Month: May 2010

Blackberry-Chipotle Cornbread

/ Ren

Old fashioned, locally ground yellow cornmeal, pastured dairy, seasonal berries, raw honey and smoky chipotle are combined in this variation of traditional skillet cornbread..

Blackberry-Chipotle Cornbread

1 1/4 cups stone-ground cornmeal
1 1/4 cups unbleached, organic all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 aluminum-free teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse sea salt
1 large pastured egg
1 3/4 cups fresh buttermilk
3 tablespoons cultured butter

1/2 pint fresh blackberries
1/2 cup filtered water
1 teaspoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons raw honey, more or less to taste
1-2 chiles chipotle morita

Remove the stem, seeds and ribs from one or two small chiles chipotle morita and grind into a fine powder.  Place the blackberries in a non-reactive pan with the lemon juice, water and chile powder and simmer over medium-low until reduced and thickened.  Remove from heat and allow to cool to about 100 degrees then stir in honey to taste.  Allow to cool completely.

Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the egg and buttermilk.  Slowly stir the buttermilk mixture into the cornmeal mixture until just combined.  Don’t over-mix.

Allow the batter to stand while you melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet in a 400 degree oven.

Swirl the cooled blackberry-chipotle sauce into the cornbread batter, leaving it streaky.  Remove the skillet from the over and swirl to coat the sides with the hot butter.  Pour the batter into the skillet and bake uncovered until just set in the middle, about 25 minutes.

Brush the top of the cornbread with a little more blackberry-chipotle sauce if you think it needs it, then allow  to stand 5 minutes before serving.

Black Ale and Ginger-Fried Rabbit

/ Ren

Fresh rabbit is brined in black ale and fresh ginger for 24 hours, then dredged in sprouted rye flour seasoned with herbs and spices and shallow-fried until golden brown.   Serve with mashed potatoes and giblet gravy..

Black Ale and Ginger-Fried Rabbit

1 fresh rabbit, cut up in the usual manner
2 12oz bottles black ale
2 tablespoons freshly-grated ginger
1 cup fresh cream
1 cup filtered water
1 1/2 cups sprouted rye flour
2 tablespoons dried herbs and spices such as rosemary, thyme, savory, sage, etc.
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
tallow or peanut oil for frying

Cut up a rabbit in the usual manner and place it in a glass dish.  Add enough black ale and ginger to cover, wrap loosely and refrigerate up to 48 hours.

Drain the rabbit and place into a clean dish, cover with cream and water and let stand 30 minutes while you heat the oil, etc.

Combine rye flour, herbs, salt and pepper.  Drain rabbit, dredge evenly in seasoned flour and shallow-fry over medium heat in enough hot oil to come about 1/2 up the side of the rabbit pieces.

Cook until deep golden brown, about 10 minutes per side.  Drain thoroughly before serving with mashed potatoes and giblet gravy or your favorite accompaniments.

Wild Boar Leg with Chile-Apricot BBQ Sauce

/ Ren

I just got back from an absolutely glorious week’s vacation at the home of the Cage Free Family in the Taos Canyon of Northern New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

One of the many highlights was a picnic with family and friends beside a creek at an elevation of about 8,500 ft., where the menu included wild boar leg with chile-apricot BBQ sauce, Anasazi beans and a slaw of Napa cabbage, daikon sprouts, red amaranth, raw honey and freshly-squeezed lemon..

Wild Boar Leg with Chile-Apricot BBQ Sauce

A particularly hard-working set of muscles, the rear haunch of a wild boar requires long, low and moist heat to break down the collagen.  This specimen was first seasoned, then oven-roasted under cover at 300 degrees for 3 hours.

Next, the meat was uncovered and slow-roasted at 200 degrees for 2 1/2 hours, mopped with BBQ sauce every 15 minutes.

Finally, the roast was finished on an open wood fire for about 30 minutes, yielding a smoky, crisp outer crust and a tender, moist interior.  Our small, hungry group demolished the entire meal in record time.

For the BBQ Sauce (enough for a 7-8 lb. leg with a little left over)

1 tablespoon rendered boar fat
3 cups filtered water
1 medium Spanish onion, diced
2-3 ripe slicing tomatoes, cored and diced
2 tablespoons raw cider vinegar
1/4 cup (more-or-less) ground New Mexico chilies
1/3 cup apricots
1 1/2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup pan juices from a roasted boar
sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Cook the onions and tomatoes with the boar fat in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat until the onions are soft and the tomatoes have begun to disintegrate.

Add water, vinegar, chili powder, chipotle, apricots, cinnamon, cloves and pan juices and stir to combine.  Reduce heat to very low and simmer until reduced in volume by about 1/3, about 2 hours.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer another 30 minutes.

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Éperlan de Lac

/ Ren

Most closely resembling small trout or salmon, éperlan de lac (lake smelt) are native to the US Atlantic coast from New Jersey north to Labrador.  In 1912,  smelt were planted in Crystal Lake, Michigan; it is from there that they found their way to Lake Michigan.

Smelt Osmerus mordax

Spawning runs begin in the early spring, and extend for about three weeks.  I first met lake smelt in the 1970’s while camping in Wisconsin’s Door County, where early risers dip-net them from tributaries by the thousands.

Smelt are best prepared shore-side, minutes after being caught..

Éperlan de Lac

To Prepare

Clean fresh smelt by removing the head and entrails then rinsing in plenty of cool, clean water.  There is no need to remove the tiny fins or bones.

Pat the cleaned fish dry (you’ll want as many as a dozen per person, depending on size), then dip first in an egg beaten with a little water, then in cornmeal seasoned with ground bay, celery, dry mustard and red and black pepper.  Allow to stand while you melt some farmhouse butter (and a little olive oil) in a heavy skillet over medium heat.  A quarter inch on the bottom of the pan is about right.

Once the foam subsides, slide the fish into the pan without crowding and shallow-fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.

Transfer fish to a plain brown paper bag to drain for a moment, then season with a little crunchy sea salt.  Serve piping hot with lemon wedges, homemade tartar sauce and perhaps a little Tabasco on the side.

Door County, Wisconsin

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Blueberry Cream Scones with Honey-Lemon Curd

/ Ren

Drop scones made from sprouted wheat, fresh cream, cultured butter & pastured eggs, blueberries, wildflower honey and freshly-squeezed lemon juice..

Blueberry Cream Scones with Honey-Lemon Curd

For the Scones (adapted from a recipe by Mark Bittman)

1 cup organic sprouted wheat flour, plus more as needed
1 cup unbleached organic all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons local, raw honey
5 tablespoons pastured butter, cold
3 pastured eggs
3/4 cup fresh heavy cream
1/2 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and picked over (substitute frozen blueberries in the off season)

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.  Cut the chilled butter into the flour, ensuring that it is thoroughly combined. Beat 2 eggs with the cream, then stir into the flour.  Fold in blueberries.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and gently knead until barely sticky.

Drop heaping tablespoons of mixture onto a greased baking sheet. Beat the remaining egg with with a scant amount of water and brush the top of the dough.  Bake in a 350 degree oven until it passes the toothpick test, about 12 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly before serving with honey-lemon curd.

For the Honey-Lemon Curd (recipe by Dede Sampson)

5 large pastured egg yolks
1 large pastured egg
2/3 cup freshly-squeezed Meyer lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons wildflower honey
4 tablespoons pastured butter, cut into 8 pieces

Crème fraîche for serving

In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the whole egg, the lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of the lemon zest and the honey. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 inch of water to a boil. Set the bowl with the lemon mixture over the boiling water, reduce the heat to moderate and cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 7 minutes. Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in the butter. Pass the curd through a fine-mesh strainer into a medium bowl. Wrap tightly and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

This post is part of A Moderate Life’s Tackling Bittman Recipe Hop !

Summer Squash Spaghetti with Lemon Aillade and Ricotta Salata

/ Ren

Seasonal zucchini and yellow squash is combined with lemon aillade, slivered spring onions, fresh basil and oregano. Topped with broiled garden tomatoes, baby carrots and raw olive oil-marinated ricotta salata.  Crunchy sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper..

Summer Squash Spaghetti with Lemon Aillade and Ricotta Salata

For the Aillade

3 cloves garlic
1/3 teaspoon sea salt
pinch cayenne
1 pastured egg yolk
1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Peel and mince the garlic, then transfer to a mortar with the salt and crush into a paste.  Add the egg yolk, garlic and salt to a bowl and whisk thoroughly.

Whisking continuously (use an electric mixer if you prefer), add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until it reaches a mayonnaise-like consistency.  Add the lemon juice the same way, then refrigerate at least 30 minutes before using.

To Prepare

Dress tomato wedges and baby carrots with olive oil, season with salt & pepper and broil until tender, about 5 minutes.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, toss fine julienne of zucchini and yellow squash (raw or blanched & shocked as you prefer), slivered onions and chopped fresh basil and oregano with lemon aillade.  Season to taste with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper.

Arrange “spaghetti” on a plate and top with broiled tomatoes, carrots and cheese.  Garnish with additional fresh herbs and toasted pine nuts if desired.

This post is part of Meatless Monday!

Elote Particular

/ Ren

This variation of Mexico’s popular street food elote (roasted corn on the cob) uses freshly-ground chili powder,  pastured butter, lime, sea salt and homemade crema Mexicana with toasted cumin and cilantro..

Elote Particular

For the Chile Powder (all amounts may be adjusted according to taste)

2 ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and split
2 arbol chiles, stemmed, seeded and split
1/2 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon cacao powder

Toast the chiles on a dry comal over medium heat until fragrant, about 45 seconds per side. Take care not to let the chiles burn, or they will be bitter.

Once cooled, add the chiles and the rest of the ingredients to a food processor and pulse into a fine powder.  Store in an airtight container up to 3 months.

For the Cumin Crema

1/2 cup fresh heavy cream
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/3 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly-squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro

Toast the cumin in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes.  Allow to cool, then crush in a mortar or spice grinder and set aside.  Freshly-toasted cumin tastes nothing like that jar of powdered stuff that’s been in the back of your cabinet for 2 years..

Using an instant read thermometer, warm the cream on the stove to 98 degrees then remove from heat, cover and allow to stand overnight at room temperature.  Transfer the now  somewhat thickened cream to the refrigerator and chill 4 or more hours.  Stir in cumin, salt, cilantro and lime 20 minutes before serving.

For the Corn

Pull back the husks and remove the silk.  Put the husks back in place and tie closed with kitchen string.  Plunge into a pot of lightly-salted boiling water, cover and parboil 5 minutes.  Transfer the corn to a wood-fired grill and cook turning often until tender, about10-15 minutes depending on size, etc.

Peel back the husks and slather the corn with butter, chili powder and crema. Use the husks as a handle to eat the corn popsicle-style, offering cotija cheese and lime wedges on the side if desired.

This post is part of the Nourishing Gourmet’s Pennywise Platter Thursday!

Birria Jalisciense

/ Ren

Slow-braised Texas cabrito (young goat) in the Jalisco-style, with guajillo chiles, cumin, raw  cider vinegar, cinnamon and cloves..

Birria Jalisciense

(adapted from a recipe by Rick Bayless)

1 pound goat shoulder roast
1 tablespoon leaf lard
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 white onion, diced and divided
2 Roma tomatoes, roasted and diced
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 guajillo chiles, toasted and ground
1 1/2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
2 cups filtered water or meat stock
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
sea salt
fresh cilantro
fresh lime

Trim the goat of fat and silverskin and cut into 1-inch cubes.  Sprinkle with sea salt and allow to stand 30 minutes at room temperature.  Melt the lard in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, then brown the meat on all sides.

Add tomatoes, garlic, cumin, chile powder, pepper and 2/3 of the onion and stir to combine.  Add vinegar, stock, oregano, cinnamon and cloves, cover and braise until tender, about 4 hours at 250 degrees.

Transfer the meat to a bowl or plate, then set the dutch over on a burner over medium heat.  Skim and discard any fat, then reduce sauce until slightly thickened.  Return the meat to the pot and taste for salt.

To serve, ladle stew into serving bowls and garnish with the remaining onion, fresh cilantro and lime wedges.  Serve with fresh corn tortillas.

In Austin? Many of these ingredients are available from Farmhouse Delivery

Farmhouse Delivery

This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays!

Queso Flameado

/ Ren

A decidedly Tex-Mex affair, queso flameado (flaming cheese) is a mixture of assorted white cheeses with chilies, onions, garlic and homemade chorizo served bubbling hot from the oven with warm tortillas..

Queso Flameado

(informed by recipes by the Homesick Texan)

For the Chorizo

1/2 pound fatty pork, coarsely ground
1 ancho and 1 guajillo chile, toasted and ground
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup chipotle chili sauce

Loosely combine all ingredients together in a bowl.  Pinch off ping pong ball-sized pieces and fry in a hot skillet until brown and crusty on the outside.  Transfer to a side dish to drain.

For the Vegetables

1/2 poblano pepper, stemmed and seeded
1/2 Spanish onion, cut into wedges
1/2 small red bell pepper, stemmed and seeded

Place all ingredients in a heavy skillet and broil until blistered and partially blackened, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven, cover and let stand until cool enough to handle.  Cut into strips.

To Prepare

Combine vegetables with 2 cups of assorted shredded white cheeses such as asadero and Oaxaca in a heavy skillet.  Arrange cooked chorizo over the top and dress with a little chipotle chile sauce.  Place in a 350 degree oven until bubbly, about 10-15 minutes.

Spoon mixture onto warm tortillas and serve immediately.