Eat the Best Food Ever

I started with a recipe from Gourmet, but it veered pretty wildly off course as I put the salad together. Note to anyone who had this at Boyd’s party: I thought the final product could use a lot more butternut squash, so I doubled that amount in this recipe. If you want to do anything ahead , toast and peel the hazelnuts—they are a little time-consuming IMO.

Makes 8 servings/one big bowl

Salad:

• 3/4 cup hazelnuts
• 8 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, halved and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips (about 1 cup)
• 4-6 cups baby arugula
• one head radicchio, shredded

Squash:

• 1  butternut squash, trimmed and peeled
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Vinaigrette:

• vinegar—I used Champagne, but red or white wine, or Sherry, would all work fine.
• salt and pepper
• Dijon mustard
• good-quality olive oil

Preparation

Begin salad:
Heat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Roast hazelnuts on a baking sheet in oven until fragrant and pale golden inside (cut one open to test), 8 to 10 minutes (keep oven on). Wrap hot nuts in a towel and rub together to remove any loose skins. Halve nuts.

While nuts are roasting, cook pancetta in a 9- to 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Transfer  to paper towels to drain.

Roast squash:
Increase oven to 425°F with rack in middle. Lightly oil baking sheet or use a Silpat if you have one. If you don’t have one, use this as an excuse to get one.

Halve squash lengthwise and seed. Use vegetable peeler to peel squash into long thin ribbons into a large bowl. Toss squash with 3 tablespoons olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a large bowl until coated. Spread ribbons evenly on a 13- by 9-inch baking sheet, leaving the Silpat in place from roasting the hazelnuts. Bake until tender, 15 to 20 minutes, then turn on broiler and broil until lightly browned, 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Make vinaigrette while squash is roasting:

Assemble salad:
Toss arugula and radicchio in a salad bowl with about 1/2 cup vinaigrette (there may be some left over). Then toss in pancetta, hazelnuts, and squash.

(I’m copy/pasting this entire email from Mal Daly into the files, both for historical context and also because I’m on deadline and don’t have time to scrub. I will make this with mussels when I do.—AW)

When I was in Singapore, I got a hot tip from a hotel concierge about a great local restaurant, after much arm-twisting to not send me to a tourist spot. It turned out that her grandfather owned a popular Malaysian diner that was off the beaten path and outside the city. Though there wasn’t a lot of English spoken there, as always, the love of food was the understood language. That day, I tasted lots of traditional Malaysian dishes, including this one, which they made with crab instead of clams. However, the sweetness of clams with this sauce is an undeniably fantastic combination. A big bowl of these clams, the broth, some crusty bread for dipping and a salad make the perfect meal with very little mess to clean up afterwards. Whenever we rotate the menu at Street, we try to take this recipe off and it practically causes a riot.

Serves 4
2-1/2 pounds Manila clams
1/4 cup grated coconut palm sugar or packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
Juice of 1-1/2 limes
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick)unsalted butter
10 fresh mint leaves
1/2cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup fresh Thai basil leaves (see page 109) or regular basil leaves
Sourdough bread, sliced1 inch thick and toasted, for serving
Optional
Extra virgin olive oil, for serving
Lime wedges

1. Put the clams in a large bowl and rinse them under cold running water for 5 to 10 minutes to purge them of all sand and grit. Drain.
2. In a small bowl, combine the coconut palm sugar, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and lime juice.
3. Heat the canola oil in a large sauté pan or skillet set over high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, to release the flavors, but do not let the garlic brown. Add the black pepper and the clams. Add 1/3 cup water, cover immediately, and steam the clams for 3 to 4 minutes or until they open. Remove any that do not open. Add the oyster sauce mixture and stir well. Add the butter, stir well, and pour the clams into a large bowl.
4. Sprinkle the mint, cilantro, and Thai basil over the clams. Serve with the toasted bread, brushed with the olive oil, if desired, and wedges of fresh lime.

I had a friend over who didn’t eat clams so I tossed some chunks of cod in flour with S&P, sauteed them off then finished them in some of the broth the poached form the clams. Mmmmmm. This one swings both ways. Lots of fresh ground black pepper was the key. This menu doesn’t say to do it but serve them over Rice Pad Thai noodles for and entrée version.

Mal

This dish is better the second day. As an alternative, remove the meatballs and carrots at the end of cooking, and partially puree the stew. This refines the dish somewhat.

Meatballs:

1 pound ground beef

1/3 cup coarsely grated onion

1/3 cup panko

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 large egg, beaten to blend

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Stew:

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 1/2 cups chopped onions

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 cinnamon sticks

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/8 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled

1 cup beef broth

1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice

1/4 cup golden raisins

2 cups 1/2-inch-thick carrot slices (cut on diagonal)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

4 ounces baby spinach leaves

Lemon Couscous

Preparation

For meatballs:
Line large rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap. Gently mix all ingredients in large bowl. Using moistened hands and scant 2 tablespoonfuls for each, roll meat mixture into 1 1/2-inch meatballs. Arrange meatballs on sheet.

For stew:
Heat oil in heavy large ovenproof pot over medium heat. Add onions; sauté about 15 minutes. Add garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, and saffron; stir 2 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes with juice, and raisins.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring stew to simmer. Stir in carrots. Carefully add meatballs to stew; gently press into liquid to submerge. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cilantro over. Cover pot; place in oven. Bake until meatballs are cooked through and carrots are tender, about 35 minutes. Sprinkle spinach over stew. Cover and bake until spinach wilts, about 5 minutes longer. Gently stir to mix in spinach, being careful not to break meatballs. Remove cinnamon sticks. Season tagine with salt and pepper. Spoon couscous into bowls; top with tagine. Garnish with cilantro and lemons.

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 2/3 cups water

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1 1/2 cups plain couscous

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and turmeric; stir 1 minute. Add 1 2/3 cups water, lemon peel, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt; bring to boil. Remove pan from heat. Stir in couscous. Cover; let stand until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Fluff with fork; mix in cilantro and lemon juice. Season with pepper and additional coarse salt, if desired.

http://localkitchenblog.com/2009/04/22/how-to-clarify-cloudy-chicken-stock/#comment-21166

It really works. Just be gentle straining and filtering everything.