Read The Minimalist Cooks Dinner Online
Authors: Mark Bittman
The Minimalist Cooks Dinner (20 page)
with Mustard
TIME:
15 to 20 minutes
MAKES:
2 servings
Shad, the largest member of the herring family, migrates to the rivers of the East Coast every spring. It’s a big, bony fish with moist flesh not unlike that of salmon. But its huge egg sacs, which come in pairs held together by a thin membrane, are the real attraction. They’re filled with millions of eggs which,
if they are not overcooked
, remain creamy and rich in a way that is reminiscent of fine organ meat—not quite foie gras, but not that far away either. As a bonus, the exterior membrane becomes slightly crisp.
Like foie gras, shad roe is amazingly simple to cook and is rich, filling, and delicious. But unlike foie gras, it isn’t all that expensive.
2 tablespoons butter
1 large pair shad roe, about 12 ounces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Minced parsley, optional
Heat an 8- or 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat for a minute or two, then add the butter. When it melts, gently lay the shad roe in the pan and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until the underside is lightly browned.
Turn very gently—a large spatula is best for this—and season the cooked side. Cook for another 3 minutes or so, again until the underside is lightly browned. By this time the roe should be quite firm to the touch; if it is still soft, cover the pan and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, then cut into it to check. When done, the center will be red and the area surrounding it pink.
Remove the roe to a warm plate and stir the mustard and ¼ cup of water into the pan. Raise the heat to high and stir the sauce with a wooden spoon until smooth and thick. Spoon over the roe, garnish with parsley if you like, and serve immediately.
| WINE | Red Burgundy, Pinot Noir, or something rough from southern France |
| SERVE WITH | 60-Minute Bread or good store-bought bread; Simple Green Salad |
USE A
nonstick pan and sufficient butter to guarantee good flavor and a nicely browned crust.
KEEP THE
cooking time short, just long enough to firm up the roe and cook it the equivalent of medium-rare. (It’s okay to cut into it for a look-see the first couple of times you try this, but it’s also pretty easy to get the hang of it, because the change in texture is rather dramatic.)
NOTE THAT
this recipe serves two; it’s easy enough to double, however. Use two pans if you must.
Shad Roe with Capers and Vinegar:
In step 3, omit the mustard. Instead, stir in 2 tablespoons capers, a tablespoon sherry or other vinegar, and 2 tablespoons water. Stir until blended and the liquid reduced by about half. Spoon over the roe, garnish, and serve.
Shad Roe with Bacon
: Omit the butter. Begin by cooking 4 thick slices of good bacon over medium heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon is done; remove the bacon and keep warm. Cook the shad roe in the bacon fat, exactly as above. Serve shad roe and bacon with lemon wedges, garnished with parsley.
SEARED AND STEAMED CHICKEN BREASTS
STEAMED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH SCALLION-GINGER SAUCE
CHICKEN CURRY WITH COCONUT MILK
CHICKEN BREAST WITH EGGPLANT, SHALLOTS, AND GINGER
CHICKEN-MUSHROOM “CUTLETS” WITH PARMESAN
SIMPLEST SAUTÉED CHICKEN WITH GARLIC
GRILLED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH SAUCE AU CHIEN
GRILLED CHICKEN WINGS WITH ANCHOVY DIPPING SAUCE
BROILED CORNISH HENS WITH LEMON AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR
ROASTED AND BRAISED DUCK WITH SAUERKRAUT
BAKED EGGS WITH ONIONS AND CHEESE
Chicken Breasts
TIME:
20 to 30 minutes
MAKES:
4 servings
Here’s how to keep a boneless chicken breast moist while giving it a crust, and without using a lot of fat. This technique relies on two properties of the chicken breast that make it more like fish than like other meat. One, it cooks quickly. And two, it contains a fair amount of moisture. This enables you to start cooking the breasts with just a bit of fat over fairly high heat to begin browning, then lower the heat and cover the pan, which not only allows the meat to steam in its own juices but maintains the nicely browned exterior (on one side, anyway) and—a bonus that is certainly worth mentioning—reduces spattering to a minimum.
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, butter, or a combination
4 plump boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1½ to 2 pounds)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup dry white wine, chicken stock, or water
1 cup peeled, seeded, and diced tomatoes (canned are fine; drain them first)
2 tablespoons capers
2 tablespoons chopped black olives, preferably imported
½ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Preheat the oven to 200°F. Pour the oil into a 12-inch skillet, turn the heat to medium-high, and heat for about 2 minutes. When the oil is hot, season the chicken breasts well with salt and pepper and place them in the skillet, smooth (skin) side down. Turn the heat to high and cook for about a minute, until the chicken begins to brown. Turn the heat to medium and cover the pan.
Cook, undisturbed, until the chicken is firm and nearly cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Uncover the skillet (there may be a little spattering from the moisture that has collected on the underside of the lid; removing the lid quickly will minimize this) and transfer the chicken to a plate; put the plate in the oven.
Over high heat, add the wine, stock, or water and stir and scrape to release any bits of chicken that have stuck to the bottom. When the liquid has reduced by about
half, add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for about a minute. Add the capers, olives, and all but 1 tablespoon of the parsley and cook for 1 minute more, stirring occasionally. Return the chicken to the sauce and turn once or twice. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon parsley and serve.
| WINE | Light red, rosé, or crisp white, depending on your mood |
| SERVE WITH | 60-Minute Bread or good store-bought bread, Easy Rice , Mashed Potatoes , Crisp Potatoes , or almost any pasta dish; Simple Green Salad . It’s hard to go wrong. |
THE COOKING TIME
for all but the thickest chicken breasts prepared this way is under 10 minutes; don’t overcook them or the meat will become tough.
IF YOU USE
mass-produced commercial chicken the results will be somewhat cottony. Free-range or kosher chickens are generally somewhat better.
|
Before adding the liquid in step 3, sauté a bit of chopped onion, shallot, mushroom, or other vegetables in the pan; proceed as above, with or without the tomatoes, capers, and olives.
|
For the wine or stock, substitute cream.
|
Use chopped basil or a few thyme leaves in place of the parsley.
|
This simple technique will work perfectly well with most fish fillets or steaks, from salmon to cod to striped bass. Cooking time for most cuts of these fish will be just a little bit less than that for chicken breasts.
with Scallion-Ginger Sauce
TIME:
20 to 30 minutes
MAKES:
4 servings
Occasionally, I stumble over a culinary combination so obvious that I don’t know whether to marvel over the bad luck that has kept it from me until now or the good luck that finally brought it my way. This was certainly the case with the Chinese dipping sauce of oil, scallions, ginger, and salt that I had in a Cantonese restaurant in Vancouver. It was served with chicken that had been steamed, then lightly dressed with soy and sesame oil; but my host demonstrated the usefulness of the sauce by stirring it into soup as well.
To make this sauce, you do nothing more than mince ginger and combine it with chopped scallions, oil, and plenty of salt.
4 chicken breast halves, bone in or out (see Keys to Success)
1 tablespoon minced ginger
½ cup grapeseed, corn, or other light oil
¼ cup trimmed and chopped scallions, white and green parts combined (¼-inch pieces)
Salt
2 tablespoons good soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil