Umeboshi Duck With Persimmon

I think duck legs have to be one of the greatest bargains around. Eight bucks or so will buy you four delectable pieces of ducky heaven that keep on giving: you can render some of the fat for later use (potatoes fried in duck fat are one of life’s truly great pleasures), you get four wonderful entrees, and you can make a meaty, smoky stock with the bones. My method: place them in a large claypot or other earthen vessel and gently roast in a low-heat (275) oven for about 30 minutes, to render the fat. Pour it off into a clean jar for later use — you should get quite a bit (at least a small jam jar’s worth).

Heavily season with salt and pepper, put them back in the oven, and turn up the heat to 350, where they will roast for another 30 to 40 minutes. Check to see how brown they are; they may need a little more time. They should look pretty well done, with some visible separation of meat and bone. And finally, crank it way up to 45o for as long as it takes (typically 10 to 15 minutes) to get the skin supercrisp and well-browned, near black. During this last stage, pit and finely chop a few umeboshi, and smear it on the duck when it’s finally done. The piquancy of the umeboshi played against the superrich fat of the duck is one of the world’s greatest combos.

I thought about serving the legs with rice, but then, the giant pile of fuyu persimmon caught my eye: what if I just chopped up the persimmon in lieu of the rice? Some of the fat from the duck would drizzle down into the fruit, making the perfect dressing! It was lovely, served with some pickled fennel, superkraut, and avocado.

Does anyone else cook duck legs? If so, how?

Posted by Eric | 10:00 pm 12/16/2009 | Posted in Cooking ideas | 2 Comments »

Buddhacello

Our sweet neighbor Julia welcomed Daphne into the world with a gorgeous Buddha’s hand citron. My interpretation of this generous event is thus: make a delicious limoncello-like Italian cordial with it and propose a bottleful of toasts! This is my first foray into citruscello land, but I have it on good faith that it couldn’t be simpler: zest about a quarter-cup of zest from citrus of choice, let it steep in good-quality vodka for two weeks, then add sweetener of choice, along with some water, and freeze. If I like the buddhacello results, it won’t be long till kaffiracello, yuzucello, et cetera! I almost never drink hard booze — wine with meals and beer on a hot day keep my liver with plenty to do — but this is more like a tiny hit of boozy dessert than a slam ‘em shot of something hard … besides, they will make cool little xmas gifts in smaller bottles. Will post the results in a month or so.

I’m feeling pretty sleep-deprived these days, so not a lot of adventurous cooking. Hugely grateful to friends who are dropping off bags of both ingredients and cooked food. Even still, I feel there’s always time for a good, proper breakfast, heated-up leftovers for lunch, and simple dinners with lots of greens. Desserts, too, are in high demand. Not my forte or natural inclination, yet I’m enjoying making them — different tapiocas are showing up with regular frequency, so I hope to work up a post on tapioca experiments soon.

Posted by Eric | 7:57 pm 12/07/2009 | Posted in Cooking ideas, Miscellaneous | 2 Comments »

Happy Thanksgiving, Breakaway Cooks!

I think everyone can guess what we’re most thankful for this year . . . .

It’s incredible how important food has become, even more so than before — eating well means Delia’s happier and healthier, which in turn means Daphne is, too. Even one “off” meal of takeout seems to start a somewhat negative cycle, only to be corrected by something whole and homemade and whipped up with love. I did manage to slather a bird with mole (thinned with pickled fennel brine) and stuck it in a large cast-iron chicken fryer. It’s roasting away right now and is filling the house with great smells.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! We’ve got enough love floating around here to sate the planet!

Posted by Eric | 6:49 pm 11/26/2009 | Posted in Cooking ideas, Miscellaneous | 5 Comments »

Persimmons and Chicken Broth? Oh Yes!

Who knew that hachiya persimmon goop and chicken broth went so well together? I got a huge box of on-the-edge hachiyas at the farmers’ market for just a few dollars, and spent about an hour dealing with them: separating the goop from the skins and tops, sieving it, and placing it it one-quart freezer bags for later use, long after persimmon season is over. I couldn’t help but toss a few cups of it in the blender with some chicken stock I had just made, just for fun, along with plenty of salt and pepper. Oh yes, did it work! Here’s what I added to the soup pot:

chicken stock/persimmon mixture

zucchini slices

cooked potato slices

cooked rice noodles

matcha salt

chives

It yields a broth that’s light and vibrant and tangy, yet slightly creamy. It feels preposterously healthy while eating it, and long afterward.

Is anyone doing anything interesting with persimmon goop? I’m also making oatmeal with it: milk, water, persimmon goop, crystallized ginger, currants, cinnamon, dried apricots. What else?

Posted by Eric | 11:57 pm 11/12/2009 | Posted in Cooking ideas | 13 Comments »

Superkraut — More Fermenting Action

It had been far too long since my hardcore German Harsch fermenting crock had seen any action, so I thought it might be fun to make some “superkraut” — in addition to the classic cabbage and salt, I added carrots, quite a bit of fresh younger ginger, and even more fresh turmeric, all sliced very thinly with the benriner. After six days of ferment, it’s perfect in my book: tangy, lively, almost medicinal (in a good way). Instead of using just kosher salt, I used herb salt and tangerine salt.

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of making your own sauerkraut, it’s a marvelous thing to do. You simple shred a boatload of cabbage (I used two very large heads), take a big handful, toss it into a crock, salt it, and punch it down with your fist, both to break up the cabbage pieces and to squish them down. Add more and do another layer. And again, either till you run out of cabbage or space in the crock, whichever comes first. The salt draws out the considerable amount of water of cabbage, which then provides a kind of salt bath, which prevents some bacterias from forming, and encourages lots of probiotic activity. The veggies then get a heavy ceramic “lid” placed over them, which gets pushed down to make sure everything is sitting in brine. The crock itself has a little “moat” around the top so that critters can’t crawl in. Here’s a photo of what the crock looks like. I got the 20 liter version — must have been feeling a surge of optimism when I hit the purchase button that day! A much smaller one would have done just fine, say the 7.5 liter one.

It’s just delicious stuff. I love having several gallons of it around, for snacking, for part of lunch, to give away to friends and neighbors. If anyone’s around Marin and wants a taste, let me know! I have a feeling the crock is going to see constant action this winter.

Posted by Eric | 5:30 pm 11/04/2009 | Posted in Cooking ideas | 5 Comments »

Yuzu Kale Crack

One of my favorite ways to eat kale, and lots of it. Just separate the leaves from the backbone, toss with a drizzle of olive oil, add a teaspoon or two of yuzu juice, and place on a baking sheet (I usually use a silpat over the baking sheet for really easy cleanup, but you could also use parchment paper). Bake at 350-ish for about 5 minutes. Using tongs, flip each piece over and bake for another 5 minutes or so, or until they start to get brownish and ultracrispy. Don’t overcook — it will turn bitter. Better to undercook a tad than to overcook, so watch them carefully. They’ll continue to crisp up once out of the oven, too.

Last step: salt! I like using yuzu salt, if you can find pieces of dried yuzu peel in your Japanese/Asian market. Otherwise, tangerine salt, or any citrus salt. Likewise, if you can’t find yuzu juice, any citrus juice will do, but meyer lemons mixed with a tiny amount of grapefruit juice makes a fine substitute. You could also give this dish a Mexican-ish spin by using Mexican (key) limes, a pinch of chipotle powder, and maybe some chipotle salt. Perfect party starter, movie snack, or just fuel as you cook other things!

Posted by Eric | 1:22 pm 10/24/2009 | Posted in Cooking ideas | 3 Comments »

Pickled Carrots, of a Thai Persuasion

Lots of cultures pickle carrots. Mexicans do a phenomenal job with their carrot-laden escaveche, and Japanese carrots pickled in nuka (rice bran) and sake-kasu (the dregs leftover from sake making) are to die for; the carrot kazu-zuke from Berkeley-based Cultured Pickle Shop are dreamy-good. The Thais do it too, but typical pickled carrots in Thailand are made simply with rice vinegar and white sugar. So I thought it would be fun to make a carrot pickle with a serious Thai flavor blast.

I like to salt these pickles first. Salting them (with kosher salt) draws out tons of moisture from the carrot, leaving it in a distinctly crispy, snappy, and pickly state right from the get-go. Just spread the sliced carrots out in a sieve, and toss a few liberal pinches of kosher salt on them, set aside for a while (30 minutes is usually enough), in the same manner that one would salt eggplant to draw out some of its water. Then just rinse them in cold running water (to remove the salt), and wrap them in a clean tea towel. Wring out as much water as you can from them, and transfer to a Mason jar. You could also blanch them very briefly if you prefer a softer pickle, but I really like the snap of these guys and the salt method.

Next make a simple brine. Here’s what I use — no heating necessary, just combine in a bowl and whisk:

complex sweet (ginger syrup is superior, though you could use agave)
tangy (lime juice and rice vinegar)
hot (a few fiery Thai chiles, sliced in half)
herby (kaffir lime leaf, torn)
umami (Bragg’s amino acids)

to suit your own palate and pour it over the carrots.

They’re pretty intense, so you only need a few. Spiceheads will really enjoy these, but chile-sensitive people should probably use just one chile.

They’re ready to eat a few hours after making them, and only get better with time. They’re good for at least a month, refrigerated, but mine never last that long. They’re especially good alongside meat or fish, since they act as a mini palate cleanser between bites.

Give them a shot. And if you’ve got another good way of pickling carrots, I’d love to hear about it.

Posted by Eric | 3:38 pm 10/07/2009 | Posted in Cooking ideas | 7 Comments »

Turmeric Chips

I’d never really thought about slicing up fresh turmeric root, which seems to be increasingly available in lots of markets these days, and frying it up til crispy, until I tasted one of Jehanghir Mehta’s brilliant creations on Iron Chef. They are beyond delightful just sprinkled on top of just about anything. The taste is milder than you’d expect, with distinct earthy and savory tones. I’ve been floating them on soups, tossing them in salads, on top of fish, and even just snacking on them. I like to fry them in a combo of walnut oil and butter, topped off with plenty of good sea salt and black pepper. My next assignment: turmeric tofu!

Posted by Eric | 4:38 pm 09/27/2009 | Posted in Cooking ideas | 11 Comments »

Insane Spicy Beer Nuts

I’m a nut man. I don’t think I’ve ever met a nut I didn’t like (yes, Delia will concur that I have a rather large number of eccentric friends).

But sometimes you just gotta go beyond reaching into the bag and munching.

My fast-growing kaffir lime tree prompted me to trim it back it a bit, so I had a pile of leaves sitting on the counter, with a bag or roasted almonds next to them. Hmm. I wondered what it would taste like if we combined them, along with some olive oil from garlic confit, a little dried habanero for some kick, and a handful of almonds tossed into the processor for texture, and then roasted for 15 minutes?

The answer: they turn into CRACK!

Top with kaffir lime salt.

Beer of choice: icy cold IPA. Oh my, this is a good combination.

This will probably work with other nuts too. Just follow the formula: kaffir + garlic oil + dried chile + nut of choice. And report back, please!

Posted by Eric | 1:44 pm 09/21/2009 | Posted in Cooking ideas | 4 Comments »

Vegetable Stock, Breakaway Style

Thanks to all for the delicious comments on the Iron Chef / Battle Coconut episode. It’s been great fun — I think the episode repeats throughout this week and into next, check it out if you can! If you google Morimoto Mehta you should get links near the top for your local listing.

I’ve been making quite a few stocks recently, despite the heat. Sometimes you just have to, because you run out!

My freezer is currently bulging with stocks of all kinds. My preferred method of freezing them: pour into quart freezer bags/ziplocks (write on them first — it’s impossible when they’re already filled). I then just pull one out randomly, let it thaw, pour into a glass bottle, and keep in the fridge for whenever I need a liquid flavor blast. It’s very nice to have stock on hand — I seem to always need flavorful liquid, whether it’s for a quick soup, deglazing a pan, making rice, or a million other uses.

My current favorite is the following vegetable stock:

persian lime
galangal
small pasilla (chile), seeds removed first
onion
carrot
oregano
coriander seeds
red lentils
s&p

The photo above doesn’t really represent ideal quantities used; I would use more carrot and onion, for sure.

Saute all in a little butter, and a good drizzle (say a quarter-cup) of water. Cover, and let cook down a bit for about 10 minutes — this seems to concentrate the flavors. Add at least three quarts of cold water, turn the heat up to max, and bring to a boil. Turn it down to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, for about 90 minutes, longer if you have time and want deeper flavors/more concentrated stock.You can also save time by doing this in a pressure cooker for about 30 or 40 minutes on medium pressure.

Strain and discard the solids. If the resulting stock tastes bitter to you — the pasilla adds distinctly bitter notes; they’re deliciously bitter to me, but not to everyone — simply add a small amount of sweetener (agave works well) and/or thin it out with some water.

You can obviously omit anything, and add anything! But this particular one delivers a spicy, pungent, and earthy punch. The lentils give it a bare hint of creaminess, the lime/galangal/coriander toss off their pungencies, and the pasilla gives it an earthy depth. Rice made with it is sublime, and I like to use it for light vegetable braises. It’s a nice, all around, go-to alternative to water or other cooking liquid. I’m betting it would be good for cooking pasta using the method of “disappearing liquid”: Pasta is cooked in a liquid, usually wine but sometimes wine/stock combinations, that gets used up entirely during the cooking process, and the pasta often takes on the color of the liquid. It’s pretty much exactly like cooking risotto, except it’s pasta, not rice!

Do we have any regular veg stock users out there? What do you use it for?

Posted by Eric | 6:20 pm 09/01/2009 | Posted in Cooking ideas | 10 Comments »

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