cia – Page 141 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Indonesia: Soto Betawi

The Betawi are the descendants of the people living in Jakarta and soto translates to soup. Soto Betawi is traditionally made with offal but Thalia’s recipe is a tamer version, just perfect for New York’s current dipping temperatures. The tamarind marinade made this soup a little sour with the tomatoes and the lime, which I loved, but I also added extra spices to give it a little more kick. I browned the beef first for some color and I just used the separate beef stock I had saved in the freezer. While the stock was simmering, I quickly deep-fried the emping melinjo crackers I bought from Chinatown. They added a nice crisp to the nutty-sour flavor of the soup. I think Thalia would have been proud.

Ingredients:
half a pound of sirloin beef
2 tbsps tamarind concentrate
1 can coconut milk
beef stock
2 medium potatoes, quartered
1 large tomato, chopped
1 stalk lemongrass, pounded
2 stalks scallions, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tbsps semi-sweet soy sauce or kecap manis
emping melinjo crackers, deep-fried
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp cumin, grounded
red chilis
cilantro, finely chopped
1 small lime
sugar
salt, pepper

1. Prepare a day before: tenderize the sirloin beef by pounding with a mallet on a wooden block. In a small bowl, combine tamarind concentrate with sugar and salt to make a paste. Marinate beef in the fridge overnight.
2. When ready to cook, boil potatoes in a pot of water. In the meantime, cut beef into small cubes. In a pot with hot oil, sautÃ© bay leaf and shallots and brown beef on all sides. When potatoes are done, drain and lightly brown in the same pot.
3. Add beef stock and simmer. Stir in coconut milk. Add tomatoes, cumin, turmeric, lemon grass, lime juice, chilis and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for a few more minutes until beef cubes are tender.
4. To serve, put some of the meat and vegetables in a bowl first. Ladle broth and sprinkle with scallions and cilantro. Crush crackers on top. Squirt with leftover lime juice and stir in some kecap manis to taste.

Mas (farmhouse)

39 Downing Street off Bedford
212/255.1790
about $255 for four, with several drinks, without tip
♥ ♥ ♥

I reserved the bar for four people at 7:30pm and because it was before prime dinner time, we were seated right away even though it was a Friday night. We sat elbow to elbow, looked at each other via the mirror behind the bar and passed our plates to one another to share.

The people behind Mas pay attention to details most New York restaurants forget about these days. I couldn’t help but ooh and aah at everything. I loved the Red Berry Dinnerware from England, the knives with pearl handles and the Terrazzo placemats. A skewer stick holding a sliced lemon made squeezing it in my basil and strawberry cocktail easier. And you know how else you can score a point with me? Have some hooks under the bar for my purse! It’s surprising how only a few bars in the city think of doing this. Every time I brush my hand under the bar, I want to feel a hook I can use, not old gum. The olive walls and warm lighting made the space cozy even though an entire glass wall exposed guests to the street traffic of the West Village.

We started with wahoo, or ono, sashimi in olive oil, cilantro and lime. The Portuguese sardines were served with a Parmesan cheese sablÃ© cracker, reportedly made in-house, and caramelized onions, both of which controlled the fishy taste. While some of us enjoyed the Maine lobster and the fresh oysters and scallops, I split the $36 braised pork belly in a cider reduction sauce served with purÃ©ed apple and cabbage. Cranberry beans, which are only named for their red speckles, accompanied the dish and gave it a heartier and nuttier taste. To cap the bill at $200, we ordered and devoured the gooseberries and fig in hibiscus soup and the yogurt panna cotta with grape juice and apricots.

The staff seem knowledgable without being hokey. Our bartender was extra nice. He poured us a glass of an Alsace dry reisling to match our fish appetizers from the goodness of his heart. When one of us expressed an interest in tasting some whites with his dinner, he served three different types in small parts, which included one from Reuilly, but only charged for one glass.

Chef Galen Zamarra’s experiences with David Bouley and Alain Passard probably defined him as a chef, but Mas is where he proudly shows off the skills he learned. Mas, or French for farmhouse, was over my budget, but it was also a feast to my design sensibilities. Mas also means more in Spanish and after my first visit, I wanted more. If you want to impress or be impressed, Mas is the way to go.

Prosciutto and Arugula Pizzetta

If you’ve been visiting this site long enough, you know I spend a lot of time and money at Di Palo on Mott and Grand Street. I never wait less than 30 minutes except if I order ahead of time and arrange for a pickup. I usually just come in, pick a number from the machine at the door and wait for my turn to taste some new cheese or cold cuts and add to my usual order of prosciutto, spicy sausage, olive oil, illy coffee and Callipo tuna. During my last wait for 45 minutes, a dinner idea popped in my head and I ended up buying everything at Di Palo except for the fresh arugula I picked up at the grocery store on my way home. They also carry bread from Sullivan Street Bakery so I didn’t have to go out of my way–their focaccia rosemary bread is one of my favorites.

Ingredients:
1 square focaccia rosemary bread
fresh mozarella
Italian prosciutto, sliced paper-thin by the meat guy
fresh arugula, rinsed, pat dry
olive oil

1. Preheat oven at 350Âº. Prepare pizzetta on a baking sheet wrapped in aluminum foil. On the focaccia bread, lay the mozarella slices first and then top with prosciutto. Drizzle some olive oil. Lay the arugula and then some more prosciutto again.
2. Bake in oven for 15 minutes, enough to melt the mozarella and toast the bread.

Fennel and Beet Salad

Adapted from Mary’s Fish Camp

Ingredients:
1 bulb fennel, sliced thinly
1 bunch red beets, rinsed, pat dry
shaved aged goat cheese
lemon juice
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Preheat oven 350Âº. Wrap beets in aluminum foil and roast in the oven for about 1 1/2 hours. Set aside. When cool enough to handle, peel with a paring knife and slice in rounds.
2. Meanwhile, soak fennel in a bowl with lemon juice. This is to keep the fennel’s color.
3. When ready to serve, drain fennel and combine with beets, salt, pepper and olive oil. Using a peeler, shave off some goat cheese on top.

Related post/s:
Visit Mary’s Fish Camp

Spiced Kohlrabi

I keep seeing this weird bulb in Chinatown but no one could tell me what it was. I asked the vendor and all I got was a OneDOLLAH! So I asked my dependable Chinese friend, Shao, and she said her mother calls it choi tao but she wasn’t sure what Americans call them. A visit at Telepan answered my question. Our friend’s chicken dish came with cauliflower and kohlrabi. I’ve never heard of kohlrabi before so when I got home, I Googled it and lo and behold, it was that Sputnik bulb!

The name comes from two German words that mean cabbage and turnip but its flesh is like the stem of a broccoli. You peel off the tough outer layers and cut the flesh in an angle to get slices like that of an apple. Shao’s mom uses two bulbs to include it in a pork and vegetable stir-fry. I found an old zucchini recipe that I thought would work with the tender flesh of a kohlrabi.

Ingredients:
1 kohlrabi, peeled, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed, sliced
1 tsp cumin, grounded
1 tsp fennel seeds, grounded
1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
1 red chili
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Toast bay leaf until fragrant and remove. SautÃ© garlic. Add kohlrabi and spices. Set aside some of the ground spices for garnishing. Cook until soft, stirring constantly, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Serve in ramekins and sprinkle with a little lemon juice and remaining ground spices.