More experiments with tinned fish

I am employed again (yay!), and that means I've fallen behind on almost everything. Especially the laundry, but anyway...

I'm still experimenting with tinned fish and having a lot of fun with with it. I found this recipe searching for things to do with anchovies. Special thanks to my friend Allison for being a guinea pig. 

Our ingredient list:

• 6 oil-packed anchovy fillets
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed (always fun to take a mallet to something 😁)
• ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ cup walnuts
• 3 Tbsp. double-concentrated tomato paste
• 2 red Fresno chiles, split lengthwise, seeds removed
• 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 3 oz. finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• ½ tsp. kosher salt, plus more
• 1lb. spaghetti
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

I did run into a snag when shopping: none of the places I get groceries from had Fresno chiles. I must have missed their peak season, which is a pity because I have other plans for a large amount of them.  Fortunately, I usually have a jar of Calabrian chiles in the fridge--this jar was chopped ones--so I used a heaping soupspoon full and then threw in a little more. 

Besides that, I found this was quite easy to make, which makes it good to have when company comes. You don't have to neglect them for long to cook.

Step 1

Cook anchovies, garlic, oil, and walnuts in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until walnuts are deeply golden and garlic is just beginning to turn golden, 4–5 minutes. (your kitchen is going to smell fantastic. My guest guinea pig was quite happy) Add tomato paste and cook, stirring often, until it turns a shade darker, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let cool 5 minutes.

I let it cool closer to 15 minutes. I have had the experience of having too-hot things in the blender. You do not want to know, trust me. 

Step 2

Transfer walnut mixture (including the oil) to a food processor. Add chiles, lemon juice, 3 oz. Parmesan, and ½ tsp. salt. Pulse until a thick paste forms.

Step 3

Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1½ cups pasta cooking liquid.

Step 4

Scrape pesto into a large bowl and add butter, then pasta and ½ cup pasta cooking liquid. Using tongs, toss pasta vigorously, adding more pasta cooking liquid if needed (you may not need all of it), until glossy and well coated with sauce.

I didn't need any additional pasta water besides the original half cup. This emulsified beautifully. 

Step 5

Divide pasta among bowls. Season with more salt and top with Parmesan.

Optional Step 6

Do Ahead: Pesto can be made 5 days ahead. Cover and chill.

This was delicious, filling, but not too heavy, and layers of umami dancing on the tongue. I definitely will be making this again. 

If you try it, let me know!

It's not too sweet

 

A few weeks ago, a friend I met through gaming posted an orange chicken recipe that I thought had some potential.  Since I prefer things less sweet and a little more spicy, I'm going to post what I did because there were several changes that worked for me, though you may prefer the original, which is I think resembles what you'll get from a heavily Americanized Chinese restaurant. Please feel free to kick me right in the assumptions and correct me if your experience differs.

For the sauce (add spices a bit at a time and taste as you go):

• 1 Cup low-pulp orange juice (this is being increased to 1.25 cups next time)
• 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce (thinking of trying tamari next time)
• 1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 dried chiles--the type you typically buy in a jar in the spice aisle in the US. I'm short and these were about as long as my little finger--ground to powder in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle
• Zest from one (Navel) orange

You'll notice a couple things if you compare recipes. I eliminated the sugar and the cornstarch. I just didn't think they were needed. Orange juice is plenty sweet. I also didn't dredge and fry the chicken like in the original recipe. Instead I used the sous vide method, which has the advantage of prep and being able to ignore for an hour. If you have an InstaPot, you might have a sous vide attachment.

I put everything but the zest in a small saucepan, and then put two chicken breasts in vacuum bags and into the waterbath, setting the immersion circulator to 147 degrees F, which works out to 68.9 degrees C and set the timer for 45 minutes, keeping the sauce on simmer the whole time and stirring occasionally.

Once the timer went off, I increased the heat on the sauce to medium (look for tiny bubbles) for fifteen minutes until it was reduced. After 15 minutes, the chicken was done. From there, I turned the heat off of the sauce stirred in the zest, de-bagged the chicken, patted it dry and cut it into bite-sized piece. I put the pieces in a large plastic container with a lid, added half the sauce, stirred, and then covered it (tightly) with the lid and shook it within an inch of its life, aka until evenly coated to my eyes.

This can go over rice, though I wasn't in the mood for rice. As sides, I put some mushrooms (a nice mix of shitake, maitake, and enoki was on sale), and some snow peas in a pan with a bit of oil and a bit of soy sauce. I'm really pleased with the results. 

If you try this, please let me know your variations!

Studio Living During A Pandemic: Hot Stuff for a Hot Day: Sous Vide Chili

(special equipment used: Immersion circulator, food processor)

I have to confess, when first confronted with the sous vide method in my home I was skeptical that it was worth the time. Sometimes it takes me a while to get used to an idea, to the consternation of select people.

The building where I live was built in 1929 and used to be a hotel. Its kitchen is built into the entryway. Amazingly for a Manhattan apartment, it fits all my stuff, which is why I'm here (well that and my previous building got bought and they decided not to renew leases). The thing is, the electric stove is quite small. In fact it's so small that my Dutch oven does not fit comfortably on a burner. I can't get the center of the pot on the center of the burner.

So we adjust. I haven't made chili in a while, and our friends at Will It Sous Vide? have a recipe where I stole the method and a few ingredients. I adjusted for what was in my cupboard and fridge, and opened a bottle of beer. So what we have is:

• I pound of beef chuck stew meat
• 2 poblano peppers
• 2 large onions, quartered  (I used vidallia and they were slightly smaller than your average pink grapefruit)
• 2 jalapeño peppers
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon of habanero powder (I still don't remember buying the jar of Dave's Insanity, and I can't find it on the company website. If you gave this to me, thank you)
• 2 dried chiles--the kind you buy in the spice aisle at the grocery store. (Remember, this is what I had in the house)
• 1/2 teaspoon of Liquid Smoke
• 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, plus 2  teaspoons of the sauce
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chili oil.
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) of beer (optional). I used Abita Amber.
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• the juice of two limes
• grated cheddar cheese for topping
• sour cream for topping
• rice, tortillas, pasta, whatever you like with chili

Lifehacker used a kitchen torch to char the vegetables and the meat. I don't own one of those, so I improvised. I put two of the onions, one poblano, one and one jalapeno in the oven for a broil, and then put the other half of the vegetables and the garlic in a dry non-stick pan. Half an hour later, I had some nice char. I didn't brown the meat because I didn't want to add any more oil to the mix, since I had the chili oil already and I generally don't add fat to sous vide dishes.

The broiler gave me more char on the peppers than the pan, but I got better browning on the quartered onions and garlic from the bad. Total time on the heat was about 30 minutes.

Next up, a trip to the food processor. I blended everything in two batches (my food processor is small, it's an accessory to my stick blender). I ran the blades until everything was a uniform color.

I used two vacuum bags. I stared with adding a serving spoon full of the blended vegetation, then the meat, which I cut into bite-sized pieces. About halfway through adding the meat, I added another spoonful, finished adding the meat, added one more spoonful, then sealed the bags.

The bags went into a water bath at 149 degrees F for eight hours Because I often go nocturnal on the weekends, this meant it was finished at 1:30 in the morning. I considered a late supper, but opted for finishing touches on the following day.

That was pretty easy. I opened one of the bags into a medium saucepan, added one can of diced tomatoes and green chiles, a can of rinsed black beans, and the juice of a lime. I let that simmer together, uncovered for a bit while I grated some cheese and made some rice.

The first serving wasn't that great. A bit soupy, probably because I was impatient. Then I figuratively gave myself a Gibbs slap. I still had leftover pepper/spice mixture. I mixed that in for the next serving and it was much better.

The meat wasn't quite where I wanted it, though. There was a little more chewiness to it than I wanted. I was looking more for a braise where it would fall apart if you put a fork or your teeth in it.

Definitely worth the experiment. I have the other half of of the batch in the freezer for the next time, and I think we'll be seeing this again. 

Sauce or Soup? Or It's Gina's Fault

I was talking to one of my best friends a couple weeks ago and the subject of peanuts came up. I am kind of weird about peanuts. I don't particularly like them out of the shell, though I have been known to munch on them while drinking with friends and not thinking about it too much. You won't see me buying a bag at a ball game. I don't like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, but I will eat a Snickers as a meal replacement once or twice a year. Peanut butter sandwich? Hard pass. If there's peanuts in a box of chocolate truffles you'll see me heading straight for the caramel or the chocolate ganache on the other end of the box.

When it comes to Asian food, however, I quite enjoy them. They seem to belong there. Pad Thai. Satay. The top of a bun bowl (Vietnamese vermicelli with many wonderful things). Gina mentioned African Peanut Soup, which I'd never had before. Why not? I thought ,and set aside a Sunday afternoon.

I searched a lot and found Congo Cookbook, which has a lot of things I'm going to try. The peanut soup recipe, I have to say, was pretty vague, so you'll see a lot of my purple comments below. I doubled the recipe so I would use the entire jar of peanut butter (I have no other use for it), but I'm leaving the proportions as they are on the website: 

What you need

• two or three cups chicken broth or chicken stock
• one small onion, minced (I used Vidalia)
• one small sweet green pepper (or bell pepper), minced (I used a green bell pepper and I can't help thinking a red or gold one would be better)
• one clove of garlic, crushed (optional) (I do not grok "one clove of garlic" never mind "optional" in this context. I threw in 5)
• salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper or red pepper (to taste) (this meant a few grinds of salt, about five grinds of black pepper, and a Tablespoon of cayenne. I'm thinking red pepper flakes for next time)
• one hot chile pepper, minced (optional) (I used habanero, ribs and seeds removed)
• one carrot, chopped fine or one sweet potato or yams, boiled and mashed (optional)(I went with the carrot. I only like sweet potatoes in fries. It's a texture thing)
• one or two tomatoes, chopped or canned tomatoes (optional) (I used a 28 oz can, there's a reason, below)
• one cup natural unsweetened peanut butter (or make your own peanut paste, see the simple peanut soup recipe below) (as I mentioned above, I used the whole 16 oz jar of peanut butter. I poured the oil off, then got the rest out with a rubber scraper)

What you do

• If using homemade peanut paste (snipped because I used the below instructions)
• If using peanut butter: Combine all ingredients except the peanut butter and simmer over medium heat until everything is tender. Reduce heat, add the peanut butter and simmer for a few minutes more. Stir often. Soup should be thick and smooth.

Simplest Peanut Soup (which I'll try next time, though I did add the cream listed here)

The simplest Peanut Soup recipe calls for two parts chicken stock, two parts shelled peanuts, and one part milk or cream. (I ended up adding a bit more) Start by roasting the peanuts in a baking pan in a hot oven, or on the stove in a large skillet, turning often. Remove the skins from the peanuts and mash them with a mortar and pestle, mince them with a knife, crush them with a rolling pin, or use a food-processor. (Or you could use one part peanut butter, preferably natural and unsweetened.) Combine the peanut paste with the chicken stock in a saucepan and simmer for thirty minutes to an hour. Season with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and sugar to taste. Stir in milk before serving.

Like I said, a little vague. I don't know if my deviations mean the soup has lost its African identity. If anyone has experiences in this area they'd like the share, please do.

When I first tasted the soup, it burned my mouth for about fifteen minutes. If you've eaten spicy food with me, you'll know that doesn't happen too often. So, I had to cut the heat a bit.

This meant, first of all, more cream than originally called for. If I'd been thinking, I would have added that last, but dairy was the first thing I thought off. It was still OMG spicy, so I went for some acid that wouldn't curdle the cream and the rest of the tomatoes went in. To cut it even further, I added a teaspoon of honey that has Meyer lemon juice in it. This was much better, though all the heat was now at the end of the mouthful. 

I really wasn't sure what to do about the texture. "Thick and smooth" to me means blending, so out came the immersion blender. 

While I was making the soup, there were chicken breasts in a water bath getting the sous vide treatment. I had originally planned to use a habanero and some acid for a marinade, but with the soup so hot, I just added salt, black pepper, and half a lemon's worth of juice to the chicken and put the breasts in their vacuum bags with a lot of fresh parsley

Once I cooked the soup down, unpacked the chicken, and made the rice, my guinea pig (thanks Scott!) and I made an interesting discovery: The lemony chicken tasted delicious when dipped in the soup. Well, it was more like a sauce, really, and I'm not quite sure why. Maybe it needs more protein elements? Chunks of vegetables instead of the minced? This calls for more research and experimentation after I eat the leftovers. 

Regardless, it was delicious and I'm happy to say I've got a ton of leftovers. It could be used for a poaching liquid or I could put it in a vacuum bag for sous vide. 

Question? Comments? Other thoughts? Please let me know!

In Which Kate Makes Things Take a Lot Longer

Hi friends, it's been way too long and I have a couple recipes to share this weekend, one from my friend Ny.

A friend posted today's recipe on Facebook. I don't use my Pinterest Page much, so I never would have come across this otherwise. 

I'm lucky. I no longer have to work two jobs to make ends meet. This means I have more time and resources, so I was able to adjust this recipe somewhat. Here's where I started:

• 3 chicken breasts
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 4-ounce can of green chiles (the author recommends El Paso. This is not a paid endorsement)
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese
• 1 Cup Monterey Jack Cheese

My ingredients list ended up a bit different, but the directions are the same. I doubled the recipe because this looked good enough to want to have again).

• 6 chicken breasts
• 6 cloves of chopped garlic (feel free to roast if you have time. I roasted because it gave the cream cheese time to soften up)
• 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
• 2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese (I'm not getting paid to endorse this either, but you can probably guess the brand)
• 2 poblanos, diced
• 1 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried cilantro (I never seem to run out of this, I think it reproduces in the herb & spice cabinet)
• Monterey Jack cheese

Since poblanos are pretty mild, I figured the chile powder and the jalapeno would kick it up a notch (thank you Emeril). The directions are easy. Note again that the cream cheese should be taken out of the fridge to soften a little while before you start or stirring will be a pain in the ass.

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. If you don't have an oven thermometer, please buy one. When we got a new one, I discovered our oven was 30 degrees colder than the temperature I set it to. No wonder the scones took so long.
2. In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper until well-combined. I skipped the salt & pepper. Cream cheese is pretty salty, and there was plenty of pepper in the chile powder. Stir in the chiles until evenly mixed.
3. Lay the chicken breasts flat in a baking dish--I put a little olive oil on the bottom. Cover with the chile mixture. I used two rubber scrapers for this.  Next, cover with Monterey Jack cheese. I confess I didn't measure the Jack, I just grated it over the baking dish until everything was covered.
4. Bake (uncovered) on middle rack for 35-45 minutes (meat thermometers are your friend)
5. Serve hot. The recipe recommends Spanish rice, potatoes, or greens. I went with black beans. 

I jazz up canned black beans as follows:

• 1 14-ounce can of black beans
• 1 14-ounce can low-sodium black beans
• 2 green onions chopped (dark and light green parts only)
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• Juice of half a lime

Put all ingredients in a saucepan, stir well, simmer about 15 minutes or until hot.

I am firmly in the camp that black beans need a little acid to bring out their best flavor and I think that's why Nexx is so fond of them. More lime juice was definitely needed here. Nexx wanted more green onions. He says that about a lot of dishes that use them.

The chicken took about 45 minutes to reach 165 F. The Jack cheese was a beautiful golden brown:

The tortillas were very useful in scooping up cheese sauce that had escaped from under the crunch. I was very pleased with the recipe, though it is quite rich. I think more garlic next time and maybe a little more chile powder. I'd like a little more warmth to it.

Questions? Comments? Variations? Let me know!