Pasta Plus

Let’s face it, pasta is not my forte. But I wanted a change from all our recent fish, salads and vegetables dinners. Besides, hope springs eternal.

Menu

Tomato Salad with Anchovy & Capers
Fettuccini (or Linguine) with Peas
Wine: Marqués de Cáceres Rioja, 2007
Dessert: Red Cherries

Recipe Tomato Salad

1 large heirloom tomato
Salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
2 anchovy fillets, rinsed and chopped
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine or sherry vinegar
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Fresh basil leaves, chopped

Cut tomato in wedges and put in a salad bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Add remaining ingredients. Gently toss.

Recipe Fettuccini

6 oz. fresh Fettuccini or Linguini
Salt and pepper
¾ cup defrosted baby peas, drained
1 tablespoon butter
Grated Pecorino Gran Cru

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and the pasta.
Cook pasta according to recommended time. Drain and reserve ¾ cup of the cooking liquid.
Heat a large skillet, add butter. Mix in pasta. Raise heat, pour in most of the reserved liquid and cook until the liquid has been absorbed.
Meanwhile heat peas in a separate skillet. Mix into the pasta.
Serve with a generous portion of grated cheese.

No question about it: the best part of the meal was the tomato salad. Even without heirloom tomatoes it will become part of my summer repertoire.

Favorite Summer Salad: Frisée aux Lardons

When it comes to summer salads I become a confirmed Francophile
again. Consider their carrottes râpes and celery root remoulade, plus my all time favorites: Salade Niçoise and Frisée aux Lardons, also known as Salade Lyonnaise, after its origin city Lyon. The Niçoise presents no problem as long as you use haricots verts and a good canned tuna. The frisée, however, calls for some ingenuity because it depends on frisée and lardons, two French products not readily available.

The almost white, frizzy frisée has a slightly peppery, bitter taste
that is quite unique. You could use chicory, of course, but the texture and flavor won’t be the same. Lardons is a French type bacon that does not exist in this country. However, if you get double smoked bacon and blanch it for ten minutes in simmering water, it resembles the French version.

Frankly, I was more worried about poaching the eggs and for good reason. The white of the first poached egg got lost in the water, leaving me with the egg yolk. The second attempt was a little better but not great. Trying it again, I cracked the egg into a small soup ladle and slipped it into the water. Lo and behold, it produced a nice looking poached egg.

Menu

Canapés with Anchovy Butter
Frisée aux Lardons
Wine: Château d’Oupia, Minervois Rosé 2010
Dessert: Chocolate Yogurt

Recipe Frisée aux Lardons

¼ pound frisée, rinsed, dried, torn into bite-size pieces,
2 ounces thickly cut double smoked bacon, cut into small squares and blanched (I did that in the morning)
2 eggs (the fresher the better)
Water with a few drops of white or sherry vinegar
½ cup croutons
Vinaigrette

Place frisée and croutons in a mixing bowl. Prepare vinaigrette and toss with the frisée. Divide into two plates. Sauté the blanched bacon until golden. Remove and spoon over frisée. Heat water and vinegar in a saucepan. Bring liquid to a bare simmer. Break egg into a teacup and slip into simmering liquid for about 2 minutes for runny yolk to 3 minutes for firm one.* Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and set aside. Poach the other egg. Top each salad with the poached egg and grind some black pepper of it.
*For me, the small soup ladle worked better.

All told, it was a lovely meal. However, George thought the Rosé was too alcoholic and lacked finesse.

Salad Days

According to Shakespeare, “salad days” refers to the time of youthful inexperience. To me, salad days means it’s so hot, all I want to eat is a refreshing salad.

Here are three of my favorites:

Corn Salad

With the temperature in the high 90’s I didn’t want to leave the house. Luckily, I had a box of whole corn kernels and one box of sweet green peas in the freezer. I also had a Persian cucumber, a box of grape
tomatoes and some Feta cheese in the refrigerator, plus and a jar of Piquillo Peppers strips on the shelve. I tossed these items together and produced a lovely summer salad.

1/2 box frozen corn, defrosted under running water, drained
1/2 box frozen peas, defrosted under running water, drained
1 Persian cumber, sliced and quartered
Leftover Feta cheese, cut into small pieces
About 1/2 cup of grape tomatoes cut in half
About 1/4 cup Piquillo* Pepper strips
Lemon/Dijon mustard vinaigrette
Sat and pepper

*Piquillo peppers are sweet, roasted, red peppers from Northern Spain.
If you can’t find them at your local specialty store, go to Despaña Brand Foods
at 408 Broome Street, Soho (212) 219-5050, or to 86-17 Northern Blvd.,
Queens (717) 779-4971. It’s the next best things to taking a trip to Spain.

Tuna & Cannellini Bean Salad

All you need for this is a can opener and a fresh baguette

1 can Cannellini Beans, rinsed and drained
1 can light Italian tuna fish in olive oil, drained
Pitted Niçoise olives (optional)
Balsamic vinegar/olive oil vinaigrette
Dash of Tabasco
Rosemary leaves
Salt and pepper
Chopped Italian parsley for garnish

Serve on a bed of green lettuce

Watermelon Salad

Red onion, raspberries or strawberries add a new dimension to watermelon. The recipe comes from
Paolo Penati, once the chef of our former Long Wharf Restaurant in Sag Harbor.

Equal amounts of
Watermelon, seeded, cut into cubes
Red onion, thinly sliced
Raspberry or strawberry purée
Touch of lemon juice
Pinch of salt
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Sugar if needed

I used to make this salad with fresh raspberries or strawberries when I got them fresh from the farm.
Since most of berries I can buy today have little, if any flavor, I use frozen ones, adding some fresh berries for appearance.


Would love to hear about your favorite summer salad.

Salade Lyonnaise and Kassler Rippchen

When I read Mark Bittman’s recent article on Salade Lyonnaise, I decided it would be a perfect dish for the Fourth of July weekend. Since I also wanted a meat dish without having to cook it, I bought a fully cooked piece of Smoked Pork Loin, called Kassler Rippchen.

Menu

Salade Lyonnaise
Kassler Rippchen*
Persian cucumber
Wine: Potel Aviron Moulin a Vent, Vielles Vignes 2008, chilled
Dessert: Cherry Garcia Ice Cream & Biscotti

Recipe: Salade Lyonnaise

1small bunch frisée, washed and torn into small pieces
¼ pound slab bacon, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 shallot, chopped
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 eggs

I like to parboil bacon because it gives the bacon a particularly pleasant flavor without the greasiness. To parboil the bacon, I cooked it in boiling water for 10 minutes, rinsed it under cold water and patted it dry. I sautéed the bacon in a heated skillet until crisp, about 10 minutes. Next, I cooked the shallots till soft, added the vinegar and mustard, brought everything to a boil and turned off the heat.

I poured the dressing over the frisée, seasoned it with salt and pepper. tossed the salad and divided the salad into two portions.

Poaching the eggs was a production. I put 1 ½ cups of water and 1 tablespoon vinegar into a small sauce pan and brought it to a boil. Then I cracked one egg into a small bowl and slipped the egg into the water. I poached the egg until the whites had just set, about 4 minutes, removed the egg with a slotted spoon and slipped it over the salad. All went well, except the poached egg flipped upside down, so that the white side showed up. I hoped for better result with the next egg, but no such luck. I think next time I’ll soft boil two eggs, slice them in half and mix them into the salad. The result, I’m sure, will be the same.

Kassler Rippchen derived its name from a late 19th century German butcher, called Cassler. I like the meat for its slightly smoky flavor and good texture. I served it with Dijon Grainy Mustard. For a touch of color, I added several slices of Persian cucumber, brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt.

Joe from Mr. Wright Fine Wines & Spirits** had recommended the wine. I couldn’t have asked for a better choice. This was an exceptional, fine Beaujolais that almost tasted like a Burgundy.


*Schaller & Weber (212) 879-3047
http://www.schallerweber.com/

**Mr. Wright (212) 722-4564
http://www.misterwrightfinewines.com/home.html

Salade Niçoise & Cherry Soup

Salade Niçoise is usually a lunch dish. However, since today is midsumme night—summer solstice-- I thought this typical summer salad would be perfect for dinner. The recipe comes from Julia Child’s “Mastering The Art of French Cooking”, tailored to serve two. As luck would have it, my two tomato plants on our terrace had just rendered two beautifully ripe tomatoes. I always use imported canned Italian tuna, packed in olive oil.

Menu
Sour Cherry Soup*
Salade Niçoise
Wine: Ocha, Rosado Garnacha 2009, Navarra
Dessert: Biscotti

The cherry soup reminded me of my childhood in a farming area in northern Germany. During the summer, Father used to rent a cherry tree. As harvesting time grew near, he visited the orchard every evening. Trying to determine the right moment to pick the fruit was akin to “being a general in the army,” he said. “You have to know when to strike.” If the cherries were picked too soon, they would be sour; if left too long, chances were the starlings would make a clean sweep of them.

But came the day when Father gave his command: “Tomorrow.” Armed with a handcart, ladder, and baskets, my two sisters, our helper and I set out at sunrise. When we arrived at the orchard, I climbed on top of our tree and began gorging myself with cherries. So did all the other kids; each one perched on top of their family tree. Next we engaged in cherry-spitting contest, giggling so hard, occasionally one of us fell off the tree.

In a good year, a single tree produced about 50 pounds of cherries. To pick them took all morning. Returning home, I limped behind the cart, usually suffering from a dreadful bellyache. Father greeted us, taking full credit for the size of the crop. “My three cherry princesses,” he called us--enough praise to have us willingly trudge to the kitchen to begin the job of cleaning the cherries. First the stems had to be removed, then the pits. We sat in a circle, armed with cherry pitters and hairpins. It was a messy job that took the greater part of the afternoon and left us looking like butchers. I could not imagine ever wanting to see another cherry. However, by supper time, I was eager to taste the first cherry soup of the season.

For tonight’s dinner I had bought a ready-made cherry soup from Yorkville Meat Emporium. The soup was lush and refreshing. According to the label, it contained sour cherries, sugar, flour, sour cream, water, cinnamon, sticks of cloves. It will definitely become a summer staple.

The only disappointing note was the Rosé. With its strawberry-colored hue, it looked promising. Alas, it lacked tannin and tasted flat. A Fume Blanc would have been better.

*Yorkville Meat Emporium (212) 628-5147
2nd Ave & 81st St.
www.hungarianmeatmarket.com


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