corned beef tongue

If I were not such a procrastinator, this is what I could’ve served for dinner last Monday night:

corned beef tongue
sous vide homegrown assorted carrots
potato-stuffed brussels sprouts
braised leeks
colcannon puree
whole-grain mustard crisps
pickled mustard seeds
malt reduction

corned beef tongue
2-3 beef tongues
2 qts cold water
12 oz kosher salt
4 oz brown sugar
1/4 oz sodium nitrate (optional, but will give the tongue its pink color)
3 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic
2 tsps black peppercorns
2 tsps mustard seeds
1 tsp whole allspice berries
1 tsp dried thyme

corning: Lay tongues in a single layer in a non-reactive container. Bring water, salt, sugar and sodium nitrate to boil in a stainless steel saucepan. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Pour brine over tongues, it should cover them by a few inches. Add remaining ingredients and place a heavy plate on top of tongues to keep them submerged. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 6-8 days. Remove tongues from brine. Discard brine and wash container. Return tongues to container, cover with fresh, cold water and allow to soak overnight in the refrigerator to remove excess salt.
cooking: Remove tongues from water and place them in a large pot. Add 1 large onion, 2 carrots, 2 stalks of celery and enough cold water to cover the tongues by a few inches. Simmer tongues for 3-4 hours or until very tender. (The tongues can also be cooked in a pressure cooker for 1 hour.) Remove the skin while still warm. Wrap tongues tightly in plastic wrap and chill overnight. Slice thinly to serve.

banana pandan date

Inspired by a new flavor and technique…

pandan panna cotta
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 cup finely chopped pandan leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
1 Tablespoon sugar
In a small saucepan, stir together the cream, half and half, and pandan. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat. Cover tightly, then set aside to steep until cool. When cool, strain through a sieve and return infusion back into the saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface and allow to soften for 5 minutes. Whisk in the gelatin, followed by the sugar and place over medium high heat, whisking until mixture is very hot and sugar and gelatin have dissolved. Pour into four 1/3 cup molds and chill until set, 2-4 hours.

date lime molasses
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup diced dates
1/4 cup lime juice
2 Tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon butter
Put water and dates into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cover saucepan and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes or until dates are very soft. Puree mixture in a food processor and press through a fine sieve or tamis. Return to saucepan and stir in remaining ingredients. Cook over low heat until mixture reduces and thickens to the consistency of molasses. Let cool.

sugar crusted banana
3 lbs (7 cups) granulated sugar
3 egg whites
4 ripe, peeled bananas
Mix the egg whites into the sugar until well blended. On a baking sheet, form sugar mixture into 4 separate bases, each about 2’" wider and longer than banana, and about 1/2" thick. Place a banana on top of each base and cover with additional sugar mixture to completely enclose. Press firmly to compact sugar, paying close attention to the seam along the base. Bake in a preheated 275 F oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and set aside to for 15 minutes before opening crust.

to finish
coconut powder (dried coconut cream) found in asian markets or online.
coquitos (baby coconuts) found in hispanic markets or online
Unmold panna cottas by wrapping a hot, wet towel around molds until they release.
Break open the sugar crust by driving the tip of a knife along the edges until it breaks away and banana can be dislodged.
Screen molasses onto plates. Place a chilled panna cotta, sliced warm banana, coconut powder and coquito on each plate.
Serves 4

three for thai

(top) ngo om– Rice Paddy Herb (Limnophilia aromatica)- grown only in rice paddys, this herb which is in the snapdragon family, will not be a good candidate for my garden. Pity…I love its bright lemony cucumber flavor and tiny lavender flowers. Although I have used this herb to punctuate a thai cucumber salad and shrimp spring rolls, I am intrigued by its potential in sweet preparations.

(center) rau ram– Vietnamese Coriander (Polygonumm odoratum) – this herb belongs to the buckwheat family and its flavor is that of cilantro, basil and mint combined. It is commonly used throughout southeast asia, where it is sometimes referred to as "hot mint" because of its peppery bite. It stands up well to rich meats such as beef and pork. I have located seeds which I intend to grow in a confined area as this one is an aggressive invader.

(bottom) bai dtoey- Pandan (Pandanus amaryllifolius)- this leaf from the screwpine family possesses the distinct aroma of cooked basmati rice. I find the scent exotic and irresistible– deep, toasty and nutty with tones of sweet grass and hay. It is a wildly popular flavoring in Thailand where it is the equivalent of vanilla and used to flavor sweets, rice, and wrapped around chunks of chicken, then fried. These leaves freeze very well (which is the state that I purchased them in) and an interesting (and useful) observation is that they retain their color when cooked and even when exposed to acid.

new additions to the spice rack

Kala Jeera (Bunium Persicum) is a member of the parsely family and is sometimes refered to as black cumin (not to be confused with nigella). It is sweeter than cumin and posesses a floral, camphorous flavor with cardamom overtones. Toasting somewhat diminishes these flavors and brings forward an earthy, nutty taste. Don’t be put off by the scent of these seeds (the sales lady decided that it smelled like a monkey cage), they really need to be chewed or broken to release their flavor. I can see this being used in both sweet and savory preparations.

Mahlab (Prunus Mahaleb) these are actually the dried kernel extracted from the inside of a Mahaleb cherry pit and belong to the Rosaceae family. They have a floral, bitter almond taste–think marzipan with a hint of rosewater. There is a slight bitterness to them, although not unpleasant. They are widely used in Southeast Europe and Western Asia to flavor sweet breads and cookies.

Sumac (Rhus coroaria) these ground berries have an astringent vinegar scent with a pleasantly sour taste and are commonly mixed with sesame and thyme in the popular spice mix Za’tar. It will be interesting to play with this isolated flavor.

planning a garden while hungry

Gardening is, to me, more than a labor of love…it is a form of hedonism.

I live in the country, largely, so that I can garden. My eyes have an affinity for the color of chlorophyll.

A well designed garden stimulates the same pleasure receptacle as a well crafted meal. When planning my own gardens, my orderly side, which is drawn to the symmetry of French parterres is constantly battling my wild side that roots for the riotous chaos of an English cottage garden. Makes me want to send them both to time-out in a calm, contemplative Japanese garden.

NIwa-Mitate

Niwa- ("pure place", Japanese garden)
Mitate- ("new point of view", visual metaphor or allusion)

edemame karikome (clipped shrubs)
red onion mostarda kyokusui (meandering stream)
coconut ishi (stones)
tamari-malt droplets
purple shiso leaves
chive blossoms

The call of the rainforest

While the temperature hovers around 0 degrees here in the Northeast, I should be thinking about hot, soothing soup, or a slow-braised joint of meat. Instead, I am finding comfort in dreaming of the tropics.

The rainforest fascinates me…an infinite and largely undiscovered source of plant and animal life. As a teenager, I spent a glorious month in Brazil, staying with family in Santos, but my stay was confined to the coast around Sao Paulo, and only skimmed the outer edges of the Amazon.

Perhaps the most celebrated chef in Brazil today is Alex Atala of D.O.M. Restaurante in Sao Paulo, which is counted among the top 50 restaurants in the world. Besides being a gifted chef and speaking 3 languages fluently, chef Atala is enthusiastic about discovering and sharing the resources of the rainforest, which he calls "a universe of aromas". This is no small feat, considering that the Brazilian diet is still tied to old customs and subsists largely on rice and beans and other imported goods.

Having captured my imagination, I set out to weave together flavors/aromas from crops that are widely grown in rainforest climates…and I do mean weave in a literal sense…hey, if Wylie can tie foie in a knot, why not weave? I edited a long list of possibilities down to those that I knew would work well together:
banana
coconut
lime
tamarind
coffee
vanilla
cashew

I began with a piece of grouper, which was seasoned and placed in a bag with vanilla-infused coconut milk and a piece of banana leaf, sealed under vacuum, and cooked sous-vide at 50C for 20 minutes.

Next, I separated the flavors and aromas into two agar sheets. I chose agar because of its heat stability–I didn’t want it to melt as soon as it came in contact with the hot fish–but I was careful to keep these sheets on the soft side, barely firm enough to manipulate. The first sheet (creamy, rich, slightly sweet) was made by mashing bananas with lime juice(for flavor and to retard darkening), I added agar to the coconut milk, brought to a boil, then combined this with the banana mash. I then poured this out onto a plastic-lined flat container to a thickness of 1/4" and chilled until set.

The second sheet (aromatic, tart, bitter) was made using the same procedure, except the agar was heated with tamarind puree and a hint of vanilla extract, then combined with a pulled shot of espresso and molded.

After both sheets set up, I cut them into 1/2" strips and carefully wove them together, holding them in the refrigerator until just before service, when they were inverted onto the squares of grouper. To finish, a little sprinkle of ground cashews and lime zest.

So, you may ask, is this dish "a universe of aromas"?
No…but, maybe a microcosm.