So Much To Say

I have so many things to say today. About the new and last season of The Wire, about the awful piece by Ayaan Hirsi Ali in the Times recently, about Michael Pollan's new book. Unfortunately, I have nothing to say about this fish dish I want to tell you about, other than that it was delicious. Nothing, nada.

This blog is supposed to share recipes with you all and reflect on life both inside and outside the kitchen, but sometimes it seems like that's not enough.It's the same reason I decided a dancing career wasn't for me: I love, love dancing, but I just had so many other things to say, and I couldn't say them with tendus. As Claudia LaRocco wrote in a line that struck a special chord with me: "modern dance can easily and intensely capture fleeting emotions and atmospheres, but it runs into difficulties when addressing complex social realities; its delicacy and precision don’t lend themselves to topics like women’s lives in fundamentalist Islamic societies."

Sometimes I feel the same way when writing about food: how many ways can I tell you that something is delicious or that I really liked it without being trite or (worse) preachy. Twice now I have sat down to write about this fish recipe: first writing about the great sweet-sour flavors of Iranian cuisine. The second time I set out to tell you about verjus, the sour juice of unripe grapes, a traditional by-product of any grape-growing region from France to Iran. Haaa-shhooo.... Oh, sorry, I'm even putting myself to sleep, blah-blah-boring, besides I couldn't even find verjus in stores.

So here you have it: a completely delicious dish of fish baked in a sweet-sour sauce flavored with pomegranate, orange, and lime. Sometimes food just needs to be eaten, not analyzed. Instead, if you want to talk about political primaries, sustainable development, a great new novel, or the best movie you saw recently, then I've got a lot to say.


Fish in Persian Sweet-and-Sour Sauce
This was inspired by a recipe by Najmieh Batmanglij which called for verjus (the sour juice of unripe grapes, not the alcoholic beverage) and Seville orange juice. Not having access to those ingredients, I came up with this version which has become a favorite in our kitchen. Serves 4.

olive oil
1 bunch scallions, white and light green parts chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup pomegranate juice or 1/4 cup pomegranate molasses with 3/4 cup water
juice from 1 large orange plus 1 teaspoon orange zest
1 cup tomato juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon each cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg
1 tablespoon sugar or honey
4 thick fish fillets (about 2 lb) like orange roughy, trout, or sea bass
1/4 cup flour

1. Combine pomegranate juice, tomato juice, orange juice and zest, lime juice, salt, spices, and honey in a bowl.
2. In a saucepan heat a few tablepoons of olive oil. Add the scallions and garlic and saute over medium heat until softened, a few minutes. Add the juice mixture and bring to a boil. Taste the sauce: it should be both sweet and sour, add more honey if necessary. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, then set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 450 F. Get out a large casserole or baking dish.
4. Pat the fish dillets dry and sprinkle with salt, then rub a thin sprinkling of flour on the fillets to coat on both sides. Heat a few spoonfuls of olive oil in a wide pan. Fry the fillets for 2 minutes on each side. You want the outside of the fillet to be "sealed" but the inside will not be done.
5. Place fillets in the baking dish. Pour the sauce over the fish and place in the oven. Bake 7-12 minutes, until the fish is just done. Serve immediately, with rice or bread.

Speckled Butter Bean Shakshouka with Yogurt Sauce

I grew up going to farmers markets and roadside stands where fresh shell beans were readily available. My family is from the south, which means fresh butter beans, baby limas, and black eyed peas are held in high regard. As much as I love New York and its Greenmarket, it is rather lacking in the fresh bean arena. I guess New Yorkers just aren’t beans people. That’s too bad, because fresh beans are wonderful: they cook up in minutes, and they’re far superior to canned beans and much easier than rehydrating dried beans. This past week I was delighted to see an array of fresh beans in Maryland, beautiful coolers full of slippery black beans, limas, crowder peas, and speckled butter beans.

Shakshouka is a Middle Eastern dish in which eggs are poached in a simmering vegetable mixture. The most traditional version of shakshouka involves eggs in a spicy tomato sauce, but it can also be made with beans or other vegetables. In the spring, shakshouka is made with a fresh fava bean and artichoke mixture, and in winter the eggs can be poached in a stew of dried fava beans and sausage. I’ve reinterpretted this Middle Eastern dish with American ingredients, using those speckled butter beans. Shakshouka is often served with a yogurt sauce made of yogurt and tahini, but to keep in the American way I’ve used peanut butter. Yogurt and peanut butter may sound like an odd combination, but they make a delicious sauce. This makes a nice brunch dish or a simple dinner, and make sure to have some toast or flat bread for mopping up the juices.



Butter Bean Shakshouka with Yogurt Sauce
If fresh beans aren’t available you can substitute 3 cups cooked beans and reduce the cooking time slightly. For those who can’t have a meal without meat, some chunks of merguez sausage make a good addition. Serve with pita bread or toast. Serves 4.

1/2 a medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb fresh shell beans, like lima, butter, or fava beans
1 sprig thyme, optional
juice of half a lemon
4 eggs
olive oil, salt, red pepper
for yogurt sauce:
6 oz. plain yogurt
1 heaping tablespoon peanut butter or tahini
squeeze of lemon juice

1. Heat a glug of olive oil in a wide skillet or dutch oven. Saute the onion and garlic over medium heat until soft and translucent. Add 2 cups of water to the pan and add the beans and thyme, there should be enough water to half-way cover the beans. Season to taste with salt and red pepper. Simmer the mixture for 15-20 minutes until the beans are tender, adding water as necessary. Squeeze in the lemon juice.
2. One at a time, crack an egg and slide it into the simmering bean mixture, spacing them evenly in the pan. Place a lid on the pan and simmer over low heat until the egg whites are opaque and the yolks are soft set but still runny.
3. Scoop some of the beans into your serving bowls, then gently scoop an egg into each bowl. Stir together the yogurt, nut butter, and lemon. Drizzle the yogurt sauce over each bowl. Serve immediately with bread.

Oh Sweet 100

I first read about sweet 100 tomatoes in Mario Batali's Babbo Cookbook, and later in the Zuni Cafe Cookbook, two splattered, well-loved members of my cookbook collection. I have to admit, at first I thought they were pretentious, calling for a specific kind of tomato, surely any cherry tomato would do? But when I was planting tomatoes in the spring and saw sweet 100's at the nursery I immediately chose them; just the name is evocative enough. Now I can tell you that if you ever grow any tomatoes, grow sweet 100's, they're almost candylike in their sweetness and best of all they are amazingly prolific, you can even grow them in pots on your fire escape.

As the end of summer approached, I heard many people bemoaning the end of summer heirlooms, while others even admitted they'd be relieved when tomato-fanaticism was over. But anyone who actually grows tomatoes knows otherwise, just when I thought I could pull them out and plant things for fall, my tomato plants set all new blooms. The slightly cooler nights help set tomato blossoms (creating the fruits), so that when temperatures drop slightly at then end of August you've got a whole new crop to look forward to in October or up until the frost free date. Connoisseurs know that fall tomatoes are actually the best tomatoes.



I let some of my tomatoes go (goodbye hard to grow Brandywines) to make room for broccoli and beets, but those sweet 100's are sticking around for a while, mainly because we love them in this particular dish. I first started making a side dish of sauteed tomatoes, and we fell in love with the simplicity of just warm garlicky tomatoes, especially the way the little ones burst in your mouth. It was the obvious next step to make it a sauce for pasta, in our case whatever spaghetti or fettucini was in the cabinet. It sounds rather obvious, but this simple combination is truly spectacular.

A few notes on the recipe: I generally shy away from olive oil by the cup-full, but you really do need to be generous here, and don't worry you won't ingest it all. That oil is going to infuse with garlic and then it's going to coat those wonderful tomatoes and then it's going to coat the pasta, and you really don't want to have to worry about anything sticking, and when you transfer the pasta to your serving bowl any excess oil will stay behind in the pan.

When I'm feeling zealous I like to add a crunchy breadcrumb topping to this simple pasta dish. Toasted breadcrumbs (specifically pangrattato) are a traditional addition to pasta in Sicily. Whenever I've made pasta dishes with breadcrumbs, the crispy crumbs just went limp and mushy in the sauce, I always thought I was doing something wrong, but I recently learned from Amanda that this is actually the way the dish is supposed to be, the breadcrumbs were a way for poor people to bulk-up the dish. Personally, I don't like soggy breadcrumbs, so I devised my own solution by adding some ground almonds to the topping which stay nice and crunchy atop the pasta. I like the contrast they add, but the dish is good even without them.

You've got a good bit of tomato season left, and if you make this you're guaranteed a few moans of gustatory pleasure, which is pretty impressive for a 5 minute pasta dish. I'm not saying you have to use sweet 100's, any cherry tomato will do, but I know I'll never go back.

I'm off to Portland, Oregon, for a few days, so if I'm a bit slow in posting and responding to comments I hope you'll understand.


Pasta with Sweet 100 Tomatoes and Crunchy Breadcrumbs
The ultimate seasonal version of classic pasta and tomatoes, we like to make it with the sweet 100 tomatoes that come in September. Serves 4.

1 lb pasta, like spaghetti or bucatini
1/4 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 pints cherry tomatoes, like Sweet 100's
salt and pepper
for the topping:
olive oil
1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped or roughly ground almonds
1 tbl minced fresh basil or garlic chives

1. For the topping: Combine the breadcrumbs, almonds, and herbs in a bowl with some salt and pepper, rub everything together with your finger tips to combine. Heat a glug of olive oil in a saute pan. Add the breadcrumb mixture to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is well toasted and browned. Put the bread crumbs back in the bowl and set aside.
2. Halve about half the tomatoes, leaving the smaller ones whole.
3. Set a large pot of water to boil and cook the spaghetti according to package instructions until al dente. Meanwhile, wipe out the skillet you used for the breadcrumbs and heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil in it. Add the garlic and cook over low heat until the garlic is soft, golden, and fragrant (but not too browned!), about two minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the tomatoes are just about to burst. Season with salt and pepper.
4. When the pasta is done, use tongs to transfer it to the pan with the cherry tomatoes. Toss everything together over the heat just to combine, about a minute. Divide the mixture among serving bowls and sprinkle with breadcrumb topping, serve immediately.

See Also: Growing Fall Tomatoes
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Just Brilliant.

This is brilliant people, just brilliant. This is what you’re making for your next dinner party. Put away the thoughts of the fancy cake you were going to concoct (like you have the time!) or the dessert you were going to purchase (homemade is better!), this is what you’re making.

I’ve had it on my mind to make a pavlova for quite some time now, it seems everywhere I turn people are raving about them. But the problem is it’s been terribly humid here, not the weather conducive for making a delicate meringue at all. Plus, it’s equally hot, and the thought of firing up the oven is enough the inspire rivulets of sweat on my forehead. And what’s even more pathetic is that I have been practically pouty at the thought of the pavlova I cannot make, and yet too lazy to really do anything about it.

Wandering morosely through the grocery, I eyed the berries perfect for a pavlova (sigh), but laziness took over, and when I spied a box of meringue cookies, I bought those instead. It was only a couple days later, as the box of meringues languished in the pantry, that inspiration struck.



This dessert takes all of 5 minutes, which is it’s brilliance. Ok, I’m exaggerating, it might take you ten. Simmer some berries just until they are softened, a couple minutes. Now, slice off the pointy tops of the purchased meringues, then dollop them with a little dab of sweetened sour cream. I like sour cream because it’s thick and tangy and you can use a fat free version, but you could also use whipped cream. Now, add a few of the berries on top. That’s it! These are best if you let them sit for a few hours, so that the cream melds into the meringue, perfect for making ahead.

These are like tiny little handheld pavlovas, perfect for dinner parties or buffets, elegant and easy. Or you can eat them on an average night at home and wander around pretending you’re a celebrity: “look, I’m eating a gorgeous little handheld dessert, I made it myself,” smile, wave. See, I told you it was brilliant.


Easy Miniature Pavlovas

12 purchased meringue cookies
1 cup sour cream (low fat or fat free is fine)
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup small berries
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1. Place the berries with the tablespoon of granulated sugar and a couple tablespoons of water in a saucepan. Simmer the berries just until softened and slightly juicy, about 3-5 minutes. Set aside.
2. Cut off the top points of the meringues. Combine the sour cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla. Place a dab of sour cream on top of each meringue. Top each with a few berries. Best if refrigerated for 2-8 hours before serving.
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Housekeeping

A few housekeeping things around the Desert Candy abode today: It was only through some nice reader comments that I even knew I was a 'Blog of Note,' and I want to express my sincere gratitude to whoever has been reading along and making note. It's nice to know there's someone out there other than my mother. I want to welcome all the new readers and I hope you'll stick around and keep sharing your brilliant insights and random thoughts, I'm flattered to hear from all of you. Due to the uptick in comments, I had to enable the 'moderate comments' feature in order to prevent spam, but I hope that won't deter anyone from commenting in the future!

I also noticed when I was doing some cleanup in the recipe section that Desert Candy is seriosuly lacking in the soup section. How could this be, since I adore soups and make them often?! I love smooth pureed soups and I usually make them with whatever I have on hand, carrot ginger is a favorite, or a chilled vichyssoise or tomato bisque. Since I wouldn't dare leave you without a recipe, I did a little cleaning of my own, and found this chickpea soup I made back in the winter, topped with cumin oil. This soup is easy as can be (in keeping with today's clean out the pantry theme) and absolutely delicious. And now back to regularly-scheduled programming...

Creamy Chickpea Soup with Cumin Oil
This soup is best when made with fresh-cooked chickpeas, but you can use canned also.

3 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas with their liquid
half a medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, smashed
1/2 cup cream or milk, optional

1 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Place the chickpeas with some of their liquid in a pot with the onion and garlic. There should be enough liquid to cover the chickpeas, add water or chickpea liquid as necessary. Bring the mixture to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, replenishing water as necessary.
2. Meanwhile, make the cumin oil. In a dry skillet, lightly toast the cumin seeds until just fragrant. Remove from the heat and grind in a coffee grinder or crush with a mortar and pestle. Heat the olive oil in a skillet until shimmering, add the ground cumin, swirling to combine, and remove from the heat.
3. Puree the chickpea soup in a blender until smooth. Add more water or some vegetable broth to thin the soup to your desired consistency. (If you are really picky, you can also press the soup through a sieve or tamis to ensure it is super-smooth). Stir in the cream, if using. Taste for seasoning, add salt or pepper if needed. Ladle the warm soup into bowls, swirl the cumin oil over top.
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Cheater, Cheater ... Sticky Bun Eater

I am not a morning person. I need a good half hour between waking up and engaging in conversation any more complicated than yes or no. I do not wake up and hum as I brush my teeth. And as much as I love breakfast food, I don’t much like cooking in the morning. I usually wake up with an appetite, and getting food in my system is generally part of the successful road to a fully functional, conversational me. Having to undertake any labor more serious than stirring or waiting by the oven for toast can be a recipe for disaster.

Growing up, Sunday mornings meant something special for breakfast, like cinnamon rolls or raspberry crumb cake. And as wonderful as those gooey, pull-apart cinnamon rolls are, they involve yeast, and work, and worst of all, waiting. Get up early to let dough rise (an hour!), roll it out and bake it (another hour!)? Hello, the weekend, sleeping in? The hungry-grumpy me that would result is a picture no-one wants to see, besides I probably would have resorted to eating a bowl of cereal an hour ago. Of course, one could always go out for breakfast, which would probably involve long lines and more waiting, boisterous children, and mediocre toast. And I’d have to get dressed.



So what’s a girl to do? Well, she makes ‘quick cinnamon buns,’ a happy marriage of biscuit-like dough in cinnamon roll form. No yeast involved, just a quick stir of ingredients and they’re in the oven before you know it. These don’t quite have the luscious pull-apart texture that comes from yeasted dough, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good. And I’m not complaining because I am sitting at home, in my pajamas, eating a homemade cinnamon bun, warm from the oven.

Quick Cinnamon Buns
The comfort of a homemade cinnamon bun without the wait for yeasted dough, what could be better? You could also add raisins to the filling if you'd like.

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbl (2 oz) butter, melted
3/4 cup buttermilk

filling:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbl cinnamon
tiny pinch of cloves

glaze:
2 tbl cream cheese
2-3 tbl milk
1 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 425F. Grease an 8-inch square pan. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a glass measuring cup combine the butter and buttermilk. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Fold the mixture together in a few swift strokes, stirring only until combined. Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured work surface and roll to a rectangle about 10x18 inches.
2. Combine the filling ingredients and sprinkle them over the surface of the dough. Starting from the short side, gently roll up the dough. Cut the dough into 2 inch lengths, you should have about 8-9 rolls. Snuggle the rolls together in the prepared dish and bake for 20-25 minutes.
3. Stir together the glaze ingredients and drizzle over the rolls.
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