Bear Cuisine

Another Pesto

Whenever I buy vegetables with their tops attached, such as radishes, beets or turnips,I am a bit mystified by what to do with those leafy greens. Sometimes I saute them and serve them with whatever else is on the menu, but that doesn't seem quite the right solution in Spring. With this batch of beautiful ,leafy tops I decided that I would make pesto. I adapted Martha Phelps Stamps' recipe for Spring Pesto from Martha's at the Plantation as the basis for this and I have to say that the result is extremely tasty.

Mixed radish, Daikon radish, and Japanese turnip greens

Another Spring Pesto

1. 3-4 cups of leafy greens from vegetables
2. 3/4 cup feta cheese
3. 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
4. 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
5. 2 TBS capers
6. Juice and zest of 1 lemon
7. Pepper flakes to taste
8. 1 cup of olive oil

 Place the mixed greens in the bowl of a food processor.

Add the remaining ingredients and process to a roughly textured paste.

Store covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Mix thoroughly before serving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Indoor Picnic

Picnics are popular at our house, but the weather isn't always conducive to being outside. We solved that problem by planning an indoor picnic using recipes from a new book, The Picnic. Recipes and Inspiration from Basket to Blanket.

It's a charming book and the authors' recipes are as good or better than the delightful illustrations.

The centerpiece of the gathering was Cold Poached Salmon with Green Goddess Sauce. Since you can do most of the work the day before your party or picnic, this is great dish for relieving the stress of getting ready.

COLD POACHED SALMON WITH GREEN GODDESS SAUCE

(serves 6 to 8)

1. 2 celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch slices
2. 2 large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch slices
3. 2 large leeks, white and green parts, cut into 1/2-inch slices and washed well
4. 4 garlic cloves, smashed
5. 5 to 6 fresh parsley springs
6. 3 or 4 fresh thyme sprigs
7. 10 black peppercorns
8. 1 bay leaf
9. 3 lemons, 2 halved and 1 very thinly sliced into rounds
10. 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
11. 3/4 cup white wine vinegar
12. One 2 1/2- to 3-pound side of salmon, pin bones removed
13. Fine sea salt
14. 6 cups lightly packed baby arugula
15. 1 cucumber, very thinly sliced
16. Green Goddess Sauce

 Put the celery, carrots, leeks, garlic,parsley, thyme, peppercorns, and bay leaf in a large roasting pan. Pour in 8 to 12 cups of water to cover the vegetables by at least one inch. Place the pan over medium medium-high heat and bring to a gentle boil. Add the lemon halves, wine and vinegar.

Season the salmon with salt, then lower it into the pan, skin side down, and rest it on the vegetables. Add water if the salmon is not completely submerged. Bring the liquid back up to around 190 degrees F. and adjust the heat to maintain the temperature while poaching.

Remove the pan from the heat when the thickest part of the fillet reaches 100 degrees F, 6 to 10 minutes. Leave the salmon in the liquid to cool for about 1 hour, then refrigerate until cold at least 2 hours, or for up to 1 day.

Before the picnic, line a platter with the lemon slices around the edge. Mound the arugula on the platter. Use the largest spatulas you have to gently lift the salmon from the poaching liquid. Drain well and and place on the platter. (Strain and reserve the poaching liquid; it freezes well.) Cover the surface of the salmon with the cucumber slices, overlapping them like fish scales. Wrap the platter tightly with plastic wrap and transport to the picnic. Cut slices and serve with the sauce spooned over the top.

 

GREEN GODDESS SAUCE

( 2 1/4 cups)

1. 3/4 cup mayonnaise
2. 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
3. 1 cup tarragon leaves (one 3/4-ounce package)
4. 4 green onions, white and light green parts coarsely chopped
5. 2 oil-packed anchovy fillets, drained
6. 1 garlic clove, smashed
7. 3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
8. 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
9. 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
10. 3/4 cup sour cream

Combine the mayonnaise, parsley, tarragon, onions, anchovies,garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper in blender and process until smooth. Add the sour cream and blend just until combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Refrigerate until the picnic for for up to 3 days.

 

The salmon passed the ultimate test of goodness.There wasn't a morsel left at the end of the evening!

Mark Connell's Corn Soup

CHEF MARK CONNELL

 

Max's is, alas, no more;but Mark Connell is still around and willing to share his culinary skills with us.In this class sponsored by Las Cosas, my favorite was the corn soup.

CORN SOUP WITH CRAB SALAD

Corn Soup

1. 10 ears of corn
2. 2 leeks (use white parts only)
3. 3 cloves of garlic
4. 1 cup California Chardonnay
5. 4 quarts water
6. Thyme, salt and pepper

Cut the corn off the cobs, and scrape each cobb well with back of your knife. Put the cobs into a stock pot with the water, and a few sprigs of thyme. Simmer for for 30-45 minutes.

Wash the leeks and gently sweat in whole butter with the garlic. When the leeks are very soft, add the corn and continue to cook for a few minutes. Add the chardonnay. Cook until dry and cover the corn with corn stock you have just made. Simmer for about 20 inutes. Blend well in a vita mixer,*strain though a chinois and season.

Crab Salad

Put the crab in a bowl, add chives, tarragon, salt pepper lemon juice and olive oil. Taste constantly. When you're happy with it and there's still some left, it's done.

 

The crab in the soup was good, but I think that some poached lobster would be even better.

Even though I have listed this under summer cooking, I have made a soup very much like this at other times of the year by using corn stock frozen from the summer and frozen fresh corn from the summer.

 

*I've used a Vita Mix for years and I consider it an almost essential kitchen tool. As useful as food processor, you can do great things with it.

Stephen's Summer Spaghetti

ok, ok. The Autumnal Equinox has come and gone, but there are still warm days ahead and,even more important,fabulous tomatoes are still in the markets. This is another winning dish from Canal House. It's now part of my repertoire and I think it should be part of yours.

SUMMER SPAGHETTI

(serves 4)

1. 1 pound spaghetti
2. salt
3. 1/2 cup olive oil
4. 4 cloves garlic
5. Large bunch of basil, leaves chopped
6. 6 tomatoes, halved, cored, squeezed of seeds and juice, chopped
7. pepper
8. 1 cup finely grated parmigiano reggiano

Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water over high heat.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until it softens and turns a little golden. Remove the garlic and discard. Add all the basil, then the tomatoes, and stir around until just heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

When the pasta is about three-quarters cooked, drain out most of the water, leaving about 1/2 cup pasta cooking water in the pot. Return the pot with the spaghetti to the heat. Pour in all the tomatoes, oil and basil from the skillet and let it finish cooking for about 5 minutes. Stir in the grated cheese. Serve with a little more olive oil and more cheese.

It's not too late

Even though we are having some beautiful, chilly fall mornings, there are still days of summer left. It's not too late for some gorgeous summer salads. One of my favorites is Watermelon and Tomato Salad. This version  from The City Cook is simplicity itself.

WATERMELON AND TOMATO SALAD

(serves 4)

1. 3 cups of 1-inch chunks of water
2. 2 cups of 1-inch chunks of tomato (2 to 3 beefsteak tomatoes)*
3. 1/4-pound of Feta cut into 1/2-inch dice
4. 1 medium red onion
5. 3 tablespoons pine nuts
6. 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
7. 1 teaspoon good quality red wine vinegar
8. 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
9. Salt

(Both watermelon and tomatoes have lots of water so only salt this just before you are ready to serve it. Depending on the saltiness of your feta, you may not need much salt at all. Taste before you salt.)

Using a dry saute pan, lightly toast the pine nuts over a moderate heat. Watch them carefully because they can burn quickly. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Cut the watermelon into 1-inch chunks, removing any seeds.

Core the tomatoes and if the skins are thick, peel them. Cut into 1-inch chunks.

Slice the red onion into thin slices.

Combine the melon and tomato chunks and onion slices together in a serving bowl.

Sprinkle the toasted pine nuts and pieces of Feta over the melon, tomato and sliced onion.

Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice, red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil to the ingredients, plus a pinch of salt.

Gently toss to combine so that the ingredients stay whole.

Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more lemon juice or olive oil if you like.

 

Serve immediately.

* I used heirloom varieties of cherry tomatoes which made for an even prettier salad.