cia – Page 199 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Belgian Endive and Grain Mustard Salad

Nigella Lawson suggested to serve this salad with roasted duck. I didn’t want to disappoint her so I followed her advice.

Ingredients:
Belgian endives, separated into leaves
a bunch of watercress, thoroughly washed, patted dry with a paper towel
1/2 cup hazelnuts, shelled and crushed into smaller pieces
1 tsp grain mustard
2 tsps lime juice
2 tsps lime juice
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp vegetable oil
salt

1. Toast hazelnuts in a dry skillet. Transfer to a bowl and let them cool.
2. In a bowl, whisk mustard, lime juice, orange juice, honey, salt, sesame oil and vegetable oil. Set aside.
3. Toss endives and watercress in a salad bowl, sprinkle with hazelnuts and drizzle with citrus and mustard dressing.

Related post/s:
Roasted duck with blueberry sauce

Roast Duck with Blueberry Sauce

I love roasting ducks just so I can save the duck fat afterwards. The collected duck fat is great for roasting Brussels sprouts or potatoes and using it as dressing on some bitter greens like endives and watercress. Just transfer it to a ramekin, cover with plastic wrap and store in the freezer until ready to use.

Ingredients:
1 whole fresh duck, excess fat trimmed, giblets removed

For blueberry sauce:
2 cups blueberries
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, quarted, cored, finely chopped
1/2 of a white onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 pcs whole star anise
grated zest of 1 lime
grated zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1. Heat oven at 325Âº. Place duck on a rack of a roasting pan to drain fat. Bake uncovered for 3 hours, periodically draining off collected fat in pan. Raise heat to 400Âº and roast an additional 30 minutes for crispy skin.
2. Make the blueberry sauce while roasting the duck. In a small saucepan, put all the ingredients together and simmer over low heat. It should be thick but leave some of the fruit chunks for more texture. Adjust the taste by adding sugar and white wine vinegar alternately.
3. To serve, remove ducks from the oven and cut away meat from the rib cage on a carving board, discarding bones.

Cold Sesame Noodles

A staple of Chinese takeouts, sesame noodles is an easy, protein-rich dish that can be both spicy and sweet. The key is using Skippy’s smooth peanut butter so as not to complicate the recipe and not use any more sugar since peanut butter off the supermarket shelves is already too sweet. I used soba noodles here because I already have them, but use Chinese egg noodles for more authenticity.

Ingredients:
soba noodles
a handful of string beans, julienned
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1/2 cup Skippy’s smooth peanut butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsps sesame oil
salt

1. Cook soba noodles in boiling water for about 5 minutes. When done, drain and fluff with a fork to keep the noodles from sticking together. Toss noodles with the vegetables.
2. In a blender, purÃ©e the rest of the ingredients. Stir in some warm water to liquify the dressing. Pour dressing over noodles and vegetables. Toss to coat.

Related post/s:
Where to buy egg or soba noodles

Brown-Buttered Brussels Sprouts

This recipe calls for clarified butter. In a small pan, melt a few sticks of butter over low heat. Brown the butter until there is no more sizzle, but remove from heat to avoid burning it. Using a cheesecloth, strain to remove the burnt sediments. Transfer to a ramekin and put inside the fridge to solidify. You can use regular butter if you think that’s too much work. Make sure it’s good quality butter, though, like Lurpak.

Ingredients:
Brussels sprouts, halved
3 tbsps butter
salt, pepper

1. In a Dutch oven, brown butter over medium heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add sprouts when butter is hot and cook until browned on both sides.

Related post/s:
Brussels sprouts without butter

EN Japanese Brasserie

435 Hudson Street between Leroy and Morton
212/647.9196
about $125 for two, with two drinks, without tip
♥ ♥

Our Ethan Hawke lookalike waiter at EN Japanese Brasserie seemed nervous, stuttering whenever he had to answer a question; maybe we asked too many questions. The cocktails we ordered as soon as we were seated took fifteen minutes to come and when the boy’s bourbon was served without my lychee martini, he tried to explain in so many words why. But the restaurant is known for its yuba, or homemade tofu, not for its waiters, and if you come at the right time, you can catch the next fresh batch that’s scheduled to be made. What impressed me was their otoro, or the belly, the most expensive part of a tuna fish. We had them two ways, sashimi and seared, and they were both exquisite. The sashimi was magnificent, like butter melting in your mouth, while the seared otoro was served in garlic-soy and tasted like perfect slabs of steak. After an uni sashimi, we asked for a recommended light palate cleanser. A burdock root salad was served which I thought was too heavy to be eaten in between dishes. For dessert, we ordered the yuba sorbet but a soufflé came instead. Our waiter apologized but it was never comped from our bill.

Space is hard to find in New York City, but EN has plenty of it. An inexperienced waiter can ruin a visit but EN holds its own with more pluses than minuses. High ceilings, dark wooden carvings and twigs of cherry blossoms take you away from the big city as you walk past the heavy curtains. The entire staff harmoniously greets every customer out loud in Japanese as soon as they come in and that alone can transport anyone to Shinjuku.