word I was looking for! Pliable!

It took an hour to make the pici and they looked like they weren’t going to feed more than two people, but as soon as I cooked the pasta and distributed them to three deep serving dishes, I had enough for two more servings the next day. The cooked pasta was plump and I really needed just one tong-heaping for each person.

Caz Hildebrand’s The Geometry of Pasta is an awesome book about pasta with really cool illustrations.

Ingredients:
2 pounds of tripe, thawed, thoroughly washed, dried with paper towels
salt
vanilla
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red onion, chopped
1 can tomato sauce

For the pici pasta:
3 cups of all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 to 1 1/4 cups of lukewarm water
olive oil
semolina flour
any hard cheese, shaved
some parsley, finely chopped

1. Prepare the tripe. Cut the tripe into smaller square sheets and cook in a large pot of boiling water with the salt and vanilla for about an hour, or until the tripe is tender. It’s okay that they are still a little chewy; just make sure it’s not rubbery. Drain and slice into smaller pieces.
2. Make the pasta while the tripe is cooking. Pour out the flour on a clean kitchen counter surface and create a hole in the middle. Crack each egg in the center of the well and mix with a fork. When the egg is mixed into the flour, begin to add a tiny bit of water at a time, each time trying to mix in as much flour as possible. When all of the flour is mixed in, begin to knead the flour. You’re going to probably do this for about 8-10 minutes. When complete, make dough into a mound and pour a teaspoon of olive oil on top. Cover with a dish towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.
2. Cut the dough into smaller pieces and roll each into thin dowels and into snake-like noodles. Place the pici on a sheet tray that has been dusted with semolina flour and cover the pasta with the dish towel. Set aside until ready to use.
3. Make the sauce. In a large pot, heat some oil. Sauté some garlic until light brown. Add the onions and sauté until translucent. Add the tripe and cook by sauteéing. Lower the heat and add the tomato sauce. Mix and simmer for 10 minutes, just enough to incorporate the tomatoes.
4. Cook the pasta. Salt a large pot of water and put over high heat until boiling. Add the pici and cook for 10 minutes or until al dente. Use tongs to remove them from the water onto deep serving dishes. Top with sauce, cheese and parsley.

Related post/s:
Homemade gnocchi the Rustico Cooking way
Tripe tacos in Sunset Park, Brooklyn

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Goma, Japanese Black Sesame Ice Cream

Dec 8, ’11 12:43 PM

I’m more of a savory dessert fan rather than sweet, and one of my favorites is black sesame ice cream especially after a Japanese dinner. (Green tea and earl gray flavors are included in that list.) The best black sesame I’ve had is from il laboratorio del gelato in Manhattan’s East Village, followed by whatever brand they serve at Sushiden or Sobaya.

When the time came to prepare for my Thanksgiving feast this year, I set aside a couple of hours to replicate this black sesame ice cream recipe, not as part of my menu, but as a test since I was already spending a long time in the kitchen all weekend. The original recipe noted that it was for 1.5L. I assumed that L was for liters, or about 6 cups, which was a little too much for an ice cream flavor I just wanted to test, so I cut everything in half. The problem is that I finished with an amazing ice cream that wasn’t even half a pint! So what could that L had stood for? I should have just gone for the original measurements. Listed below is the version I made–try it first, or double everything for a pint’s worth.

Ingredients:
3 tbsps black sesame seeds
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup, plus 2 tbsps of whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream

1. Roast the black sesame seeds in a skillet using medium heat. Move the skillet fast and frequently to avoid burning until you can smell the roasting aroma; no more than a minute. Remove from heat. Separate a tsp’s worth for use later in the recipe if you want more texture in your ice cream. Transfer the rest to a mortar and ground with a pestle.
2. Combine the ground black sesame with half of the sugar in a bowl. Set aside. In another large bowl, whisk the remaining sugar with the egg yolk until the mixture becomes smooth and is a pale yellow color.
3. Heat the milk in a small sauce pan using medium low heat until the edges just start to bubble. Remove the milk from the heat and slowly add the milk to the sugar and yolk mixture while stirring to ensure the eggs don’t cook.
4. Make your custard base. Pour the sugar-yolk-milk mixture back into the sauce pan and heat over medium low heat. Make sure you stir constantly as the mixture thickens or else you will get lumps. Once the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon–I spent about 20 minutes–immediately remove from the heat. Pour into another bowl using a fine mesh or strainer.
5. Prepare an ice bath. Set aside. Slowly mix the custard in with the black sesame dry mixture. Make sure you add the custard slowly and in small portions or the mixture will separate. Put this bowl in the ice bath to cool while making sure none of the water gets into the custard. When cool, add the heavy cream. If you want your ice cream to have more texture, add the remaining tsp of roasted black sesame seeds as well. Mix well with a rubber spatula.
6. Using your ice cream maker, churn the black sesame custard for about 35 minutes, or until it reaches your desired consistency. Transfer to an air tight plastic container.

Thanks to Michele for my beautiful vintage plate!

Related post/s:
Sage Ice Cream recipe
My first ever foray into baking was for rhubarb crisp

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Chicken with Caramelized Shallots in Sherry Sauce

Nov 15, ’11 2:09 PM

I roast chicken for myself at least once a month because there’s always a lazy, quiet day that’s perfect for a properly roasted chicken. What I didn’t know until this past weekend is that I can roast one and serve it to dinner guests. I always want to impress when I invite guests to my home and have always thought that the more work I put into cooking, the better the food. And it has been for the most part; I just never thought chicken was something that would bowl people over. With this recipe, however, using sherry vinegar sauce and then served with other dishes that included apples, it made a whole autumn feast presentable. I saved so much time cooking chicken instead of my usual repertoire that I was able to make three separate vegetable sides plus a cake for dessert!

If you have a good butcher, ask them to debone the chicken and cut in half, but leaving the legs and wings intact. You may also buy separate chicken pieces; about 3 pieces will fit into a large oven-safe skillet. If you have an iron grill press, it’s good to use it to keep the chicken pieces flat. If you only have a Teflon frying pan (which you certainly can’t put inside the oven), you’re better off using the same baking pan you’re using for the shallots just so it’s hot before cooking the chicken–just remove the shallots after roasting to avoid burning them.

I also saved the rendered fat from the chicken and for leftovers the next day. I fried some white rice and added a blob of it (there’s no better way to describe it) to make a quasi-Hainanese chicken rice. It was so delicious and guiltily satisfying with some pickled cornichon to cut through the grease.

Ingredients:
6 pieces of chicken thighs and breasts
salt and pepper
10 shallots, peeled
a stick of butter
vegetable oil
1/4 cup of sherry vinegar
thyme sprigs

1. Preheat the oven to 425º. Season the chickens generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Place the 6 of the whole shallots in a small baking pan. Toss with salt and pepper, add a medium-sized knob of butter and pour in 1/4 cup water. Cover with aluminum foil and roast for 20 minutes. Uncover and roast for 15 minutes longer or until the shallots are tender and golden. Set the pan aside.
3. When you’re ready to roast the chickens, place two oven-safe skillets in the oven for 15 minutes. When the skillets are hot, carefully remove them from the oven and add vegetable oil to each skillet. Place 3 chicken halves in each skillet, skin side down. Roast for about 30 minutes,
checking halfway through, until the juices from the thigh run clear.
4. Remove the skillets from the oven and pour off the fat in a separate container for later use. Turn the chicken pieces over, skin side up and deglaze each pan with 1/4 cup of sherry vinegar, gently scraping the bottom to release any browned bits. Add another knob of the butter, thyme and 2 shallots to each pan. Return to the oven and roast for 3 extra minutes.
6. To serve, place a chicken piece, a couple of shallots and a bit of the pan sauce on each plate. Fry some rice with the chicken fat for an Asian flair. Garnish your plates with thyme sprigs.

If you have more time and feeling like you need a challenge, why don’t you try to prepare your own chicken suprême, or a semi-boneless poultry breast half with the wing joint still attached? A new iPad app from Inkling called The Professional Chef has amazing videos and photographs from the Culinary Institute of America. Unlike cooking demos on TV, you don’t get bogged down by the screaming obnoxious white-haired guy–you can just concentrate on the cooking matter at hand with the calm narrating voice guiding you at every step. You may buy each chapter for $2.99 (Chapter 16: Fabricating Meats, Poultry, and Fish) or the entire app for less than $50 using the link below.

Related post/s:
The Professional Chef iPad app from the Culinary Institute of America

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Braised Rabbit with Cornichons and Shallots

Aug 17, ’11 2:00 PM

Seventeen miles later, I had everything I needed to replicate this recipe from Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune, one of my favorite restaurants here in New York City: one whole rabbit from Ottomanelli and a pint of cornichons from Fairway. I had woken up very late that Saturday, so after I decided that rabbit was going to be the night’s dinner, I biked to the butcher in the upper east side after a loop around Central Park to make up for my non-day. Ottomanelli’s unfortunately did not have cornichons, so I had to nervously cross town and go to Fairway where I knew a tub of cornichons is always available. I almost got doored on York Avenue and a turning cab cut me off on First that by the time I reached the west side, I was just glad to be alive. The adventure continued as my bike bag flew off its clipping on 125th Street and a guy in a Zip car had to tell me about it. Biking back to where my bag landed, a man helped me put it back on my bike rack. It was heavy and he just had to ask, What’s in there? I laughed and said, A rabbit.

Rabbit legs pre-ordered from a reputable butcher works best for this recipe, but if you can only get a whole rabbit, make sure it’s already been cleaned. The skin under the belly was a little gnarly even for me, so I sliced it off and cleaned off the innards that were kept intact. Chopping the whole rabbit into large pieces was easy with my new Santoku knife sent to me by Wusthof. Not only was it very sharp and made slicing through the rabbit’s tiny bones easy, its new blue handle is lighter yet still hefty for fast cutting. A row of beveled ovals on the edge of the blade prevented the meat from adhering to it and minimized the drag that most cleavers have; butterflying the front part of the body was so easy and so was separating the hind legs from the rest.

Ingredients:
1 whole rabbit, cleaned, thawed if previously frozen, chopped in large pieces
salt
pepper
olive oil
4 large shallots, thinly sliced
1 pint of cornichons including brining juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
3 cups chicken stock, or as needed
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
a handful of parsley, finely chopped

1. Pat the rabbit pieces dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat some oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Brown the rabbit pieces on both sides. Transfer to a plate.
2. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the shallots to the pot. Sauté until tender, but not browned, while gently scraping off the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
3. In the meantime, heat oven to 350º. When onions are tender, add the cornichons, brine and vinegar and let simmer. Return the rabbit with the accumulated juices. Add enough chicken stock so that it’s within 1/2-inch of covering the meat. Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat.
4. Cover the pot and braise in the oven until the rabbit meat is tender and the leg joints bend easily, about 30 minutes. Transfer legs to a plate and keep warm. Skim cornichons and shallots from the sauce and set aside.
5. Return pot to medium-high heat, and boil until sauce is reduced by about half. Whisk in butter a piece at a time and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Return rabbit, cornichons and shallots to the pan until just reheated. Stir in parsley.

Related post/s:
Buy Gabrielle Hamilton’s book

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