Menu 18: Summer at Its Best

This is a really wonderful summertime menu. Spicy Shrimp with Garlic and Oil, a loaf of crusty bread, your favorite salad or the Cherry Tomato, Mozzarella, and Corn Salad on my June 27, 2009 blog, with a delicious Berry Crumble for dessert. If you want to fancy it up a bit, you could add a first course of cold Yogurt and Cucumber Soup from my August 3, 2009 blog. Happy eating.

Spicy Shrimp with Garlic and Oil
I love the ease of cooking shrimp in their shells. Peeling and deveining shrimp is not one of my favorite kitchen activities. But I also love sucking the juices off the shrimp before peeling them at the table. And the peeling them myself slows me down and makes me anticipate and then fully appreciate their luscious flavor.

1 pound large or medium shrimp, in their shells
1/3 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic or more if you are a garlic lover, slivered
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
¼ teaspoon crushed red peppers or ½ teaspoon smoky hot paprika
½ teaspoon salt or to taste
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

1. Rinse the shrimp and pat them dry.
2. In a skillet large enough to hold all the shrimp in a single layer, heat the oil over moderately high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the garlic, thyme, crushed red peppers or paprika, salt and shrimp. Toss to coat with oil, cook, stirring occasionally, just until the shrimp are pink, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat, and with a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a warmed serving platter or to warmed individual plates. Pour the sauce over the shrimp, sprinkle lightly with the parsley. Serve immediately with paper napkins and plenty of bread to sop up the sauce.

3-4 servings for dinner
Adapted from Patricia Wells’ Trattoria

Individual Blackberry Crumbles
I wanted to include this recipe before berries left the Farmers' Markets around the country. Right now in Sonoma, blackberries from Andrea Davis' stand at the Friday market are at their prime but she's worried that the cold weather we've been having may slow down the ripening and sweetening. You'll remember her from my October 8, 2009 blog about her Quarter Acre Farm. Let's hope we have a spell of hot weather so those berries continue to thrive. And the tomatoes.

3 cups blackberries or comparable amount of blueberries or raspberries or a mix of all three
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup flour plus 1 tablespoon
½ cup firmly-packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons oats (quick-cooking or regular)
2 tablespoons chopped candied ginger
6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
Serve with vanilla ice cream, lightly sweetened whipped cream, crème fraiche or mascarpone mixed with a little sugar and milk or cream.

1. Place the berries, sugar and 1 tablespoon flour in a bowl and stir to mix. Divide the berries into four shallow ovenproof bowls.
2. Place the brown sugar, baking powder, salt, oats, and remaining flour in a bowl (you can use the same berry bowl) and mix well. Add the butter, rubbing it in with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. You can also use a pastry cutter.
3. Sprinkle the berries with this mixture. Bake at 400ºF. for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. Serve warm with one of the suggested toppings.
You can make this in one larger container, such as a gratin dish, without any changes.

4 servings
Adapted from Bill Granger’s Sydney Food

A Taste of Vietnam with a Touch of Thai

If you are new to Vietnamese/Thai food, I suggest that you start with the soup. It makes a gorgeous simple dinner with the addition of a salad. And it takes no time at all to fix. The Shrimp and Black Rice Salad is also a great dinner to which you can add a simple salad. But there is a little more fuss to it. The Cauliflower with Garlic and Pepper can be a vegetable side dish with any dinner, Vietnamese or not. We had it with cracked crab and it was delicious.

Thai Chicken Coconut Soup

I made this for my daughter-in-law when she was healing from surgery. I think that it hastened her recovery.








1 14-ounce can coconut milk
1 14-ounce can chicken broth
6 quarter-sized slices fresh ginger
1 stalk lemongrass, cut in 1-inch pieces
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs, sliced thinly
7 ounces tofu, sliced, optional
1-3 cups sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons Thai chili paste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopper fresh cilantro

1. In a medium saucepan, mix together the coconut milk, broth, ginger and lemongrass. Bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Add the chicken, optional tofu, mushrooms, lime juice, and fish sauce, salt, sugar and chili paste. Reduce heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked. Check for salt, adding if necessary. Remove the lemongrass pieces as best you can.
3. Pour into bowls and garnish with basil and cilantro.

You can make a vegetarian version by substituting 7-14 ounces of tofu for the chicken, vegetable broth for the chicken broth, and soy sauce for the fish sauce.

4 servings
Adapted from Jiranooch Shapiro’s version in December 2008 Sunset Magazine

Shrimp and Black Rice Salad with Vietnamese Vinaigrette
I was eating some leftovers of this dish on a plane ride from SFO to NYC. A friend, who was seated across the aisle from me, leaned over and said “Watch out. There are lots of people on this plane who would do anything for a bite of your lunch.” I think that included my friend.

For the Vietnamese dipping sauce/vinaigrette:
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 red or green jalapeno or serano fresh pepper, seeded and minced
1½-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
4 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoon lime juice (about 1 lime)
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

For the salad:
1 cup black rice
Note: The brand I get at the supermarket is Lotus Foods A World of Rice Forbidden Rice: The Emperor’s Exclusive Grain Imported from China
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled
Salt
Juice of ½ lemon

1. To make the sauce, mix all the ingredients together.
2. Cook the rice by bringing 1 2/3 cup water to a boil, add the rice, and cook for 40-45 minutes. You can also follow the instructions on the package.
3. Poach the peeled shrimp in simmering water to which you have added the juice of ½ lemon.
4. Let both the rice and the shrimp cool somewhat. Place the rice is a shallow serving bowl. Stir some of the sauce into the rice. Arrange the shrimp on top and spoon more sauce onto them. Serve at the table with additional sauce in a bowl on the side.

2-3 dinner servings
Adapted from Nigella Lawson’s Forever Summer

Cauliflower with Garlic and Pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 head of cauliflower, broken into small florets
2 tablespoons fish sauce
6-8 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 green onions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
2 tablespoons coarsely shopped fresh cilantro, dill or mint

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cauliflower to the pan and cook for 1 minute, toss well, exposing all sides to the hot pan. Once the cauliflower is nicely browned, add the garlic and stir well to combine.
2. Add the fish sauce, water, sugar, pepper, and green onions to the pan. Cook, tossing often until the cauliflower is tender, but not mushy, about 5 or more minutes.
3. Just before serving, stir in the fresh herbs, transfer to a shallow serving bowl and serve hot or warm.

4 servings
Adapted from Nancie McDermott’s Quick and Easy Vietnamese

Menu 7: Spanish dinner

 Spanish cuisine has been greatly influenced by the Moors, who crossed the Straits of Gibraltar from Morocco in 711, conquering most of the country in 7 or 8 years. It is believed that the Moors were Arabs and Muslims. Along with their culinary traditions, they brought knowledge of architecture, science, and engineering. Their influence on farming and cooking was extensive. They introduced saffron, sugar-cane, cotton, rice, figs, grapes, pomegranates, oranges, lemons, bananas, peaches, apricots, eggplant, artichokes, cumin, coriander, almonds, henna, and madder. They were excellent water engineers, devising ways to bring water from the mountains to the valleys by means of trenches and channels which you can still see today in the Alhambra in Granada. They created terraces which made farming possible on steep hillsides. They were conquered by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492 and forced to leave Spain. A few were asked to stay to run the water systems. To this day, their extraordinary culinary and architectural treasures remain.

The following Spanish menu consists of shrimp with an almond, pepper and tomato sauce called Romesco which in our house rivals pesto in popularity. This sauce is as good on the potato tostones as it is on the shrimp. A green salad with a citrus vinaigrette would be great along side.















When I was in Spain in 2004, I organized a sherry tasting in Cordoba for the group from First Congregational Church of Berkeley. If you are up for it, drinking some sherry with this dinner (dry and chilled for the main course, sweet and sticky like Pedro Ximenez for dessert) would be really fun. Have some white wine on hand, just in case—like an albarino--or a good pink (to match the shrimp). Check out The Spanish Table’s sherry selection in Berkeley, Santa Fe, Seattle and Mill Valley. Kevin, the wine purchaser in Berkeley, says that his blog would be helpful.

Shrimp with Romesco Sauce
This sauce takes a while to make. I have tried simpler versions and the flavor is, well, much less interesting. This one is worth the effort.















   
Romesco Sauce:
1 large ripe tomato or 3 Romas, cut in half
5 cloves garlic, peeled
1 Novas Secas dried pepper
1 Choricero dried pepper or 1 Ancho dried pepper
Note: Other dried peppers can be used, like mild New Mexico, but they shouldn’t be especially hot.
½ cup water
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 thin slice of crusty bread
¼ cup slivered blanched almonds
½ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon smoky sweet paprika or regular paprika

1. Roast the tomato and garlic on an ungreased roasting pan at 350ºF for 30 minutes.
2. Place the dried peppers in a saucepan with the water and 3 tablespoons of the vinegar. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the peppers and save the water.
3. Place the roasted tomatoes and the softened peppers in a food processor and process until smooth. Put the contents through a sieve to remove the skin and seeds. Stir and press with a rubber spatula to extract as much of the goodness as possible. Return the strained mixture to the food processor.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a small skillet and fry the bread until golden on both sides. In the same oil, fry the almonds until golden.
5. Add the bread, almonds and roasted garlic to the processor. Process until smooth.
6. With the motor running, pour in the ¼ cup oil, the remaining teaspoon of vinegar, the smoky paprika or regular paprika, and the salt and pepper. You can add some of the pepper soaking liquid if the sauce is too thick. The sauce should be the consistency of guacamole.
7. Place in a bowl and serve at room temperature.

The Shrimp:
1½ pounds shrimp in their shells
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

1. Heat the oil, add the salt and shrimp, and stir fry until pink, or just done.
2. Serve hot or at room temperature with the Romesco Sauce. Serve with paper towels. Peeling the shrimp is a messy and delightful business.

Note: The sauce can be made a day in advance. The shrimp can be made a couple of hours before if you want to serve at room temperature. I usually serve them directly from the pan while still hot.

4 servings for dinner, more as tapas.
Adapted from Penelope Casas’ Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain

Potato “Tostones”

Flattened before frying

Crispy after frying

2 pounds small potatoes (about 20), like Yukon gold
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Olive oil
Coarse sea salt

1. Place a steamer basket in a large pot filled with an inch of water. Add the potatoes to the basket. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Steam until the potatoes are just tender when pierced with a knife, about 20-25 minutes. Don’t overcook or they won’t hold together when flattened.
2. Remove the basket and let the potatoes cool enough to be handled.
3. Gently squeeze the potatoes, one at a time, between your palms so that they flatten slightly but remain in one piece. Some will break but they can still be used.
4. Pour ¼-inch oil into a medium frying pan on medium high heat. Add the potatoes in batches to avoid crowding. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Fry on both sides until crisp and browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
5. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels. Arrange on a platter and sprinkle with sea salt.

6 servings
Adapted from “Recipes,” by Susan Spungen. This recipe was published in the July 22, 2007 New York Times Sunday Magazine