Romesco Sauce

As the story goes, it all began in El Serralo, a neighborhood along the port of Tarragona. During the 1700s, fishermen would take ingredients that they had lying around -- such as almonds, bread, dried peppers, olive oil, salt and wine to create a sauce. That sauce would be served alongside whatever was left of their catch. 

As with most recipes, there may be as many variations on a romesco sauce as there are chefs and cooks who prepare it. However, there are three basic common rules. First, the base of the sauce usually consists of roasted tomatoes or roasted peppers (roasting the latter is slightly easier than roasting the former. Second, the peppers and tomatoes are pureed, thickened by the addition of almonds, and toasted bread. Third, the sauce is then emulsified with olive oil.  These rules get you to a sauce, which will be rich, and smoky, but it is what comes next that provides you with a truly wonderful sauce.

The variations in a romesco sauce relate to the additional ingredients that may make their way into the recipe. Ingredients such as garlic, chile flakes, and sherry vinegar. All of these ingredients add depth of flavor or heighten the piquancy of the sauce. One may also add paprika or smoked paprika, the latter if you really want to underscore the smokiness of the roasted peppers or tomatoes. 

One final note about this sauce: while its origins may lie with fishermen using the sauce to flavor fish and other seafood, a romesco sauce basically works with anything and everything. It is a great accompaniment to beef, chicken, turkey, and vegetables, as well as most fish and seafood. I prepared this sauce years ago to accompany grilled seafood, but the sauce showed its true versatility when I prepared it for our fondue dinner on New Year's Eve. 

ROMESCO SAUCE

Recipe from Gordon Ramsay's Cookery Course

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 red peppers

1 thick slice of ciabatta or farmhouse white bread,

     crusts removed and torn into chunks

Olive oil

3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

3 vine ripe tomatoes (like plum)  on the vine

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon chile flakes

4 tablespoons of blanched almonds, toasted

     and roughly chopped

1 lemon, juiced

1-2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar

Sea salt, to taste

Ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Prep the bell peppers.  Heat a grill until very hot.  Put the peppers on a foil lined baking tray and place under the grill.  Cook for 5 minutes turning regularly until he skin is blackened and blistered all over.  Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool.  

2.  Continue making the romesco sauce.  Cook the bread chunks for 2 minutes in a small frying pan with a dash of oil, then add the garlic and cook for a further minute until the garlic is tender and the bread toasted.  By this stage, the peppers should have cooled and it will be easy to peel and rub off the charred skins.  Peel, deseed and roughly chop them, then place in a blender.  Roughly chop the tomatoes and add to the peppers with the bread and garlic.  Blitz to form a rough paste.

3.  Continue making the romesco sauce.  Add the smoked paprika, chile flakes, almonds, lemon juice, vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper to the blender and blitz until well mixed.  Taste and adjust the seasoning.  With the motor running, slowly pour in 6 tablespoons of olive oil.  Taste and adjust the seasoning again if necessary.  Allow the sauce to come to room temperature and stir well before serving. 

PEACE.

Gazpacho con Bogavante (Gazpacho with Lobster)

Recently, a certain extremist Republican member of the United States House of Representatives uttered the following words on television: 

"Not only do we have the DC jail which is the DC gulag, but now we have Nancy Pelosi's gazpacho police spying on members of Congress, spying on the legislative work we do, spying on our staff and spying on the American citizens."

This particular elected official, who represents the 14th district of the State of Georgia, tried to evoke many things with that statement. There is the reference to the gulag, which was the prison system of the Soviet Union from 1918 to 1955. This not a particularly apt comparison. While the D.C. jail definitely has its issues (by way of example, overflowing sewage, lack of adequate medical care, and a history of violence), an estimated 1.2 million to 1.7 million died in the Soviet gulags.

And then there is the Representative's reference to the Nazi gestapo, the Geheime Staatspolizei, or German Secret Police, which enforced the brutal and inhumane policies of Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime. Except, this particularly uninformed Republican Representative called referred to that organization as the gazpacho. Gazpacho is a cold soup from Andalusia, Spain. It is the furthest thing from Herman Goring's conception of a secret police force, or Reinhard Heydrich's utilization of that force to facilitate the Holocaust, murdering millions of Jews, Poles, and Soviets, along with hundreds of thousands of Roma (or Romany) and disabled people. (The estimates exceed 17 million being killed during the Holocaust). 

How does one respond to a statement of such stunningly stupid propaganda? To be sure, responses came flowing throughout social media. One such response caught my eye. It came from a true expert on the subject of gazpacho: Jose Ramon Andres Puerta. Most of us know this expert as Chef Jose Andres.  The Spanish born, now American citizen, chef is known for his cookbooks, such as Made in Spain, and his restaurants, such as Jaleo. More recently, he is known for his leadership with the World Central Kitchen (WCK), which has done outstanding work to help coordinate the food responses in response to catastrophes around the world, including in the United States. (If I ever looked up to someone I did not personally know, Chef Andres makes the very short list).)

Chef Jose Andres got wind of what the Representative said and responded by noting on Twitter, "the Gazpacho police was created by me in 1993 to make sure that no one will add Tabasco or jalapeno or strange things to my beloved soup!" Andres also invited the representative to "stop by for a glass," but to not forget her mask and vaccination card.

Chef Andres' offer got me to thinking about gazpacho. His beloved soup has graced this blog in the past. I then decided to look for a gazpacho recipe to make. More specifically, I was looking for a recipe that included lobster. I had a few lobster tails in the fridge that I needed to use. I searched the Internet and, quickly found a recipe for Gazpacho con Bogavante, or Gazpacho with Lobster. The recipe comes from none other than Chef Jose Andres.

I decided to make that recipe, but I had to improvise a little. Chef Andres' recipe calls for the use of whole lobster; however, I had only lobster tails. Without the entire lobster, I did not have to go through the process of straining and reserving the coral. That improvisation impacted the dressing the most, because the coral contributes additional flavoring to what otherwise be just oil and sherry vinegar. It also affected the presentation, as I did not have the claws to present with the final dish.

Despite these improvisations, the Gazpacho con Bogavante was an amazing dish. The smoothness of the bright, cold soup stood in contrast with the crunchy vegetable garnish and the croutons. The slight acidity of the tomatoes, warmed by the use of sherry vinegar, was a great complement to the sweetness of the lobster medallions. 

This little culinary experience proved two things: ignorance is definitely not bliss, but its maliciousness can lead to a counter-challenge that promotes learning, opens minds, and expands horizons. 

GAZPACHO CON BOGAVANTE

Recipe from Jose Andres, available at Food Network

Serves 6

Ingredients (for the gazpacho)

• 2 pounds of tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
• 1/2 green pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 cup of water
• 6 tablespoons of Spanish extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar
• 3 ounces of bread, torn into small pieces
• Kosher salt

Ingredients (for the lobster and dressing):

• 2 (1 1/4 pound lobsters)
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 10 tablespoons Spanish extra virgin olive oil

Ingredients (for the garnish):

• 4 plum tomatoes
• 1 cucumber peeled
• Kosher salt, as needed
• 1 red pepper, seeded, cut into tiny dice
• 1 green pepper, seeded and cut into tiny dice
• 2 shallots, cut into tiny dice
• Olive oil, for frying
• 4 (1/2 thick) slices of bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• Spanish extra virgin olive oil to garnish
• Minced chives
• Fleur de sel, to garnish

Directions:

1. Make the gazpacho. In small batches, mix all of the ingredients in a blender until very smooth. Pay attention to the consistency. You my have to add more water, as the water content in the ingredients may vary. Strain and chill.

2. Make the lobster and dressing. Fill a large pot with water and add plenty of salt. Bring to a boil and add lobsters.  Cook for 1 minute. Remove from water, drain and chill. Once the lobsters are cool, take off the head and remove the coral and liquid.  Pass the coral through a chinois or fine-mesh sieve. Set aside the resulting liquid for use in the dressing. Peel lobster tails and cut each tail into 6 medallions.  Carefully crack the claws and remove the meat. The idea here is to keep the claw meat whole. Split the claw meat in half lengthwise. Refrigerate the lobster until needed. 

3. Prepare the dressing. In a bowl, whisk together the reserved coral, vinegar and oil until smooth and blended. Season with salt to taste. Set aside. 

4. Make the garnish. Cut the ends off the tomatoes, cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise. Peel back the skin and flesh to expose the seeds. Remove the seeds, taking care to keep the mass whole. The point here is to remove the tomato seeds and their surrounding gel intact. Set aside. (Reserve the tomato flesh for another use.)

5.  Continue to make the garnish. Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Sprinkler the cucumber generously with salt and let sit for an hour in a colander in the sink. (The salt will cause the cucumber to release water.) Rinse the cucumber and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the cucumber into a tiny dice. In a bowl, combine the cucumber, peppers and shallot. set aside. 

6. Fry the bread. Pour the oil for frying into a large saucepan to a depth of 2 inches. Heat over medium heat until a deep fry thermometer inserted into the oil reads 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Fry the bread cubes until golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the croutons to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. 

7. Finish the dish. Pour the chilled gazpacho in a pitcher. In the center of each bowl, place 2 lobster medallions, 1 claw half and 1 tomato seed "fillet." Arrange some of the cucumber mixture around the edge of the blow, sprinkle with chives and top with 4 croutons. Drizzle the dressing around the lobster and drizzle the lobster with some of the extra-virgin olive oil. Finally sprinkle everything lightly with the fleur de sel. At the table, set the bowls in front of your guests and pour some of the gazpacho into each.

ENJOY!

Around the World in 80 Dishes: Turkmenistan

The history of Central Asia and the culture of its peoples are, to put it mildly, complicated. For Turkmenistan, it is tale of brutal dictatorships, beginning with Russian Czars, then followed by Soviet leaders like Lenin and Stalin (the latter left a truly bloody mark upon the people as he did throughout the Soviet Union). When the Soviet Union collapsed, the dictatorship continued as the communist leader at the time - Saparmurad Niyazov - continued to exercise control with an iron fist. Niyazov gave himself the title of Turkmenbashi or "the Father of all Turkmen." As the "Father," he proceeded to suppress dissent violently and closed institutions like the opera and ballet (claiming they were not Turkmen). 

When the Turkmenbashi succumbed to the one thing he could not control (that is, death), the country was not spared. Niyazov was succeeded by Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who is unofficially referred to as the "Protector." Berdimuhamedow has ruled as President over Turkmenistan for the past fourteen years. Little has changed over that period of time. The government continues to be a dictatorship that is so secretive and closed off, that it is likened to North Korea.

The golden statute of the Turkmenbashi.
(Source: Souvenir Chronicles)

Those who have visited the country have painted a tightly controlled picture. The streets of the country's capital, Ashgabat, are lined with marble, as are many of the buildings.  The capital holds the world's record for the highest concentration of marble buildings, as well as the largest concentration of public fountains. Statues throughout the city (including those dedicated to the Turkmenbashi and the Protector) are adorned in gold.  Ashgabat even boasts of the largest indoor Ferris wheel, which is encased in a building that looks remarkably like it is made of marble. 

Yet, Ashgabat and Turkmenistan are not a paradise. There is substantial darkness hiding within that controlled picture. A visitor is steered by guides to where they want him to go.  Oppression permeates all aspects of life for the Turkmen people and traveling in some areas is "fraught with frustration and nonsensical bureaucracy." For example, government officials deemed air conditioning units in windows to be "unseemly," and, despite the fact that temperatures routinely exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer, ordered the removal of the units. 

Waiting in line for food (Source: Asia News)

That darkness also hides significant problems, most notably the fact that a significant portion of the population outside of the capital is impoverished. There has been an economic crisis underlying all of the marble and gold, one that has been characterized by food shortages. In April 2021, there were reports of bread shortages in the southeast of Turkmenistan. It also seemed that it was not just bread that was in short supply.  There were shortages of eggs and other poultry products. As one seller recounted, "the flour comes from the capital Asghabad and we have to buy it at 600 manat per 50 kilograms instead of 400; we pay 3.5 manat for eggs, but above all we have to bribe the guards at the checkpoints, who want more every day." 

Thus, life in Turkmenistan is now defined by standing in line for food, skyrocketing prices at private markets and shortages at state owned markets. To make matters worse, the government subjects its citizens to forced labor, such as sending children and adults, including pregnant teachers, into the field to pick cotton. Meanwhile, the government denies that there are any problems. It brings to mind the adage, "the more things change the more they stay the same." Although having freed themselves from the Soviet Union and its history of abuse and mismanagement, the Turkmen people still deal with shortages of necessities and an abundance of governmental hubris all while enduring violations of thier human rights. 

MAIN COURSE

It is against this backdrop that I approach this challenge to prepare a main course from the country of Turkmenistan. The cuisine shares many similarities with those of other central Asian countries, such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The most notable similarity is the predominance of plov or pilaf (rice with meat and vegetables). There is the legacy of Russian control, as illustrated by shashlyk (kebabs). And then there are the truly Turkmen dishes, such as ishlykly (a Turkmen version of shepherd's pie) and chegdermeh (a mixture of rice, tomato, meat and onions).  

However, I chose to prepare Dograma, which roughly translates to "chopped up."  The name is fitting because it is a shredded meat and bread stew.  I chose this meal because of its simplicity, both in terms of ingredients and preparation. In so doing, I thought that this dish as a type of cucina povera, in which struggling people would use what little they have to make the best meal possible. (This is somewhat a fantasy given the current food shortages in Turkmenistan.) In any event, it is my nod to those impoverished Turkmen peoples who cannot be seen through the dark curtains that enshroud the country. 

In terms of preparing this dish, the principal ingredients are protein and bread. The recipe called for lamb, mutton or beef. I did not have easy access to mutton (which would most likely be the protein of choice), so I went with lamb, which would have been cheaper than beef.  As for the bread, Turkmen prepare corek, which is a leavened bread cooked in an oven  similar to a tandoor.  While I thought about preparing the bread, my lack of baking skills led me to the next best thing: a bag of pita bread.  The recipe advises that pita or naan could be used for a substitute. 

This simple recipe turned out to be a very delicious one. The boiling of the lamb resulted in fork-tender morsels that were relatively easy to shred. It also produced a rather rich broth, created by the melting of the lamb fat into the broth. Perhaps the next time I will make my own corek bread for this dish.

DOGRAMA (SHREDDED MEAT & BREAD STEW)

Recipe from Whats4Eats

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• Mutton, lamb or beef stew meat, cubed, 2 1/2 to 3 pounds
• 3 quarts water
• 2-3 tomatoes, seeded & chopped
• 1 tablespoon salt
• Naan or pita bread, 4 to 5 pieces
• 2-3 onions, thinly sliced
• Salt, to season
• Freshly ground black pepper, to season

Directions:

1. Boil the ingredients. Add the meat, water, tomatoes and salt a large pot and bring to a boil.  Skim off any scum that rises to the surface and then reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat is cooked through and tender.

2. Tear the bread. Tear the pita or naan bread into small (1/2 inch pieces). Add the pieces of bread to a large bowl, along with the sliced onions and a good grinding of pepper. Toss and set aside to rest and mix the flavors. 

3. Shred the meat. Remove the cooked meat from the broth with a slotted spoon. Use clean hands or a fork to shred the meat.  Add the meat to with the bread and onion mixture and toss well. 

4. Finish the dish. Pour the hot meat broth over the mixture in the bowl and then cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and set aside for 20 to 30 minutes to allow the flavors and textures to meld. Portion out into bowls and serve. 

*    *    *

My personal culinary challenge takes me on some rather interesting adventures, even to lands where cults of personality reign supreme while the masses struggle every day. The lesson of these adventures is to focus on those who struggle, learning more about a particular culture and cuisine through their eyes, as opposed to those of the Turkmenbashi or the Protector. I think I did that with this particular challenge. Until next time ...

ENJOY!

Arista-Style Turkey with Tuscan Chestnut Stuffing (Savage Boleks' Thanksgiving 2021)

It is interesting how a decision to depart from a tradition could, itself, turn into a tradition.  Nearly two years ago, I decided to try prepare a Christmas dinner that was different than what the traditional Italian holiday meal that my family has prepared for more than fifty years. I prepared a turkey in the style of a Tuscan pork roast. That experience gave rise to a blog post, Turkey in the Arista Style with Tuscan Bread Stuffing. My beautiful Angel loved the meal so much, both the turkey and the stuffing, that I have made the dish a few times since that holiday dinner. And, now, it has officially become the traditional Thanksgiving dinner for the Savage Boleks. 

Yet, a turkey in the arista style is itself a departure from tradition in another sense. Since the dawn of the thirteenth century, an arista has always been a pork roast. That roast evolved over time to what it is today: a mass of porcine goodness covered in a rub consisting primarily of rosemary and garlic, along with other ingredients, such as lemon, cloves and/or fennel seeds. While recipes change, the one constant is that the protein used in an arista comes from some part of a pig, either a roast or the loin. The use of a turkey is a break from that tradition. Yet, it is a good break. The reason is simple: much like pork, turkey meat provides a tableau upon which all of the flavors used in the rub come together to provide a culinary image of Tuscan flavors.  If pork is the other white meat, then turkey is the other, other white meat.

The arista-style turkey is just the beginning of this new Savage-Bolek tradition. Another important aspect is the stuffing and, because I make so much of it, the dressing. (As you may know, it is stuffing if it is stuffed in the bird; it is dressing if it is baked alongside the bird.) This stuffing is a culinary mélange of Tuscan flavors and aromas. It begins with the bread, which is focaccia. The bread is cut up and toasted until the moisture is removed. One then adds in diced pancetta (or, if that person is me cooking for my beautiful Angel, diced turkey bacon), along with diced turkey heart, liver and gizzard (that is, all of the giblets in the package provided with the turkey). This step is followed by the addition of the traditional elements of a stuffing, namely, diced onion, celery and carrots. Finally, just before the liquid (turkey stock) is added, one adds a heaping 1/4 cup of rosemary, sage and the chestnuts. after the liquid is added, the ingredients are mixed well, left to marry for an hour and then stuffed into the bird or placed in a dish to be baked.

This stuffing or dressing is perhaps the best stuffing that I have ever made. One does not have to take my word for it, my beautiful Angel has made similar proclamations. This stuffing or dressing pairs perfectly with the ingredients used to make the arista-style turkey. There are major connections in terms of flavor, with the use of turkey bacon and rosemary. Yet, the stuffing or dressing adds to the flavors of the turkey with the use of sage and chestnuts. 

The recipe set forth below is not the same recipe that I used back in 2019. I have made some modifications based upon my subsequent efforts to make this dish. The two major changes are as follows: (1) I have incorporated the juice from the zested lemons into the marinade, as a way to utilize all of the ingredients; (2) I increased the amount of times that I baste the turkey with the juices and butter from once every hour to once every 40 minutes; and (3) I added an uncovered/covered/uncovered sequence to roasting the bird. While this additional work extends the cooking time a little, it is definitely worth it if you are trying to get crispy, brown skin on  the bird. 

ARISTA-STYLE TURKEY

WITH TUSCAN CHESTNUT STUFFING

Turkey recipe adapted from Reinhardt Hess & Sabine Salzer, 

Regional Italian Cuisine, pp. 148-49

Tuscan Bread Stuffing Recipe adapted from Tasting Table

Serves many

Ingredients (for the turkey):

1 whole turkey (about 12 pounds)

4 lemons, zested and juiced

8 to 10 sprigs of rosemary

10 cloves of garlic

4 teaspoons of fennel seeds

4 pinches of ground cloves

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

1 stick of unsalted butter

Ingredients (for the stuffing):

1 1/2 pounds ciabatta bread, cut into 1 inch cubes

8 ounces pancetta, small dice

1 package turkey liver and gizzards (from 1 large turkey)

2 medium carrots, peeled and small dice

2 celery stalks, small dice

1 large yellow onion, small dice

2 sticks unsalted butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

3 cups turkey stock + 2 cups of turkey stock

1 cup roasted chestnuts, roughly chopped

1/4 cup minced sage

1/4 cup minced rosemary

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Prepare the turkey.  Rinse the turkey well.  Pat the turkey dry.  Separate the skin from the turkey so that you can apply the rub directly onto the meat. Combine the lemon zest, rosemary, fennel seeds, ground cloves, garlic, salt and black pepper into a small bowl.  Mix well. Juice the lemons and pour into a separate bowl.  Whisk in olive oil with the lemon juice and then add it to the small bowl with the dry ingredients to create a paste. Add additional olive oil, if necessary, to create that paste.  Continue to mix.  Once the paste has the desired consistency, apply it to all parts of the turkey, including under the skin.  Reserve some of the rub for basting. Allow the turkey to rest for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.

2.  Prepare the stuffing.  Preheat the oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lay out the bread on a baking sheet and bake until dry, about 25 to 30 minutes.  Transfer the bread to a huge bowl.  While the bread is baking, heat the pancetta in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often until the pancetta is crispy and the fat has rendered, about 8 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to the bowl with the bread.  Drain the fat into a separate bowl. Add back 1 to 2 tablespoons of the fat to the pan and add the liver and gizzards.  Cook the ingredients, turning as needed until golden and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes for the liver and 8 to 10 minutes for the gizzard.  Transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop, then add to the stuffing bowl.

3.  Continue to prepare the stuffing.  Add a little more of the pancetta fat back to the pan.  Add the carrots, celery and onion to the pan.  Sweat the ingredients until softened, 6 to 8 minutes.  Transfer the vegetables to the stuffing bowl.   Add the butter to the pan and cook until it begins to brown and has a nutty aroma.  6 to 8 minutes.  Turn off the heat and stir in the cream to warm through.  Add the butter mixture to the stuffing bowl with the remaining ingredients (namely, the turkey stock).  Using your hands, mix the stuffing to incorporate.  Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. 

4.  Prepare to roast the turkey.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Stuff the turkey's cavities with the stuffing, and place the remaining stuffing in a baking dish.  Roast the turkey for about 3 hours or until the turkey's internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. I roast the turkey uncovered for about the first hour and twenty minutes, cover the bird for the next hour and twenty minutes, and then leave the bird uncovered for the rest of the time. Baste the turkey approximately every 40 minutes with melted butter that has some of the rub mixed into it.  Once the turkey reaches that temperature, remove the turkey from the oven and cover it.  Place the baking dish full of dressing in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes to 45 minutes, or until the dressing begins to crisp on the surface.  Remove the stuffing and set on the stove to cool.

5.  Prepare the au jus.  Drain the liquid from the roasting pan into a separator.  Pour the juices into a pot, along with 2 cups of the turkey stock. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper if necessary.  Bring to a boil under medium high heat and reduce to a simmer.  Allow to simmer until you are ready to serve. 

6.  Finish the dish.  Spoon the stuffing and dressing into a serving bowls (one for the stuffing and another for the dressing).  Slice the turkey and place on a serving dish.  Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

Turkey in the Arista Style, with Tuscan Bread Stuffing

For this holiday season, I decided that I would try something different.  Christmas Eve dinner is a well established tradition in my family, with the antipasta plate and wedding soup, followed by pasta with meatballs and sausage. That tradition has produced many great memories for me going back to my childhood. 

Traditions are good, in fact, they are great.  But, at least for me, I felt that I could be missing something if I didn't take a chance and try something different. There was only one question: what to make?

Recently, my beautiful Angel's parents traveled to Italy, spending time in Lazio, Tuscany and Liguria.  I too spent time in Tuscany, which provided me with the inspiration for the dinner.  I spent a lot of time researching main courses, but I wanted to make something that everyone could enjoy.  I ultimately decided to do an Arista, which is a dish that I previously made. Arista is a roast pork dish that is quintessential Tuscan cuisine. The problem with an Arista is that it is roast pork, and, my beautiful Angel does not eat pork.  My Angel does eat turkey, so I decided to apply the ingredients and cooking techniques of an Arista to a turkey.

To be sure, there are not very many turkeys gobbling around Tuscany. (Although, interestingly, there is a highly challenged study that says the ancient Etruscans, who called the area of Tuscany their home around 900 B.C. came from Anatolia, which is currently known as Turkey.) But, the use of a rub of rosemary, garlic, fennel seed and clove pretty much made this turkey smell like a Tuscan pork roast. 

Additional Tuscan flavor and character was added to the bird with the stuffing.  I searched far and wide  on the Internet for a "Tuscan stuffing."  I came across one recipe for a Tuscan Bread Stuffing. This recipe incorporated many classic Tuscan ingredients, such as rosemary, sage and chestnuts.  The use of pancetta is also key, as its fat provides flavor at every level and stage of preparation.  

Overall, this is perhaps the best turkey that I have ever made; and, according, to my beautiful Angel, the stuffing is the best that she has ever had.  This recipe is now the Savage Boleks' standard for a stuffed turkey dinner.  This may be the beginning of a new tradition ... for now.

TURKEY IN THE ARISTA STYLE

WITH TUSCAN BREAD STUFFING

Turkey recipe adapted from Reinhardt Hess & Sabine Salzer, 

Regional Italian Cuisine, pp. 148-49

Tuscan Bread Stuffing Recipe adapted from Tasting Table

Serves many

Ingredients (for the turkey):

1 whole turkey (about 12 pounds)

4 lemons, zested

8 to 10 sprigs of rosemary

10 cloves of garlic

4 teaspoons of fennel seeds

4 pinches of ground cloves

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

1 stick of unsalted butter

Ingredients (for the stuffing):

1 1/2 pounds ciabatta bread, cut into 1 inch cubes

8 ounces pancetta, small dice

1 package turkey liver and gizzards (from 1 large turkey)

2 medium carrots, peeled and small dice

2 celery stalks, small dice

1 large yellow onion, small dice

2 sticks unsalted butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

3 cups turkey stock + 2 cups of turkey stock

1 cup roasted chestnuts, roughly chopped

1/4 cup minced sage

1/4 cup minced rosemary

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Prepare the turkey.  Rinse the turkey well.  Pat the turkey dry.  Separate the skin from the turkey so that you can apply the rub directly onto the meat. Combine the lemon zest, rosemary, fennel seeds, ground cloves, garlic, salt and black pepper into a small bowl.  Mix well.  Add enough olive oil to create a paste.  Continue to mix.  Once the paste has the desired consistency, apply it to all parts of the turkey, including under the skin.  Reserve some of the rub for basting. Allow the turkey to rest for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.

2.  Prepare the stuffing.  Preheat the oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lay out the bread on a baking sheet and bake until dry, about 25 to 30 minutes.  Transfer the bread to a huge bowl.  While the bread is baking, heat the pancetta in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring often until the pancetta is crispy and the fat has rendered, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to the bowl with the bread.  Drain the fat into a separate bowl.  Add back 1 to 2 tablespoons of the fat to the pan and add the liver and gizzards.  Cook the ingredients, turning as needed until golden and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes for the liver and 8 to 10 minutes for the gizzard.  Transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop, then add to the stuffing bowl.

3.  Continue to prepare the stuffing.  Add a little more of the pancetta fat back to the pan.  Add the carrots, celery and onion to the pan.  Sweat the ingredients until softened, 6 to 8 minutes.  Transfer the vegetables to the stuffing bowl.   Add the butter to the pan and cook until it begins to brown and has a nutty aroma.  6 to 8 minutes.  Turn off the heat and stir in the cream to warm through.  Add the butter mixture to the stuffing bowl with the remaining ingredients (namely, the turkey stock).  Using your hands, mix the stuffing to incorporate.  Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. 

4.  Prepare to roast the turkey.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Stuff the turkey's cavities with the stuffing, and place the remaining stuffing in a baking dish.  Roast the turkey for about 3 hours or until the turkey's internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Baste the turkey approximately every hour with melted butter that has some of the rub mixed into it. Fahrenheit. Once the turkey reaches that temperature, remove the turkey from the oven and cover it.  Place the baking dish full of stuffing in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes to 45 minutes, or until the stuffing begins to crisp on the surface.  Remove the stuffing and set on the stove to cool.

5.  Prepare the au jus.  Drain the liquid from the roasting pan into a separator.  Pour the juices into a pot, along with 2 cups of the turkey stock. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper if necessary.  Bring to a boil under medium high heat and reduce to a simmer.  Allow to simmer until you are ready to serve. 

6.  Finish the dish.  Spoon the stuffing into a serving bowl.  Slice the turkey and place on a serving dish.  Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

Roast Heritage Turkey with Sausage, Apple and Pecan Dressing

Maybe it is the times that we live in, maybe its because I love history.  Either way, I find myself drawn to earliest days of our Republic, when people such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were walking and talking. I often enjoy trips to Mount Vernon, Monticello, or colonial Williamsburg. And, with each trip, I ultimately find myself fixated on, not the founding fathers, but the enslaved who served them. The reason is that I am almost always interested in the kitchens. Those kitchens were staffed by slaves, who were responsible for preparing and serving each course to the hosts and guests.  (My interest actually goes far beyond what may have been served to the guests of George Washington and focuses on what the slaves often prepared for themselves with what little they had. If you are looking for a good book that touches on this subject, check out The Cooking Gene by Michael Twitty.)

For Thanksgiving 2018, I decided to prepare a meal that would have prepared during the colonial times. I drew from my cookbooks, such as The Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Cookbook, and, online, such as the recipes provided by Mount Vernon.  Nearly all of the dishes -- from the appetizer to the main course -- were recipes that could find some connection to America's colonial past. (The only exception was the roasted vegetable dish, which I had made in the past.)

When it came to the turkey and dressing recipes, I decided upon the a Roast Turkey with Sausage, Apple and Pecan Dressing.  This recipe comes from the Tavern Cookbook.  One would like to think that this recipe was served back in the colonial era, such as to George Washington, but I have nothing to support that theory.  And, given that Thanksgiving itself did not become a recognized holiday until another one of the great American Presidents (President Lincoln), this turkey and dressing recipe certainly wasn't served to celebrate any holiday. 

As for the actual turkey itself, Thanksgiving 2018 also featured a first in my cooking adventures ... roasting a heritage turkey. My beautiful Angel and my family were going to be celebrating Thanksgiving at home with her parents. This sparked an interest in sourcing a local turkey from a Maryland farm and, even further, a heritage bird that represents the history of this bird.  There are several farms across the Old Line State that raise heritage turkeys, such as Narragansett and Bourbon Red breeds. Ultimately, I chose Nick's Organic Farm, in part because of its location and the variety of products beyond turkey that the farm sells.  (In a way, this was a test of buying directly from a farm; I am looking to procuring more of the meat that I cook with from a farm as opposed to a grocery store.)

I purchased a ten (10) pound Bourbon Red turkey from Nick's Organic Farm. This 10 pound weight makes the the turkey the smallest one that I ever prepared. (I usually have cooked birds between 12 and 16 pounds, and, occasionally, up to 20 pounds in the past.) Given this was the first time that I was cooking with a heritage bird, I did a lot of research into the bird itself, including the white meat to dark meat ratio and the cooking times.  This is where the Internet, for all of its information, can fail someone. There are literally recipes for cooking this bird in two opposite ways: (1) low and slow; and (2) hot and fast. For someone who is new to cooking heritage birds, this is not helpful. Needless to say, I choose the low and low method in the hopes that I could err on the side of caution. It would be far less frustrating (or so I thought) to cook the bird for an additional 15 minutes than to have a bird as dry as the paper upon which the recipe is printed. I cooked it at 325 degrees for approximately 3 hours. Otherwise, I cooked the bird according to the recipe's instructions.  The lower cooking temperature meant that the cooking time was a longer.  For purposes of this recipe, however, I have left the cooking times from the Tavern Cookbook because those cooking times are more appropriate for store-bought birds).

The stuffing recipe also provided a first, in terms of the ingredients that were used and the style of preparing the stuffing. In an effort to produce a stuffing as close as possible, my beautiful Angel baked both French bread and corn bread. As for the principal ingredients, I bought some bulk turkey sausage.  (My Angel only eats turkey, she does not eat pork or beef.) The apples were a combination of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples. The pecans were, well, pecans.

Typically, when preparing stuffing, I was always told to dip the day-old bread in some turkey stock.  This dipping is to help the stuffing remain moist during the cooking process.  The recipe that I worked with did not call for the dipping of anything in turkey stock.  Instead, the only liquid that was added to the stuffing was 1 stick of melted butter.  This naturally created a drier stuffing.  Given I was working with a smaller bird, I could not put much of the stuffing in the cavity of the bird. The rest went into a greased, glass baking dish and baked separately. I put the dish in at the end of the cooking time for the bird.

Overall, I found the heritage bird to be the best turkey that I have ever eaten, both in terms of flavor and texture. (And, in this regard, I strongly recommend using Nick's Organic Farm.)  The Bourbon Red really does provide a stark contrast to the rather bland meat and texture of a mass produced, broadbreasted white bird.  In fact, the bird is so much better than any other turkey that I have had, that it more than justified the additional cost of the heritage bird. I definitely plan on using heritage birds in the future.  The only change I would make is to stick with the instructions or go with my gut when cooking the bird

ROAST HERITAGE TURKEY WITH

SAUSAGE, APPLE AND PECAN DRESSING

Recipe adapted from The Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Cookbook, pg .116-117

Serves Many

Ingredients (for the dressing):

1 pound bulk fresh mild or hot sausage
     (I used mild turkey sausage)

2 large onions, finely chopped

2 celery ribs, finely chopped

3 cups cooked corn bread, cut into 1/2 inch dice

2 cups day old French or Italian bread, 

     crusts removed and cut into 1/2 inch dice

2 large cooking apples, preferably Granny Smith,

     peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch dice
     (I used a combination of Granny Smiths and Honeycrisps)

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Ingredients (for the turkey):

1 trimmed turkey (12 to 14 pounds)
     (I used a 10 pound Bourbon Red heritag eturkey)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/4 cup (1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

3 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups turkey stock

Directions:

1. Prepare the dressing. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, place the sausage and cook, stirring often, until no trace of pink remains. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the skillet. And the onions and celery to the skillet and cook, stirring often, until softened about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the drained sausage, onions, celery, corn bread, day old bread, apples and pecans. Stir in the melted butter, parsley, salt and pepper. 

2. Prepare the turkey.  Dry the turkey inside and out with paper towels. Season the inside the cavity with salt and pepper. Fill the breast and neck cavities with the dressing. Truss the turkey securely with a trussing needle and kitchen string.

3. Roast the turkey.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Rub the turkey with the butter and season well with salt and pepper. In a large roasting pan, place the bird on its side. Cook for 15 minutes and then turn on the other side for fifteen minutes. Turn, breast side down, in the pan and cook until the back is golden brown, about 30 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, and turn breast side up. Continue to roast for 18 minutes per pound, basting every 20 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Transfer the turkey to a warmed platter and let sit, loosely covered with foil for 10-15 minutes.  

4. Prepare the gravy.  Skim the fat from the surface of the roasting pan juices.  Pour off the clear juices and reserve.  Place the roasting pan on top of the stove and sprinkler over the flour. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly until the flour is lightly brown, about 2-3 minutes. Pour in the turkey stock and increase the heat to high. Stir or whisk constantly until the gravy comes to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the clear pan juices and season with salt and pepper. Strain through a sieve and pour into a warmed gravy boat. Carve the turkey and pass the gravy on the side.

ENJOY!

Mauch Chunk Turkey Burger

A caveat at the beginning.  This recipe -- Mauch Chunk Turkey Burger -- gets its name from one fact.  I came up with this recipe during my recent vacation in the Poconos.  We stayed at a cabin in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. The town is named after Jim Thorpe, the Native American football player and Olympian who is buried there. 

Before the town was known as Jim Thorpe, it was known as Mauch Chunk. That is the Anglicized version of Mawsch Unk or "Bear Place" in the language of the Munsee-Lenape Delaware, who were the first to inhabit the area. (Interestingly, Jim Thorpe was a member of the Sac and Fox Nation, a Native American tribe that was forcibly relocated to Oklahoma.)  The reference to bears may be due to the proximity of Bear Mountain, which (before decades of mining) resembled a sleeping bear.  For this recipe, the name Mauch Chunk is a simple recipe to the place where I first divined this recipe.

The key feature of this recipe is the combined use of ground turkey and turkey sausage.  I know: the combination of sausage and ground beef is almost a regular on the menus of many chain restaurants.  However, in my experience, the typical combination involves a combination of beef and chorizo. I know because I have had a couple of those types of burgers (although not at a chain restaurant).  I wanted to experiment not just with the use of the sausage, but also the use of additional spices to make a turkey burger that went beyond the typical turkey burger.

Let's face it, most turkey burgers are bland.  At best, you get one that is properly cooked and there is still some modicum of juiciness to it.  But, the burger itself remains bland.  The addition of the turkey sausage provides a substantial amount of flavor to the burger, primarily due to the spices added to the sausage.  I wanted to take the recipe one step further, by adding some additional, albeit traditional spices, such as paprika, garlic powder and oregano. 

To help maintain the ideal juicy nature of the burger, I added some very finely diced onions.  The onions have water, which gets released during the cooking process.  Those onions will help keep the turkey moist while it is either in the oven or on the grill. The onions need to be finely diced because, to state the obvious, no one wants to bite into onions in their burger. The only bite from onions should be on top of the burger.   

The Mauch Chunk Turkey Burger was an experiment; a brief cooking experience during my down time on vacation.  My beautiful Angel loved the taste of the burger.  That reason alone means that all future turkey burgers will be built upon this experimental foundation. 

MAUCH CHUNK TURKEY BURGER

A Chef Bolek Original

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground turkey

1/2 pound of turkey sausage (mild or hot), casing removed

1/2 yellow onion, finely minced

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon oregano

Sea salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1 tomato, thickly sliced

6 bread slices, toasted

Directions:

1.  Prepare the meat. Place the ground turkey and turkey sausage in a bowl.  Mix well.  Add the minced onions and garlic.  Mix well again.  Add the spices (garlic powder, paprika, oregano, salt and black pepper).  Mix one last time.  Make 5-6 patties.  

2.  Cook the burgers.  If you are using an oven, cook the burgers at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 minutes.  Flip halfway though the grilling process.  If you are using a grill, heat to high.  Cook for about 15 minutes, flip halfway through. 

3.  Finish the dish.  Serve the burger with one slice of toast, cut in half, a tomato slice on the bottom, the burger and thinly sliced red onions on top of the burger.   Serve immediately. 

ENJOY!

B&O Egg Sandwich

It is just an egg sandwich.  That is what my beautiful Angel and I kept saying to ourselves as we were preparing that dish for our Wine Club.  It is just an egg sandwich.  But it is a pretty damn good egg sandwich.  Why? Because it proves that you can make a very good dish with a very simple recipe.

This particular recipe originated in Grafton, West Virginia.  According to Dining on the B&O Railroad, the authors visited a signal tower and spoke with the railroader who worked there. The author asked the employee about his favorite food, which was an egg sandwich that he had every day for lunch.  The recipe is basically an egg between two pieces of toast with a dollop of Miracle Whip.   A simple recipe that brought a lot of satisfaction to a worker, day after day, year after year.  A very good dish that is the product of a very simple recipe.

The railroader's egg sandwich was not an official recipe of the B&O Railroad, although a fried egg sandwich did appear on a menu in the railroad's dining car on March 17, 1960.  The author of Dining on the B&O did not have the recipe and I could not find it.  And, while the railroader's recipe was very good for him, both by beautiful Angel and I wanted to make a couple of changes to make this recipe even better, but still very simple.

First, I decided to '86 the Miracle Whip and add some lettuce and a tomato.  I have never been a big fan of mayonnaise or Miracle Whip.  I rather dispense with that and add something that is a little healthier, like a slice of tomato and some lettuce.

Second, my beautiful Angel suggested that we sprinkle some Old Bay on the egg, giving a nod to Maryland.  This is after all a B&O Egg Sandwich and that "B" stands for Baltimore.  I thought that was a great idea.

Finally, we decided to present the sandwich as an open faced sandwich.  By getting rid of the extra piece of bread, we opened the sandwich to a far more pleasant presentation.

With these three changes, we gave this recipe our own touch.  In the end, at least in my humble opinion, this is a far better sandwich.   I have included the original recipe, with our changes listed as options.  Feel free to try both versions  Either way, a simple recipe produces a very tasty sandwich. 

B&O EGG SANDWICH

Recipe adapted from Dining on the B&O, pp. 28-29

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 or 2 eggs

1 or 2 slices of toast

1-2 tablespoons butter

Kraft Miracle Whip, optional

1 tomato slice, optional

Lettuce, optional

Old Bay, optional

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Prepare the egg.  Melt 1 or 2 tablespoons of butter in an 8 inch non-stick omelet pan or skillet over medium heat.  Break open eggs into pan and immediately reduce heat to low. Cook slowly until the eggs are completely set and the yolks begin to thicken, but not hard.  Break open the yolks and flip over for 15 seconds until cook.  Do not salt the eggs before or during cooking.  Salt can cause the eggs to become tough during cooking so for best results, salt eggs only after cooking.

2.  Finish the dish.  Toast the bread, place eggs on toast and spread Miracle whip (optional) on one slice of toast.  Salt and pepper to taste.

ENJOY!

Iron Chef Night -- RADISH SPROUTS

It has been more than five years since I submitted myself to an Iron Chef challenge.  The challenge is just what the name suggests (assuming you watched either the original Iron Chef show or the American version).  I would give myself one ingredient -- the not so secret ingredient (after all, I have to decide what to use) -- and then come up with three to four dishes that feature the ingredient in some way.  

To date, I have posted five such challenges.  The secret ingredients for these events were corn, mussels, beef bone marrow, mushrooms and Vidalia onions.  With each challenge, the goal was to make dishes based on my thoughts and ideas, with little to no help from recipes.  Some challenges were successful.  Other challenges were less so.  Still, it was a chance for me to enjoy my hobby in a way that I enjoyed watching the Iron Chef show (the original version, as well as the American version, at least for a while).  

Iron chef challenges take a lot of work, both with respect to formulating ideas and the actual execution.  If you watched either show, you would know that the chefs have 1 hour to make their dishes. In reality, if I recall correctly, the chefs are given a few ingredients ahead of time to start the mental process of coming up with dishes.  

For my most recent challenge, I had a little advanced notice of the ingredient.  I received a Back to the Roots Water Garden, which is an aquarium on top of which you can grow herbs and small plants.  The kit came with seeds for radish sprouts and wheatgrass, which I used to plant my first "crop."  The planting went very well and I ended up with a lot of radish sprouts and wheatgrass.  The question was what to do with all of that.  

Hence, the first Iron Chef challenge in more than five years.  Given the fact that I had never cooked with radish sprouts before, I had to rely a little more on recipes than in the past. 

FIRST COURSE

The first dish is a watermelon salad with cilantro, radish sprouts and feta cheese.  This dish is based on a recipe from Saveur.  That recipe called for the use of Cotija, a Spanish cheese.  I could not find any of that cheese at my local store, so I went with an ingredient that I thought would come somewhat close in at least texture ... feta cheese.  Overall, this was probably the best dish of the night. 

WATERMELON SALAD WITH CILANTRO, 

RADISH SPROUTS AND FETA CHEESE

Recipe adapted from Saveur

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 small seedless watermelon (3-4 pounds), rind removed,

     cut into 1 inch cubes

1/4 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon red chile powder

Zest and juice of 1 lime

Kosher salt, to taste

6 ounces of Feta cheese cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves

2 1/2 ounces radish sprouts

Directions:

Place watermelon pieces in a large bowl.  Whisk olive oil, sugar, chile powder, lime zest, and juice, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Pour over watermelon.  Add remaining ingredients, tossing to coat.  Adjust salt and pepper as needed.

SECOND COURSE

The second course (and the third one) tested my challenge to adjust recipes on the fly.  The second dish was supposed to be Mexican Avocado Spread Sandwiches.  To make a sandwich, you need bread.  I thought I had bread at home so I did not buy any at the store.  Turns out, no bread at home.  However, Clare bought a flatbread from Costco, which meant that we had a lot of flatbread.  So, I went with a flatbread concept, rather than a sandwich.

MEXICAN AVOCADO SPREAD FLATBREAD 

WITH SPROUTS

 Recipe adapted from Foodfaithfitness

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/4 cup avocado, mashed, about 1/2 small avocado

2 tablespoons of salsa

1 teaspoon of fresh lime juice, plus additional for serving

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

1/4 teaspoon chile powder

Salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 flatbread pieces, toasted

1 large tomato, sliced

1/2 cucumber, sliced

1 cups sprouts
1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

Directions:

1.  Prepare the avocados.  In a medium bowl, mash together the avocado, salsa, lime juice, garlic, cumin, chile powder and a pinch of salt and pepper.

2.  Prepare the sandwiches.  Divide the avocado mixture evenly between two slices of bread, spreading evenly.  Divide the tomato slices between 2 slices of bread, followed by the cucumbers and sprouts.  Squeeze fresh lime juice over the sprouts and top each slice of bread with chopped cilantro.  Add more salt and pepper, to taste.  Cover with remaining slices of bread, cut, and serve.

THIRD COURSE

For my last course, I wanted to do something a little "fancy."  Unfortunately, it was a little flat.  The dish was supposed to be Sesame Marinated Salmon with a Radish Sprout Relish.   I wanted to incorporate the wheatgrass into the relish, so I decided to juice the wheatgrass with some radish sprouts and ginger.  It was at this point that the relish went out the door quickly. I still can't tell you what exactly I was thinking but I quickly had to turn the relish into a broth.  And that really did not work because the broth got lost in the rice, leaving only the bits of wheatgrass and radish sprouts along the edges. 

SESAME MARINATED SALMON

WITH RADISH SPROUT BROTH

A Chef Bolek Original

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/8 cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)

1 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

1 tablespoon minced green onions

3/4 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 six-ounce fillets of Sockeye Salmon

1/2 cup of radish sprouts

1/2 cup wheatgrass

1/4 cup sweet onion, minced 

1/4 tomato, minced

Directions:

1.  Prepare the marinade.  Whisk the mirin, rice vinegar, green onions, ginger and sesame seed oil together.  Add salmon, turn to coat.  Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.

2.  Prepare the broth.  Put wheatgrass, a small amount of sprouts and ginger in a blender.  Add 1/4 cup of water.  Liquify the ingredients and transfer to a small pot.  Add a little more water to make the amount of broth that you need and turn the oven on to medium to heat.  

3.  Cook the salmon.  Preheat broiler.  Line baking sheet with foil, spray with non-stick spray.  Line up fillets, skin side up.  Broil 5 to 6 inches from heat source until skin is crisp, about 2 minutes.  Use metal spatula, turn salmon over.  Broil until salmon is just cooked through and golden brown on top, about 4 minutes.

4.  Plate the dish.  Place some rice in the middle of the dish.  Place the salmon over the rice and pour the broth gently around the edges of the rice.

*        *         *

With the cooking at an end, it reminded me that I am a little rusty when it comes to the Iron Chef Challenge.  Some of the difficulty could be due to the ingredient.  It is hard to think of dishes that use radish sprouts.  However, I also need to work on my flexibility when it comes to cooking on the fly.  I used to be fairly good at it, but just like anything else, it becomes a little rigid when not properly exercised. So, I hope that I will be able to do another Iron Chef Night soon.  And with an ingredient that is more in my wheelhouse ... like porterhouse steaks.

ENJOY!