Tangerine/Tomato Salad: Peel a tangerine or two and cut quarter-inch slices
crosswise. If the slices have a pithy core, use a paring knife to cut it
out. Core and cut some tomatoes into quarter-inch slices crosswise. Arrange
the tangerines and tomatoes prettily on a plate. Pit and halve some kalamata
olives and scatter around on the plate. Drizzle some best-quality
extra-virgin olive oil over everything. Grind black pepper lightly over the
salad. Sprinkle some finishing salt (I used Murray River salt flakes) over
the salad. Cut some basil into chiffonade and scatter evenly over
everything. Best served at room temperature; chilling destroys fresh tomato
flavor.
Zucchini Gratin[adapted from Julia Child's recipe]: Shred zucchini and put
into a colander placed over a bowl. Sprinkle zucchini with salt and lightly
toss to distribute the salt throughout. Allow to sit and drain for half an
hour. Put zucchini into a dishtowel and twist the towel to squeeze the juice
into the bowl where the zucchini was draining. Save those juices. Heat olive
oil in a saute pan. Saute the zucchini until lightly browned. Lightly beat
an egg or two, then mix with an equal volume of heavy cream and the reserved
juices. Arrange sauteed zucchini in a gratin dish, pour the custard mixture
over, and lightly stir to combine. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top and
bake in a 350F oven until puffed and lightly browned, which took about 30
minutes in my toaster oven.
Braised Lamb Riblets: Cut lamb breast into portions of three to four ribs
apiece and season with salt. Heat olive oil in a heavy pan and working in
batches, brown lamb sections well on all sides. (This is an important step;
don't pull a "Katz" and only cook until the outside of the meat is grey! The
flavor will be MUCH better if you cook the meat to a deep rich brown color!)
As the portions are browned, remove them to a separate vessel and brown the
next batch. When all the meat is browned, pour off most of the fat. Add a
thickly-sliced onion, a cup and a half of white wine, two big rosemary
sprigs, and two big sprigs of mint. Bring to a boil and cook until the wine
is reduced by half. Add a can of tomatoes, breaking them up with a spatula
as necessary. Return the meat to the pan, nestling the riblets into the
liquid. Cover and cook at 250F for about four hours. Remove the lid from the
pan, spoon the remaining liquid over the meat to glaze (adding white wine if
the pan is almost dry), and return to the oven for another twenty minutes.
Grind black pepper into the pan and cook for another 10 minutes. Garnish
with chopped mint. (Note that I left the rosemary and mint sprigs in the
dish. If diners are neurotic about that kind of thing, you can find them and
fish them out, but those same diners are probably going to whine about the
rib bones, in which case just fuck 'em.)
Bob
crosswise. If the slices have a pithy core, use a paring knife to cut it
out. Core and cut some tomatoes into quarter-inch slices crosswise. Arrange
the tangerines and tomatoes prettily on a plate. Pit and halve some kalamata
olives and scatter around on the plate. Drizzle some best-quality
extra-virgin olive oil over everything. Grind black pepper lightly over the
salad. Sprinkle some finishing salt (I used Murray River salt flakes) over
the salad. Cut some basil into chiffonade and scatter evenly over
everything. Best served at room temperature; chilling destroys fresh tomato
flavor.
Zucchini Gratin[adapted from Julia Child's recipe]: Shred zucchini and put
into a colander placed over a bowl. Sprinkle zucchini with salt and lightly
toss to distribute the salt throughout. Allow to sit and drain for half an
hour. Put zucchini into a dishtowel and twist the towel to squeeze the juice
into the bowl where the zucchini was draining. Save those juices. Heat olive
oil in a saute pan. Saute the zucchini until lightly browned. Lightly beat
an egg or two, then mix with an equal volume of heavy cream and the reserved
juices. Arrange sauteed zucchini in a gratin dish, pour the custard mixture
over, and lightly stir to combine. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top and
bake in a 350F oven until puffed and lightly browned, which took about 30
minutes in my toaster oven.
Braised Lamb Riblets: Cut lamb breast into portions of three to four ribs
apiece and season with salt. Heat olive oil in a heavy pan and working in
batches, brown lamb sections well on all sides. (This is an important step;
don't pull a "Katz" and only cook until the outside of the meat is grey! The
flavor will be MUCH better if you cook the meat to a deep rich brown color!)
As the portions are browned, remove them to a separate vessel and brown the
next batch. When all the meat is browned, pour off most of the fat. Add a
thickly-sliced onion, a cup and a half of white wine, two big rosemary
sprigs, and two big sprigs of mint. Bring to a boil and cook until the wine
is reduced by half. Add a can of tomatoes, breaking them up with a spatula
as necessary. Return the meat to the pan, nestling the riblets into the
liquid. Cover and cook at 250F for about four hours. Remove the lid from the
pan, spoon the remaining liquid over the meat to glaze (adding white wine if
the pan is almost dry), and return to the oven for another twenty minutes.
Grind black pepper into the pan and cook for another 10 minutes. Garnish
with chopped mint. (Note that I left the rosemary and mint sprigs in the
dish. If diners are neurotic about that kind of thing, you can find them and
fish them out, but those same diners are probably going to whine about the
rib bones, in which case just fuck 'em.)
Bob