Spice (37 page)

2.
Meanwhile, in another medium saucepan, cover the potatoes with cold water and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when squeezed with a pair of tongs or pierced with a fork. Drain well, by letting them sit in a colander for 5 minutes and allowing some steam to escape.

3.
When they have stopped steaming, place the potatoes in a medium mixing bowl and mash them with a potato masher or whisk, removing large lumps and creating a rough purée.

4.
Break up the salt cod into small pieces. Using your fingers, search for and remove small bones; this is a quick and easy process, and sometimes there aren’t any bones at all. Using a rubber spatula, stir the salt cod into the potatoes, breaking it up more to incorporate it as much as possible. Stir in the egg yolks and the reserved ½ cup of salt cod milk. Season with salt and pepper.

5.
Make the sofrito by sautéing the garlic, onion, tomatoes, and Aleppo chilies in 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat, stirring for 10 to 12 minutes, until the onions soften and the mixture becomes a thick sauce or paste.

6.
Stir the sofrito into the salt cod mixture and add the scallions. Cool for at least 15 minutes.

To Make the Sauce

1.
In a large saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat. When the butter starts to brown, stir in the onion and fennel seed and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes, until the onion starts to soften. Stir in the garlic, Urfa chilies, and paprika to coat the onion. Add the wine, tomatoes, and fish fumet and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the sauce for 35 minutes, until it has slightly thickened and becomes concentrated. Season with salt and pepper.

2.
Allow the sauce to cool and purée it in a blender until smooth. Strain the sauce through a medium-fine sieve and into a bowl or large pitcher. Set aside. You should have about 8 cups of rich broth.

3.
Split the leeks in half lengthwise and wash well, under cold water. Cut them into ½-inch slices and set aside. Remove the stem, ribs, and as many seeds as possible from the roasted pepper and cut into ½-inch pieces and set aside.

4.
In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, melt the remaining teaspoon of butter and tablespoon of olive oil. When the butter starts to brown, add the diced squash and stir to coat the squash with the oil and butter. Cook until the squash starts to brown on one of its sides, for about 6 minutes, and add the leeks. Season with salt and pepper and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, stirring until the leeks begin to soften. Stir in the red peppers and add the tomato broth. Bring to a boil and lower heat to low. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes until squash is tender. Season with salt and pepper.

5.
In a small mixing bowl, using a whisk, beat the eggs and cream together with salt and pepper for about 1½ minutes, until the eggs are broken and incorporated into the cream, and it is smooth and liquid again.

6.
In a large saucepan, or a tabletop deep-fryer, heat the canola oil to 350°F (using a thermometer).

7.
Pour the flour onto a large plate or tray. Divide the salt cod mixture into 12 balls and roll them in a little flour, just enough to lightly coat the potato. Shake off any excess flour. Flatten the balls a bit with the palm of your hand so that you have pillow shapes instead of round balls.

8.
Drop each salt cod fritter into the cream mixture (4 to 5 at a time). Remove them one by one with a slotted spoon and carefully drop them into the hot oil. Fry for about 5 minutes, until golden brown. They will start to float on the top of the oil when they are almost done. Repeat with the remaining 4 to 5 fritters. Drain them on a paper towel and sprinkle them with salt to taste.

9.
Ladle a little less than a cup of the pepper sauce into 4 large serving bowls. Top with 2 fritters, sprinkle each bowl with some parsley, and serve immediately. Offer yourself a glass of any leftover rioja or pinot noir used in making the sauce.

FISH FUMET

3 pounds cod bones or bones from any white fish, heads removed

1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped

2 bay leaves

2 cloves garlic

2 ribs celery, roughly chopped

1 cup medium-bodied, non-oaky white wine, such as a dry Riesling

1.
Chop the fish bones in 4-inch pieces so they fit easily in a large saucepot. Rinse the bones under cold water to remove any excess blood and drain them well.

2.
In a large saucepot, heat the oil over medium-high heat and add the fish bones. Stir so that the fish bones are coated in the oil. Let them cook for 5 minutes, still stirring to draw more flavor out of the bones.

3.
Add the onion, bay leaves, garlic, and celery. Add the wine and then cover the bones with 8 to 10 cups of water. Bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

4.
Strain the broth through a fine sieve into another large saucepot.

Veal Tagine with Moroccan Spices and Almond Couscous

Tagine
means “stew” in North Africa, and on a cold winter night, this warm, hearty, exotic dish will transport you to Morocco. The chilies and saffron create earthy flavors that are perfectly balanced and brightened by the ginger and coriander.

There is an art to eating a tagine or couscous dish, adding liquid or rich broth to the stew and couscous, little by little, as it’s consumed. If you immediately pour all the broth over the couscous, it swells too quickly, absorbing everything at once, and you won’t be able to enjoy sauce with each bite of veal. Serve this dish with the broth in a little pitcher on the side, inviting your guests to add it to their couscous a little at a time. And if you like your food spicy, add extra harissa to the broth in the pitcher.

The long, slow cooking of tagine tenderizes less expensive cuts of veal, like the shoulder or shank. Long braises require twice as much salt as other cooking methods, which is why this recipe calls for so much salt.

This dish pairs well with dolcetto, from the Piedmonte region, which is a round wine, low in tannin and high in almond flavors and anise aromatics.

S
ERVES
4
TO
6

6 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil

8 veal hind shanks, cut 1¾ inches thick or osso bucco style (see note, page 165)

1/3 cup salt

2 cups white wine

1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic (about 3 large cloves)

Pinch of saffron

1 teaspoon cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon whole coriander seed

4 cups chopped plum tomatoes (canned is okay)

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1 cup harissa (see page 152)

Ice cubes

½ cup toasted whole blanched almonds (see page 91) plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped almonds for garnish

2 cups whole milk

1½ cups uncooked couscous

Salt and black pepper to taste

4 scallions, root ends trimmed and finely chopped

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.
Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and melt 1 tablespoon of the butter with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Pat the veal shanks with paper towels to dry them. When the butter begins to brown, add 4 shanks to the pan and brown them on one side, for 4 to 5 minutes, creating a golden-brown crust. Season the meat generously with about a quarter of the 1/3 cup of salt. Turn the shanks over and brown the other side, seasoning with another quarter of the salt. Keep the heat high and turn on your fan, so your house won’t get smoky.

3.
Place the meat in a large roasting pan. Pour ½ cup of the white wine into the sauté pan to remove any sugars stuck to it (this also cleans the pan for you). Then, pour the wine over the 4 shanks in the roasting pan and wipe the sauté pan clean.

4.
Repeat the browning process with the 4 remaining shanks, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon butter, and remaining salt. It’s important to brown the shanks a little at a time: if the pan gets too crowded, the shanks won’t brown well. When they’re finished browning, add the shanks to the others in the roasting pan.

5.
Deglaze and wipe out the sauté pan again, as in step 3. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium-high heat, and stir in the onion and carrot. Cook them for 2 minutes, stirring, just to release some of their flavor.

6.
Stir in the garlic and saffron and add another ½ cup of wine while the pan is still on the heat. Cook for about 2 minutes.

7.
Remove the sauté pan from the heat and add the vegetable aromatics (onion, carrot, saffron, and garlic) to the roasting pan with the shanks. Add the remaining ½ cup wine, the cinnamon, coriander, tomatoes, ginger, and harissa to the roasting pan. If the liquid does not reach ½ or ¾ up the shanks, add extra water to adjust the level and cover with a tight-fitting lid or wrap twice with foil. You need to cover the pan tightly, so the liquid won’t evaporate too quickly.

8.
Place the roasting pan in the oven and cook the shanks for 2 to 2½ hours, or until the meat pulls apart from the bone and tears easily with a fork.

9.
Remove the shanks from the liquid in the roasting pan and place them onto a platter to let them rest. Cover them with foil.

10.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, or in a microwave, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in ¾ cup of water.

11.
Strain the liquid from the roasting pan through a fine sieve, into a medium mixing bowl or large pitcher, to remove the vegetables.

12.
Place 8 ice cubes into the broth and stir. This will help cool the broth down quicker so that you can remove any fat that comes to the surface. Allow to cool for 1 hour in the refrigerator. If the broth seems too thick and more like a sauce, add 1 cup of water.

13.
Meanwhile, in a blender, puree the toasted whole almonds with the milk for a minute, until the milk is smooth and the almonds are very fine, about 3 minutes. Strain the milk through a fine sieve into a small saucepan, to remove any little bits of almond. You should have milk that is infused with almond flavor but no almond bits. Heat the saucepan of almond milk over low heat; when it begins to simmer, remove it from the heat.

14.
In a medium mixing bowl, stir the hot water and melted butter into the couscous until the couscous is coated. Let the couscous stand uncovered for 10 minutes.