Vegetables + Salads – Page 16 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Roasted Sea Bass with Fennel Tomato Salsa

I schlepped in the pouring rain to stop by the farmers market and order my turkey for Thanksgiving. After I put my name down for an 11-pound bird, I noticed the Blue Moon Fish tent. There were a few people standing in front waiting to be helped so I squeezed my way in to see what the commotion was all about. They were giving away fish heads and bones for stock. I waited for my turn and got my own but I also ended up buying a $6 whole sea bass. Blue Moon hails from Mattituck, New York and they specialize in wild-caught fish. But I didn’t even stay long enough to ask what kind of sea bass it was. The Dr. said it would be a black sea bass because that’s the type most often caught in the east coast.

I could only think of roasting it so I also bought a couple of fennel bulbs and bunches of herbs before I walked to the subway to go straight to work. I was juggling to hold my umbrella, my purse and the goods in my half-wet tote bag. At dinner time, I opened a bottle of Chardonnay from Lamoreaux and roasted the fish I stuffed with lemon, onions garlic and rosemary. While it was cooking, I made a bowl of salad. The Dr. stopped by after a long day in the hospital. He confirmed it was indeed a black sea bass and also gave me a nod for a wonderful rainy night meal.

Ingredients:
1 whole black sea bass, scaled and cleaned with head and tail intact
1/2 red onion, sliced into thin rings
1/2 lemon, cut into thin rounds
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
salt, pepper, olive oil

For the fennel tomato salsa:
1 fennel bulb, chopped
3 medium tomatoes, diced and seeded
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 yellow bell pepper, julienned
1 red onion, roughly chopped
a handful basil leaves, torn
a handful mint leaves, torn
red wine vinegar
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Prepare the salsa. In a small heated skillet, let the fennel sweat to soften them. Toss for a couple of minutes and let cool. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to mix well. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
2. Preheat oven to 400Âº. Rinse the fish under cold running water to make sure the cavity is clean of any entrails and pat dry with a paper towel. Stuff the cavity with the onion rings, lemon rounds, garlic and some of the rosemary sprigs. Put some in the head as well. Make small slits on the body to insert more garlic.
3. Place the fish on a bed of rosemary branches set in a large roasting pan. Rub the fish with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the fish until completely cooked through, about 40 minutes. Transfer the fish to a large platter and serve with the salsa.

Related post/s:
Fresh fish from Blue Moon

Chestnut and Chickpea Hotpot

I bought The Food of Spain and Portugal to skim through during my flight back from Barcelona and made marks to the recipes I’d like to test at home. Not wanting to let go of our Catalan experience just yet, I picked Extramadura’s puchero de castaÃ±as con garbanzos, or chestnut and chickpea hotpot to get that comforting feeling we had when we ate chickpeas at almost every tapas bar in Barcelona.

This recipe needs a little bit of planning ahead to soak the chickpeas and chestnuts overnight.
I used the Goya chickpeas from the grocery store. As for the chestnuts, there’s plenty in Chinatown that’s packaged dry, but I wanted the ones soaked in water because I didn’t get the chance to soak them with the chickpeas. (Note that chestnuts in water is different from water chestnuts!) At Dean and Deluca, I bought a $9.50 can of Clement Faugier whole chestnuts in water, a French brand–a little steep but that’s why I said you should plan ahead. There are plenty of smoked ham hocks in my grocery store for less than $2 and because I only used them to flavor the broth, I didn’t feel too bad about throwing them out after cooking. The dried pimento peppers I found at DespaÃ±a for $1.50 in a small box. They were chewy after cooking so I just discarded them, too.

The temperature dropped down to 65 on my way home and it was a little bit chilly. Coming home to make this hotpot with a couple of glasses of Shinn Estate’s Red was what I just needed to wind down. It is great with country bread from Balthazar.

Ingredients:
half a 1-pound package of chickpeas, soaked overnight in water, drained
1 can of chestnuts in water, drained
1 smoked ham hock
1 packaged of bacon, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 ribs of celery, chopped
3 dried pimento peppers, seeded and torn
3 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp crushed peppercorns
2 hardboiled eggs
a handful of shiitake mushrooms, wiped off clean and chopped
parsley, finely chopped
thyme
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. In a large casserole, combine all the ingredients except the egg, mushrooms, parsley and seasonings. Add enough water to cover everything and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat a little and let simmer for 1 to 2 hours or until chickpeas are soft while ocassionally stirring. Add some more water if needed; the dish should be more soupy than dry.
2. Stir in the olive oil so that the broth will emulsify and become creamier and let it boil again. Discard the bay leaf and the pimento peels. Season with some salt.
3. In the meantime, fry the mushrooms in a pan with hot olive oil and season with thyme, salt and pepper. Add to the pot, stir a bit and turn off the heat. Stir in the parsley and serve with the eggs.

Summer Vegetable Terrine

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

Ingredients:
a handful of haricots verts, trimmed
4 golden beets, trimmed with1/2-inch of stems intact, cleaned off dirt
fresh chives, cut in shorter pieces
2 small envelopes of gelatin
2 medium carrots, cut in small pieces
3 stalks of scallions, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 sprig of rosemary
2 sprigs of thyme
1 cup dry white wine
whole peppercorns
oil, salt and pepper

1. Roast beets. Preheat oven to 450Âº. Wrap beets in heavy-duty foil and put in a shallow baking pan. Roast for about 1 hour and a half. Let steam in foil for an extra 10 minutes outside the oven. When cool enough to handle, gently squeeze to peel off skin. Cut into wedges and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Make the gelatin mixture. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil with white wine, shallots, scallions, peppercorns and salt over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Add rosemary, thyme and half of the chives and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour stock through a fine mesh and discard solids. Save 2 1/2 cups of the stock.
3. Make the gelatin. In 1/4 cup of water, stir in gelatin powder and let stand for a minute to soften. Add to the gelatin mixture and stir until dissolved. Set aside.
4. Prepare haricots verts while roasting beets. Boil in salted water for about 7 minutes. Blanche in ice water to stop cooking. Drain and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
5. Assemble terrine. Lightly oil a nonreactive terrine or loaf pan. Line the bottom and sides with Saran wrap while smoothing out the wrinkles and leaving overhang around the pan. Pour about 1 cup of the gelatin mixture and quick-chill in freezer for about 20 minutes. When the first layer of gelatin is set, lay some of the haricots verts over, sprinkle with some chives and top with some of the beets. Repeat layering until all vegetables are used leaving some space between them for the gelatin to fill and hold them together. Stir the remaining gelatin mixture again and pour over vegetables except for 1/2 cup. Make sure all the vegetables are covered with the gelatin mixture. Chill in the refrigerator, uncovered, until the top is set, about 2 hours. Stir the remaining gelatin mixture and pour over set terrine. Put the terrine back in the refrigerator and chill until firm.
6. When ready to serve, run a thin knife along the sides of the terrine. Invert on a plate and gently pull off Saran wrap to help unmold. Carefully slice and transfer on a plate using a spatula. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Crispy Okra Salad

Adapted from Chef Suvir Saran

Ingredients:
1 pound young okra, halved lengthwise and julienned
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tomato, cored, seeds removed, sliced into thin strips
a handful cilantro, coarsely chopped
2 tsps garam masala
lemon juice
salt
oil for frying

1. In a deep skillet, heat some oil and working in batches, fry okra strips while stirring until golden and crispy. Using a slotted spoon, transfer each fried batch to a plate lined with paper towel. Sprinkle with garam masala and salt.
2. In a large bowl, gently toss the fried okra with the rest of the ingredients.

Italy: Cianbotta or Cianfotta

Lisa’s dad said that this Italian version of ratatouille has two names, depending on whether you live in the south of Italy or the north. Whether you grew up calling it cianbotta or cianfotta, it means “tasteful and colorful.” It’s a rural dish that farm folks learned to make after experiencing the hardships caused by the second World War. Lisa’s mom remembers this as very delicious and nutritious; the vegetables taking the place of meat, which was unaffordable during those times. Even though the recipe still represents poverty to a lot of the older generation, it’s a comfort food that evokes unforgettable childhood memories. Harold McGee recommends you salt the eggplant pieces after you slice them. This draws out the moisture and collapses their spongy texture, so they don’t absorb all the oil when you start cooking them.

Ingredients:
1 large red bell pepper
6 small red-skinned potatoes
3 plum tomatoes
1 zucchini
1 eggplant
1 large onion
a handful of fresh basil leaves
olive oil, salt and pepper

1. Cut all vegetables into 1/4-inch pieces. In a small pot, boil potatoes in salted water until half cooked. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions and cook until soft. Add potatoes and peppers. Cook for about 10 minutes on low heat. Add the rest of the vegetables including the basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Cook until vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes. Enjoy as a side dish or as a main course, served with fresh Italian garlic bread.