Eating Well on the North Fork

August 17, 2011 //
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Let’s face it, you come to the North Fork to eat. Ok, and kayak, swim, and stroll through Greenport. And, well, grill, eat fried clams, fish, and go to farm stands. Well that’s why I come to the North Fork. For the rest of the week I’m in Orient Point at the very end of the Fork, about 2 1/2 hours due east from Brooklyn. Past Riverhead and Cutchogue, beyond Southold and Greenport, and just before the lighthouse.

Here’s a snapshot of today’s eats. There were small and sweet Peconic Bay scallops; marinated hanger steak; ginger and lime cocktails; tomatoes marinated in pesto; Sri Lankan sambal; succotash with bacon; and greens with herbs in a lemon-mustard dressing.

I had a 4 1/2 year-old sous chef to help with the steak marinade. It went something like this: set aside 2 lbs of skirt or hanger steak. In a large bowl combine 1/2 c soy sauce, juice from 1 lime, 1 shallot finely chopped, 1/2 c thinly sliced scallions, and a couple of pinches of Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper. My sous chef loved squeezing the lime, determining “what’s a pinch of salt?” and dredging the steaks through the marinade. Let the steaks marinate for 10-20 minutes before grilling, then grill to medium rare. As someone said between bites, this steak tasted like chocolate. It was dark and smoky and caramelized and delicious.

My friend Sumathi made the cocktails. Mine was 1 tbsp simple syrup with fresh chopped ginger, 1 tbsp lime juice, club soda and a splash of orange juice, garnished with chopped cucumbers and basil. The grown-ups had Brooklyn Gin in theirs.

To make the scallops, wash and dry 1 lb (or 2 or 3 lbs, frankly, you can eat these things like candy corn) bay scallops. Rub a little bit of olive oil on the scallops and season with salt and black pepper. Sauté in a dry hot skillet for about 2 mins. on each side. Serve with squeezed lemon juice.

If the weather cooperates, tomorrow morning will be for tennis, the afternoon for swimming, and the evening—I hope—for oysters, more bay scallops, and taking my friends’ money (aka poker).

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Categories North Fork, Savory, Scallops, Summer

Herbs Are For Eating

August 14, 2011 //
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Another Sunday, another column by Mark Bittman in the New York Times Magazine. Earlier this year his long-standing column, The Minimalist, ended its run in the Wednesday Dining Section and it appeared, more or less intact, in the weekend mag.

I was flipping through the magazine on the subway yesterday, primarily reading Mireille Silcoff’s profile of Kris Carr, Every Cancer Has a Silver Lining, when I came across Bittman’s column, all about herbs. The photo had me at hello, or mangia, or Eat! Truth is, I’ve been cooking more with herbs this summer anyway and a friend has been espousing the virtues of more chlorophyll in our diets. One way to do this is of course eating more greens, and it helps to chew them really well or drink in the form of smoothies.

But mostly it was the photo that prompted me to declare that Sunday’s dinner would be green meatballs with linguine and herb sauce. The basil in my garden was practically shouting “pick me now!” and I hadn’t eaten meat all week, so I figured a few meatballs would make for a nice Sunday sup.

I made a few substitutions to Bittman’s recipe. I couldn’t find any chives so I used finely diced scallions instead. And my favorite butcher in Manhattan is closed on Sundays so I couldn’t get the veal-pork-beef combination I would’ve liked—even though I was running errands in that neighborhood, arg!—opting instead for grass-fed ground Sirloin. Sirloin is a pretty lean cut, which is why it’s nice to add in the juicier pork and veal if your butcher isn’t closed.

Oh, and one more change. I didn’t have a food processor or blender nearby so instead of pulsing the herb mixture into a sauce or pesto I just chopped the herbs and garlic as finely as I could and mixed the ingredients by hand.

The thing about this dish is you could use whatever herbs you have on hand, or growing in your garden, or whatever you happened to pick up at the farmer’s market. Chives, cilantro, basil, chervil, tarragon, basil, oregano, parsley (curly or flat), all would work. Serve with a green salad and some homemade garlic bread, and you may enjoy eating your greens as much as I did.

Pasta With Green Meatballs and Herb Sauce
From Mark Bittman, 14 August 2011

2 c finely chopped fresh basil
1/2 c finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 c finely chopped fresh chives
1 thin slice white bread
1/4 c milk
1/2 lb ground sirloin, pork, lamb, or a mixture
Salt and black pepper
6 tbsp olive oil
1 lb pasta (linguine works well)
1 garlic clove
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Mix together the basil, parsley, and chives. Soak the bread in the milk for 5 minutes then squeeze out the excess milk; discard the milk. Combine the bread with the meat, half of the herb mixture, salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into 1-inch meatballs.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Put 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, 5-10 minutes until cooked through.

3. Cook the pasta in the boiling water until al dente. While the pasta is cooking purée 1 1/2 c of the herbs with 4 tbsp oil, the garlic, salt, and pepper in a hand blender or food processor. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 c of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the herb sauce, adding the reserved liquid if the mixture is dry. Top with the meatballs, garnish with Parmesan and any remaining herbs. Serves 4.

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Categories Herbs, Pasta, Savory, Summer

Spicy Coconut Curry

August 7, 2011 //
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This morning I was listening to a podcast I like, Lynn Rossetto Kasper’s Splendid Table. She off-handedly mentioned something about a curry using coconut milk, chiles, and chicken and with that I had tonight’s dinner puzzle solved.

I love a good, spicy curry, regardless of the weather. Today New York City was a ripe summer day, the humidity somewhere near 90% — perfect curry-eating weather as far as I’m concerned. When Yuji and I were in the Maldives in January we ate curry every day in 90-degree heat. Somehow it works.

You know how oenophiles will tell you to pair wine with whatever food you’re eating? A spicy wine with spicy food, a rich one with a rich meal, etc. Well perhaps it’s like that with curries and weather: a hot curry on a hot evening?

I was en route to the co-op this afternoon to stock up on groceries for the week. You take your chances when visiting the co-op on a Sunday. It can be hairy in there navigating tight aisles with Slopers reaching over you to grab their favorite goat-milk yogurt or stretching to fill a plastic baggie with pecan splendor granola. Today for some reason the co-op was pleasantly calm and air-conditioned. I dawdled in the bulk spice section, marveling at the bargains. I needed a lot of spices because I planned to make my own curry powder, or garam masala. For that you need coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom seeds, whole black peppercorns, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, whole cloves, dried red chiles, and turmeric.

Once home I began assembling, toasting, chopping, and stirring. While you can buy curry powder pre-made, making your own garam masala will improve the quality of your curry. You can make it as spicy as you want, using more or less chiles, and store the leftovers sealed in a glass jar for up to a couple of months. I based my curry on Tyler Florence’s recipe for Spicy Chicken Coconut Curry. It would be easy to make this dish vegetarian by substituting tofu for the chicken, or just adding more veggies.

Spicy Coconut Curry

For the curry powder:
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp cardamom seeds
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp whole cloves
2 dried red chiles (I leave the seeds in, remove to reduce heat)
2 tbsp turmeric

Toast all the ingredients except the turmeric in a small cast-iron skillet for 2-3 minutes on low-medium heat, just until they begin to toast and smell fragrant. Let cool then transfer to a coffee grinder and blend to a powder. Combine with the turmeric, set aside 2 tbsp for the curry and store the rest in an air-tight container. Yields about 1/2 cup.

For the chicken curry:
3 tbsp unsalted butter (Use ghee if you can get it)
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 medium red onion, chopped
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp curry powder (from above)
1 cinnamon stick
1 to 3 dried red chiles (depending on the heat you like)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cans unsweetened light coconut milk (13-15 oz. cans)
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 large eggplant or 2 smaller Japanese eggplants, chopped
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and 3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch strips
1/4 c cilantro leaves plus more for garnish
1 lemon, juiced
Mint leaves, for garnish

Melt the butter in a stock pot over medium heat, when warm and melted add the onions and ginger and cook slowly until the onions are very soft, about 10 minutes. After about 5 minutes stir in the garlic. Add the tomato paste, curry powder, cinnamon stick, and chiles and stir; season with salt and pepper. Pour in the coconut milk and chicken stock and bring to a simmer; cook until the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes. Add the tomatoes, eggplant, chicken, cilantro, half the lemon juice, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Taste and adjust with more lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Garnish with more cilantro and mint leaves.

Oh and the other thing about curries, they taste even better the next day. Good thing I have lots of leftovers.

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Categories Curry, Savory, Summer
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