Ribollita, cucumber salad with trout roe, tomatoes with cured sardines, grilled rib-eye with sweet corn, and a blueberry clafoutis? Exclusive, easy recipes from the top New York chefSummer ribollitaThis is a recipe I learnt at the River Caf�. Rose taught me how to make this rustic Italian soup two ways ? an autumn/winter ribollita and a summer ribollita.Serves 6fresh cannellini beans 225g garlic 2 cloves, peeled and finely choppedhead of celery 1 whole, cleaned and finely diced (reserve the bright yellow leaves)carrot 1 medium, peeled and finely dicedred onions 2 medium, peeled, finely dicedpequin chillis 4 dry, crushed (or 2 standard dried red chillis) olive oil 55ml heirloom tomatoes 450g, blanched, peeled flat leaf parsley 2 handfuls or marjoram loosely packed and then roughly choppedSwiss chard 575g, stems removed and roughly choppedstale Italian bread enough to cover the cooking pot in one even layer when sliced about 1cm thicksea salt, black pepper and olive oil to finishPlace the fresh, uncooked beans in a pot and add just enough water to cover them. Then add half as much water again. Bring the water to the boil and turn down to a low simmer and cook until tender, but not mushy. Allow the beans to cool in their liquid.If using dried beans, add water to cover and then add the same amount again. Cook as you would fresh beans but be aware that dried beans will take significantly longer to cook.To make the soup, in a wide saucepan, fry the garlic, celery, carrot, onion and chillis in the olive oil over a medium heat.While the vegetables are cooking, squeeze the tomatoes over a bowl to release their seeds and juice. Make sure to get all of the seeds out. Strain the seeds from the tomato liquid and reserve the juice. Discard the seeds.After cooking the vegetables for about 30 minutes, until they are soft and lightly caramelised, add the parsley (or marjoram) and fry for another 5 minutes. Next, add the tomatoes with their liquid, and beat the tomatoes with a whisk. Continue cooking for another 30 minutes over a low heat. The tomato liquid should be absorbed by the other vegetables and your soup should be, once again, fairly dry. Now add the beans along with their cooking liquid and cook over a low heat, simmering for 20-25 minutes, or until the soup comes together: the various components should move together when stirred, but the soup should still be moist from the beans' cooking liquid. Add the chard and fold it into the soup. Cover the surface of the pot with the bread and pour just enough hot water over it all to moisten the bread. Give the bread a generous drizzle of good olive oil and remove the pot from the heat. Let the soup sit unattended for 10 minutes, then stir to combine. It should be thick and delicious. Season with salt and pepper.Cucumber salad with trout roe, sesame seeds and herbsYou can substitute the variety of cucumbers with English cucumbers, but I like cutting the different cucumbers into different shapes.Serves 6lemon cucumbers 3 medium Kirby cucumbers 3 medium Burpless cucumbers 2 medium (or substitute a total of 4 regular cucumbers in the recipe) Maldon salt 1 tsp Banyuls vinegar or red wine vinegar 2 tbspgarlic clove �, finely choppedcreme fraiche 55ml olive oil 3 tbspsesame seeds 3 tbsp, toastedcoriander seeds 1� tbsp, toasted then coarsely groundblack mint � bunch dill or coriander a handfultrout or salmon roe 2 heaped tbspPeel cucumbers with tough skins and slice into rounds or on the diagonal. Place in a bowl and toss with salt then drain over a colander for 1 hour in the fridge to remove some of the water.Pat dry and quickly wipe the bowl to remove the salty water. Add the cucumbers back to the bowl along with the vinegar and garlic and let sit for 5 minutes, then add the creme fraiche, olive oil, 2 tbsp of sesame and coriander seeds. Roughly chop half the mint and dill/coriander and gently mix.To serve, pile high in a bowl and sprinkle with the roe, then finish with the remaining herbs and sesame seeds.Tomatoes with cured sardines and basil mayonnaiseThese are so easy and I love the freshness of curing my sardines.Serves 6sardine fillets 16red wine vinegar 55ml sel gris or Maldon salt pequin chilli peppers 2, crushedlemon zest of � a lemonolive oil 3 tbsp mixed heirloom tomatoes 225g grilled bread 6 slices, rubbed with a clove of garlic and drizzled with olive oilFor the basil mayo (this will make more than you need for this recipe, but can be kept for up to a week in the fridge)egg yolks 2 lemon juice 2 tbsp English mustard 1 tbsp olive oil 225ml basil leaves a good handful (reserve a few of the best-looking leaves for serving)For the basil mayonnaise. Place the egg yolks, lemon juice and mustard in a food processor and whizz until frothy. Add the olive oil in a thin stream until the oil is all incorporated and you have a thick creamy mayonnaise. If your mayonnaise is thick and gloppy, add some iced water to let it down. Add the basil ? it's important it is really tender. If the spines seem too tough, split each leaf down the middle and remove the centre vein. Give the basil a rough chop, then add it to the processor and give the mayonnaise another spin with the basil. The blade of the processor should make quick work of the basil and your mayo should turn barely green with small specks of basil running through it. Finally, add a tablespoon of salt, transfer to a non-reactive container, cover and refrigerate so that the basil stays green.You can leave the fish overnight for a fully cured fillet, or use them after a few hours for a milder flavour. Place the red wine vinegar in a non-reactive tray and lay the sardine fillets cut-side down in it. Sprinkle over the salt, a little crushed chilli, a couple of rasps of lemon zest and finally a little olive oil.Slice a few of the larger tomatoes, then cut the smaller tomatoes into rustic chunks. Season gently with a touch of salt, then drizzle with some of the fish marinade. Let these sit for a second while you compose the plate.Place the grilled bread on a plate and top with a dollop of basil mayo. Place the tomatoes evenly on top, then top them off with the cured sardines and finish with a few leaves of basil.Grilled rib-eye with sweet corn and coriander butterThis recipe is great to do on the grill. Slather the spicy butter on the corn.Serves 6For the rib-eye and cornbone-in rib-eye steaks 3 x 6cm-thick (about 1kg each)lemon � husked sweet corn 6 earsFor the coriander butterunsalted butter 450g, room temperature coriander leaves 2 large handfuls (reserve a few for garnish)red chilli 1 tbsp, finely diced pickled jalapenos 4 tbsp, drained (reserve the brine, if available)lemon zest 2 tsp (about � a lemon's worth)Banyuls vinegar or red wine vinegar 1� tbsp (or the reserved jalapeno brine)Maldon salt to tasteTo make the butter, start with the room temperature butter in a large mixing bowl. The butter should be soft and malleable, but not melting. Finely chop the coriander and add it to the butter. Mix it well, using your hands or a mixer. Once the coriander is thoroughly incorporated into the butter, add the rest of the ingredients and mix again, until it all comes together into a creamy, green butter with specks of chilli. (Mixing the coriander in first will prevent it from oxidising.) Add salt to taste.If you plan to use the butter straight away, leave it out at room temperature. Otherwise, you can keep it fresh in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer for even longer. Remember to bring your butter back up to room temperature before you use it.To cook the steak and sweet corn, generously season the steaks all over with salt. Let them rest for 10 minutes at room temperature and preheat a grill or grill pan over a medium heat.Put the steaks on the grill or pan and cook, uncovered, until the bottom has a lovely dark brown crust, about 15 minutes ? rotate the steaks after about 7 minutes to get nice cross-hatched grill marks. Use tongs to gently flip the steaks and cook the second side the same way. Rest for about 8 minutes.While the steaks are resting, place the corn on the grill or grill pan. Cook, rotating frequently, until the corn is nicely charred all the way around. Remove the corn and let it rest for just a minute or two.To assemble the dish, use a sharp knife to cut the steaks across the grain into 1cm-thick slices. Place a few slices of steak on each plate. Slather a tablespoon of butter on each piece of corn and place one ear next to the steak on each plate. Garnish with a few extra leaves of coriander and drizzle the steak with olive oil, if you please. Serve the rest of the butter on the side.Blueberry clafoutis with lemon verbena ice creamBlueberries and lemon verbena make clafoutis and ice cream much lighter and perfect for the summer.Serves 4For the clafoutisblueberries 120g buttermilk 100g cream 45ml melted butter 20g vanilla extract � tsp salt � tspsugar 65g flour 50gground almonds 15gFor the ice cream ? makes around 500mlwhole milk 350ml fresh lemon verbena leaves 8gglucose 50g salt 1 tsp egg yolks 3 large sugar 50g creme fraiche 160g You will need a kitchen thermometer, 4 10cm tart tins and a bowl of iced waterPreheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.Set aside 90g of blueberries. Combine all the remaining ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Butter and sugar four 10cm tart tins. Put 15g of blueberries at the bottom of each prepared tin. Place the tins on a baking sheet and divide the clafoutis batter between them. Bake until puffed, brown, and just set in the centre.To make the ice cream, scald the milk with the lemon verbena leaves, glucose and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar and yolks and add the hot milk slowly, whisking constantly, until combined. Return the mixture to the heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 82C. Cool down by placing the pan in the iced water immediately. Once cool, whisk in the creme fraiche. Leave to rest overnight. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, and freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions.To serve, unmould the clafoutis gently, and reheat them out of tins in a 200C oven. Dust with icing sugar, and place a scoop of ice cream on top.Sweetcorn souffle puddingThere is nothing more soothing than a warm corn pudding. It goes really well with pretty much anything, even a simple salad. I love the lightness and the intense corn flavour in the dish.Makes one large oval dish, 28cm long x 20cm wide x 5cm deepsweetcorn kernels 650g milk 110ml cream 225ml butter 3 tbsp flour 3 tbsp eggs 4, separatedsalt to tastePreheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Butter a baking dish of the above dimensions and place in the refrigerator to chill.Place the milk, cream and corn kernels in a pot. Bring to the boil and turn the heat off. Strain the mixture and split the corn kernels into two separate bowls. Split the liquid into two separate bowls as well. In a blender, puree half of the warmed corn kernels with half of the milk and cream mixture until silky smooth. Pour the pureed corn mixture back into a bowl with the rest of the corn kernels, milk and cream.In a separate pot, melt the butter just until it begins to froth. Do not let it colour or fry. Add the flour and cook over a medium-low heat, whisking constantly and making sure to get your whisk into the corners of the pot so that the roux never burns or sticks to the pot. After 5 minutes or so, your butter and flour should come together into a foamy mass and the flour should no longer taste raw. At this point, slowly add to the corn mixture, whisking vigorously so that no lumps form. Continue to cook and whisk over a medium-low heat until the mixture has thickened. Season to taste with salt.Whisk together the egg yolks and add a little of your warm corn mixture to temper the yolks. Then pour the yolks into the pot with the rest of the corn mixture. Whisk it all to thoroughly incorporate the egg yolks. Set aside to cool.In a bowl whisk the egg whites until they are stiff but not grainy. Carefully fold the whipped whites into the cool sweetcorn base until just incorporated. Be careful not to deflate the egg whites during this process.Take the buttered baking dish out of the refrigerator and fill three-quarters full with the sweetcorn mixture. Place in a roasting tin and fill the tin halfway up the side of the baking dish with hot water. Bake at 200C/gas mark 6 for around an hour, or until set.Food & drinkChefsRestaurantsguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
No comments:
Post a Comment