Sunday, June 21, 2009

ARROSSEJAT DE FIDEUS AMB LLAGOSTA (sautéed pasta with lobster)

ARROSSEJAT DE FIDEUS AMB LLAGOSTA is one of my husband's all time favorite dishes. It is a fantastic dish...almost orgasmically delicious! It's Catalan in origin. The base of this intensely flavored dish is a sofregit - slow-cooked onions with tomatoes, garlic and herbs - the foundation for almost every sauce and stewed dish in this region’s cooking.

We usually make it over two days. The first day, we prepare the lobster, the stock and sofregit..and then put everything together the next day. It makes it a much more pleasurable experience...but it's easily done in a day if you so choose. Just figure it's going to take you at least 3 hours.... and it's going to make between 4-6 portions (about 3 quarts).
I'm not a big fan of killing living creatures....so on the day I have to bid the lobsters farewell....I prefer to have the next day to be creative.
This is a great dish to do with my husband....he removes all the lobster meat from the tail and then claws and then he gets to eat all the little bits and pieces remaining in the body and the legs....usually enough for his dinner that night..and he's in heaven!!! Plus, we have great fun together.

When my daughter, Jami, is home..she helps me with the sofregit and the stock...well..let's face it, for those who know her....she takes over the kitchen and I become her line cook slaving to her every command. But..since she's off traveling the world..I get to cook again... with Jerry as my helper.

There will be plenty of stock left over at the end which can be used for any number of things....soups, bisques and sauces...use your imagination. It is freezible for up to 3 months...but why bother....it's fresh and ready for some creation, so in a day or two, after you've finished the lobster pasta....use the stock!
INGREDIENTS:
6 lbs of live lobsters - I get 5 lobsters ranging from 1-1.5 lbs
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 tsp crumbled saffron
6 TBSN Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Large Sweet Onion - Thinly Sliced
2 bay leaf
2 lbs vine-ripened tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped coarsely (about 3 LARGE or 6 medium)
3 cloves garlic - minced or chopped (whatever is your preference)
1 lb angel’s hair pasta nests or fideos coils (Fideus in Catalan), I hold each nest in my hand and make a fist...then release it into the hot oil.
2 TBSN fresh Italian Parsley (flat-leaf) - chopped
PREPARE LOBSTERS:
I usually let my lobsters run around for their last hurrah. I hate killing things, but it's inevitable for this dish..and crazy as I may seem...it just seems to bring a little peace. I never hear the lobsters clicking in the pan...or the so called scream people talk about with the following method:

Fill a large stockpot 3/4 full with salted water and bring to a boil. Plunge 2 lobsters headfirst (one at a time) into the boiling water water and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from pot to cool (I usually put them in a bowl in the sink) Repeat with remaining lobsters.

When the lobster is cool enough to handle, remove meat from shells

and place in a separate container,
catching juices and the shells in another bowl.
Cut meat into 1-inch pieces and chill lobster, covered.
MAKE STOCK:
Stir together wine and saffron and let mixture steep for 10 minutes. Bring wine mixture, 16 cups water and lobster shells with juices to a boil in large stock pot. Boil until liquid is reduced to about 8 cups, about 2 hours. Use a chinois or a fine mesh sieve and set over a bowl or a 2 qt pyrex measuring cup. Pour stock through sieve and discard solids.....well...not quite...save the legs, the body...even the little tiny tail pieces if you want to pick out or suck out all that meat.

MAKE SOFREGIT:
While stock reduces, heat 2 TBSN of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a heavy skillet over low heat until hot. Cook onions with bay leaf, a little kosher salt and some hot red pepper flakes until onion is very soft and browned, about 45 minutes.
Add tomatoes and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until sofregit is very thick...about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaves.

At this point....I pour the stock into containers, setting aside 4.5 cups, the rest in pint sized containers for future use...unless I'm going to freeze it and then I put it into labeled quart size freezer bags, laying them flat until they freeze. I put the lobster meat in a quart sized container..and put the sofregit into a pint size container and refrigerate until about an hour before dinner the following night.
Day 2:
COOK PASTA:
Arrossejat is Catalan for “golden” and refers to the technique of sautéing noodles in oil until golden brown before simmering them in fish stock. The pasta is cooked like a rice dish. The dish is usually prepared in a glazed earthenware casserole known as a cassola, but I use an ovenproof straight edged sauté pan with fantastic results.

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F
2. Heat 1 TBSN oil in a cassola or an 11" oven proof straight sided pan over medium high heat until hot, then cook pasta in 4 batches, scrunching in your hand as you release it into the pot, stirring, until golden brown.
Transfer pasta to a bowl as browned and add an additional TBSN of oil for each batch.
When all of the pasta is browned, return to pan and stir in sofregit and 4.5 cups stock; If you use a fry pan with curved sides...you’ll need less liquid

Bring pasta mixture to a simmer, then continue to simmer, covered for 5 minutes.
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Stir in reserved lobster.
5. Transfer pan, uncovered, to the middle of the oven and bake for 12 minutes until liquid is completely absorbed and the top of the pasta is crisp.
6. Stir in parsley and serve....
7. Be careful of that handle...remember its been in the oven and it's HOT. For your own protection..place a towel or pot holder over it until it has cooled off....

Asian Fusion play on Kung Tom Yam (Prawn Soup)

My husband LOVES Kung Tom Yam but he loves it even more when I prepare it in an Asian fusion manner....a stock with more flavor...using noodles....more like a hot pot than just a soup. His favorite noodles are udon...and easily incorporated. He prefers the shrimp when I sauté it first as opposed to tossing it in raw to boil in the soup. The carmelization from the skillet gives the shrimp a little more umph! I usually take about 12lbs of shrimp shells and cook them for a couple of hours in a huge pot of water...reducing it to 6 cups of stock so the flavor is intense. In this recipe, I'm using lobster stock from a Catalan recipe I made a few days ago....so there's a little saffron in the lobster stock but fantastically delicious.

As I always say....use your imagination...use your senses..there is no right or wrong (unless you are arguing with a French Chef!!). Food should give you pleasure...and it's up to you to experiment to YOUR liking.

In my case...I've spoiled my husband...to the point that when we go out...invariably, he wishes I was cooking for him at home....usually a much better meal than what he ordered. It's an easy way to show him how much I appreciate him.

The main thing..have fun while you're cooking. I now have my husband cook with me so we spend even more time together...appreciate what we've created together and... steal a few kisses in between!

Ingredients:
6 cups lobster stock
1 tsp salt
2 stalks lemon grass
4 kafir lime leaves
3 fresh chilis
1 TBSN Fish Sauce
2 TBSN Lemon juice - Fresh Squeezed
2 lbs colossal shrimp - 8-12 size
1 TBSN olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 fresh red chili - seeded and thinly sliced
2 TBSN fresh Cilantro, chopped
4 Scallions, chopped

2-3 servings udon noodles or rice noodles

Directions:
1. Shell and de-vein shrimp/prawns. Since I'm using the lobster stock, I'll save all the shells in the freezer for a later date when I want to make a shrimp stock.
2. Combine the lobster stock, salt, lemon grass, kafir lime leaves and whole chilis in a pot. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 20. minutes.
3. Strain stock and return liquid to the pot. Add fish sauce and lemon juice.
4. Pat the raw shrimp dry with a towel and season with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet, add a TBSN of olive oil and when hot, place the shrimp in the pan. After a minute or 2, flip over to carmelize the other side for 2 minutes.
5. Toss shrimp into the soup stock and let sit for 2-3 minutes.
6. For an individual serving: I take a package of udon noodles (refrigerated section of your asian grocer) and place it at the bottom of a japanese soup bowl....pour the stock on top...add 6 pieces of shrimp...scatter some scallions and hot chili pepper and serve.
For a table: I do the same thing, but use a hotpot or a small dutch oven..or whatever you have...instead of the bowl.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Bread.... Rustic Delicious Crusty Bread...


I've finally got it down...warm delicious hearty rustic white bread with the perfect crust and chew...simple...basic and sooooo good that I don't feel like experimenting with anything else right now (though I promised my husband I'd activate the 150 year old SF sour dough starter). I enjoy passing it out to the neighbors..going down on the Boulevard and dropping some off to business owners right out of the oven with a stick of butter or a creating a compound butter to go with it....doing a balcony toss...infact...I might just have to start the bread toss...want a 1/2 loaf....get ready for the toss... What a fun, inexpensive and satifying way to create pleasure for myself and those around me.

I'm going to stress those three elements; FUN (always!!), INEXPENSIVE (in these times....let's face it...that helps) and SATISFYING (a must!!). I'm not even going to include that it has to be DELICIOUS, because for me, flavor is a given.

ANYONE and I mean ANYONE can make this bread...it does not take a brain surgeon and it does not take a lot active time...just a lot of waiting....in less than 5 minutes, you'll have a bowl or two of dough mixed and ready for rising. That's the hard part! With a few key elements...let the pleasure begin.

First off, I buy all my initial supplies (and gifts for others) at Breadtopia.com...Eric & Denyce Rusch are lovely people and very attentive to their customers needs. They're the main source for LA CLOCHE, which is the KEY to creating incredible infallible loaves of bread providing you get the dough right.

The recipe is simple and will take you less than 5 minutes to put together; just remember 4,3,2,1!! 
To start, you need a big bowl, a wire whisk, a danish whisk, a measuring cup, a tsp, Food Grade Plastic Wrap, a linen dish towel. Use a ceramic clay baker for the best results (I really like La Cloche) and a wire cooling rack. More about flour at the end of this...

Ingredients: 
4 cups flour (plus a little extra...I prefer the BLUE King Arthur
bread flour..but it's up to you what you use..experiment)
3 tsp salt (of your choice...I like a fine kosher salt)
1 tsp INSTANT yeast (not the packets in the store)
2 cups water (not tap..the chlorine kills the yeast)

Making bread is a tactile experience...so allow the sensitivity in your hands to grasp the concept of how you prefer your dough to be. I like mine on the wet side to start...I find that the flavor is better...and then I add a little more flour for the 2nd rising in the proofing basket.


I know you're supposed to weigh the flour...pastry/baking is supposed to be an exact science...but I'm just not an exact science sort of person...I like to do it by feel. You have to find what is right for you..my method might not be...but it's worth a couple of weeks of trying to see if its right for you. I also know you're supposed to take the flour in one cup and pour it into the other because the actual cup of flour can vary if you just shove it in the flour and pull it out...but..again..I'm all by feel.

So...here's what I do. I have a big bowl.......I add 4 cups of flour and the 3 tsp of kosher salt..and with a regular old whisk...I mix it up. Some people will say...I should be doing the whole thing with the danish whisk..I don't agree. Salt prohibits the yeast from rising..so I want to make sure all the dry ingredients are well incorporated and I find a regular whisk does a better job.
Once that's done, I add the yeast and again, using the whisk, mix it until it's all incorporated. Then..I just pour in the 2 cups of FILTERED water..and stir with the Danish Dough Whisk until ALL the flour is mixed in and forms a sort of wet ballish glob. I cover the bowl tightly with food grade plastic wrap and leave it for 18-24 hours. That's it.just walk away.

Its the next day and time for the 2nd proofing (rising)...I take the proofing basket.spray or brush it with my favorite oil..in this case it's a Sicilian olive oil we were given as a gift while in Ragusa, by Olive oil producer, Fausti Occhipinti or most often I use Mandranova Oil that I have flown in from Sicily by olive oil producers Silvia e Giuseppe Di Vincenzo.

Now it's time to remove the plastic...and toss it in the trash. Take your bread scraper and scrape down the sides of the bowl..give the bread a couple of little punches and leave it for a couple of minutes.

IF the dough is wet..I have more flour ready to scatter over the dough as I start to fold it and punch it in a couple of times until it's no longer sticky.

Then, holding it in my hands I turn the outer edge under and continue to keep folding the outer edge under until I have a nice smooth ball and place it smooth side down into the basket. It's going to get those nice rings on it. I cover it with a white towel and leave it for another 2-4 hours.

By this time...our mouths are watering, anticipating it's only another 50 minutes before we get to indulge ourselves.

I take the La Cloche Ceramic Baker (your preference whether you want the round or the rectangle...I prefer the round), and flip the proofing basket over placing the dough in the base and then covering it with the domed top.  I lightly sprinkle it with Fleur de Sel.

It goes into a COLD oven (unless this is your 2nd loaf...) at 475˚F for 15 minutes. Turn the temp down to 400˚ for 30 minutes. Remove the dome (make sure you put a towel or a pot holder over it so someone doesn't come by and touch it..that burn is NOT fun!)...and close the oven for another 10 minutes. You can smell when it's ready....it's heavenly!

Place the dough on a wire rack. Now, it's SUPPOSED to be on that rack for 2 hours..as the cooking process continues until it's completely cooled. You try to tell anyone that they have to wait for a piece of hot crusty delicious bread smothered in butter or olive oil...or a piece of gouda from a local cheese maker.

To repeat the baking process for another loaf...obviously then the La Cloche is hot and can go into a hot oven.

If you have all the tools...you'll see how quick and easy this is..truly. Jerry asked me to make him some bread a few days ago...we were going to watch a tv show...so I asked him to give me 5 minutes...ran down...mixed up a batch of bread and was upstairs ready to go in less than that. You know the first time with anything is the hardest or the scariest...and once you do it...you wonder why you were worried. 

Notes:
As for Flour...for a basic bread recipe...that gives it a slight sour dough taste, I use King Arthur Blue Label. If you have the option of using locally grown wheat...go for it...it's so delicious and you can play with the bread. Sometimes you need to use a little more water (if you find the dough is VERY dry...add a little water in at a time...better it be on the wetter side than the dryer side so it will rise properly...you can always add in a little more flour later on.

In some of my darker breads...I add in honey and during the SECOND rise, I use nuts, sunflower seeds...whatever you desire...be playful and experiment.

Lastly…a little bit about DELAYED FERMENTATION, the method of making bread by mixing the dough and refrigerating it overnight or longer which is also supposed to develop the enzymes more efficiently.   I use it for a different reason.  Sometimes, I just don't have time to make bread on a certain day but I want to have plenty of dough ready in case I’m having company or doing a bread toss. I leave the dough out for 24 hours and then I take the tightly covered bowl and pop it in the refrigerator.  I  leave it for up to 3 days before I've got to get it out for the 2nd proof and to bake. Try it.

©2009 Rebecca Dru All Rights Reserved

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Pico de Gallo

We always have freshly made pico de gallo around...being in Southern California..it's a staple! I love the colors..so vibrant...couldn't resist taking some pix and having some fun with it.
Ingredients:
1 white onion
10 roma tomatoes
5 green Jalapenos
5 red Jalapenos
1-2 bunches cilantro
kosher salt to taste
Lime juice or vinegar -squeeze or splash
Directions: Combine ingredients....
and toss..........
toss again.....
a quick taste...a little extra squeeze of lime juice
another toss....
one more toss....and enjoy!


©2009 Rebecca Dru All Rights Reserved