Grape, Honey, Yogurt - Recipe

Driving home from work the other day, I was musing about whether I could make a plate with cheese and grapes swapping forms. I figured I could make an agar gel of the grapes and spherify a triple-cream cheese. I still like the idea, but I couldn't quite envision what other components it needed.

That got me thinking that maybe an even simpler transformation of the grapes would be interesting. What if I simply peeled them and diced them fine? I tried a couple and found it really compelling. The juxtaposition is interesting because it is such an everyday flavor but an unexpected texture, yet natural, not so forced as a lot of "molecular" tricks can seem. I think I would serve it in a cold metal spoon as an amuse bouche on a hot day. 

For this plate, I spun the grapes in a Middle Eastern direction. The other components are honey with harissa spices, a brik dough roll with dukkah and sesame seeds, and reverse-spherified Greek yogurt cheese (lebni / labneh) with rosewater and lemon zest. The combination has sweetness from the grapes and honey balanced by the savory pastry and yogurt, and a pretty intense spice level. It certainly wouldn't be a normal dessert but could act as a cheese course. What it dish could use is a bit more of a focal point. As it stands, the ingredients all kind of have equal billing. They play well together but I need to decide who is the star, and who is the supporting cast.

This dish is actually very simple to make and comes together in less than 30 minutes. The hardest part is tracking down the ingredients. The odd ones you will need are a dry harissa mix (but you could also make your own), brik dough (you could use phyllo), dukkah (again, fakeable), Greek yogurt cheese (you could drain regular yogurt in cheescloth), and sodium alginate. No faking that last one.

I've played with spherification before, but this is my first time doing reverse spherification. In the "normal" process, you blend sodium alginate into your ingredient, then drip it into a calcium laced bath, which causes a skin to form. Though cool, the downside to this technique is that the alginate can add an unpleasant texture to your pristine product.

In reverse spherification, the calcium is in your product (and can be naturally occuring as in this case with the yogurt cheese), while the alginate is in the bath. You get the same type of skin but the flavor and texture is much better. (Many chefs have also use a agar and cold oil technique, which forms solid instead of liquid pearls. I haven't tried that yet).

Grape, Honey, Yogurt
Vegetarian; not vegan or gluten-free
Serves 4

• 12 green seedless grapes, peeled, finely diced, and chilled
• 6 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon dry harissa spice mix (or a combination of crushed red pepper flakes and toasted cumin, coriander and caraway seeds, crushed moderately in a mortar and pestle)
• 4 pieces of brik dough, 4" by 12" long
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon dukkah
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup thick Greek yogurt
• 6 drops of rosewater
• 5 grams sodium alginate
• a few strips of lemon zest
• flaky sea salt (Maldon!)

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Mix the honey with the harissa and set aside to infuse.
3. Brush each piece of brik with melted butter, dust with the dukkah and roll into a cigar shape. Brush the ouside with more melted butter and sprinkle on the sesame seeds. Bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes.
4. Combine the yogurt and rosewater. Taste and add more drops as needed.
5. Shear the sodium alginate into 1 liter of water using an immersion blender.
6. Form the yogurt into shapes about the size of  a grape and drop into the alginate solution. I found the easiest way to do this was to make quenelles with a teaspoon and make the last turn right over the bath, allowing them to slide in gently. You only need 12 to serve, but make some extra in case of breakage.
7. Leave the yogurt to sit for at least five minutes, moving them about gently once after three minutes to make sure all sides are exposed to the bath. Gently remove them with a slotted spoon to a bath of fresh water. You might want to try one before removing all of them to be sure it has set sufficiently.
8. To serve, brush each generously with the honey. Place a pile of the grapes at one end and top with a few grains of the sea salt. Place a brik cigar in the middle. Remove the yogurt "spheres" from the water, again carefully with a slotted spoon, allow the water to drain and place at the far end of the honey. Top with a couple of strips of lemon zest and serve.

Asparagus and Tofu with Guilin Chili Sauce

Asparagus and Tofu with Guilin Chili Sauce

I love to stir-fry asparagus. I most often serve it in a Chinese fermented black bean sauce. The slightly funky saltiness of the preserved beans seems to be a perfect complement to the sweet-bitter crispness of the vegetable.

I recently picked up my first jar of Guilin Chili Sauce, and as soon as I tasted it, I knew it would also pair well with asparagus. It too contains fermented soybeans, but combined with a very hot, fruity chili pepper. I'm pretty sure this stuff has earned a regular spot in my refrigerator.

I guess my wife might say that isn't a very high bar! I've got the whole door full of bottles of condiments and sauce components. I can't tell you how many delicious things I've found by going out on a limb to buy sauces at Asian markets without any real idea of what they were beyond that the ingredients were vegetarian. Most of these things are only a few bucks, so there isn't much risk.

So reading up on Wikipedia, Guilin is a city in the south of China, and this chili sauce is famous stuff. It is considered one of the city's three treasures, along with a rice liquor and pickled tofu. Wow, a city famous for three vegetarian specialties! I like it. Anyone from Guilin want to tell us more about it? For example Is the sauce typically prepared at home or bought at a store?

The brand I found is Lee Kum Kee, which is available at Uwajimaya for those of you in the Seattle area, or you can find it on Amazon. For a rough approximation, you could substitute half regular black-bean paste and half red chili paste (like a sambal oelek or sriracha) and add some garlic and a bit of sugar.

Asparagus and Tofu with Guilin Chili Sauce
Serves 4 as a main course with rice
Vegetarian and vegan; the sauce is not gluten free

• 1 pound extra-firm tofu, patted dry and cut into medium dice
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 large bunch asparagus, stems trimmed, cut into 1" segments
• 1 red bell pepper, medium dice
• 2 tablespoons Guilin Chili Sauce (if you like it 3-stars hot, more if you are a 5-star person), mixed with 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1. Heat a wok or your largest skillet over a very high flame. Add the oil and immediately toss in the tofu, watching out for splatters. Fry, tossing occasionally until well browned on all sides. Season with salt and remove to paper towels, leaving as much oil behind as possible.
2. Add the ginger and stir-fry for 15 seconds.
3. Add the asparagus and stir-fry for 1 minute (or more if thick).
4. Add the red pepper and stir-fry for about 1 more minute, until both vegetables are nearly tender.
5. Add the sauce, return the tofu, and stir-fry for 30 more seconds to combine.
6. Serve immediately over rice, garnished with the toasted sesame seeds.

Pan-Fried Potato Gnocchi with Arugula - Recipe

Pan-Fried Potato Gnocchi with Baby Arugula and Pecorino Romano

I made gnocchi the other day, and yes my daughter helped. We ate most of them with a simple tomato sauce. They were good but a bit on the heavy side. I haven't really mastered the art of ultra-light potato gnocchi. If you have a hot tip on how to achieve pillowy lightness, please share.

I figured that by frying the rest in butter, I could make the most of their texture. For pan-frying, I think you want a little bit of density in the dumpling. After they crisped up, I added a generous handful of baby arugula and tossed briefly, then finished with pecorino romano. Man, this is good stuff! The toasty gnocchi, nutty/bitter arugula and umami flavors of the cheese are all mellowed with the browning butter. Toasted walnuts would be a perfect addition to this dish (but not in my house).

Since I can't claim my gnocchi technique is spot-on yet, let me point you at this very well-done visual recipe from Syrie of Taste Buddies. One tip I just learned from re-reading my Paul Bertolli: when "forking" the gnocchi, dip the tines in flour before each one. I'll try that next time. Once you've got your gnocchi made and boiled until they float, fry them up like this:

Pan-Fried Potato Gnocchi with Arugula
Serves 4
Vegetarian; not vegan or gluten-free

• 4 cups potato gnocchi (homemade, see link above, or storebought)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (don't worry, you won't eat all of this)
• 4 big handfuls baby arugula, well cleaned
• pecorino romano or parmigiano reggiano, thinly shaved (a vegetable peeler works well)
• fresh ground black pepper
• flaky sea salt (Maldon!)
• optional: 1/2 cup toasted walnuts

1. Boil the gnocchi according to the original recipe, drain and cool.
2. In a large frying pan, melt the butter over medium high heat.
3. Add the gnocchi in a single layer, and fry until crispy and brown on one side. Carefully flip to brown the other side.
4. Drain off most of the butter.
5. Add the baby arugula and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
6. Toss until the arugula just begins to wilt (maybe 30 seconds)
7. Divide among 4 plates and garnish with the cheese and optional walnuts.