Cauliflower

Cauliflower is the new kale! That is good news for me because I roast a head of cauliflower almost every week. It is an understated vegetable, low in calories, and can be used in so many ways.

In looking for new ways to prepare cauliflower I found a Chinese recipe and a new soup recipe. These were really good and since cauliflower can be found fresh at the farmer’s market right now, this is the time to do these recipes.

 

From ‘bon appétit’ October 2016.

Kung Pao Cauliflower

4 servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 tablespoons sherry vinegar

2 teaspoons hoisin sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 medium head of cauliflower (about 1 ¾ pounds)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

3 ounces slab or thick-cut bacon, chopped

2 tablespoons red chili flakes

1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns or ½ teaspoon cracked black peppercorns

3 scallions, dark-green and white parts separated, thinly sliced

1 serrano chili, sliced

1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, sliced

¼ cup unsalted, roasted peanuts

Kosher salt

Steamed white rice (for serving)

Stir wine, cornstarch, and 1 Tbsp. soy sauce in a medium bowl; set marinade aside.

Stir vinegar, hoisin sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and remaining 2 tsp. soy sauce in a small bowl; set sauce aside.

Remove leaves and cut cauliflower into medium florets. Trim woody end of stalk and discard, then cut stalk into ½ “--thick pieces. Heat 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a wok or large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Cook cauliflower, tossing occasionally, until browned in places and beginning to soften, 7-9 minutes. Give reserved marinade a stir to reincorporate cornstarch and add cauliflower to bowl; toss to coat. Toss occasionally while you cook the bacon.

Reduce heat to medium. Cook bacon and remaining 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in wok, stirring often, until bacon is browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the chili flakes and peppercorns and cook, tossing, just until fragrant (be careful not to burn), about 30 seconds. Transfer bacon, chilies, and peppercorns to a plate, leaving bacon drippings behind.

Return cauliflower to wok with a slotted spoon; discard excess marinade. Cook cauliflower, tossing occasionally, until charred in spots and crisp-tender (short of scorching it, don’t worry about letting it go pretty dark), 8-10 minutes. Add reserved sauce, scallion whites, serrano chili, ginger, garlic, and peanuts and cook, tossing often, until sauce is fragrant and cauliflower is tender, about 2 minutes. Add bacon mixture and cook, tossing, just until sauce coats cauliflower, about 1 minute; season with salt. Transfer to a serving dish and top with scallion greens. Serve with rice alongside.

 

From Poole’s by Ashley Christensen.

Cauliflower Soup with Sultanas and Crispy Capers

Serves 4

2 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil

1 large yellow onion, thinly slice

1 head cauliflower, washed and cut into florets

2 cups heavy cream

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Sea salt

 

Crispy Capers

¼ cup capers, drained

½ cup neutral vegetable oil

 

Sultana Relish

½ cup sultanas

½ cup boiling water

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 tablespoon olive oil

 

To make the soup, place a saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil, and when it simmers, add the onion. Stirring with a wooden spoon, cook the onion until tender, about 7 minutes. Add the cauliflower, season lightly with salt, and stir to coat with the onion and oil. Add a splash of water, cover, and steam until tender, about 8 minutes.

Uncover and add the cream and enough water to just cover the cauliflower. Simmer until the cauliflower is tender to the point of falling apart, 15-20 minutes. Using an immersion blender or a stand blender, puree until airy and smooth. Season the puree with salt to taste. Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, and puree after each addition.

To make the crispy capers, place the capers and oil in a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Let the oil heat up; the capers will begin to fry. Once the capers are bubbling, cook for 1 minute, then use a fine-mesh sieve to transfer the capers to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve.

To make the sultana relish, in a small bowl, combine the sultanas and the boiling water. Let sit until the water is room temperature. Drain the sultanas, coarsely chop, and place in a bowl. Stir in the shallot and olive oil. Set aside until ready to use.

To serve, reheat the soup gently, ladle into bowls, and garnish with a spoonful each of the relish and the capers.

 

 

 

Country Captain Chicken

Country captain chicken is a curried chicken dish with ties to Southern port cities. Charleston and Savannah both take credit for this chicken dish since both cities invested in the spice trade. Stories of how it came to be, range from Southern sea captains bringing curry powder back from India, to an English skipper who, after falling for the dish while serving in Bengal, introduced it to Savannah or was it Charleston? 

The curry cropped up in Junior League and community cookbooks in the South throughout the twentieth century, among them Charleston Receipts, first published in 1950; The Geechee Cookbook, published in 1956 by St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Savannah; and River Road Recipes, the Junior League of Baton Rouge’s 1959 cookbook. One of the earliest known recipes, though, was published in Miss Leslie’s New Cookery Book in Philadelphia in 1857. Country captain was a favorite of General George S. Patton, and in 2000 the Pentagon gave him a nod when it included the dish in its provisions to soldiers in the field.

This recipe is from the “Glass Onion” a restaurant in Charleston. It is delicious and easy to prepare. It has a spicy and sweet taste because of the curry and hot sauce. Enjoy this dish and it was good for two meals.

Country Captain Chicken

Serves 4

1 whole chicken, rinsed and cut into 8 pieces

2 teaspoons salt, divided

 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons butter, divided

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 cup chopped green pepper

½ cup chopped celery

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons curry powder

Few sprigs of fresh thyme

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

6 cups canned whole peeled tomatoes, crushed with their juices

1 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon Crystal sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire

½ tablespoon molasses

½ tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon tomato paste

½ cup raisins

4 cups steamed white rice

½ cup slivered toasted almonds for garnish

Sliced scallions for garnish

Season chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Heat oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in batches until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to paper towels to drain; set aside.

Add remaining tablespoon butter to saucepan along with onions, bell peppers, celery, bay leaf, curry powder, thyme and garlic. Cook mixture, stirring frequently until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes, chicken stock, hot sauce, Worcestershire, molasses, brown sugar, tomato paste, and remaining teaspoon salt. Stir to blend and reduce heat to medium. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until very tender but not falling off the bone, about 1 hour. Add raisins and cook 10 minutes longer. Serve hot over steamed white rice and garnish with slivered almonds and scallions.

 

 

 

Country captain chicken is a curried chicken dish with ties to Southern port cities. Charleston and Savannah both take credit for this chicken dish since both cities invested in the spice trade. Stories of how it came to be, range from Southern sea captains bringing curry powder back from India, to an English skipper who, after falling for the dish while serving in Bengal, introduced it to Savannah or was it Charleston? 

The curry cropped up in Junior League and community cookbooks in the South throughout the twentieth century, among them Charleston Receipts, first published in 1950; The Geechee Cookbook, published in 1956 by St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Savannah; and River Road Recipes, the Junior League of Baton Rouge’s 1959 cookbook. One of the earliest known recipes, though, was published in Miss Leslie’s New Cookery Book in Philadelphia in 1857. Country captain was a favorite of General George S. Patton, and in 2000 the Pentagon gave him a nod when it included the dish in its provisions to soldiers in the field.

This recipe is from the “Glass Onion” a restaurant in Charleston. It is delicious and easy to prepare. It has a spicy and sweet taste because of the curry and hot sauce. Enjoy this dish and it was good for two meals.

 

 

 

 

Scallops

Winter is a wonderful time of the year for scallops. They are harvested in Maine only in the winter and can retail from $20.00-$35.00 per pound. These are usually not frozen and offer the wonderful sweet flavor that makes scallops so good to eat. Try not to buy scallops that are brilliant white and slippery, because this means they have been chemically treated. Instead, choose ‘dry’ scallops that are more ivory in color (or pink or orange, a natural variation) with an almost sticky feel to them.

The less fuss with scallops the better. Searing them in a hot pan gives them a lovely brown crust with the inside remains tender and creamy. Be restrained on the seasoning, the scallop is the main attraction. Give the scallops plenty of room in the pan and cook them undisturbed to develop a deep brown crust. They will cook longer on the first side than on the second.

I did find some scallops at Whole Foods and did find them expensive. I only bought 12 to make these scallop dishes (about $16.00) but they were delightful and delicious. So you do not need to spend a fortune to make these two dishes but they are well worth the effort.

 

From my new cookbook, Poole’s, by Ashley Christensen. A gift from my son.

Pan-Roasted Scallops with Olive Gremolata (You could use this as a first course.) Serves 4 if using 12 scallops. I used 6 for two people, but used the same amount of gremolata.

 

Gremolata

¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley

½ teaspoon minced garlic

½ teaspoon minced lemon zest

1 tablespoon minced fresh chives

2 tablespoons minced oil-cured olives

 

For the scallops:

2 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil (I used canola)

12 sea scallops

Sea salt

¼ cup Wondra flour

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

 

To make the gremolata, in a small bowl, combine the parsley, garlic, lemon zest, chives, and olives. Mix well, and set aside.

Line a plate with paper towels. Set a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Season the scallops on both side with salt. Place the flour in a shallow dish and when the oil is shimmering, dip one flat side of each scallop into the flour, shake away any excess, and place the scallop, flour side down, in the skillet. Cook until the edges of the scallop touching the pan are turning a beautiful golden brown and look almost pleated, about 2 minutes. Add the butter to the pan and tilt to swirl it around evenly. Cook for 1 minute more, then flip the scallops.

Tilt the pan toward you and, using a spoon, carefully baste the scallops with the brown butter continually for 2 minutes. Transfer the scallops to the paper-towel-lined plate. To serve, place 3 scallops, darkly seared side up, on each plate and garnish with a spoonful of gremolata.

 

From ‘Fine Cooking Magazine’ Dec. 2016/ Jan. 2017

Pan-Seared Sea Scallops with Cauliflower Purée and Fried Capers

Serves 4

 

½ cup heavy cream

1 ¼ tsp. fresh thyme leaves

½ large head cauliflower, cut into 2-inch florets (about 3 ½ cups)

Kosher salt

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice, more to taste

1/8 tsp. cayenne, more to taste

3 Tbs. canola oil, more as needed

¼ cup drained capers, patted dry

¼ tsp. finely grated lemon zest

1 ¼ lb. dry sea scallops, side muscle removed

1 Tbs. unsalted butter, more as needed

1 Tbs. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

 

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with a clean kitchen towel.

In a 2-quart saucepan, bring the cream and 1 tsp. of the thyme to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, and cook until reduced to about 1/3 cup, 7 to 9 minutes.

In a wide pot fitted with a steamer basket, bring about 2 inches of water to a boil. Add the cauliflower an season with ½ tsp. salt. Cover and steam until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the cauliflower to the prepared baking sheet and let dry for a few minutes. Remove the towel, letting the cauliflower fall onto the baking sheet, and bake the cauliflower until dry but not browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a blender, and add the cream, lemon juice, ½ tsp. salt, and the cayenne. Blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt, lemon juice, and cayenne. Keep warm.

Heat 2 Tbs. of the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the capers and the remaining ½ tsp. thyme; cover with a splatter shield (if you have one), and cook, stirring occasionally, until the capers are golden and puffed, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the lemon zest, cook for just a few seconds; and then, using a slotted spoon, transfer the capers, thyme, and zest to a paper-towel-lined plate.

Pat the scallops dry. Heat a large cast-iron or other heavy-duty skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the remaining 1Tbs. oil and the butter. Season the scallops with salt. Working in batches if necessary to keep from crowding; cook the scallops, undisturbed, until very well browned on one side, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook until just barely cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes more, depending on size. Transfer to a plate. Repeat, if necessary, wiping out the pan and adding more butter and oil as needed.

Divide the cauliflower purée among serving plates, and top with the scallops. Garnish with the capers and parsley, and serve.