|
|
By mlb, on July 1st, 2010
Summer makes me think of Spanish food. I think it’s the sun and the heat and the fact that I want to make gazpacho all the time and drink sangria (also, all the time). So, it’s usually in Summer that I will grab one of my most favorite cookbooks ever and page through it looking for something tasty to make. The cookbook? The New Spanish Table. If you don’t have it, go get it. You will not be sorry.
So, yes, Summer. Spain….strawberries! This was really good. The berries got a little caramelized and pork tenderloin with rosemary is always a winner. I thought the sauce would be a little too acid-y but it was just perfect with this. Also, since you’re cooking them a bit, the strawberries don’t have to be overly super-over-ripe. A great use for the first ones of the season!
Pork Tenderloin with Lightly Seared Strawberries or Solomillo de Cerdo con Fresas
Adapted from The New Spanish Table by Anya von Bremzen
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound, silver skin removed)
coarse salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp crumbled dried rosemary
1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for brushing the griddle
5-6 large strawberries, hulled and sliced
3 tbsp chicken stock
1/4 cup sherry wine vinegar
1-2 tsp sugar
Optional: minced fresh chives, for garnish
Rub the pork generously with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until browned nicely on all sides, about 6 minutes total. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the pork, turning several times, until it is tender and an instant-read thermometer registers 155 degrees F, about 15 minutes.
Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let it rest, covered with foil, while you prepare the strawberries and sauce. The internal temperature will rise as the meat stands. Set the skillet aside, you’ll use it to make the sauce.
Rub an unridged rimmed griddle pan or a large, heavy skillet with an oiled paper towel and heat until almost smoking. Add the strawberries and sear for about 45 seconds, turning once. They should be cooked until slightly softened but should not release too much juice.
Add the chicken stock to the skillet in which the pork cooked and place it over medium-high heat, scraping the bottom to dislodge the brown bits. Cook until the stock is almost syrupy, about 3 minutes.
Add the vinegar and 1 teaspoon of the sugar and continue cooking until the sauce thickens a bit more, 3-5 minutes longer. After 1 1/2 minutes, taste the sauce and add more sugar to taste if it seems too tart.
Cut the pork into slices and arrange them decoratively on dinner plates. Spoon some seared strawberries on top of the meat and drizzle the sauce on and around the meat and strawberries.
Garnish pork with chives if desired. We actually have chives growing out in the garden but I was too lazy to grab any.
—
Self-indulgent alert: I made a facebook page for Je Mange la Ville. I’d been thinking about it for a while (as I manage our facebook page at work, so I’m used to updating fb content regularly), I just hadn’t gotten around to it. Anyway, finally I made one. Wanna like it? That’d be cool! I’ll try to have extra stuff there like more photos and links to interesting food things and such.
By mlb, on June 28th, 2010
Finally, Portland? Summer? Hmmm, it would be nice if it is true, although I do prefer my sunny days in the 70′s. But seriously, even I was getting sick of the 50′s/60′s and rain. So, I’ll take the sun and the 80 degree temperatures of the last few days!
To celebrate the return of Summer (and the end of June-uary?), jwa and I had a huge tomato bread salad the other night. I even had some homemade Ciabatta bread leftover (about 1/3 of a loaf) to dice up for the bread cubes. Since we have no tomatoes of our own yet, I had to get some at the store, but I found some beautiful heirloom varieties (from California, so, not too far away) at the Whole Foods by work.
My amounts were approximate. I did not measure everything (except the vinegar and olive oil). I used about 4 medium tomatoes to 1/3 of a loaf of bread. About 12 kalamata olives, 10 basil leaves, and a sprig of marjoram — both the basil and marjoram were from the garden. If you like this exact measuring thing, the actual amounts are listed below. Knock yourself out!
Bread & Tomato Salad with Herbs aka: Panzanella!
Adapted from a recipe in Gourmet Magazine
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups 3/4-inch cubes crusty bread
1/2 pound vine-ripened red tomatoes, cut into 3/4-inch wedges
1/2 pound vine-ripened yellow tomatoes, cut into 3/4-inch wedges
1/4 cup Kalamata olives
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, washed well, spun dry, and chopped fine
1 tbsp fresh marjoram leaves, chopped fine
Optional: 1/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese
If you want an extra, flavorful step, take about a tablespoon of the olive oil and heat it up in a big pan. Add your bread cubes and toast for a few minutes. Then make your dressing as described below and add the toasted bread cubes. Just plain, old dried out crusty bread cubes will of course work just fine!
In a bowl whisk together vinegar, garlic, a little salt and pepper to taste and whisk in oil until emulsified (3 tbsp if you used a little to toast your bread).
Add remaining ingredients and salt/pepper to taste and toss to combine well. Let salad stand at room temperature 15 minutes to allow bread to soak up some dressing.
Yeah, you know you want to add some cheese. Just do it. It’s good.
By mlb, on June 18th, 2010
This was an experiment because I had too many zucchini (not from the garden, unfortunately), as well as a big hunk of Habernero Jack cheese from Tillamook Cheese. Yes, we finally went to the visitor center in Tillamook!
It was very interesting and aside from the Jack cheese, we came home with some Garlic, Chili Cheddar (it’s all gone). Oh yeah, we each also ate a huge ice cream cone while there. What? We were on vacation!
I found a recipe for Cheddar and zucchini scones online and adapted to use the Habernero Jack cheese. These had a spicy kick to them, but it dissipated quickly, with a really good flavor. At first, when I took them out of the oven, I thought they weren’t done yet, but it was just the melted cheese. I will definitely make these again this Summer when (hopefully) we will have zucchini from the garden. Oh, I think feta & zucchini scones would be wonderful! I’ll have to remember that…
Zucchini & Pepper Jack Scones
Adapted from a recipe on the site Taste.com.au
2 small zucchini
2 cups self-rising flour, sifted, plus extra to dust
1 tsp sugar
1 cup coarsely grated pepper Jack cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped chives
1 cup buttermilk, plus extra to brush
Optional: Finely grated Parmesan Cheese and some Smoked Paprika for dusting the tops of the scones
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coarsely grate the zucchini, wrap in paper towel and squeeze out excess moisture.
Combine zucchini, flour, sugar, pepper jack cheese, chives and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.
Gradually add the buttermilk and mix with your hands until a soft dough forms.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a 6-7 inch circle, with a slightly raised dome.
Use a pizza cutter dipped in flour to cut cut the dough into 8 pieces. Slice like you would a pizza, making sure to re-roll the cutter in flour before each slice.
Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet with enough room in between scones for them to rise more during baking. Brush each scone with a little extra buttermilk and give a sprinkle of Pamesan cheese and a dusting od smoked paprika.
Bake in the oven for 22-25 minutes until golden. Let cool briefly and then eat!
By mlb, on June 12th, 2010
Okay, so this is not the most season-appropriate dish ever but if you lived in Portland, you’d understand. We have been rainy and a little cold, although today and tomorrow are promising to be nice, sunny and *gasp* Summer-ish!
If you do have a day that is not so hot, this is a great thing to do with your oven and stovetop. I have even made the chicken version of the posole in the crockpot before, when it was too hot to simmer it stovetop.
The vegetable broth you do need the oven for, so either wait for a cool day, roast your veggies in the morning, or throw caution to the wind and crank up your oven in a 90 degree day!
Roasted Vegetable Stock
Adapted from a recipe in Gourmet Magazine
3/4 lb cremini mushrooms, halved
1 red onion, chopped
3 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
a handful of cilantro leaves
1 poblano pepper, stemmed and halved
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup canned stewed tomatoes (tomatoes and juice)
5 cups water
3/4 teaspoon salt
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss together mushrooms, shallots, carrots, bell pepper, garlic, cilantro, poblano and oil in a flameproof roasting pan. Roast, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are golden, 35 to 40 minutes.
Transfer vegetables with a slotted spoon to a 4-quart stockpot.
Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add wine and deglaze pan by boiling over moderate heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 to 2 minutes.
Transfer to saucepan and add bay leaf, tomatoes, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes. Pour stock through a large fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on and then discarding solids.
Vegetarian Hominy Stew
Adapted from a recipe at Epicurious.com and the posole recipe here, which is a great posole recipe
4 cups vegetable stock (should be all of your stock, it doesn’t have to be exact)
2 15- to 16-ounce cans white hominy, drained (or if you can get the large, double-sized can, just use on of those – 30 to 32 oz)
1 14 1/2-ounce cans stewed tomatoes (if you do make the stock too, here you can use the remainder of your can of stewed tomatoes from earlier)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 tsp dried oregano
1 jalapeño chili, seeded, minced
Dash of hot pepper sauce
Possible Garnishes
Diced avocado, grated/crumbled cheese, cilantro, radish slices, red onion, shredded cabbage, halved cherry tomatoes, chopped green onions
Add your vegetable stock back to your stock pot. Bring to a simmer.
In a food processor, break up the stewed tomatoes and jalapeno pepper. Add this mixture to the broth, along with the drained hominy, oregano, garlic, hot sauce and beans. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer about an hour, stirring occasionally. Season with salt, pepper and additional hot pepper sauce, if desired.
Ladle out and serve with garnishes.
|
About Me I like to cook. I like to eat. I like to take photos. I also like my cats, mostly. I live in SE Portland with my husband jwa and the two unruly cats mentioned above. That is all.
|
