Zucchini Carpaccio - Recipe

 

The general idea for this lightly cooked zucchini carpaccio came from Paul Bertolli's magnificient Cooking by Hand, which I've reviewed here. I was looking for a something fresh and summery to balance out an Italian menu. It makes an attractive and refreshing alternative to a typical salad. Do it when you have perfect, fresh from the garden zucchini that deserve a turn in the spotlight.

I changed the garnish a bit; instead of pine nuts and basil I chose mint and dill flower heads (along with the olive oil and parmigiano reggiano). Dill flower heads have an intense taste, somewhat reminiscent of caraway (which is in the same botanical family).

The original calls recipe for steaming over water, but I found that the microwave works great. You can cook a batch in a single layer for 30 seconds at a time until they reach the perfect degree of tenderness. In retrospect I think next time I will cook them just a little more than you see in the picture.

I've been enjoying serving family style instead of individual plates. It is less fussy and creates a sense of generosity and community that can be absent from individual plates. This salad looks beautiful on a big platter, and you can make it an hour or two in advance and hold it in the refrigerator until a few minutes before serving.

You'll need a mandoline or mad knife skills to make this. Slices of even thickness are essential both to the appearance for even cooking.

Zucchini Carpaccio
Serves 6 as a light salad course
Vegetarian and gluten-free; vegan if you omit the cheese

• 2 green zucchini, about 1 inch in diameter and 7 or so inches long
• 2 yellow zucchini or summer squash, same dimensions or 4 yellow pattypan squash (the UFO looking guys)
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 teaspoons sherry vinegar, champagne vinegar, or good red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• 2 teaspoons flaky sea salt
• black pepper
• small handful of fresh mint leaves
• small handful of fresh dill heads or regular fresh dill, or other herb of your choice
• Parmigiano-Reggiano

1. Trim the ends of all the squash. Using a mandoline, slice somewhere between 1/16 and 1/8" thick. Discard slices that are mostly skin. Working in batches that will fit in a single layer on a microwave safe plate, cook 1 minute. Then cook 30 more seconds at a time until they are quite tender. Reserve on a sheet pan in the refrigerator, keeping the single layer so they don't tear.
2. Let the shallot macerate in the vinegar for a few minutes, then whisk in the olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt.
3. When you are ready to serve, arrange either on chilled individual plates or a family style platter. You can see the arrangement I used above, overlapping alternating slices of 1 green zucchini with 2 yellow pattypan, but go with what you feel.
4. Drizzle on the dressing.
5. Tear and distribute the herbs. (If you have the dill heads, break them up into small flowers, they are real purty).
6. Use a vegetable peeler to distribute thin slices of parmigiano-reggiano.
7. Add a final sprinkling of sea salt to taste.

Cheese Battered Onion Rings and Stout Chocolate Malt - Recipe

Cheese Battered Onion Rings and Stout Chocolate Malt

I don't eat onion rings nearly enough, considering how much I love them. I guess I'm eating in the wrong restaurants. In fact I think maybe onion rings could be the next big 15 minute trend in fine dining (unless I already missed that one while I was cooking my Cheerios sous vide).

Anyhow, I was dreaming about rings on my drive home from work, and it got me wondering if I could give them a little twist. What if I could somehow get cheese in the batter? I didn't want it to create a melty mess and ruin the crunch though, just contribute the flavor. I ended up broiling the cheese like you would for a frico (cheese crisp), and then grinding it into a powder to add to an otherwise standard tempura batter.

(The basic batter is based on Morimoto's small-batch tempura, with a pinch of xanthan gum added. That is optional but really helps with cling.)

The result was pretty darn good! There was a distinct cheesy undertone in an otherwise classic onion ring. It would be fun to play around and see how much more cheese you could pack in there, but I'll give you my initial recipe. Definitely let me know if you push the idea further.

Since we are playing with our food, I made a chocolate / stout / malt shake to go with the rings. If you like dark beers and you like chocolate malts, I think you will dig the shake. The malt in the beer and the malt powder complement each other. You wouldn't necessarily want a pint of it, but a small glass is very tasty. Maybe you would want a pint.

If I'd had time, I would have added a little grilled apple slider on a brioche French toast bun to complete the Alice in Wonderland diner meal.

So here's a question. If I served a tiny portion of this in a multi-course meal, would it be an appetizer or dessert?

Cheese Battered Onion Rings
Serves 4 (?)
Vegetarian; not vegan nor gluten-free

• about 2 cups grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 big pinch xanthan gum (optional, see above)
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup seltzer water + more as needed
• 2 large white onions, peeled and cut into thick rings
• flour for dredging
• oil for deep frying
• sea salt

1. Preheat oven (or toaster oven) broiler. Spread the cheddar cheese in a thin layer on a silpat or parchment paper. Watching rather closely, broil until starting to brown. This is pretty cool to watch, it looks like a boiling alien planet as all of the moisture cooks off and the oil separates. Allow to cool. Pat off excess oil. Grind in a coffee or spice grinder to a powder. I used about 50 grams of powder but next time I'd try 75 grams. Eat excess crispy cheese.
2. Whisk together the egg yolk, 2 tablespoons of oil, teaspoon of salt, xanthan gum, 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of seltzer. It should be rather thin, the consistency of crepe batter, not thick pancake batter.
3. Heat oil for deep frying to 360 degrees. Working in small batches, dredge each onion ring in flour, shake off the excess, dip in the batter, drip off the excess and add to the fryer. I find this easiest to do with chopsticks. Cook until golden brown and remove to paper towels to drain. Pat lightly to remove excess oil. Season with sea salt.

Stout Chocolate Malt
Makes 4 six ounce servings
Vegetarian; not vegan nor gluten-free

• 2 1/2 cups milk chocolate ice cream
• 4 ounces stout or porter; I used Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout but anything you like is fine
• 5 tablespoons Carnation malted milk powder

1. Blend all ingredients until creamy. Can be held in freezer for a little while before serving.

Chevre with Sauteed Grapes and Fresh Herbs - Recipe

Chevre with Sauteed Grapes and Fresh Herbs

I love this appetizer because it comes together in minutes, tastes amazing, and the sauteed grapes provide an element of surprise and pleasure. It is a riff on a popular dish from Seattle's Osteria La Spiga, where they do it with Toma cheese wrapped in grape leaves.

This version is even simpler. You should feel free to try it with other cheeses and other herbs. Mint or basil would be delicious. How about grilled Halloumi cheese instead of the chevre?

I recently received a sample of an organic extra-virgin olive oil from Gaea. I used it for this dish and it added a very clean, clear, fruity and pepper note that I was happy with. I'm also impressed that their oils are certified carbon-neutral.

The finished dish can be plated family style like you see above, or in individual portions. Serve it with a crusty baguette or a grilled flatbread.

Chevre with Sauteed Grapes and Fresh Herbs
Vegetarian and gluten-free; not vegan
Serves 4

• 8 oz. fresh chevre (goat cheese; I'm partial to the Laura Chenel brand)
• 1.5 cups seedless red grapes, halved
• 1 + 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives, minced
• 1 tablespoon chive blossoms, pulled apart into individual flowerets
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
• flaky sea salt

1. Divide the chevre into 8 parts and roll into balls. Set aside to warm up towards room temperature.
2. Just before you are ready to serve, saute the grapes in 1 tablespoon of the oil for 30 seconds over medium-high heat.
3. To serve, place the chevre balls on a plate. Distribute the warm grapes over the top. Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Garnish with the herbs and sea salt.