Smoke and Pickles
Page 22
Boiled Peanuts
An enduring Southern tradition, boiled peanuts are one of those things that Yankees just don’t quite understand. It took me a while to like them too. But they’re good; trust me. I add a little soy sauce to my recipe, and it gives the peanuts a rich umami note. Make this with raw or green peanuts in the shell, not roasted. / Makes 2½ cups
1 pound raw or green peanuts in the shell
¼ cup salt
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1Combine the peanuts, 8 cups water, salt, and soy sauce in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 4 to 6 hours, depending on how much time you have on your hands. (Longer is better, but isn’t that always the case?) Every hour or so, check the water level. Add about a quart of water each hour to make sure the water level stays high.
2Drain the peanuts and chill.
3Serve the boiled peanuts in bowls, and let your guests shell the peanuts themselves. Have an empty bowl handy for the shells—or, if you are eating outside, throw the shells into your herb garden; they make excellent compost. Leftover peanuts will keep in the refrigerator for 1 week.
Edamame and Boiled Peanuts
When I originally thought of this dish, it was as if a 120-watt lightbulb had gone off in my head. I’ve eaten edamame, the ubiquitous Japanese soybean snack, my whole life. When I first tried boiled peanuts, the soft, meaty texture reminded me of edamame, but the deep umami flavor was the total opposite of the green vegetal bite of fresh soybeans. Then I thought, why not put them together—the great snack of Japan meets the ultimate snack of the South. The creamy tahini dressing brings the two together.
I first made this for a Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium lunch in 2011, and I’ve been making it ever since. It’s a great way to start a meal, along with a glass of Noilly Prat dry vermouth with ice and a twist of lemon. / Feeds 4 to 6 as a snack
Tahini Dressing
½ cup tahini (see note)
3 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1½ tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 cup shelled cooked edamame (see note)
1 cup Boiled Peanuts (page 235), shelled
1To make the tahini dressing: Combine all the ingredients except the sesame seeds in a blender and pulse until smooth. If it is too thick, add more water to reach the thickness of a creamy vinaigrette. Transfer to a bowl and fold in the sesame seeds. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2Combine the edamame and the peanuts in a bowl, add the tahini dressing, and toss to combine. Serve in small bowls.
Tahini is a thick sesame paste used in Middle Eastern and Indian cuisines. It’s sold in jars or cans, and when you open it, oil will usually have separated from the paste and floated to the top. You want the oil—don’t discard it. Dump the entire contents into a large bowl and blend the oil back into the paste using a strong whisk. Pour it back into the jar, and it’s ready to use.
Edamame is the Japanese word for young soybeans in the pod. You can find frozen edamame in most gourmet stores. They defrost quickly, and then the soybeans pop right out of the tough shells.
Bacon Candy and Curried Cashews
Salty nuts and sweet bacon: the best of both worlds. Whenever I entertain, I put this snack out in small bowls, because if I serve more of it, my guests tend to finish it all and get too full to eat dinner. It’s a great accompaniment to a bourbon cocktail before dinner. This simple recipe just goes to show you how a little effort can go a long way. The recipe works equally well with peanuts, pecans, and almonds. I wouldn’t recommend making it with macadamia or pine nuts, though. / Feeds 4 as a snack
6 slices applewood-smoked bacon, diced
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup cashews
2 teaspoons Madras curry powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Pinch each of salt and freshly ground black pepper
1Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced bacon and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until most of the fat has rendered and the bacon has started to get crispy. Drain off all but about a tablespoon of the bacon fat into a small bowl; reserve.
3Add the sugar to the skillet and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes, until it has coated the bacon and the bacon starts to look shiny. Add the cashews, curry powder, cayenne, salt, and black pepper and toss together to coat the nuts. If they seem a little dry, add another teaspoon of bacon fat and toss to coat.
4Spread the nuts out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Let cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Portobello Mushroom Jerky with Togarashi
To make “real” jerky, you need a dehydrator and a lot of time on your hands, neither of which I have at home—you probably don’t either. This recipe mimics the taste and texture of jerky but is made in a fraction of the time. It’s a great healthy snack—perfect for your vegan friends. I like it as a topping for winter salads too. Serve with mugs of Old Rasputin Imperial Stout from North Coast Brewing Co. / Feeds 3 to 4 as a snack
2 large portobello mushroom caps (10 to 12 ounces total)
⅓ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sorghum or honey
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon togarashi (see note)
1Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Set a wire rack on a baking sheet.
2Clean the portobello mushrooms and slice thin, about ⅛ inch wide. Put the mushrooms in a small saucepan, add the remaining ingredients, bring to a light simmer over low heat, and simmer until the sorghum has dissolved, 4 to 6 minutes.
3Drain the mushroom slices. Reserve the marinade. Lay the mushroom slices on the wire rack on the baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, brush them with the marinade. Flip the mushroom slices and brush the other side.
4Roast for 25 minutes, or until the mushrooms are shriveled and dark but still chewy. Turn the oven heat up to 375°F and roast for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the mushrooms cool on the wire rack.
5Serve the mushrooms piled high on small plates. Any leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a few days.
Togarashi is a Japanese spice blend that you can find in Asian markets. It comes in cute bottles shaped like shotgun shells. There are a number of different varieties, but the basic ones contain a mix of chili powder, dried orange peel, dried seaweed, sesame seeds, and other seeds.
Try this preparation with shiitake, oyster, cremini, or chanterelle mushrooms as well. Some wild mushrooms, like black trumpets or morels, won’t work, because they’re too delicate.
Asparagus and Crab Fritters
Not all bar snacks have to be tributes to indulgence. I make these in the spring, when asparagus is everywhere. The mint adds an herbal punch at the end, but sometimes I use tarragon instead when I’m feeling a little more French. I make small quarter-sized fritters to serve as a snack, but you can make the fritters larger and serve as a first course, with a salad of dandelion greens and a lemon vinaigrette.
For a wine, I’m crazy about the simplicity and brightness of Torrontés from Argentina, but pick a good one; there are a lot of inferior ones on the market. / Feeds 4 to 6 as a snack
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 large egg
1 cup whole milk
8 asparagus spears (see note), thinly sliced
8 ounces jumbo lump crabmeat
4 dashes hot sauce (my favorite is Texas Pete)
1 teaspoon Dijon must
ard
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil for panfrying
Lemon wedges for garnish
1In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and cornstarch. Crack the egg over the flour and whisk it in. Slowly add the milk, whisking, to make a pancake-like batter. Add the asparagus, crabmeat, hot sauce, mustard, mint, salt, and pepper and mix well.
2Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the bottom of a medium skillet and heat over medium heat. Add small mounds of the fritter batter, about a tablespoon each, to the skillet, without crowding, and cook for 2 minutes, or until they are browned and crispy on the bottom. Flip and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the second side is a dark brown and the middle is cooked through. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining batter.
3Transfer the fritters to a platter and serve immediately, with lemon wedges.
Use only very fresh asparagus for this recipe. The tips should be tightly closed, the stems firm, and the color bright green.
Crispy French Fries
My favorite way to make fries is with the blanch-and-fry method typically used by restaurants. It yields crispy brown fries like the ones you get in French bistros. This recipe makes more than you need for Kimchi Poutine (page 242), but it is impossible not to snack on the fries as you make them. / Feeds 2 or 1 very hungry person as a snack or 4 as a side
3 large Idaho potatoes, scrubbed
8 cups peanut oil for deep-frying
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1Cut the potatoes lengthwise into ¼-inch-thick fries. Transfer the cut potatoes to a large bowl of ice water; make sure the fries are completely submerged in the water. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2Pour the oil into a heavy deep pot and heat to 325°F. (The oil should be ½ inch deep; make sure there is at least 3 inches of room above the oil in the pot.)
3Drain the potatoes on paper towels and pat dry with more paper towels. You want them to be as dry as possible. When the oil reaches the desired temperature, add the cut potatoes, in small batches, and fry for 4 to 6 minutes, or until limp and lightly browned. Using a skimmer, gently remove the fries from the oil and drain on paper towels for 15 minutes. (Set the pot of oil aside.)
4Heat the oil to 375ºF. Return the fries to the hot oil, again in batches, and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Drain the fries on fresh paper towels, immediately sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve.
Kimchi Poutine
This recipe falls under the category of “everything tastes better with kimchi.” I first had poutine at Martin Picard’s restaurant Au Pied de Cochon in Montreal, and it has haunted me ever since. Poutine is a perverse homage to all things fatty and oozy: it is a plate of french fries topped with melted cheese curds and gravy. Recently poutine has made its mark stateside in various incarnations. Chef Picard tops his with foie gras; I timidly drape mine with kimchi.
Serve the poutine with one of those big bottles of Delirium Tremens by Brouwerij Huyghe. / Feeds 2 or 1 very hungry person as a snack
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
¾ cup heavy cream
¼ cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
As many freshly made Crispy French Fries (page 241) as will fit in a 6-inch cast-iron skillet in a single layer
½ cup cheese curds (see note)
¼ cup chopped Red Cabbage–Bacon Kimchi (page 166)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2Melt the butter in a 6-inch skillet. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, over low heat for 3 minutes to make a roux. Gradually add the cream, chicken stock, and soy sauce, stirring until smooth. Season the gravy with the cayenne and salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm until ready to serve.
3Place the french fries in the bottom of a 6-inch cast-iron skillet. Sprinkle the cheese curds and kimchi over them. Heat the skillet in the oven until the cheese is warm and melty, about 5 minutes.
4Remove the skillet from the oven and pour the gravy over the fries. Top with the chopped parsley and serve right away, in the skillet.
Cheese curds are the milk solids from soured milk traditionally used in poutine. They’re hard to find fresh, so a good melty Havarti or Jack cheese, grated, works just fine.
Pimento Cheese
There are as many versions of pimento cheese as there are families in the South. I’ve collected these recipes on my travels, and now make a sort of hybrid of my own. The recipe is simple, it tastes the way it should, and it’s easy. There are so many uses for pimento cheese—in a grilled cheese sandwich, on a burger, in mac ’n’ cheese, stuffed into olives (see next recipe)—that you should really have a batch in your fridge at all times. / Makes about 3½ cups
14 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 garlic clove, chopped
A dash of Worcestershire sauce
A dash of hot sauce (my favorite is Texas Pete)
½ cup mayonnaise, preferably Duke’s
One 4-ounce jar pimentos, drained, juice reserved, and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine the cheese, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and mayo in a food processor and pulse until combined but still crumbly. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the drained pimentos. If it needs it, add a little pimento juice to make it creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stored in airtight jars in the refrigerator, this will keep for up to a week.
Fried Olives Stuffed with Pimento Cheese
There’s nothing more inviting than a jar of pimento cheese sitting out on the bar next to some crusty bread. But I’ve always found that a mouthful of creamy cheese is not the best thing to pair with my favorite bourbon drinks. So I came up with this bourbon-friendly snack. I know fried olives are nothing new, but stuffing them with pimento cheese adds just the right note of tangy creaminess. / Makes 12 fried olives
12 large pitted olives
¼ cup Pimento Cheese (see previous recipe)
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon olive oil
¼ cup fine dried bread crumbs
2 cups peanut oil for deep-frying
1Drain the olives and pat dry. If there are red peppers stuffed inside the olives, remove them using a toothpick. Fill a small resealable plastic bag with the pimento cheese. Push the cheese toward a bottom corner and twist the top tightly so that you’ve made what resembles a small pastry bag. Snip a small triangle off the bottom corner. Pipe the pimento cheese into the olives.
2Set up three small bowls for breading the olives: Put the flour in one. Lightly beat the egg with the olive oil in the second one. Put the bread crumbs in the third bowl. Dredge each olive in the flour, then coat with the egg wash, and finally roll in the bread crumbs to coat, and put on a plate. Fry immediately or refrigerate for up to an hour until ready to fry.
3Pour the peanut oil into a large heavy pot and heat over medium heat to 350°F. Carefully drop the olives one at a time into the oil and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Gently lift the olives out of the hot oil using a spider or slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
4Serve the olives warm on small plates. And, yeah, go ahead and have that gin martini you’ve been craving.
I don’t generally salt these after they come out of the oil because the olives are salty enough, but depending on the brand you use, you may want to add a little salt. Taste one to see before salting the whole batch.
Fried Pickles
One of the great food debates i
s what shape makes a better fried pickle: spears or chips. I am sympathetic to the arguments of both parties. The spear gives you a higher hot-pickle-juice-to-batter ratio, making each bite a juicy, briny mess, but the batter tends to fall off the pickle before you get to the end.
The chips have more surface area to grip the batter, but too much batter can lead to dipping into too much ketchup, which can overpower the pickle inside. Either way, fried pickles are delicious. I’ve made all sorts of fancy condiments to accompany fried pickles, but, as it turns out, there’s nothing better than straight-up Heinz ketchup. You can use the Quick Caraway Pickles (page 173) or good-quality artisan pickles.
Serve the pickles hot on newspapers with ketchup and lots of napkins, and pair with large bottles of Sofie from Goose Island Beer Company. / Feeds 4 as a side dish
Batter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika