Recipe for Eggplant Clafoutis (Κλαφουτί με Μελιτζάνες)

(From Greece)

Eggplant Clafoutis: I saw the reference in my blog reader and quickly went to find the recipe. Alas, while TS and JS at Eating Club Vancouver came up with the idea, they deemed their recipe “A. Weird. Failure.”

Though Eating Club hated their recipe, the more I thought about Eggplant Clafoutis, the more I wanted it. My craving was timely; I had an embarrassment of eggplant riches. A sack of eggplant sat in a cool corner of the kitchen (eggplant shouldn't be refrigerated) and the plants in our garden remain productive.

After two nights of falling asleep to thoughts of Eggplant Clafoutis, I broke down and made it.

Clafoutis (klah-foo-TEE) is a simple-to-make, country dessert from France, in which fruit is baked in a custardy batter. There are a million and one different clafoutis recipes. I’ve tried many of them, some wonderfully delicious and others only pretty darn good. The best clafoutis is light-textured and not too sweet, allowing the flavor of the fruit to shine.

I’ve never made or tasted savory clafoutis before, and couldn’t find an actual Eggplant Clafoutis recipe. Instead of a recipe, I used basic principles of sweet clafoutis-making for my savory version. The first step was deciding how best to pre-cook the eggplant (Eating Club used uncooked eggplant, which they deemed a mistake). Because I planned on serving this dish as a light lunch, I didn’t want it to be oily.

As eggplant cooks know all too well, it soaks up oil like a sponge. This is because eggplant flesh has many tiny air pockets just waiting to fill up with oil. According to Harold McGee, America’s preeminent food scientist, “the absorptiveness of eggplant can be reduced by collapsing its spongy structure before frying. This is accomplished by precooking it – microwave works well – or by salting slices to draw out moisture from the cells and into the air pockets.” On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (2nd Rev. Ed.), Harold McGee, 2004. Based on personal experience, I agree with McGee that salting reduces, but doesn’t eliminate, eggplant’s sponge-like qualities.

While we’re on the subject of salting, some people recommend pre-salting eggplant to draw out its juices before cooking to remove alleged bitterness. Over the years, I’ve done repeated side-by-side tastings of salted and unsalted eggplant and have never detected bitterness in either version. It may be the bitterness meme is a holdover from days when eggplant was more bitter than it is today (McGee: “Farmers and plant breeders have worked for thousands of years to reduce the bitterness of … eggplants…”).

McGee says modern eggplants can turn bitter when they’re grown in dry conditions, which North American supermarket eggplants are not. Interestingly, McGee says salting doesn’t actually eliminate bitterness, but may reduce “our perception of the alkaloids” thus “suppress[ing] the sensation of bitterness.”

In any case, I rarely bother with pre-salting eggplant. The best ways to avoid oily eggplant are to “steam-fry,” oven-roast, or grill it. I use steam-frying for eggplant chunks, oven-roasting at high temperature for slices, and grilling whenever we have a fire going. To steam-fry, eggplant is briefly sautéed, which helps develop its flavor, and then steamed in a covered pan until the eggplant is fully cooked. I like letting steam-fried eggplant char a little as it cooks, the smokiness adds wonderful flavor to the finished dish.

Since I wanted chunked eggplant in the clafoutis, I steam-fried it. This worked well; it brought out eggplant’s subtle flavors that are sometimes masked by too much oil or tomato sauce. After spreading the cooked eggplant over the bottom of a springform pan, I topped it with cheese, sautéed onions, and a batter flavored with basil and garlic.

The finished dish was full of flavor, and slices of it, paired with a tomato and onion salad, made a delicious, warm from the oven, lunch. The next day I served Eggplant Clafoutis cold, cut into diamonds, as part of an appetizer table (mezedes – μεζέδες) and it disappeared quickly. Like its sweet siblings, savory clafoutis is equally good served warm or at room temperature.

This recipe for Eggplant Clafoutis was “A. Great. Success.” Many thanks to Eating Club Vancouver for the inspiration.

Eggplant Clafoutis (Κλαφουτί με Μελιτζάνες)
Serves 4 – 6 as a main course or 12 – 16 as an appetizer

Eggplant:
1 pound eggplant, peel left on and cut into 1” chunks
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Water

Clafoutis:
1 cup grated graviera, kasseri, or asiago cheese
2 cups diced onion, 1/2” dice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup strained yogurt
3 tbsp. minced fresh basil or mint
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Steam-Fry the Eggplant: Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the eggplant chunks, lightly season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and quickly stir the eggplant to brown it. When the eggplant starts sticking to the pan add 1/4 cup of water, stir to distribute, cover the pan, and reduce the heat to medium high. Let the eggplant steam until you can hear it sizzling (which means all the water has cooked off). Add 2 Tbsp. of water, stir to distribute, and cover the pan. Repeat until the eggplant is just cooked through. If the eggplant chars a little in between doses of water, all the better; the char adds good flavor to the finished dish.

Make the Clafoutis: Grease the bottom and sides of a 9” round springform pan or 9”x9” square pan (if you want to serve the clafoutis upside down, in addition to greasing the pan, line the bottom with greased waxed or parchment paper. Arrange the cooked eggplant on the bottom. Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the eggplant.

Sauté the onion, lightly seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, in olive oil until the onions soften and start to turn golden. Stir in the red pepper flakes, if using, and cook for one minute. Evenly distribute the onion over the grated cheese.

Sift the flour and whisk in 1/4 tsp. salt. Whisk in 1 cup milk, yogurt, basil, garlic, and freshly ground black pepper. Taste and add salt or freshly ground black pepper, as needed. Whisk in the eggs and remaining milk, and continue to whisk until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter over the ingredients in the pan.

Put the clafoutis on the preheated oven’s center rack. Bake 20 – 25 minutes, or until the clafoutis is puffed up and golden on top. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Zorra from Kochtopf.

Sea Urchins with Tips on How to Open Them (Αχινός)

(From Greece)

Spiky sea urchins may be a bather’s bane, but their freshly gathered roe tops my list of favorite foods.

Urchin roe tastes unmistakably of the sea and has a unique sweetness that can’t be duplicated or satisfactorily described in words. If you love seafood and have access to fresh sea urchins, put aside any trepidation about their prickly spines and jump at the opportunity to enjoy their wonderful flavor.

On the island, urchins are best gathered in February, March, and April. In these months, the sea is cold by Aegean standards and the coral urchin roe, the edible part adhering to the inside of their domed shell, is plump and ripe. Urchin roe is especially prized as a superb and permissible treat during the long Lenten fast.

We’ve enjoyed several springs on the island, but we’re usually here at summer’s end. The days are still hot, gardens are abundant, and the sea is warm. We wait with the parched land for the change of seasons and the fall rains. It’s not prime sea urchin time, so it takes three times as many to make a satisfactory serving. No matter, we still gather enough urchins to remind our taste buds of their exquisite flavor.

Last night the winds were calm, the moon was full, and cousins Giorgos and Tzani invited us on a nighttime urchin expedition.

Our destination was a small church overlooking the sea. On arrival, the men changed into wading gear. Armed with a “louks” (λουξ - a bright kerosene lantern), and “kalamis” (καλάμι – a long bamboo pole split on the end and spread to form two springy fingers that can be pressed over the sea urchins’ spines to pluck them from the water), they entered the sea.

Tzani and I spread out a picnic dinner on the church veranda: perfectly ripe cherry tomatoes, slices of homemade cheese, olives, anchovies, fried peppers, fresh bread, homemade wine, and ouzo. Tzani confided she’d brought extra food in case the men had no luck. We chatted in the moonlight, catching up on the year’s happenings.

We watched the bright lantern light slowly move in the shallows along the rocky fingers that reach out to sea from the church. Men’s voices and snippets of conversation rolled over the water, “be careful, a ledge here…”, ”it's slippery there...”, “that’s a big one…”, “bah, that one’s no good…”, “Wait… Wait… don’t move! An octopus… its legal! Got it.” “Bravo Kapetanio!”

After an hour or so, the men were back, puffed with pride and their catch: two tubs full of urchins, two octopus (about which I will write later), and an incidental cuttlefish. The extra food that Tzani tucked into the picnic bags wasn’t needed last night; the men had been lucky and there were plenty of sea urchins to open.

On the still warm night, under a full moon, with a sky full of twinkling stars and lights from distant jets ferrying strangers across the world, we set upon a meal superior to any served at the finest four-star restaurants.

Opening Sea Urchins - Step 1

Opening Sea Urchins - Step 2

Opening Sea Urchins - Step 3 (Sping-gathered Urchin)

There are several ways to open urchins. The simplest is to plunge one tine of a dinner fork through the shell near the urchin’s mouth and work the fork around in a circle, like an army-issue can-opener. When the circle is complete, the entire bottom falls away.

The urchin’s insides, mostly partially digested seaweed, are usually shaken-out and discarded, though some like to sip the liquid inside the shell. Any remaining membranes are carefully teased away with the back of the fork.

Some people prefer to use an old knife or specially designed urchin-opening scissors to get to the roe, but a simple fork works just fine. If, like me, you have soft hands and don’t want to risk being impaled by urchin spines, wear a sturdy glove on the hand holding the urchin.

Most islanders drizzle opened urchins with few drops of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon or dash of vinegar. Then, with the spiny delight upturned in one hand, they take a square of freshly cut bread in the other and in one swift swirling motion mop up all the savory goodness and pop it into their mouth. I prefer sea urchin roe plain, so lift out each little tongue of colorful roe with a teaspoon, the better to enjoy sea urchins’ unadulterated flavor.

In Greek seafood tavernas, one can sometimes order fresh sea urchin salad (Αχινοσαλάτα), a plate of sea urchin roe dressed with a dash of oil and unobtrusive squeeze of lemon. If you close your eyes when you place a bite of sea urchin salad on your tongue, you can spirit yourself to the veranda of a tiny countryside church, with moonlight sparkling off dark waters, and savor one of the world’s most delicate and complex flavors.

Sea Urchin Salad (Αχινοσαλάτα) at Logia tis Ploris seafood taverna in Athens

(Photograph from Logia tis Ploris Website)

Recipes for Crispy Zucchini Flowers with Cheesy Potato-Basil Stuffing & Radish Horta (Κολοκυθοανθοί Γεμιστοί με Τύρι, Πατάτες, και Βασιλικός & Χόρτα)

Zucchini flowers are a seasonal treat that appear only briefly. Every year, I look forward to their arrival.

The flowers are fragile so must be used soon after picking. As a result, the only zucchini flowers available in Alaska are sold at farmer’s markets or grown in home gardens.

I was thrilled to arrive at the farmer’s market this morning and find a profusion of zucchini flowers. I immediately grabbed a bag and started picking out perfect specimens.

While I was making my selection, three different people asked me how to use the flowers. “Fry them in tempura batter, stuff them and fry them, cook them like stuffed grape leaves, cut them up and put in frittatas or omelets…,” I drifted off as the questioners’ eyes glazed over.

Besides the zucchini flowers, I also bought fresh basil. Waiting in line to pay, I imagined a stuffing for the flowers flavored with basil and cheese. The flavor of this stuffing was crystal clear in my imagination; I couldn’t wait to try it out.

The result was worthy of the year’s first zucchini flowers. The beer batter was light and very crispy, and contrasted wonderfully with the creamy potato-based stuffing. Basil contributed its herby essence, while the cheese tied all the flavors together.

To round out the meal, I made Horta, a traditional Greek dish of boiled greens dressed with olive oil and lemon. Any variety of edible greens may be cooked as Horta. Tonight I used fresh radish leaves, a tasty green that too often ends up in the garbage.

Part of the reason radish greens aren’t often eaten may be their fuzzy surface. I suspect a more important reason is the leaves of supermarket radishes are usually so beat up they’re no longer worth eating.

Garden fresh radish greens are definitely worth eating. When they’re tiny, and before they get too fuzzy, radish greens make a spicy addition to fresh salads. Once they get older, I prefer cooking the greens to improve their texture and mouth feel.

For more information about cooking with zucchini flowers, my friend Maria of Organically Cooked in Hania, Crete, uses them often: baked in the oven, stuffed and cooked with grape leaves, stuffed and cooked with stuffed tomatoes and peppers, and added to a green onion pie.

Crispy Zucchini Flowers with Cheesy Potato-Basil Stuffing (Κολοκυθοανθοί Γεμιστοί με Τύρι, Πατάτες, και Βασιλικός)
Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 as a main course
Bringing frying oil to the correct temperature helps protects against greasy food. To keep the oil at temperature, don’t fry more than four stuffed flowers at a time.

Batter:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups beer

Stuffing:
3/4 pound potatoes (1 large)
1/2 cup freshly grated kasseri or fontina cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated kefalotyri or parmesan cheese
1/4 cup milk or half-and-half
1/4 cup basil chiffonade (cut in thin shreds)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

8 large zucchini flowers
Oil for frying (I use canola oil)

Make the Batter: Mix the batter ingredients until they are smooth. Refrigerate while you make the stuffing and fill the zucchini flowers.

Make the Stuffing: Wash the potatoes and boil in salted water until you can easily pierce them with a fork. Drain well. Mash the potatoes with a fork and add the remaining stuffing ingredients. Mash again until the stuffing is creamy and the ingredients well-mixed.

Prepare the Zucchini Flowers: Gently brush any dirt off the flowers; don’t get them wet or they’ll be impossible to handle. Stand one zucchini flower up in a small glass, jar, or vase. Open the zucchini flowers and remove any garden hitchhikers inside. Leave the stem attached; it makes dipping the stuffed flowers in batter and adding them to the hot oil easier. I used to remove the stamens, as many people do, but now I leave them in and think they add good flavor.

Stuff the Zucchini Flowers: Spread the flower opening so it’s wide enough to accept the large tip of a pastry bag or the cut-off corner of a sturdy plastic bag. Fill the bag with stuffing mix and pipe it into the zucchini flower. Fold three of the five flower points over the stuffing, leaving the remaining two points loose. Repeat with the remaining zucchini flowers. The flowers can be made several hours ahead to this point and refrigerated until ready to cook.

Fry the Stuffed Flowers: Heat 3/4” of oil in a Dutch oven until it is 350°F – 360°F. Dip the stuffed zucchini flowers in batter and fry until the flowers are nicely browned on both sides, turning them halfway through. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

Radish Horta (Χόρτα)
Serves 1
Multiply the recipe as many times as you like; the point is greens from one bunch of radishes only serve one person. Any edible green may be cooked and served this way. The greens will taste fresher if you add lemon juice at the last minute.

Greens from one bunch of radishes
Olive Oil
Fresh lemon juice
Salt

Wash the greens very carefully, discarding any damaged leaves or stems. Cook the greens in boiling salted water for 3 – 5 minutes, or until they are just tender. The cooking time varies depending on the age of the greens, so don’t overcook.

Drain well. While the greens are hot, dress them with extra virgin olive oil and salt to taste; this helps merge the flavors of greens and olive oil. Just before serving, drizzle fresh lemon juice over the greens and toss well. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Recipes for Mango and Feta Salad & Pan-Fried Scallops with Mango Salsa (Μάνγκο και Φέτα Σαλάτα & Χτένια με Μάνγκο Σάλτσα)

Fruit and cheese pair beautifully.

Pears and blue cheese, apple and cheddar, watermelon and feta: all are wonderful combinations.

When I came across Mango and Feta Salad on Feeding Maybelle, I started craving it immediately. Feeding Maybelle is my Taste and Create partner this month.

Taste and Create is an event created and organized by For the Love of Food in which food writers are paired with a randomly assigned partner, and asked to cook and review one recipe from their partner’s blog. Although there are many wonderful recipes on Feeding Maybelle’s blog, I had to try the Mango and Feta Salad.

As is usually the case in Alaska, the grocery store mangos were rock hard. I bought them anyway, and ripened them at room temperature in a brown paper bag. Mango is ripe when it yields to a gentle squeeze (similar to testing avocados for ripeness).

Mangos have a very large, flat seed. The easiest way to remove the seed is to cut off half the mango flesh as close to the seed as possible. Cut off the second mango half as close to the other side of the seed as you can. You’ll be left with two large pieces of mango and a seed encircled by mango flesh.

With the proper technique, cutting up mango is easy. Cut crosshatches in the flesh of each mango half, being careful not to cut through the skin, and push up from the bottom so the mango half is inside out. Cut off the mango chunks and discard the skin. Peel the flesh surrounding the seed and cut off as much mango flesh as possible (or chew it off as a chef’s treat).

The mango is now ready to eat or use in a recipe.

With my mango ripened and cleaned, I turned to the Mango and Feta Salad recipe. Sweet mango, salty feta, herby basil, and spicy pepper dressed with best quality extra virgin olive oil made a wonderful salad and a perfect lunch.

I liked the salad so much I made it again for dinner, only this time I diced the ingredients to make a salsa and added minced jalapeños and red onions. I served the Mango Salsa with Pan-Fried Scallops for a light and delicious summer supper.

Mango and Feta Salad (Μάνγκο και Φέτα Σαλάτα)
Serves 1 as a meal and 2 as a side salad
Adapted from Feeding Maybelle

1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1 tsp. minced basil
1 Tbsp. best quality olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Lightly toss the mango, feta, basil, and olive oil together. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.

Pan-Fried Scallops with Mango Saltsa (Χτένια με Μάνγκο Σάλτσα)
Serves 2
It you don’t like spicy food, use only 1 Tbsp. jalapeño.

Mango and Feta Salsa:
1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into 1/2” dice
1/3 cup crumbled feta
2 Tbsp. minced red onion
1 – 2 Tbsp. minced jalapeño
1 Tbsp. minced fresh basil
2 Tbsp. best quality olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Scallops:
12 large scallops (about 1 pound)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Wash the scallops, removing any tough muscle clinging to the scallops' sides. Dry them well and season on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Make the Salsa: Lightly toss all the ingredients together. Taste and add salt or freshly ground pepper, as needed.

Cook the Scallops: Heat the olive oil over high heat in a frying pan large enough to hold all the scallops. When the oil is very hot, add the seasoned scallops, and cook on the first side for 2 – 3 minutes, depending on the scallops’ size. Turn the scallops over and cook for 2 minutes more. Except for turning them over the one time, do not move the scallops or fidget with them while they cook. The scallops will brown better if they aren’t repeatedly turned.

While the scallops are cooking, warm the plates (this is easiest to do in a microwave; put the dry plates in the microwave for 1 minute on high). Place equal amounts of mango-feta salsa in the center of each warmed plate. Arrange the scallops around the salsa. Serve immediately.

How to Harvest Devil’s Club Shoots and Recipes for Sautéed Devil’s Club Shoots with Onions & Crispy Chicken with Roasted Garlic

Devil's Club Towering Over Teeny Metcalfe
Treadwell Mine, Douglas, Alaska
Photograph by Ray Brudie

Devil’s club leaf shoots are the ultimate seasonal treat – they’re edible for only a few days a year and taste wonderful. They have a resiny, almost piney, odor when first picked that is tamed, but doesn’t dissipate entirely, when heated. Cooked devil's club shoots have a uniquely energizing and complex flavor that tastes like nothing else I’ve ever eaten.


In spring, I check the devil’s club on our property daily, anxious lest I miss the narrow harvesting window. Once they’re ready, we immediately head out with bags and baskets in hand to pick our fill of this unusual spring green.


When I mention how good devil’s club shoots taste, I often get looks of disbelief from those who have fallen victim to the spines that cover its stalks and the underside of its giant leaves.



Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has moved as of March 2011. To read this post please go to

http://www.laurieconstantino.com/how-to-harvest-and-use-devils-club/



Please click on over and visit my new site. Thank you!

Sautéed Devil’s Club Shoots with OnionsServes 4
Sautéed Devil’s Club Shoots go well with Crispy Chicken with Roasted Garlic, any seafood or poultry dish, with pasta, or on their own. 


Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has moved as of March 2011. To read this post please go to

http://www.laurieconstantino.com/how-to-harvest-and-use-devils-club/




Please click on over and visit my new site. Thank you!

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This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Cate of Sweetnicks.

How to Harvest Fireweed Shoots with Recipe for Fireweed Shoot Omelet

After the Fire: Destruction Bay, Yukon Territories, Canada

Photograph by Teeny Metcalfe

Fireweed shoot season is upon Southcentral Alaska.Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) grows along Alaska’s roadways and waste areas (and throughout North America as far south as California in the west and the Carolinas in the east). Spreading rapidly on underground runners, fireweed is one of the first plants to reestablish itself after forest fires.

Fireweed’s brilliant magenta flowers brighten Alaska’s summer landscape and, in the kitchen, are an attractive salad garnish. The flowers are also the source of fireweed honey, a popular Alaskan sweetener.








Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has moved as of March 2011. To read this post please go to

http://www.laurieconstantino.com/how-to-use-and-harvest-fireweed-shoots/


Please click on over and visit my new site. Thank you!

 
(Coming Soon: I just checked the woods and, as of today, the Devil’s Club is ripe for picking.) UPDATE: My post on harvesting and preparing Devil's Club is here.


Fireweed Shoot OmeletServes 2
For 2 people, I prefer making 1 omelet in a large pan and cutting it in half, but you can also make 2 individual omelets in a smaller pan. To clean fireweed shoots, trim off any browned or damaged bits, and cut into 1” lengths. Taste, and if the fireweed shoots are bitter, blanch them in boiling, salted water before starting the recipe.


Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has moved as of March 2011. To read this post please go to

http://www.laurieconstantino.com/how-to-use-and-harvest-fireweed-shoots/


Please click on over and visit my new site. Thank you!

How to Harvest and Use Wild Dandelion Greens

The dandelions are coming! The dandelions are coming!

Actually, the first dandelions of the season have arrived. They’re still few and far between, but I was able to find enough to make a salad.

In honor of the occasion, I bought a piece of the best beef tenderloin I could find and made Carpaccio. I cut the tenderloin into thin slices, pounded it even thinner, seasoned it, drizzled it with white truffle oil, and topped it with fresh dandelion salad dressed with lemon and olive oil. Thin slices of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese crowned the salad.

It was glorious.




                  Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has moved as of March 2011. 
                  To read this post please go to


http://www.laurieconstantino.com/how-to-harvest-and-use-dandelion-greens/


                  Please click on over and visit my new site. Thank you!



Carpaccio with Dandelion Greens Salad and Truffle Oil (Καρπάτσιο με Ραδίκια και Λάδι Τρούφας)Serves 2
........

 
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This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by me - I'm looking forward to receiving a zillion entries by Sunday afternoon (May 11).

Spring is Springing with Recipe for Watermelon, Feta, and Arugula Salad (Δροσερή Σαλάτα με Καρπούζι, Ρόκα και Φέτα)

I wore boots and a wool coat for my Friday shopping. After the first stop, I dumped my coat in the car and basked in being able to walk around unencumbered. I saw women in sleeveless tops and men in shorts. It may be cold according to the thermometer, but Alaskans respond to the first sunny spring weather with outbursts of irrational exuberance.

The grocery store’s produce aisle was stacked high with reasonably priced melons, reflecting South America’s seasonal bounty. I couldn’t resist a cut of juicy red watermelon, and decided to make a Watermelon, Feta, and Arugula Salad and pretend the snow was long gone.

The salad is one of my favorite dishes at Kuzina, a restaurant near the Ancient Agora archeological site in downtown Athens. Kuzina has an interesting menu, a very competent chef, and specializes in creative Greek cuisine.

Watermelon, Feta, and Arugula Salad (Δροσερή Σαλάτα με Καρπούζι, Ρόκα και Φέτα)
Adapted from Kuzina Restaurant, Adrianou 9 (Thissio), Athens, Greece

Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has moved as of March 2011. To read this post please go to

http://www.laurieconstantino.com/spring-is-salad-time-in-alaska/


Please click on over and visit my new site. Thank you!

Recipe: Fennel and Saffron Bread (Ψωμί με Μάραθο και Ζαφορά)

I fell in love with food writer and teacher Patricia Wells during the pre-internet, pre-satellite-TV era.

We were living in Greece, and I barely spoke the language. Virtually no one on the island spoke English. We’d find BBC or Voice of America shortwave broadcasts when we were lucky; otherwise I didn’t have daily news of the world beyond the island.

On most Fridays, we’d drive 20 kilometers to the island’s main town for shopping. Buying the International Herald Tribune (IHT), an English-language newspaper flown in from Athens on the morning flight, was always on my list.

I preferred shopping on Fridays because that was the day IHT published Patricia Wells’ restaurant reviews. Her witty writing transported me to the best restaurants in France. She regularly inspired me to try new and interesting food combinations.

I’ve kept up with Wells ever since. She’s written numerous cookbooks, focusing primarily on the foods of France. Wells won the James Beard Award for Patricia Wells at Home in Provence. She still writes an occasional IHT article.

My favorite of Patricia Wells’ many books is her first cookbook, Bistro Cooking. The recipes are simple, straightforward, and unpretentious, yet are consistently full of flavor. Over the years, I’ve made many recipes from Bistro Cooking and never had a dud.

I was recently reminded of Wells’ Fennel and Saffron Bread, a Bistro Cooking recipe I used to make regularly. Years ago, I’d gone through a phase of serving several different flavored breads when I made company meals. Fennel and Saffron Bread was one of my favorites for that purpose.

When I read about a day for cooking yellow foods to support Livestrong Foundation’s cancer awareness fight, I knew immediately I’d have to make Fennel and Saffron Bread. In addition to its wonderful flavor, this bread turns a beautiful shade of yellow from the saffron and semolina flour included in its ingredients.

A Taste of Yellow is a Livestrong Day event (May 13, 2008) and is designed to raise cancer awareness. Winoandfoodies is the originator and host of A Taste of Yellow.

Fennel and Saffron Bread (Ψωμί με Μάραθο και Ζαφορά)
Makes 1 loaf
Adapted from Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells (Workman Publishing 1989)
Patricia Wells said this recipe came from Jacques Collet, an Aix-en-Provence baker. Collet designed the bread to be the perfect accompaniment for bouillabaisse. She writes, “The addition of hard durum wheat flour, or semolina, helps give the bread a hard, crispy, buttery flavor, perfect for dipping in the rich fish soup.”

1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
1 Tbsp. dry yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. freshly ground fennel seed
1/8 tsp. ground saffron
1 cup semolina flour
1 3/4 - 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Mix the water, dry yeast, and sugar in a large bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes, or until the yeast starts to bubble. Stir in the salt, fennel seed, and saffron. Add the semolina flour and let the dough sit for 10 minutes to fully hydrate the flour. Stir in 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour. Place the dough on a well-floured surface and knead in as much additional flour as necessary to form a stiff dough. Knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and satiny.

Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl. Cover and let rise at room temperature until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, shape it into a round loaf, place on a parchment-paper-lined rimless baking sheet, and let rise until the loaf has almost doubled in size. (If you are using a baking stone, you can rise the bread directly on a wooden peel sprinkled with semolina flour or corn meal.)

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Cut an asterisk in the center of the loaf with a razor blade or extremely sharp knife. (If you have a baking stone, slide the bread - and parchment paper if using - from the baking sheet or wooden peel onto the stone.) Turn the heat down to 375°F and bake for 40 – 45 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool, cut, and serve.

NOTE: I prefer using a baking stone when I make bread as it helps my home oven maintain an even temperature and gives bread a crisper crust. I also have an old baking sheet with edges that I use when I make this bread. I preheat the baking sheet and baking stone for at least 30 minutes at 450°F (the stone on the shelf above the baking sheet. I turn the heat down to 375°F when I put the bread in to bake. Just before I close the oven, I dump a cup of water into the hot baking sheet and quickly shut the door. (Do not throw water directly on the oven floor or it will warp. Trust me, I know this from experience.) The water creates steam which prevents the bread from quickly forming a hard surface, thus allowing the bread to rise to its fullest extent. The water cooks off quickly, and leaves a hot, dry oven which, together with the baking stone, helps ensure a crispy crust.
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This post is dedicated to our good friend, Ron Zobel, who died way too young from esophageal cancer.

Tips: Freezing and Thawing Fish, with Recipes for Pomegranate Salmon and Parsley Couscous Pilaf (Σολομός με Ροδί και Κουςκούς Πιλάφι)

Writing about pomegranate molasses yesterday made me crave it. I’d planned salmon for dinner, so used the molasses for marinade that doubled as sauce. The marinade added flavor to both the fish and the Parsley Couscous Pilaf I served with it.

The salmon was caught last summer in the icy waters of Alaska’s Prince William Sound. During fishing season, my husband’s friend Richard regularly tows his boat - and his friends - hundreds of miles down the Seward and Sterling Highways in search of wild Alaska seafood.

Richard, master fisherman and mighty boat captain, is a remarkably successful seafood hunter, as are his fishing partners. By the end of summer we always have enough fish in the freezer to last the year.

Fish must be properly packaged for it to survive in the freezer without developing freezer burn or off flavors. Because it is fatty, salmon is particularly susceptible to turning rancid while frozen. Over many years, we’ve developed techniques for protecting fish against the freezer’s ravages.

Freezing Fish

Fish must be kept on ice until frozen, and should be frozen as soon as possible after it leaves the water. No matter how tired he is, when my husband gets home from fishing we immediately start processing and freezing fish. For those who buy it rather than catch it, any fish not to be eaten fresh should be frozen immediately upon return from the market.

I prefer freezing fish as fillets because they are easiest to portion, lie flat in the freezer, and freeze faster than other cuts. I pack the fillets in pieces large enough for two to avoid thawing out more fish than can be eaten at one meal.

As my husband fillets each fish, I cut the fillets to size and put them in the heaviest duty zip-lock freezer bags I can find. I fill a clean sink with very cold, clean water. I push the bag underwater and let it fill up with water so there is no air left in the bag. While it is underwater, I force enough water out of the bag for it to lie flat in the freezer and then firmly seal it.

I wrap the sealed bags of fish in freezer paper to form a flat package, tape it shut, and label it with the date, species of fish, and weight of the contents. Labeling is very important and protects against eating geriatric frozen fish discovered in the freezer’s depths.

When the fish is wrapped and labeled, I spread the packages out in the freezer to make sure they freeze as fast as possible. Fast freezing prevents large ice crystals from forming in the fish. For the same reason, you can also turn the freezer down to its lowest setting while the fish freezes. Don’t forget to turn the freezer back to its normal setting when the fish is completely frozen.

Vacuum-packing is another method of preparing fish for the freezer. This method works as long as the seal holds. If something punctures the plastic vacuum bag, air leaks in and vacuum packing’s protection is lost. For maximum freezer burn protection, wrap vacuum-packed fish in freezer paper to shield the plastic from punctures.

When vacuum-packing fish, make sure it is lying flat before applying suction. If fish is all akimbo when suctioned, the packages won’t stack well in the freezer. With one or two packages of fish, this isn’t a problem. However, it is very difficult to fit 20 irregularly shaped packages in the freezer at one time. Even worse, when the packages can’t be stacked they become dangerous rock-hard footballs that fly off freezer shelves and knock you in the head when you try to extricate a bag for dinner.

Thawing Fish

Frozen fish is best when thawed quickly. The easiest way to do this is putting the sealed bag of fish under cold running water. Resist the temptation to thaw fish in warm or hot water; doing so causes undesirable texture changes. Although some recommend it, I’ve never successfully thawed fish in a microwave and think it is a bad idea.

Thawing fish overnight in the refrigerator works, but the fish will lose a lot of moisture. I often thaw fish at room temperature without problem, but food safety experts advise strongly against doing so because it can cause bacterial growth and spoilage.

Last night we enjoyed silver salmon that was caught and packed in July. I thawed it under cold running water, put it in marinade when the center was still slightly frozen, and refrigerated the fish until just before I was ready to cook.

No matter how well you package it, frozen fish loses some moisture and is more susceptible than fresh fish to drying out. For this reason, be careful not to overcook fish that has been frozen. Serving frozen fish with a sauce, as with Pomegranate Salmon, also helps counteract dryness problems.

Pomegranate Salmon (Σολομός με Ροδί)
Serves 4 – 6
In blind tastes tests, wild Alaska salmon beats farmed salmon every time. Besides having better flavor and texture, wild Alaska salmon is better for your health and for the environment. The color of wild Alaska salmon comes from its natural diet. It is not pumped full of dye, hormones, and antibiotics, as farmed salmon can be. Wild Alaska salmon is labelled as such; if your fishmonger doesn't identify salmon as wild, it is farm-raised.

2 pounds wild Alaska salmon fillets
Freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Marinade:
1/4 cup pomegranate molasses
1/4 cup thyme or other full-flavored honey
1/4 cup finely minced garlic
1 tsp. Aleppo pepper or 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup dry white wine

Minced parsley for garnish

Wash the salmon and dry it well. Using needle-nosed pliers, remove as many pin-bones from the salmon as possible. Skin the fillets and cut them into 4 – 6 even-sized pieces.

Thoroughly mix the pomegranate molasses, honey, garlic, Aleppo pepper, salt, and 1/4 cup wine. When the molasses and honey have dissolved, mix in the remaining wine. Put the marinade in a zip-lock bag (I use the bag in which the fish was frozen), add the salmon, seal the bag, and jostle the ingredients until the salmon is completely coated with marinade. Refrigerate and let the salmon marinate for 1 – 2 hours.

Pour the marinade in a small saucepan. Bring the marinade to a boil, watching carefully so it doesn’t boil over, and immediately turn down the heat to low. Simmer the marinade while you cook the salmon.

Remove the salmon from the bag and place it on paper towels. Pat the salmon dry, and season it on both sides with freshly ground black pepper. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan large enough to hold all the salmon until it is hot but not smoking. Sauté the salmon for 2 - 4 minutes per side, depending on its thickness. Don’t overcook the salmon; it tastes better slightly underdone than slightly overdone.

Spoon a pool of sauce (cooked marinade) on a plate. Top with a piece of salmon, and sprinkle it with parsley. Serve with Parsley Couscous Pilaf and a crisp green salad.

Parsley Couscous Pilaf (Κουςκούς Πιλάφι)
Serves 4 (If you are serving 6, proportionally increase the amount of ingredients.)
“Toasted couscous” is also sold as “Israeli couscous” or “pearl couscous.” It is not couscous as that term is commonly used in Moroccan cooking. Rather, it is pearl-shaped pasta that can be boiled and sauced, made into cold salads, cooked as risotto, or, as here, substituted for rice in pilaf.

1 cup minced shallots
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup toasted couscous
2 cups hot water
1 cup thinly sliced green onion
3/4 cup minced parsley
1 Tbsp. finely grated lemon peel

Sauté the shallots, lightly seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, in olive oil until they soften and turn golden. Add the couscous and sauté until the couscous starts to brown. Add the hot water, bring to a boil, cover, turn down the heat to low, and cook for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the green onion, parsley, and finely grated lemon peel. Taste and add salt and freshly ground black pepper, as needed. Serve immediately.

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This is my entry for A Taste of Terroir 2008 hosted by Anna's Cool Finds.

Tip: Storing Eggplant

Linda asks, “The eggplant seemed fine when I brought it home from the store yesterday, but today when I took it out of the refrigerator, the insides were brown instead of white. Did I do something wrong? Was it a mistake to put eggplant in the refrigerator?”

Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has moved as of March 2011. To read this post please go to

http://www.laurieconstantino.com/how-to-store-eggplant/


Please click on over and visit my new site. Thank you!