Cooking for Two (20 page)
1.
Use a vegetable peeler to peel wide strips of the zest from the orange. You should have about 8 strips when done, each about 2 inches long; set them aside. Cut the orange in half and squeeze 2 tablespoons juice into a small bowl. Whisk the vinegar, soy sauce, Shao Shing, and sugar into the orange juice; set aside. Whisk the arrowroot or cornstarch and water in a second small bowl or a teacup until smooth; set this aside as well.
2.
Heat a wok or medium saucepan over very low heat. Add the oil, chiles, garlic, and orange zest all at once, then stir-fry for about 3 minutes to infuse the oil, until the mixture is very aromatic. Raise the heat to medium-high, add the scallops, and stir-fry for 2 minutes, or until firm and opaque. Add the asparagus and sauté for just 30 seconds.
3.
Pour in the prepared vinegar mixture and cook for about 15 seconds, stirring constantly, until the sauce comes to a simmer and coats the
seafood and vegetables. Quickly rewhisk the arrowroot mixture to reincorporate any solids, push the scallops and vegetables to the side of the pan, and pour this mixture into the simmering sauce. Stir well and cook for about 20 seconds, or until the sauce thickens. Serve immediately.
NOTE
: If the asparagus spears are thicker than a standard #2 pencil, peel them using a vegetable peeler to that size, then slice them into 1-inch sections.
Substitute
pound medium shrimp (about 20 shrimp at 30 per pound), peeled and deveined, for the scallops.
Or substitutepound chicken tenders, cut into 1-inch sections, for the scallops. Stir-fry them an extra minute in the flavored oil to make sure they’re cooked through.
Or omit the shellfish entirely and stir in 2 cups beet greens, cleaned and stemmed, in place of the scallops.
TEAMED
M
USSELS
T
HREE
W
AYS
makes2 servings
T
hanks to mollusk farms on both coasts, mussels are now widely available and quite fresh. The trick is not to overcook them, so serve them the moment they’ve steamed open.
Indian flavors infuse the coconut milk in this dish, best served with naan, an Indian flatbread, flour tortillas, or a crunchy baguette—so you can soak up every drop of the sauce. Red Thai curry paste is an oil-free, concentrated paste, hotter than yellow Thai curry paste because of the additional cayenne pepper. It’s available in Indian markets and the Asian aisle of some supermarkets. Take care not to confuse it with Chinese red chili paste.
1½tablespoons canola or other vegetable oil 3 small scallions, thinly sliced 1 small green bell pepper, seeded, cored, and chopped 2 medium garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons peeled, minced fresh ginger 1 tablespoon mango chutney 1 tablespoon red Thai curry paste, or 1 tablespoon yellow Thai curry paste | ½teaspoon salt One 14-ounce can coconut milk (regular or low-fat) 2 pounds mussels, scrubbedand debearded ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, Or 1½ tablespoons dried Cilantro |
1.
Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Swirl in the oil, then add the scallions and bell pepper. Cook for 1 minute, or until wilted and lightly browned, stirring constantly. Add the garlic and cook for just 10 seconds, stirring constantly. Then stir in the ginger, mango
chutney, Thai curry paste, and salt; cook for about 10 more seconds, or just until the chutney melts and the paste dissolves, stirring constantly. Pour in the coconut milk and bring the mixture to a boil.
2.
Dump in the mussels, stir thoroughly, then cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the mussels open. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes off the heat to infuse the flavors before serving.
makes2 light servings
Of the three mussel dishes presented here, this one has the brightest, cleanest taste. To ensure that it stays that way, choose a good brand of sake, preferably a filtered sake. Pickled ginger is available in Asian markets and in the Asian section of almost all supermarkets; look for pale pink slices that have not discolored to brown. Wasabi paste, made from a pungent, horseradish-like root, is now available in squeeze tubes. Once opened, it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a year.
¾ cup sake ½ cup sushi-style pickled ginger, chopped 3 tablespoons soy sauce | 2 teaspoons wasabi paste 2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded |
1.
Whisk the sake, ginger, soy sauce, and wasabi paste in a large saucepan set over medium-high heat until the wasabi dissolves. Bring the mixture to a boil.
2.
Add the mussels, stir well, then cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the mussels open, stirring once or twice. Serve immediately.
makes2 servings
Here’s a New England take on mussels, perfect for a fall evening. Serve this dish with a crisp, chilled Sauvignon Blanc or a California Chardonnay.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 small onion, thinly sliced 2 celery ribs, thinly sliced 1 large tart apple, such as Granny Smith or McIntosh, peeled, cored, halved, and thinly sliced 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage, or 1 teaspoon rubbed Sage | ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper One 8-ounce bottle clam juice, or ½ cup water ¼ cup brandy 2 pounds mussels, scrubbedand debearded |
1.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan set over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 3 minutes, until golden, stirring constantly. Add the celery and apple; cook for about 2 more minutes, or just until the apple softens. Then stir in the sage, nutmeg, salt, and pepper and cook for just 10 seconds, or until the spices are redolent.
2.
Raise the heat to high and pour in the clam juice and the brandy. (If the mixture in the pan ignites because of the brandy, cover the saucepan and take it off the heat for 30 seconds, or until the flame goes out.) Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the liquid reduces by half. Stir in the mussels and bring the mixture back to a simmer. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 5 minutes, or just until the mussels open. Serve at once.
Buy mussels “loose”—that is, not in prepackaged bags—so you can inspect them. They should smell fresh and briny, never fishy or oily; they should all be closed.
When you get them home, store them for no more than 12 hours in your refrigerator in a large bowl loosely covered with damp paper towels.
When you’re ready to use them, rinse them in cool water, scrubbing the shells lightly with a potato brush or your fingernails to get rid of any sand. Discard any mussels that are open and will not close when tapped or gently squeezed. Then debeard them—that is, remove the wiry hairs that sometimes protrude from the shells; pull these off just before you cook the mussels because removing the beards fatally damages the mollusks.
Once cooked, always err on the side of safety: discard any that do not open.
RAWFISH
S
TUFFED
A
RTICHOKES
makes2 stuffed artichokes
H
ere’s a dish for a small celebration: an anniversary or a promotion. The artichokes are stuffed with a cheese-laced, spicy crawfish stuffing. For a larger meal, start off with Escarole, White Bean, and Roasted Garlic Soup (page 22); for dessert, serve Chocolate Chip Espresso Cookies (page 208). Because artichokes turn brown when cut, work quickly with the lemon juice to cover any cut areas; the acid in lemon juice will impede any discoloration. Look for cooked crawfish tail meat at most large supermarkets in the frozen seafood section, or buy it fresh at the fish counter of gourmet markets.