I'm Just Here for the Food (24 page)

Application: Sautéing

Heat the sauté pan and, when hot, add the oil. Add the onion and toss for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the melon and toss until halfway cooked, about 2 minutes. Add the basil, vinegar, and pepper and toss for 30 seconds to 1 minute more. If the melon is still too hard, cover and let steam briefly. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately toss in the cheese. Turn out onto a serving platter and garnish with the pine nuts.

Yield: 4 side servings

Software:

1½ tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, sliced Lyonnaise-style
2 cups diced assorted melon such
as cantaloupe and honeydew
1 tablespoon basil, cut into fine
chiffonade
Splash of red wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
Crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted in
a dry pan over high heat until
just browned

Hardware:

Sauté pan

I habitually burn pine nuts when I toast them this way, so I’ve recently switched to using a hot-air popcorn popper. No more burned nuts.

Miller Thyme Trout

Somewhere between sauté and pan-fry is a method the French call
meunière
. The word means “miller’s wife,” who I’m betting could get her hands on just about all the flour she wanted. Unlike a sauté, we’re talking a large piece of fish here, but the procedure for building flavors is closer to the sauté than to the pan-fry.

In the classic
meunière
style, food is seasoned, dusted with flour, and sautéed in butter, with a pan sauce created by the addition of lemon juice and parsley. In the bastardization that follows, dried thyme is ground and added to the flour, then the butter is turned into a light mustard cream sauce at the last possible minute. Why did I go to the trouble of changing something that was already perfect? So I could call the dish “Miller Thyme Trout,” of course.

Application: Sautéing

Grind the thyme to a powder in a coffee grinder and mix it into the flour. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and dredge the fish in it. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the butter. When the butter begins to foam, carefully lay in the fish, flesh side down. Cook until lightly brown, about 3 minutes, and then flip and cook the skin side for another 3 minutes. Remove the fish to a serving plate. Stir the mustard and cream into the pan and bring to a simmer to thicken. Pour over the fish and serve.

Yield: 1 serving

Software:

1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 cup flour
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 whole butterflied trout (about 8
ounces)
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
¼ cup heavy cream or milk

Hardware:

Coffee grinder
Container for dredging
Large sauté pan

Bean and Garlic Sauté

Although the step known as “sautéing” is most often an opening gambit in a grander construction (how many recipes do you know of that
don’t
begin with something like: “Sauté the onion in the oil”?), sautéing can also be the finishing touch, as in this simple bean recipe. Although butter is notorious for burning, no other common fat browns food as well or brings as much flavor to the party. Tempering it with a heat-friendly oil will keep the butter in line.

Application: Sautéing

Place the butter in a cold sauté pan and place over high heat. As soon as the butter melts and stops foaming, add the pecans and toss until they darken slightly.
²¹
Remove the nuts from the pan and set aside.

Add the oil to the pan and swirl to coat the bottom. Add the beans, season with salt, and toss until the beans start to brown in places, approximately 2 minutes.

Add the garlic and toss until fragrant.

Toss in the nuts, remove from the heat, and drizzle with the vinegar.
²²

Yield: 2 side servings

Software:

1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup pecan pieces
1 tablespoon peanut oil
½ pound slender green beans,
blanched
Kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sherry or red wine
vinegar

Hardware:

10-inch sauté pan

Sweet-and-Sour Tofu

I’m a huge sweet-and-sour fan and, oddly enough, I think this dish captures what a sweet and sour should be about: contrasts of flavor and texture. Why the tofu? Why not? It absorbs flavor better than meat and fries beautifully. And it’s better for you than meat, too.

Applications: Marinating, Immersion-Frying, Sautéing

Drain the tofu, slice each “brick” lengthwise into 4 equal pieces, and set on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Place a couple of paper towels on top, cover with a second baking sheet, and weight with cans of food. Set aside for at least 30 minutes, then cut into 2-inch cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. In a small mixing bowl, combine the soy sauce, garlic, 1 tablespoon of the ginger, ½ cup flour, and the cornstarch. Pour over the tofu and allow to marinate, refrigerated, overnight. Drain off any excess liquid (there won’t be much; it gets pretty sticky), and dredge the tofu in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. In an electric fryer, heat the vegetable oil to 350° F and fry the tofu until golden brown on all sides. Work in batches, setting the fried tofu aside on a warm plate.

In another small bowl, combine the ketchup, sugar, vinegar, and honey, and mix to blend. Set the sauce aside.

In a small roasting pan over medium heat, heat the canola and sesame oils. Sauté the remaining ginger in the oil for 30 seconds, then add the vegetables and pineapple. Raise the heat to high; you should get a little caramelization without softening the vegetables too much. Work in batches if necessary. Add the tofu to the vegetables and pour in as much sauce as you like. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce is bubbling and has a nice shine. Remove to a platter and serve with any remaining sauce on the side.

Yield: 8 servings

Note:
Firm tofu is sold in 1-pound bricks. It is important to slice lengthwise so the pan will weight equally on each piece and the pieces will be pressed evenly.

Software:

2 pounds firm tofu
1 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons minced ginger
½ cup flour, plus more for dredging
½ cup cornstarch
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil for frying
3 cups ketchup
¾ cup sugar
2 cups red wine vinegar
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 cup chopped Vidalia onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup carrots, sliced ¼ inch thick on
a bias
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 cups cubed (1-inch pieces) fresh
pineapple (canned is too sweet)

Hardware:

2 baking sheets
Paper towels
Cans of food for weight
2 small and 1 large
mixing bowl
Electric fryer or heavy Dutch
oven fitted with a fat/candy
thermometer<
Small roasting pan or large sauté
pan
Wooden spoon
Large serving platter

Artichoke and Feta Wontons

Unlike ravioli, which are generally made with a mechanism of some sort, wontons are typically hand-filled and folded. If the wantons are seared only on one side and left to stick to the steel’s steely grasp until the liquid sets them free, then you’re making pot-stickers. If you prefer this method to the one detailed below, tear out this recipe and tape it into the searing section of this book. But if you like to shake the food in the pan and sear both sides as I do, leave it here.

Application: Sautéing

Fire the hot-box to 200°F.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the artichokes, feta, bacon, scallion, egg, salt, and pepper. Heat the 1¼ cups water or broth in an electric kettle.

To form the wontons, remove one wonton wrapper from the package, covering the others with a damp cloth. Brush the edges of the wrapper lightly with cold water. Place 1 rounded teaspoon of the mixture in the center of the wrapper. Shape as desired. Set on a half sheet pan and cover with a damp cloth. Repeat procedure until the entire filling is gone.

When you do this for the first time you’ll swear that the wonton can take more. It can’t.

Heat a 10-inch nonstick sauté pan over medium heat, and once hot, spread a tablespoon of oil around the bottom with the basting brush. When the oil just starts smoking, which will probably be about two seconds after you put down the brush, place 10 to 12 wontons to the pan and sauté until golden; approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Gently add ¼ cup of hot water or stock per pan full of wontons. Cover and cook until liquid evaporates, approximately 2 minutes. Remove wontons to a heatproof platter and place in the warm oven. Repeat until all wontons are cooked. Serve immediately.

Yield: 35 to 40 wontons

Software:

One 14-ounce can artichoke hearts,
drained well and chopped
4 ounces (approximately ¾ cup)
feta cheese, crumbled
6 slices bacon, cooked until crisp
and chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped scallion
1 whole large egg, beaten
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
1¼ cups hot water, chicken broth,
or vegetable broth
35 to 40 wonton wrappers
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil for
sautéing

Hardware:

Cutting board
Chef’s knife
Digital kitchen scale
Medium mixing bowl
Electric kettle
Bowl of water
Small pastry brush
Half sheet pan
Two tea towels
10-inch non-stick sauté pan
with lid
Heatproof platter
Natural bristle basting brush

CLOSING WONTONS THE EASY WAY.

Remember, barely wet the edge all the way around.

I use my finger, but you might prefer the brush.

Sautéed Popcorn

When you consider that the French definition of sauté is “to jump,” this might be the most seriously sautéed dish of all.

Application: Sautéing

Place the oil, popcorn, and salt in a large metal mixing bowl. Cover with heavy-duty aluminum foil and poke ten slits in the top with a knife.

Place the bowl over medium heat and shake constantly using a pair of tongs to hold the bowl. Continue shaking until the popcorn finishes popping, approximately 3 minutes.

Remove the bowl from the heat and carefully remove the foil. Stir in any salt that is on the side of the bowl.

Melt the butter in the microwave and then slowly drizzle it over the popcorn while spinning the bowl. Serve immediately.

Yield: 3½ to 4 quarts

Note:
Although kosher salt works fine, popcorn salt—with its extremely fine grain size—will stick better. Does that mean you should buy popcorn salt? No. It means you should take some kosher salt (say, a cup) for a spin in ye olde food processor. I find that 10 to 12 two-second pulses do the job nicely. You’ll be left with about ¾ cup of popcorn salt.