Category: Cooking

Man, it wasn't the heat, but the humidity that was pretty bad for a while there, eh? I'm from Hawaii and it still drove me crazy. And I just saw that we're in for a bit more the next couple of days.

One of my favorite dishes during our recent trip to Spain was Salmorejo, a thick puree/soup made up of tomatoes and thickened by bread. It's the bread that makes this look almost like a thick carrot soup.

It is served cold, like gazpacho, but is much richer and thicker. It was one of my favorite items in Spain. It's usually topped with finely chopped Serrano ham and coarsely chopped boiled egg. I really didn't feel staying the kitchen and boiling some eggs so I went with some finely chopped prosciutto ends; which you can buy at Bristol Farms. They sell it cheap. It's hard and waxy, but does well as salad topping when chopped finely. I added some cucumber and red onion and a few small, thin slices of Serrano peppers from the yard.

Here's a photo of my favorite version from Madrid (I'll get to the post one of these days):

It was much more refined than what I made. I based this on a recipe from the late Penelope Casas' fine cookbook; 1,000 Spanish Recipes. It's an easy recipe. And a refreshing dish….of course, the more ripe the tomatoes, the better the flavor.

Salmorejo:

1 1/2 (approx) Cups Country Bread (I used a leftover baguette) crust removed, cubed

1 1/2 pounds very ripe Roma tomatoes, peeled and seeded

2 cloves garlic

1/3 cup Arbequina extra virgin olive oil or something that you enjoy

1 tsp white wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Traditional Topping:

Finely chopped Serrano Ham Hard Boiled Eggs Coarsely Chopped

1 – Soak the bread in water for about 3-4 minutes, then squeeze dry

2 – Place tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, and half the bread in a blender/food processor.

3 – Start the blender and add in the olive oil until smooth

4 – Slowly add in the rest of the bread until the desired texture is reached

5 – Season with salt and pepper to taste

6 – Refrigerate at least an hour – I've found that this does taste better the next day.

To serve, ladle into a shallow bowl, top with ham and eggs, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. 

It'll take longer to read this post than to actually make this. But first, a word from our legal department:

Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.

Now that we got that out of the way….yes, I use raw eggs…well, egg actually, for this.

I also use an immersion blender and a Ball Jar.

The eggs are either pasteurized or the best we can find – pasture raised and all that. I also use whole eggs, which makes this much lighter than just egg yolks. As for the science; if you love that kind of stuff, get Harold McGee's classic – On Food and Cooking.

I've read where having all ingredients at room temperature, but I've done this with cold eggs and mustard and the results has been fine.

It is of course, a main part of my Copycat Radicchio Salad.

Ready to whizz? Ready, set, go:

– In a ball jar crack 1 egg, add 1 Tb White Wine Vinegar, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp kosher salt

– Add 1 cup neutral oil – I used avocado oil

– Place head of the immersion blender at the bottom of the jar and turn on. Slowly lift the head of the blender up until totally emulsified. This makes just under a cup.

Keep refrigerated. The longest I've kept this stuff is about 5 days.

That's it. Really.

Then you can start having some fun….next time add some fish sauce or other items and you'll come up with some interesting flavors.

Hope you're having a great week! 

If you've been reading my posts on Portland, you should know that it would only be a matter of time before I made this. The Missus loved the Radicchio Salad at Tasty N Alder so much, we went twice. The Missus wanted to go on our last morning as well, but they opened a bit too late so we ended up somewhere else. I knew that Chef John Gorham, has a cookbook out named after his Spanish inspired restaurant; Toro Bravo. Taking a quick look at the Amazon page for the book; I quickly saw "Radicchio Salad" in the index….so guess what? I bought the book. The recipe for the salad at Toro Bravo is different from what is served at Tasty N Alder. The book version is dressed with a vinaigrette….though I like the idea of macerating onion in the vinegar for added punch. I'll surely use that idea later on. It also uses a tapenade and is served with baguette. The version at TNA is dressed with mayo with slices of bacon; they call it lardons, but it's a pretty wide slice of bacon. All was not lost however, as there were two take-aways from the recipe in the book; using a microplane to grate the manchego cheese, which makes it light as air and which allows the cheese to incorporate itself into the dressing adding another layer of flavor. The second, soaking the radicchio in ice water to remove some of the bitterness. This was key. The Missus had never taken to radicchio because of its bitterness. In addition, I decided to make my own mayonnaise, a light, whole egg version…..which I call my "three minute mayo"…..like it says, it takes about three minutes to make and is very light and creamy. I also mixed in 3 tablespoons of rendered bacon fat for that extra kick. I'm thinking you can add some anchovy, or some extra acid component if desired. The Missus enjoys this version.

So here's what I made……four times in ten days!

This is what we had twice at Tasty N Alder.

Radicchio Salad (Inspired by Tasy N Alder):

3 slices thick cut bacon

1/4 Cup Mayonnaise (I make my own very light version with whole eggs)

3-4 Tb Rendered Bacon Fat

1 tsp Agave Syrup Salt and Pepper to Taste

1 Radicchio (about 3/4 pound)

1 cup Manchego Cheese grated with a microplane

2 boiled eggs crumbled (optional)

– Cut radicchio into four and remove core portion. Cut into 1 inch pieces. Separate leaves and soak in ice water for 30 minutes

– Slice bacon into 1/2" wide slices. Cook slowly to render off bacon fat and let bacon crisp. Let bacon fat cool but not harden

– Combine mayonnaise, bacon fat, agave syrup. Taste and add salt a pepper as necessary. Chill.

– Drain radicchio and spin dry in a salad spinner. It's important to get the radicchio faily dry. This will let the dressing coat it evenly.

– Grate machego cheese, crumble boiled eggs

– Combine radicchio with dressing, coat evenly

– Top with bacon and grated manchego cheese

– Bring to the table and mix well.

I recently mentioned being able to take time for a proper lunch on weekends again. Some of this means doing "component cooking", which is creating parts of dishes that can be put together in different combinations…….stuff that I used to do in a previous life a zillion years ago. Anyway, this is based on another recipe, used to create a sauce that keeps for a week or so and can be used in different ways. The one thing I've learned is to start this in a cold pan, versus dumping all the stuff with butter into a hotel pan over a couple of burners, which is what used to take place way back then. Maitake….or Hen of the woods mushrooms and shimeji mushrooms keep their shape and earthy flavor throughout the process, so this is a good sauce for composing dishes….like say….a Pan seared monchong, smoked potato-brussel sprout saute, maitake – porcini sauce, kinda thing….

Like I learned in my "hannabudda days" of cooking….it's all about prep, though I didn't realize it at the time.

Maitake – Porcini Sauce:

1 head of Maitake (Hen of the Woods) Mushroom, cleaned, trimmed, and separated
1 head of Shimeji Mushroom, cleaned, trimmed, and separated
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushroom
2 cups warm water 2-3 tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tb minced shallot
1 tb grated garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme salt(truffle salt?) and pepper to taste
3 tb Creme Fraiche

– Steep porcini in the warm water for 20 minutes
– Place maitake and shimeji mushrooms into a cold pan
– Turn heat to medium high
– Allow the mushrooms to carmelize for 3-4 minutes mixing occasionally
– Remove porcini mushrooms from soaking liquid
– Strain porcini liquid
– Add Olive Oil and shallots to pan
– As mushrooms soften, add porcini, garlic, oregano, thyme
– Once fragrant, add 1 1/2 cup of the porcini soaking liquid
– Lower the heat and reduce by at least one-third
– Taste and add salt and pepper
– Remove from heat and thicken with creme fraiche