Brandade de Morue & Grilled Polenta

Using the brandade recipe from a previous entry, I took it one step further by serving it with a delicious polenta. Worked a fine treat, with rave reviews.

Good quality polenta

Chicken stock (if not your own, buy a freshly-made commercial type)

1. Make polenta using stock; use higher quantity of polenta than usual to get a very thick consistency (avoid minute polenta, use normal, slow-cooking, rougher grain type)
2. Pour into small shallow pan so that you get a 1.0-1.5 inch thick polenta cake. Smear EVOO on top, put in broiler on high, brown top, let cool, then unmold.
3. Slice polenta, put brandade on top, with a grind of pepper, small drizzle of EVOO, maybe a couple snipped chives.

Potato Capelleti & Mushrooms

This hit the spot tonight, the perfect dish before winter ends....

"00" pasta & Italian eggs

350 gr new potatoes

150 gr butter

sprig of rosemary

80 gr parmesan

mixed mushrooms

chives, parsley

butter, EVOO, s&p

white wine

1. boil potatoes, peel when still hot, whiz in blender
2. melt butter in rosemary, add gradually to potatoes in blender while both still hot
3. add parmesan, s&p to taste
4. put filling aside, make pasta, then make capelleti using filling
5. saute mushrooms, add minced garlic toward end, some s&p, white wine until evaporates
6. boil capelleti, with slotted spoon put into saute pan with mushrooms, add more butter, some pasta water if necessary, more seasoning including chives/parsley
7. serve, grate parmesan generously, possibly drizzle of EVOO, extra seasoning if necessary

Boudin Blanc & Glazed Apple Tapa

I needed to turn a classic bistro dish into a tapas, and this worked very well.

a few boudins blancs (properly made)

2-3 tangy apples (need about third volume of boudins)

sugar

butter

calvados (or cognac)

maille mustard

1. bake the boudin in a dish 30-34 mins, till they expand & skin browns
2. cut into eighths, saute apple in butter and sprinkle of sugar, flambe with alchohol
3. slice boudin, scatter about the plate; do same with apple pieces
4. put small tub of mustard in middle of the plate, grind pepper overall
5. toothpicks on side-- get a bit of boudin, apple and dab of mustard in every bite

Pistachio Pesto

In the absence of pinenuts, pistachios worked just fine.  A quick dry pan fry helps.

pistachios

EVOO

garlic 

basil

parsley (just a few leaves)

chives (handful)

S&P

1. dry pan fry the pistachios and garlic (in case of the latter, eliminates strong raw garlicky flavor
2. put all ingredients in blender (chop chives up a bit first) & wiz but not too finely

Whipped & Truffled Brandade de Morue

I saw this on the menu at Aiden Byrne's The Grill at the Dorchester.  The truffle is what makes it interesting; the brandade recipe comes from Andre Soltner, former chef of Lutece in NYC. This brandade recipe is delicious because it is light and airy, and made with just fish, no added potato: 

Salt cod

Whole milk

EVOO

bay leaf

thyme

2 garlic cloves

S&P

Baguette

Truffle oil

1. Soak the salt cod with 3-4 water changes over a week period
2. Rinse cod and steam
3. Bring a couple cups of milk, about a cup of EVOO, with bay leaf and thyme, to a near boil
4. De-bone steamed cod
5. Put cod and liquid in blender, add pepper (maybe salt although shouldn't have to given that cod already salty), truffle oil to taste, and blend til fluffy.  Don't overblend!
6. Grill baguette slices, dip into a bowl of the fluffy brandade.

Chorizo & Harissa Aioli Sandwich

A tasty little number, inspired by a walk through Borough Market:

Chorizo

Bay leaf

Red Wine

Home-made mayo

Harissa (top quality)

Peasant bread

Rucola

EVOO

Lemon

S&P

1. Cut chorizo lengthways, saute until browned with bay leaf, add red wine and deglaze
2. Dress rucola with EVOO, S&P, lemon juice to taste
3. Make aioli (pref with organic, orange yolk egg), add harissa (preferably from a tub at a Moroccan store, rather than store-bought in a jar)
4. Grill bread, rub with garlic, drizzle EVOO
5. On a wooden board/plate, put chorizo in bread, slather with aioli and pile in the rucola

Gravlax Tip

Rick Stein says a good gravlax can be made even better with the addition of cracked white pepper, or even black pepper corns, to the usual dill, sugar, salt condiments.  Also notable is once you brush off the condiments used to cure the salmon, add a fresh layer of dill.