Tarragon Cucumber Pickles

NY Times, 1 July 2009, adapted from Josh Eden, Shorty's 32

Time: 30 minutes, plus 1 to 3 hours’ refrigeration


2 large cucumbers (about 1 1/2 pounds)

4 large tarragon sprigs, cut into 2-inch pieces

2 tablespoons mustard seeds

2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

2 bay leaves

4 cups plain rice wine vinegar

3/4 cup sugar.



1. Slice cucumbers crosswise 1/4 inch thick, and pack into 2 quart-size jars. Divide tarragon, mustard seeds, peppercorns, coriander seeds and bay leaves between 2 double layers of cheesecloth. Tie into bundles with string.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine vinegar with sugar and bundles of pickling spices, and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Pour brine over cucumbers, pack bundles of pickling spices on top and let cool. Discard spices, close jars and refrigerate at least 1 hour, preferably 3. Serve cold.

Yield: 2 quarts.

Smoky Red Deviled Eggs

Melissa Clark, NY Times, 1 July 2009

1 fat garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar, more to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon hot smoked paprika, more to taste and for garnish.


1. Place eggs in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a full boil, let cook for 1 minute, then turn off heat and cover pan. Allow eggs to stand for at least 15 minutes.

2. Once eggs are cool enough to handle, peel and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop yolks into a bowl; place whites on a serving platter.

3. Using a sharp knife or mortar and pestle, chop or smash garlic with salt to make a paste. Add paste to yolks and mash together with a fork. Add mayonnaise, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, pepper and paprika and continue to mash until mixture is smooth. Taste and add more vinegar, salt and paprika if desired.

4. Spoon yolk mixture into whites and dust with paprika.

Yield: 24 deviled eggs to serve 12.

Pea Dip with Parmesan

Attentive readers will have realized I am working my way through a bunch of 2009 New York Times dining sections. Herewith the next installment, Mark Bittman's Minimalist:

3 cups peas (frozen are fine; no need to defrost)

About 1 cup stock or water, as needed

3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts, roughly chopped

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint or more to taste

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper.


1. Put peas in a pan with just enough stock or water to come half way up their height. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until peas are bright green and tender. Put all but 1 cup of peas in a food processor or blender, and add just enough cooking liquid to start purée. When purée is relatively smooth, transfer it to a bowl and stir in remaining cup of peas.

2. Add pine nuts, cheese, garlic, mint and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; taste and adjust seasoning, then thin with more liquid if necessary. Serve or refrigerate.

Yield: At least 8 servings.

Edamame dip with miso and ginger: Combine 2 tablespoons miso with 2 tablespoons water. Substitute 3 cups cooked edamame for peas. Put all edamame, miso mixture, 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger and 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar in a food processor or blender and purée until relatively smooth. For a thinner consistency, add another tablespoon of vinegar or water.

Mexican Squash Soup with Lime Crema

This recipe is inspired by a bowl of squash soup I had on a blustery day at Barrio. Any kind of orange squash is fine for this: pumpkin, delicata, kabocha, acorn or butternut. In a pinch, canned pumpkin puree gives an acceptable result.

I use El Guapo brand New Mexico chili powder, widely available in Hispanic markets and better stocked national chains. If using a spicier chili powder adjust red chili flakes accordingly or ormit altogether.


Ingredients

2 or 3 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1 small or half large yellow onion, quartered and sliced
canola oil
1 cup vegetable broth or water
1 cup chopped tomatoes (canned is fine)
1 pound pureed orange squash or canned pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon mild New Mexico chili powder
pinch red chili flakes

4 tablespoons cashew cream or creme fraiche
lime juice
salt

Toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) - optional

Method:

Roast the garlic in tin foil in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Peel.

Saute the onion in the oil until translucent.

Put the garlic, onions, tomatoes, broth or water, in blender or food processor and process until the mixture is well combined but still has some texture. Pour the mixture into a saucepan, add the pumpkins puree and stir until well combined. Add the chili powder and chili flakes. Bring to a simmer and simmer for about ten minutes.

Meanwhile make the crema by combining the cashew cream or creme fraiche, lime juice and salt to taste. Stir until thoroughly combined.

Serve the soup hot, garnished with the crema and optional pepitas.

Makes four servings.


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Vegetable Torte

Mark Bittman has a faulous video/recipe for vegetable torte.

Watercress

Great article on watercress in today's Dining section in the NY Times. Three recipes -- two vegetarian and one that easily could be -- included in the sidebar.

Lentil Pecan Pate

I first had this at Cafe Flora in Seattle and reversed engineered a recipe I was (and am) quite happy with. The recipe for their version eventually became available in their cookbook and mine is quite different. But since I'm happy with it, I'm sticking with it.

Ingredients:

1 cup of lentils
2 bay leaves
2 cups water

1 onion, halved and sliced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
olive oil

1 cup pecan pieces

1/4 cup tahini
water

2 T minced onion

Salt to taste, at least a teaspoon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
ground pepper to taste


Cook the lentils in the water until quite soft, adding more water if necessary.

Saute the onions in oil until they start to brown. Add the garlic and continue to cook until the garlic is no longer raw.

Heat the oven to 350 and toast the pecans until they just start to brown, four to five minutes.

Put the tahini a food processor and blend, adding water until the mixture is the texture of thick cream. Add the onion garlic mix, raw onion, lentils and half the pecans and process until smooth.

Add the salt, pepper and spices and combine well. Correct seasoning as necessary. The mix should be slightly overseasoned at this point, as the remaining pecans are still to go in, and because the mix will mellow over time.

Chop the remaining pecans fairly fine and combine them with the puree in a mixing bowl. Correct seasoning if necessary. This can be served right away, but it improves by sitting for 24 hours to allow the flavors to mellow.

Serve with olives, cornichons, caper berries, onion confit, and baguette slices or crackers.

This recipe makes enough to serve 12 to 15 as part of an appetizer buffet. Leftovers make wonderful "meatloaf" sandwiches. In fact sometimes I mix up a batch of this specifically for sandwiches. It freezes well.

Blender note: It's possible to make this in a blender, but you will need to process the mix in batches and will need to add some additional water. But it will still turn out fine. If there are a few lentils that aren't fully pureed, that's fine too.