In the Hands of a Chef (28 page)

T
his is a composed salad
of classic Spanish ingredients—mussels, saffron, and peppers handled in a slightly offbeat way. While all shellfish release juices into the cooking liquid as they steam, mussels are in a league of their own. The French reverently refer to their juice as mussel liquor. Cooking the steaming broth down to a glaze for the basis of a warm sauce is a standard technique, but this recipe is a little unusual in that the mussel glaze flavors a cold mayonnaise. With its intense flavor of mussels, the mayonnaise makes a nice olfactory bridge between the mussels and the roasted peppers. All of the major components of this dish—the roasted peppers, steamed mussels, and saffron mayonnaise can be prepared as much as 24 hours ahead of time and refrigerated. Prepare the chopped garnishes just before serving.

MAKES 4 ENTRÉE SERVINGS

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 shallots, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 serrano peppers, stemmed and thinly sliced (to make this a milder dish, remove the seeds from the peppers)

Kosher salt

48 mussels, scrubbed and debearded

Pinch of saffron

¼ cup dry white wine

1 extra-large egg yolk

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

¼ cup vegetable oil

Freshly ground black pepper

3 large bell peppers—1 red, 1 yellow, and 1 green, roasted (see page 99), peeled, stemmed, seeded, and cut into quarters

½ cup peeled, seeded, and diced (¼-inch) cucumber

¼ cup diced (¼-inch) red onion

¼ cup chopped oil-cured black olives

¼ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 tablespoon chili oil or extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon, halved

1.
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, and serrano peppers, season with salt, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the mussels, saffron, and white wine. Cover and steam just until the mussels have opened, about 5 minutes. Don’t overcook, or the mussels will be tough. Remove from the heat.

2.
Scoop the mussels out of the pan and spread them on a tray in a single layer to cool. (Do not discard the cooking juices.) When they are completely cooled, remove and discard the top shells. Cover the mussels with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

3.
While the mussels are cooling, simmer the cooking juices (with the shallots, garlic, and serrano peppers) over medium-high heat until reduced to about 1 tablespoon of liquid. Transfer the reduction (with the shallots, etc.) to a bowl. Use a rubber spatula to get all the juices if necessary.

4.
To make the saffron mayonnaise, add the egg yolk and lemon juice to the mussel reduction and whisk until foamy. Whisk in the salad oil one drop at a time until an emulsion forms. Carefully whisk in the rest of the oil in a thin, steady stream. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

5.
To serve, arrange one of each of the pepper quarters on each of four plates and season with salt and pepper. Distribute the mussels, in their half-shells, in and around the peppers. Set a spoonful of mayonnaise next to the peppers. Sprinkle the plates with the cucumber, red onion, olives, and parsley leaves. Drizzle with the chili oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.

S
o much to grill,
so little time. Every August, just when I think it might be the summer when I might squeeze in everything I love to grill before Labor Day, the bluefish arrive and throw my backyard repertoire into chaos. Salmon and tuna may be available, but if someone offers me a fresh-caught bluefish, it’s hard to resist. Slathered with pomegranate molasses, the bluefish tastes barbecued, if you can imagine barbecued fish with zither music playing in the background. As far as condiments go, a simple, cooling cucumber-yogurt sauce is absolutely essential, but if I have the time, I also make Skordalia (page 106) for the garlic lovers in the crowd.

MAKES 4 ENTRÉE SERVINGS

MARINADE

⅓ cup pomegranate molasses (available in specialty stores and groceries that stock Middle Eastern ingredients)

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 small red onion, sliced as thin as possible

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

1 teaspoon crushed toasted coriander seeds

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

Four 6-ounce bluefish fillets, skin on, 1 to 1½ inches thick

SAUCE

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses for garnish ¼ cup pomegranate seeds for garnish

1.
Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Toss the bluefish in the marinade until evenly coated. Put the fish and any remaining marinade in a nonreactive container, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour, turning once or twice.

2.
Toss the cucumbers with salt and drain in a colander for 30 minutes.

3.
Pat the cucumbers dry to remove moisture and excess salt. Mix the cucumbers with the yogurt, red onion, herbs, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

4.
Prepare a grill with both hot and medium zones (see page 265). A grill is hot when you can hold your hand near the grilling surface for no longer than a count of 2 before having to pull it away; it is medium when you can keep your hand near it for no longer than 4 seconds. The
cooking times given are for a gas grill, with the lid closed; if using a wood or charcoal-burning grill, cook with the lid off. Make sure the grill grate is clean in order to minimize sticking.

5.
Season the bluefish with salt and pepper. Brush generously with the vegetable oil. Put the fish skin side down on the hottest part of the grill. Do not disturb the fillets until the surface is charred and a corner of a fillet releases from the grill when you carefully lift it with a spatula, after about 5 minutes. Flip the fillets and cook until opaque, another 4 to 5 minutes. Because the marinade has sugar in it, you need to keep a close eye out for burning. If it looks as though the surface is turning too dark too quickly, or burning, slide a spatula carefully under the fillets and finish cooking them on the medium section of the grill.

6.
To serve, put a fillet in the center of each of four plates. Put a spoonful of yogurt sauce next to each fillet. Drizzle the fish with the pomegranate molasses and sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds. Serve immediately.

R
omesco is a Catalan sauce
traditionally served with grilled fish, poultry, or vegetables. The basic recipe calls for roasted red peppers, garlic, almonds, vinegar, and olive oil, although I’ve seen variations that include tomatoes, bread, and hot peppers. I like the nuance that hazelnuts contribute. As a condiment for grilled food, especially tuna or shrimp, it is without equal. It’s worth firing up your grill 15 or 20 minutes ahead of time to char the peppers for romesco. While the peppers cook, you can prepare the rest of the ingredients. Making the sauce itself is a snap—everything is just pulsed together in a food processor.

When grilling tuna, make the fire as hot as possible. If using a gas grill, turn all the burners to high and allow it to heat with the lid down for 15 minutes. If you like your tuna rare (red in the center), be sure to buy fillets at least 1½ inches thick to minimize the chance of overcooking. The cooking times given are for a gas grill, with the lid closed. If using a wood or charcoal grill, which will be hotter, cook with the lid off and subtract a minute from each of the times.

MAKES 4 ENTRÉE SERVINGS

SAUCE

2 red peppers, roasted (see page 99), peeled, stemmed, and seeded

1 ancho pepper, soaked in warm water to cover until tender (about 30 minutes), drained, stemmed, and seeded

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

¼ cup almonds, toasted (see page 16)

2 tablespoons hazelnuts, toasted (see page 16)

¼ cup pine nuts, toasted (see page 16)

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Pinch of hot red pepper flakes (optional)

TUNA

Four 5-ounce tuna steaks, approximately 1½ inches thick

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon paprika, preferably Spanish

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1.
Combine all the romesco sauce ingredients except the salt and hot pepper flakes in a food processor and process to a coarse purée. Season with salt to taste. Add the red pepper flakes, if desired.

2.
Prepare a hot fire in a grill. A grill is hot when you can hold your hand near the grilling surface for no longer than a count of 2 before having to pull it away.

3.
Season the tuna with salt, pepper, and the paprika. Brush with the oil. Grill on each side for 3 to 3½ minutes for rare (red in the center), about a minute longer for medium-rare (a trace of red, but mostly pink), or until cooked to desired doneness. Check for doneness by cutting
into the center with the tip of a sharp knife and judging the color. Tuna’s transition from red to pink-with-some-red occurs quite quickly; also keep in mind that the tuna will continue cooking once it’s off the grill, and that cooking time will also vary according to the thickness of the tuna steaks. Err on the side of underdoneness. It’s a small matter to return a piece of tuna to the grill if it’s too rare. However, the only thing to do with overcooked fish is to throw it away.

4.
Serve immediately, accompanied by the romesco sauce.

R
eine Samut is the chef-owner
of the Auberge la Fernière, an extraordinary restaurant in Lourmarin, in Provence. She generously allowed me to work in her kitchen for a day, and several years later I was delighted to host her at Rialto when she came to this country as part of a French cultural exchange. For three nights, we offered a special tasting menu featuring her Provençal specialties. The fish course was
rouget
(a European mullet flown in from France) served atop a potato-basil purée. I usually think of mashed potatoes as cold-weather food, but this dish, with its basil and olive oil, seems saturated with the tastes of summer. Don’t attempt it with anything except a first-class extra virgin olive oil.

The closest thing to rouget in this country is probably perch, but striped bass (which is easily grilled, unlike perch) seems a better alternative.

MAKES 4 ENTRÉE SERVINGS

1 pound baking potatoes

3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

Kosher salt

½ cup finely chopped fresh basil

Freshly ground black pepper

About 1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Four 6-ounce striped bass fillets, skin on, 1 to 1½ inches thick

6 ripe plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise

2 ounces Niçoise olives, ⅓ cup unpitted, remainder halved and pitted

2 lemons, 1 halved, the other cut in quarters

4 basil leaves for garnish

1.
Peel the potatoes and chop into 1-inch dice. Put the potatoes and garlic in a pot and just cover with cold salted water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are falling apart and the water has reduced by a third, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat; do not drain.

2.
Add the chopped basil and 6 tablespoons of the olive oil to the potatoes and purée with an immersion blender or transfer to a food processor if necessary. The purée should be the consistency of a smooth applesauce. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

3.
Meanwhile, prepare a hot fire in a grill. (If using a gas grill, turn all the burners to high and allow it to heat with the lid down for 15 minutes.) A grill is hot when you can hold your hand near the grilling surface for no longer than a count of 2 before having to pull it away. The cooking times given are for a gas grill, with
the lid closed; if using a wood or charcoal grill, cook with the lid off and reduce the cooking time. Make sure the grill grate is clean in order to minimize sticking.

4.
Season the bass fillets on both sides with salt and pepper and brush with olive oil. When the grill is hot, lay the fish skin side down on the grate. Do not disturb until you’re ready to turn the fish over—you need to allow the skin to char, or it will stick to the grill. After 5 minutes, gently peel up a corner of a fillet with a spatula to loosen it from the grill, then slowly pry the fish loose and flip it over. Flip the remaining fillets, and cook for 5 minutes, or until done: a sharp knife should slide easily into the fish and the flesh should be opaque.