Salmon Cakelets

For my niece Anna as she steps into fish world!

This is a riff on a Jamie Oliver recipe. I will start by saying that. There are some changes, however, so do not call out the plagiarism police on me! After all, as Coco Chanel said, “imitation is the highest form of flattery”. The idea came about because we were having a family nibble night for a myriad of celebrations. College graduation, impending birthday, upcoming family reunion for July 4th. There were a lot of tastes involved and we all contributed something in some way. My niece, Anna, is beginning to try seafood after years as a vegetarian. So I thought of a recipe that I had seen on the Jamie Oliver channel and thought I could downsize the cakes (hence cakelets). I gave her a list of ingredients and she loved them all so we decided to make them together. From start to finish. Including tasting for taste. It was great fun. I give you Salmon Cakelets.

For this recipe, I used 2 pounds of Atlantic salmon which I skinned. If you are not comfortable skinning the fish, ask your fish purveyor to do it for you. It is quite easy and the skin makes fabulous cracklings. Different recipe….. Also needed were 2 stalks of lemon grass (use lemon rind or lime rind if you cannot find lemon grass and taste for flavor), about a 1-1/2 inch piece of peeled ginger, a bunch of cilantro, and chili oil. I make my own chili oil so I used that, but included a picture of what you need should you make this. Cooking time is enough time to fry the cakes, but allow about 1/2 hour before cooking for resting in fridge.

First, peel the salmon skin and chop into 1/4 inch pieces. Flatten the lemon grass and remove the outer hard bits. Chop as finely as possible. Do the same with the ginger and the cilantro, using leaves and stalks.

I have combined the lemon grass and ginger in a bowl. I separated out the cilantro because not everyone is a fan so I made half with and half without to please everyone.

Now take 1/2 of the cubed salmon and cut down to almost a paste. You can do this in a food processor, but why take out a piece of equipment when a knife works just as well and is easier to clean! Besides, great stress reliever….. Add the lemon grass/ginger mix as you chop. You will. have this:

Add the remaining salmon chunks to this minced down product and continue to chop all together keeping the bigger chunks bigger than the minced bits but making a somewhat homogenous mix.

Quite frankly, I took this photo and chopped a bit further because Anna thought the cakelets were not holding together. She was right. If you make larger cakes it is a bit easier for the finished product to set. You will notice that there is cilantro in this photo. I split out the with and without prior to taking this pix, but if you are not splitting, just mix it all in when you add the ginger and lemon grass (or grated lemon rind or lime rind). Add salt. I think next time I will use soy sauce for this. It will give a better flavor. At this point, if you are a sushi eater, you can taste for seasoning (as I did which is when I realized it needed more salt). If you rather have it cooked, make a small patty to taste.

For patties (cakelets). Form a 1 1/2-2 inch ball and press to form a chunky pancake like thing. Make all the patties at once and then refrigerate for about 1/2 hour.

The best way to cook is to use a non-stick skillet but one was not available so I used cooking spray. Heat the skillet and then spray. Hot Pan Cold Oil. Good trick to remember to keep things from sticking. Learned that at a Chinese cooking class. (the actual quote is hot wok cold oil…).

When you have prepped your pan, add the cakes and cook. Flip when you see the sides of the cakes turning white. If you have prepped the pan or if you are using a non-stick skillet, this will be quite easy. Cook the other side and then put aside. Remember, the salmon will cook after it is taken off the pan. Don’t overcook or the cakelets will be dry. Top with some of the chili oil, crisp, or spice of your choice. You will have this.

This recipe made 24 cakelets. Needless to say, if you want them larger to put on a salad or into a bun, have at it! BTW, none left. Even the 4 year old took some. But Anna? she love making them, chimed in on what was working in shape and taste, loved the finished flavor and hopefully she will make them on her own.

For everyone else? 🙂

Just in Time for Summer. Zucchini Butter!

No butter needed.

This is a great quick preparation for carnivores, pescatarians, vegetarians and vegans. Gluten free. Dairy free. And in the next month or so, they will be everywhere! Can go on toast, pasta, fish, meat, in eggs….getting the picture? 4 ingredients unless you really want to jazz it up. I bring you ZUCCHINI BUTTER. To make, you will need

Note. One of the ingredients is a piece of equipment. That everyone has. In some way, shape or form.

To make. Grate your zucchini on your box grater using the largest holes. If you want to break out the food processor, just pulse a few times to get the size shown below. Do not over process, you are not making soup, you are making butter. It should be mentioned that any color of zucchini or summer squash can be used. I think, as the product arrives at markets or in stores, the smaller varieties would be better because they are sweeter but do not let lack of small vegetables deter you from making this. Your grated product should look like this.

Chop shallot and add to zucchini bowl. No shallots? Use onion. Use scallion. Use garlic, but sparingly. You want to taste zucchini.

Heat your pan, and after heated, add olive oil. If you are using non stick, add olive oil and heat pan at the same time. Toss in zucchini and shallots, salt and pepper and let cook down. This is halfway through the process.

The water from the zucchini will cook out and the zucchini will soften. The edges may get a bit brown just continue to toss, the whole process will not take more than 15 minutes.

This is the finished product. Allow to cool and you will see that your zucchini has become spreadable, you get it, just like butter! And that’s all there is to it. If it needs more salt, add salt. If you like it a bit more fiery, add red pepper flakes or my favorite Calabrian Chili past. Want basil? Just throw it in. More acidic? A squeeze of lemon. The world is your zucchini!

Now what? Below is the simplest way to use. Toast a piece of bread and spread the butter. Eat.

I made breakfast with some leftover pasta and threw a bit of the butter in the eggs and I give you this.

And there you have it. Keep it in the fridge and remove just before spreading. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

PAN TOMATE

A variation on a theme

After spending a wonderful and food filled 10 days in Spain, I find that I am drawn more than ever to small bites. Not that I needed that much in the way of encouragement, but the Spanish seem to have developed the final word on yumminess in small plates. So with that in mind, I give you my spin on Pan Tomate. Normally, Pan Tomate is a piece of toast rubbed with some tomato and topped with something. This is an upgraded riff on that-easy, involves no cooking unless you call toasting bread cooking, only a bit of hands on time (think less than 5 minutes) and can be used in a myriad of ways. Perfect for your next happy hour nibble. What you need are these items:

Notice, two of the 6 items are “utensils”. I had a beefsteak tomato that was sitting unused and decided to employ it for this appetizer. Also shown are salt, bread, and oil. I am using Spanish olive oil, use what you want or what you have. The bread is an olive loaf, again, use what you want or have. For you gluten free folks, substitute the olive bread with your gluten free fave. Grate the tomato on the largest holes of the box grater. It may smush if you have an overly ripe tomato, if that occurs, you can chop down the larger pieces, but by and large the tomato will grate easily and you will end up with this.

Pour your what is now tomato puree into a strainer placed over a bowl , salt lightly, and allow the tomato to drain. Like so.

The more liquid part of the puree will seep into the bowl below and you will be left with a spreadable product. Don’t worry about the seeds. In Spain, I saw seeds everywhere, even in a 2 Michelin Star restaurant surrounded by the gelatin which holds the seeds in place. They are delicious. A bit tangy.

Now the fun part. Take your bread, toast it slightly, and and then “butter it” with the tomato. I will show you two different iterations. The first was part of a tapas dinner on a Sunday night. The second was a breakfast toast with avocado.

In Madrid, they call this a matrimonio. A combination of white and grey anchovies for anchovy lovers. I love anchovies, but admit that there are haters out there. Maybe you should give them another go??

This is tamer. Both were delicious. Topped with a bit of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Pepper if you want. Parsley or cilantro.

So what else can you use? Top with thinly sliced manchego. Top with tinned tuna or another tinned fish. Top with a slice of sweet onion. You can even top with a fried egg. You are only limited by your imagination!

Now what to do with the tomato water that filtered out. Martini lovers, I am looking at you! Add to some chilled Vodka, skewer a small piece of Mozzarella and a leaf of basil. Not your grandmother’s Caprese!

I hope you make this. Like I said it is so easy to prepare, inexpensive, and so many ways to enjoy!

RICE PAPER TREATS

A twist on Spanakopita

I am currently visiting family in Chicago. This visit always turns into a food-a-thon, and that is great fun. While going through the pantry looking for something, I happened upon a sleeve of large rice paper wrappers which had seen better days. We had had a salad the night before and there was some fresh spinach left. I had to do a run to the grocery store and picked up some curly kale for another salad. While putting things away into the fridge, I saw a half block of feta and some unopened dill and realized that there was enough of everything to make filling for spanakopita and figured I would try it with the rice paper bits for Happy Hour nibbles. It worked. Lo and behold, I give you rice paper treats.

The fixings. This made 12 squares.

First, I chopped the spinach and kale really finely. You can probably do the same in a food processor, but I didn’t want to take out another appliance. Get the greens as fine as you can and then squeeze out as much liquid as you can to get a dry mix.

Chop the scallion, garlic, and dill and add to the spinach/kale bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste and mix.

Add the egg and stir all together.

Crumble the feta (use as much as you want, I used about 1/4 block) and add to the entire mix. Stir to combine. If you want to taste, make a small patty and cook to make sure you have all the seasonings ok. A grate or two of nutmeg would go really well with the greens, I forgot to add but you will do better.

Now, set a dinner plate aside and add some water. Take a second dinner plate or a tray and spray or brush with oil. Take a rice paper sheet and place on the water plate for a few seconds. Flip the sheet and let sit for another few seconds. Take out and place on your board. Add a spoonful of the mix to the part of the sheet closest to you like so.

You can see that the paper is damp. That is what you want. The damper it is, the easier it is to roll. Starting at the bottom, fold the paper over the mix, then fold the two sides over and roll and flatten, much like you would do with a burrito. Place on the oil plate. Repeat until you have finished the filling or run out of paper. I forgot to take a foto of the wrapped square, but you will see in the finished product below.

Oil a non stick pan and place the squares over medium heat. They will get crispy and the interior will cook. Flip after a few minutes, that depends on how brown you want the exterior or how many people are hovering over you as you cook. I made 12. As I was taking them out of the pan, they were eaten. I had to move fast to get a finished picture!

I made a quick dip with some yogurt and the scallion tops that were left and that was it!

Why do I love this and why will I make it again? It’s easy. It tastes good. I always have rice paper sheets and you should too, they can be used for so many things, cooked and uncooked! Everyone loves hot crispy things. And it is so much easier than making with phyllo because you do not have to wait 24-48 hours for the phyllo to defrost. You don’t have to keep the rice paper sheets covered while you work. It’s gluten free for your gluten free friends. It took about 15 minutes to put the whole thing together including taking fotos to show you. Did I say it tastes good? I hope you try it. If you do, let me know how it goes!

PROVOLETA/PROVOLONE

It’s a cheese and a dish!

Provoleta is a type of cheese. It is akin to provolone. But since I do not know what the name of the process to cook it is called, I have taken literally license and called the finished cooked process Provoleta as well. And I use provolone for the cheese. Got it? It’s ok, it isn’t going to change the world if you don’t “got it”. Just try it.

I had this once before years ago, and made it and forgot about it until I had it again in Madrid for lunch after a visit to the Prado. We were starving and saw it on a menu in an off the way place and ordered it. It was served in one of those cool ceramic cazuelas which, of course, I went on a mission to get, and found. It is a very simple preparation, but so quick and easy and great for a last minute invite for nibbles and Happy Hour.

I used just two ingredients, cheese and pimento, but more on that in a bit. You can buy the provolone in a chunk at a deli department, you want it to be as thick as your finger. Notice the cute little cazuela. You don’t need one, if you have a small cast iron pan, it works just as well, just be sure to oil it so the cheese does not stick as it melts. The cheese should fit the dish in which you are going to serve and any oven proof vessel will work….

like so…..

Preheat your oven to 400F. Grease your dish and place the cheese in it. If you want, you can sprinkle some dried oregano, or fresh pepper, or a mix of dried spices according to your taste. I used oregano. Pop the dish into the oven and cook for about 20 minutes. The cheese will melt and bubble. Raise the temperature to broil to crisp the top. When browned to your liking, remove and serve on a trivet. The dish will be hot so watch your hands. Here is how my most recent finished product appeared:

Notice the green plastic trivet, it worked really well, but use whatever you like, even folded towels will give a pretty rustic look to the presentation. I topped mine with chopped pimento. You can top with any manner of items such as chopped olives, chopped vinegar peppers, Calabrian chilis (for a heat kick), tomatoes for ideas. Serve with either little toasts as I have here or sturdy crackers, you are going to pull the cheese out of the bowl and eat it on the toast or cracker and you don’t want the cracker to break into the dish or pan. If the cheese starts to harden, just pop it back into the oven for a few minutes, it melts beautifully. Don’t have provolone? Try Mozzarella! Have fun with it and enjoy with a glass of wine!

MANGO TAPAS OF A SORT

Started as an avocado wrap

I had seen a recipe from the celebrated Chef Jose Andres and thought I would give it a whirl as I had an avocado that was waning. Unfortunately, I missed the first sentence of the recipe which stated “start with a ripe but not soft avocado.” I made the avocado into toast and was going to give up when I saw a “ripe but not soft” mango on my counter. While in Barcelona, I had a dessert which combined mango and strawberry and it was delicious. I had both in the house so I began to elaborate. I also had some Jamon Iberico and thought the flavors would pair well. Finally, I had some pickled onions for a counterbalance to the sweetness of the mango and strawberry and the fatty Jamon. And so I give you this Mango Tapas.

Start with a piece of cling wrap and coat it with a neutral oil or spray. This keeps the mango from slipping and easier to roll. Then peel your mango and using the peeler, continue to peel thin strips of the fruit. Layer the slices on the cling wrap as so:

Slice the strawberries as thinly as possible, you can use the peeler for this as well but it is a bit tricky. Layer them atop the mango and then add the Jamon on top. Finish with the pickled onion.

Now, starting from the bottom with the wide end of the cling wrap facing you, roll the package up to look like this.

Other options, you can use thinly sliced shrimp in place of Jamon. You can use regular ham. You can use mortadella. You can use chorizo. You can use prosciutto. (Think prosciutto and melon, same idea). If you do not have pickled onions on hand, here is a very quick easy recipe https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-quickpickled-red-onions-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-193247. You can eliminate them, but you do need something sharp and tart, you can even use some pickle slices but don’t overdo.

Refrigerate until ready to serve. Slice and top with some sesame seeds, or chopped nuts, or a bit of soy sauce. Maybe some hot sauce for tang? It is an easy do, can be made ahead and will go well as a nibble with some fizz or wine!

Enjoy!

Phun with Phyllo

It’s not just for triangles any more.

So my building is having a Lunar New Year Party. I decided to make pork buns and had planned on making the dough for the buns. But recently, I have rediscovered the joy of Phyllo (or Filo) pastry and all the fun things that can be done with it with a bit of planning and butter. For example, I made little buns for Thanksgiving stuffed with stuffing and cranberry sauce. A big hit. Can be made in advance and frozen. Goes from freezer to oven. Ticks all the do ahead boxes and then some. As an aside, they were pretty delicious. Ergo, in trying to simplify my pork buns and get as much done ahead as possible, I started racking my brain for alternative ideas and came up with a concept using phyllo. This gave me multiple options, buns, squares, triangles (sooooo yesterday), and what I finally set out with, spring rolls. And what is a Lunar New Year Party without something spring roll-y or egg roll-y. Same filling, easier to put together and fun to make.

Before we get into the process a few words about phyllo. It is a bit tricky to work with until you get accustomed to it. After that it is very easy to use. The key is that the dough needs to be covered as you work pull the sheets off. I dampen a paper towel and lay it over the remaining sheets as I work. You can use a damp towel, whatever is most comfortable for you. Also, if you are going to work with layers (2 or more sheets) it is really helpful to butter or oil the the sheets as you stack, especially around the edges. If something tears, do not worry. The oiled sheets will stick together and you will not notice the tear. OK. with the recipe.

I used a filling from thewoksoflife.com for mini pork buns. But you can use whatever savory or sweet filling you want. As this was for a Lunar New Year Party, my filling had more of an Asian savory bent. Below are the items I used for the pastry. I melted a stick of butter and added a tablespoon of sesame oil to flavor. You can add a seasoning to the butter omit. I liked the idea of sesame oil as it was also in the mix for the preparation of the pork. I made my little rolls with two layers of dough. See below. The filling had already been cooked and cooled.

You can see the various stages including the final product, the little roll. I made 80 of these little rolls and froze them. I did make one to show you what will be served. I brought one directly from the freezer, preheated the oven to 400F and sprayed the top of the pastry with avocado oil. You can use butter, oil or nothing, but the oil does help in the browning. I cooked for 10 minutes. I would have liked them a bit more brown and crispy, so next time I will add time. After the cooking process, I brushed a bit of sugar water over the top and sprinkled some black sesame seeds. As an aside, the sugar water is made by dissolving sugar into warm water. That’s it.

These are tasty little morsels. Great for a party. The rolling process may be a bit tedious, but I found it a very zen thing. If rolling isn’t your think, ask friends to help and provide wine. The rolling will go much faster! Gang Shi Fat Choi!! Year of the Snake!

PEPPERS PEPPERS PEPPERS

August. The top month for produce. Everything coming into the green markets. All those gorgeous tomatoes, the fruits, eggplants of every shape and size. And peppers. So many shapes. So many sizes. So many colors. So many types. I love roasted peppers. Roasting peppers was the first cooking skill I learned. Put peppers under broiler, turn when blackened, take out of oven, put in paper bag to steam, clean skin, put in jar, eat. From opening the oven door to ingestion, probably an hour of mindless work, but so satisfying. But seriously, how many roasted peppers can you eat?

I saw an article on seriouseats.com about shishito pepper cream. I love shishito peppers but the only way I have eaten them is dry roasted on a cast iron skillet until softened and topped with coarse sea salt. Mind you, that is a really delicious nibble, but again, how many times can you eat them (especially if your other half doesn’t eat them)? This cream thing intrigued me so I gave it a try. Delicious. For eight medium sized peppers you will need a sliced clove of garlic, a sliced shallot, a tablespoon of olive oil, 1/4-1/3 cup of heavy cream, a tablespoon of Parmigiano Reggiano (more if you love cheese), and grated nutmeg. Thinly slice the peppers crosswise. Heat the olive oil over medium flame. Add the peppers along with the garlic and shallot and saute until softened. (A nod to Jacques Pepin, I add a bit of water to the pan at the start when sautéing vegetables. It melts the vegetables before they brown too much and when the water has evaporated, the veggies are softened enough so that they are perfectly cooked. The man is a genius.). When the mixture is done, add the heavy cream and turn the heat up a bit, you want to boil the cream down with the peppers to make a sauce. How thick or thin is a personal choice, I went thicker, will explain why in the next paragraph. When the mixture has reached your desired consistency, take off heat, add cheese and nutmeg. Stir. It can be used right away or refrigerated.

Now I have this thick beautiful and creamy butter like sauce. How to use you ask? Well, I had also bought Nardello peppers (https://blog.gardeningknowhow.com/tbt/jimmy-nardello-italian-peppers/) and had some green shishitos left over so I dry roasted both. I also had ciabatta bread which I grilled rubbed with garlic topped with a light brushing of olive oil. I then buttered the bread with my thickened shishito pepper cream and topped with the roasted and chopped Nardello and Shishito peppers. Can be used as a spread for any sandwich. Think grilled eggplant. Think sliced tomato. Think whatever you like!

There you have it. And it being August, open a bottle of Rose’ and be happy.

Roasted Rapini

It is a beautiful Saturday here in quarantined Brooklyn. Totally Spring. And in a sign that some normalcy is trying to return, my dry cleaner was opened so I was able to ransom garments that I dropped off a month ago, like having a new wardrobe. Our Greenmarket is open on Saturdays as well, so I walked up to see if anything was available. Lo and behold, green things are starting to appear as nature does its thing with or without face masks.

One of the vendors had beautiful bunches of broccoli rabe and for the first time in 6 weeks I had a craving for something that wasn’t a potato chip or a bottle of wine. This has to be the easiest, freshest, and tastiest thing to make on the spur of the moment.

So before you I have presented the ingredients. Rapini (or broccoli rabe), garlic, crushed red pepper. You will also need olive oil and flaky sea salt to taste. Everything is QB (quanta basta, or as much as you need or want). First blanch the rapini in boiling water for about 5 minutes. This will soften the stems. Refresh in ice water and drain. Heat oven to 400 degrees. While oven is heating, slice the garlic as thinly as you can. Cover a rimmed sheet pan with aluminum foil (read easy cleanup) and place the rapini on the pan alternating stems and tops for even cooking. If necessary, use two pans, you don’t want to crowd the pan. Add the olive oil, the shaved garlic, the crushed red pepper, salt to taste, and toss. Roast 10-15 minutes. That is all there is to it. If the stems are still tough, cut them from the tops, and place back into oven covered with some aluminum foil to finish. Add lemon juice if you want, or a splash of red wine vinegar. That’s the healthy part.

When I was growing up, my grandmother would make me a sandwich on our Sunday visits. Kaiser roll, some pork cracklings from the rendered fat back used to fry the meatballs for Sunday gravy, and some broccoli rabe. As I was roasting the rapini, I thought of that dish. I had some bacon in the fridge which I chopped down into small pieces and fried. Dipped a Martin’s potato roll into some of the bacon fat, added a few pieces of crispy bacon, a few slices of shaved pecorino cheese, some of the garlic slices from the rapini and toasted my grandmother. Not so healthy, but oh so delicious.

Other things you can do: chop it, add some of the cooking oil and bacon and toss with pasta; top with fried egg; serve at room temperature as a side or salad adding some lemon zest; chop and add to omelettes.

So grab your mask, go for a walk, enjoy the day, look for the rapini, and be grateful for another spring.

RETRO NIBBLE

When I decided to put this blog together whenever that was, I made a list of things that would be part and parcel of the postings, items I had made for the beach, stuff I put together for last minute cocktails on the roof in Brooklyn, things that were easy to make and didn’t require a lot of ingredients or fussiness.

Fast forward to “the siege”. In my pantry, I had two things for a post I was going to do back a bit, but my husband became ill and then time just got away from me. Tonight, two safe friends who live in the building but are staying out of town currently are coming for dinner. They need to come back to Brooklyn for MD appointments. Actually I think they are stir crazy and want to come in to be somewhere else, but I digress. Normally I would make a nice dinner but they begged me for takeaway Chinese food, and on GrubHub I have actually found a restaurant I like, so Chinese it is. But a menu from the 60’s to be sure, House Chop Suey, Egg Rolls, Fried Rice, Shrimp and Lobster Sauce, Egg Foo Young, Spare Ribs, the quintessential non Chinese, Chinese take out from King Wah we had growing in Huntington Station. I am sure my Chinese-American friends are cringing at the thought of calling this “Chinese”, but those items are like Chicken Parmiggiano to an Italian-American. They don’t make it in the old country, but it sure is good eats if prepared well.

So for this “retro” Chinese dinner, I decided to pull out the two items to have with our cocktail hour. I give you:

Cube the spam, place in skillet, brown well, top with pineapple chunk, and add a cute toothpick. End of recipe, end of story. Want to jazz it up? Add a strip of Nori and call it Hawaiian Sushi. World’s easiest and most retro nibble, perfect for the craziest of times.

Now for the retro cocktail? I’ll take Manhattans……..