Recipes: Grateful for Gratins
Every time I’ve pored over cookbooks this summer, looking for ways to use the bounty carted home from my farm share and the farmers’ markets, I have found myself choosing some version of a gratin. According to Julia Child and Jacques Pepin (who should know) the term “gratin” refers to a delectable top crust, usually of browned cheese or bread crumbs--which leaves a whole lot of leeway for what hides underneath. Thus far, I’ve made an eggplant, zucchini and tomato version that recalls the flavors of ratatouille, a creamy potato, tomato and olive showstopper, and an unusual and delicious concoction of chickpeas, greens, saffron and hardboiled eggs.
This recipe was inspired by a surplus of summer squash (if there’s any cook or gardener in the region who doesn’t have too much squash right now, I’d like to know your secret!) and a friend puzzled about what to feed a vegetarian for supper. The result is much like a traditional corn pudding, but incorporates Provençal technique (the grating, salting and draining of the squash.) While perfectly suited to accompany grilled steak, chicken or fish, this is substantial enough to serve as a main course for a light (or vegetarian) supper. To serve it as an entree, you might top it with a spoonful of pesto, a fresh tomato sauce, or a simple salad of chopped tomatoes dressed with highest quality olive oil, a little champagne vinegar, coarse salt, and freshly ground pepper.
Summer Squash and Rice Gratin
6 cups summer squash, grated (zucchini, yellow, pattypan--whatever you have on hand; easiest to grate it in the food processor or julienne it on a mandoline; if neither of those options are available, get out a good sharp knife and cut into 1/4 inch dice)
Kosher salt
3 T olive oil
3/4 c chopped onion (1 medium)
1 clove garlic, minced
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup ricotta
1 cup heavy cream or 3/4 cup half and half
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
2 cups cooked long grain white rice (I like jasmine or basmati)
Put the grated squash, 2 cups at a time, into a colander set over the kitchen sink or a large bowl. After each addition of squash, sprinkle on a generous pinch of kosher salt. Leave to drain for 20 minutes or so while you ready the rest of the dish.
Combine the eggs, ricotta, cream and 1/2 cup of the grated parmesan, reserving the remaining 1/4 cup to sprinkle atop the dish.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat for 30 seconds or so, then add the olive oil. When it starts to shimmer, add the onion and garlic and saute until translucent, around five minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
Squeeze the liquid from the squash by grabbing handfuls and squeezing, and then pressing the whole mass against the bottom of the colander. The goal is to get as much liquid out as you can, without making yourself crazy.
Add the squeezed squash to the skillet and return to medium heat, stirring frequently. It’s ok if the squash browns a tiny bit, but the goal is to cook it until tender and remove some of the remaining moisture. You should saute the squash/onion/garlic mixture for a total of about ten minutes.
Remove the mixture from the skillet to a large bowl and stir a bit to cool it down. Taste for salt and pepper and season as necessary. Stir the rice into the squash mixture, making sure there are no lumps in the rice. Add the egg mixture, and stir gently to combine.
Pour into a buttered gratin dish and top with the remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese. Turn the oven down to 375 F. Bake for 45 minutes or until firm, and nicely browned on top.
Serves 8-10 as a side dish, 6 as a main course —Paige Orloff
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Posted by Marilyn Bethany on 07/31/08 at 04:20 PM • Permalink
Cocktails: The Grey Ghost
Photograph by Gregory Cherin
Former beer drinker and Berkshire Mountain Dilstillers founder Chris Weld is becoming an expert on cocktails as travels the region selling the gin, rum and vodka that he makes at Soda Springs Farm in Sheffield, MA. For the opening night party of the Berkshire International Film Festival, he devised this addictive, simple summery cocktail.
1 1/2 oz. Greylock Gin
3/4 oz. St. Germain
1/2 oz. lemon juice
Shake with ice. Serve on the rocks.
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 05/30/08 at 09:52 AM • Permalink
Beyond Chopped Liver: Gigi’s Chicken Liver Pâté
The other day I took a drive out to Gigi’s Market at Greig Farm, which is tucked away half a mile off Route 9 in Red Hook. For lunch, I ordered the Bianca Skizza, a flatbread “pizza” that’s an intoxicating combination of figs, Coach Farm goat cheese, arugula and white truffle oil ($10.50). Paired with a salad dressed in gossamer sherry shallot vinaigrette, it’s a great lunch for two. Everything was so delicious that I decided to buy some prepared food to take home, and the lasagna Bolognese and Tuscan style Minestrone were both superb, savory and satisfying. But it was the Chicken Liver Pâté that was a revelation—creamy, tangy with a hint of fruit. I expected a refined version of the chopped liver from the Jewish delis of my childhood, but Gigi’s version tastes like it’s made by an Italian grandmother instead of a Kosher one. When I asked for the recipe, I discovered the three secret ingredients (which were not used back in the shtetls of Eastern Europe) that make this pâté so divine: heavy cream, orange zest, and truffle oil. For those of us who don’t live close enough to shop regularly at Gigi’s, this recipe is truly a prize.
Make the pate ahead as the flavors will only get better, about 2 days and up until 2 weeks. Serve spread onto croutes with cornichons.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium shallot, chopped
1 lb chicken livers, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 cup white wine such as a dry Riesling, Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
1 cup heavy cream
1 navel orange
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon truffle oil, optional
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Heat olive oil in large skillet over moderately high heat, until hot but not smoking and cook shallots, stirring, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add chicken livers, with thyme and cook, stirring, 4 minutes. Add wine and simmer, until reduced by two-thirds, about 8 minutes. Stir in heavy cream and simmer until reduced by half, about 10 minutes more (chicken livers will be cooked through at this point).
• Transfer mixture to a food processor and finely grate the zest of the orange with a micro plane or with the small holes of a hand held grater into the processor. Blend chicken liver mixture with lemon juice and truffle oil until smooth.
• Strain mixture through a fine sieve set over a bowl and season pate with salt and pepper to taste. Chill pate until cooled and thickened.
• Transfer pate to a serving bowl or spread on croutes and serve with cornichons.
Makes about 3 cups
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 04/22/08 at 02:22 PM • Permalink
Sweet William’s Orange Marmalade Linzer Cookies
Jason Young of Sweet William’s Bakery in Falls Village, whose cookies are sold at his tiny shop and stores like Guido’s and the Co-op, would never part with the recipe for his signature ginger cookies. But anyone who knows Jason knows he is generous, so he agreed to share his new recipe for linzer cookies. He’s lightened the traditional version by using orange marmalade instead of raspberry jam and adding lemon zest to the dough. “I think it is really nice cookie for spring,” he says.
Equipment note: You will need a three-inch and a one-inch round cookie cutter to make these.
1 ¼ cups butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
4 large egg yolks
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
2 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 ¼ cups finely ground almonds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon salt
zest of 1 lemon
1 jar orange marmalade (use the thick, not runny, variety)
Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg yolks and vanilla. Stir together flour, almonds, cinnamon, cloves, salt and lemon zest. Stir into butter mixture.
Divide dough and flatten into two disks, wrap and chill until firm. Roll one disk to 1/8” thickness, cut 3” circles using biscuit or large cookie cutter. Place circles on parchment lined baking pan. Spoon 1 teaspoon orange marmalade in center of dough circle, use back of spoon to spread a small amount toward edge. Roll second disk of dough to 1/4” thickness, cut 3” circles using same cookie cutter, then cut 1” circles in center. Position circle with center hole over marmalade, pushing lightly to seal.
Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Dust with confectioner’s sugar after cooling.
Sweet William’s Bakery
100 Main Street, Falls Village CT; 860-824-8180
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Posted by Dan Shaw on 03/26/08 at 10:48 AM • Permalink
Chaseo’s Pork Medallions with Apples and Onions
Carl Berman
2 pork tenderloins
2 T. chopped rosemary leaves (optional)
1/4 c. olive oil
2 T. butter
2 onions, sliced medium-thick
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut in eighths
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. demi-glaze (or 1 beef bouillon cube, crushed)
Splash of brandy
Season the tenderloins with salt, pepper and chopped rosemary, if using. Heat the olive oil and butter in a saute pan until sizzling. Add the tenderloins and brown on all sides. Set aside. (They will still be raw in the center.)
Add the onion slices to the saute pan and cook until lightly colored. Add the apples and continue cooking for less than 1 minute. When the apples are hot, add the brown sugar, the demi-glaze or crushed bouillon cube, and the brandy. Toss to mix. (Can be made ahead to this point. Reheat before proceeding.)
Just before serving, slice the tenderloins into 3/4” thick medallions. Add to the pan of hot apples and onions and cook until the alcohol in the brandy has evaporated (it will no longer taste bitter), and the pork is cooked, but still pink.
Place a mound of mashed potatoes in the center of each plate and surround it with pork, apples, and onions. Serves 6.
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Posted by Marilyn Bethany on 02/01/08 at 03:41 PM • Permalink
Herb butter
Apart from chives, herbs don’t freeze successfully unless they are suspended in fat (consider pesto). This recipe is adapted from one by chef Waldy Malouf that appeared in New York Magazine, November 1, 1999. He suggested whipping up a cup of it on Thanksgiving morning to baste the bird. We suggest making it by the pound and freezing it whenever there’s a bumper crop of herbs in the garden or the refrigerator. Slice off chunks and defrost as needed to baste a bird, smear across a grilled steak or chop, or melt and mix with flour to make the roux for a pot pie sauce. It makes any savory dish that calls for butter taste better.
4 small shallots (or, if they’re big, two shallots)
4 cloves garlic
1 c. packed fresh parsley leaves
12 stalks fresh chives
12 fresh sage leaves
¼ c. packed fresh thyme leaves
1 T + 1 tsp. packed fresh tarragon leaves
In a Cuisinart, chop above ingredients until fine. Then add the following ingredients and mix until blended with the herbs.
1 lb. softened butter
1 cup olive oil
2 T lemon juice
Scrape the herb butter onto a sheet of waxed paper. Form into a fat tube and freeze. Cut off chunks as needed and defrost. Use about about a cup for a 12-lb turkey. (To pipe it under the breast skin, use a pastry bag.)
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Posted by Marilyn Bethany on 01/02/08 at 02:02 PM • Permalink
