Author: cia

Penne with Homemade Pesto

Basil was abundant in Vermont so the boy made pesto for our pasta meal. It’s amazing how easy it is to make dinner with just the right, fresh ingredient. Back in New York City, I replicated the dish. Can you guess which one is mine?

Ingredients:
half a box of penne
1/2 pound of fresh basil leaves, rinsed well and roughly chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
a handful of pine nuts
2 tsps lemon juice
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Make the pesto. In a food processor, pulse basil, pine nuts and garlic to combine. Slowly drizzle a little bit of olive oil while pulsing. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
2. Boil a pot of water and add penne with a little salt and olive oil for about 15 minutes. Shock cooked pasta with cold water and drain.
3. In a large bowl, combine a small amount of pesto with the penne. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if necessary or add another jig of olive oil for more moisture.

Sauteed Ramps with Pancetta

I first heard of ramps while eating at The Tasting Room. I found out later that they are only available in the spring. Ramps belong in the leek family and they taste like onion and garlic combined. A co-worker told me she used to eat them raw as a child growing up in Virginia. We were in Vermont one spring for a canoe trip and the boy’s professor directed us to the side of the lake where they grew like weeds. We harvested them and made a really nice duck dinner with them as a side. When I stopped by the New York City farmers’ market, they had them for sale and sure enough, people were standing in line to buy them even at $2.50 a bunch.

Ingredients:
2 bunches of ramps
a thin sliver of pancetta, diced
a bowl of ice water
salt, pepper

1. Add thoroughly washed ramps in boiling water for four minutes. When they’re done, drain and shock them in ice water to stop its cooking.
2. Fry the pancetta in a skillet and drain on a paper towel.
3. Using the same skillet, add the ramps and toss them in the rendered fat with salt and pepper.

Sichuan Shrimp

One of my co-workers is an avid vegetable gardener. We were talking about his yard in the suburbs and he mentioned that he was waiting to harvest his chilis. A few months later, he gave me a bag of his produce, dried and ready to be cooked. It was a beautiful bounty and I was grateful for the gift. Only a Chinese dish would inspire this much chili, specifically from the Sichuan province, which could be hot, sour, salty and tongue-numbing at the same time. I used the small, round pellets shown in the photo below.

Ingredients:
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and butterflied
2 tbsps shao hsing sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp peanut oil
1/2 tsp hot chili oil
1/2 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp MSG
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 green bell peppers, julienned
1 medium carrot, peeled and julienned
1 small turnip, peeled and julienned
a handful of snow peas, destringed and torn in half
2 stalks of scallions, cut lengthwise
red chiles
3 cloves of garlic, minced
a knob of ginger, minced
salt

1. Sprinkle shrimp with some salt and let stand for 30 minutes. Then wash the shrimps with cold water, drain and add sprinkle a little bit more salt. Let stand for another five minutes. Wash the shrimps with cold water again and drain well but do not dry.
2. Prepare and mix together all the spices and oils in a glass bowl to make a sauce. Set aside.
3. In a hot wok, heat two cups of peanut oil. Immerse shrimps into the hot oil and cook until white, about 60 seconds. Remove using a slotted spoon. Drain all but 2 tbsps of the oil and stir fry the ginger, garlic, scallions and chilis. Add the red and green peppers, carrots, snow peas and turnips and cook until soft. Add the shrimps and the sauce and toss.

Buttercups with Peashoot Leaves

I had no clue why the Chinatown fish store I went to called the fish buttercups but I needed some type of flat fish to replicate the dish we ate while in Amsterdam. It was Michel’s birthday and he had invited his family to visit from the suburbs. We joined them and a few of his friends at their flat for a small celebration and this dish stood out. Peashoot leaves are ridiculously expensive even in Chinatown but they are one of my favorite vegetables. I added them to the buttercups for both color and a slight bitter taste.

Ingredients:
any type of small and flat white fish like buttercups
a bunch of peashoot leaves
red onion, sliced into rings
a handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
slices of lemon
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 375º. Cover the bottom of a glass baking dish with the slices of lemon, parsley and onion rings. Place the fish on top without overlapping. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle generously with olive oil. Top again with some more onion rings and lemon slices.
2. Cook in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes until peashoot leaves are wilted and fish is white and meaty inside.

The Tasting Room

72 East 1st Street on First Avenue
212/358.7831
about $150 for two, with two drinks, without tip
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

When people ask me for my top five restaurants in New York City, I rank Sushiden on five, Tom Colicchio’s Gramercy Tavern on four, Snack on three and Mario Batali’s Babbo in second place. I usually get a reaction when I tell them that The Tasting Room ranks first because they have never heard of it or because the proprietors are more famous at the farmers’ market than they are on FoodTV.

The Tasting Room is where I was introduced to ramps a couple of years ago. Ramps belong in the leek family and have the taste and smell of garlic and onions combined. Ours were served with very tender Moulard duck breast. I have been ramp farming every spring in Vermont since then. I don’t know any other restaurant in New York City where I can eat carpaccio, squab and to-die-for pork belly all in one seating.

I visited for a second time a couple of weeks ago to see the difference in their autumn menu. Again, my expectations were superseded. A friend and I started with the uni velouté and then the fluke tartare with roasted eggplant. The soup was perfect for the almost-winter weather outside; it could have been butternut squash because of the color but the distinct taste of the ocean was obviously there. We also ordered the rabbit terrine and the pheasant in three ways: rillettes, roasted breast meat and chopped liver. My dining partner definitely knew she wanted fish to match with her choice of white wine, so she picked the striped bass with smoked eel, pappas amarillos and roasted garlic. Maitake mushrooms are still in season so I chose them with scallops, turnips and celery root purée–simply delicious. The turnips and the celery made the maitake subtle, which sometimes could be overwhelming in taste and in smell, but the saltiness of the scallops brought all of them together. We opted for the cheesecake with red wine-braised pear to finish, which carried the namesake of the co-owner’s mother.

The space is tiny with about ten tables but the dishes speak volumes. You have a choice of tasting portions for all of their dishes or a share at double the amount. The service is attentive whether it’s to answer your questions (What the hell is salsify? What is burdock?) or to recommend one of their numerous bottles of domestic wine.

Updated, 2007: The Tasting Room is now a café and the restaurant has moved to a bigger space on Elizabeth Street off Houston.