Sorrel Frittata
Submitted and tested by Suzanne Simon & Bettina Stern, Loulies.com
Sorrel is a hardy perennial garden herb at its peak in early spring, when it is at its youngest and mildest.
1 medium potato, washed and quartered
3 cups torn sorrel leaves, remove stems and discard*, reserve some leaves to garnish
6 eggs
5 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon cayenne
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup shallot, minced
Paprika
Preheat broiler at high heat.
Bring salted water to a boil in a small saucepan. Place potatoes in water and cook until just tender, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from water, using tongs, and set aside to cool enough to handle.
Add sorrel to the boiling water and cook until tender, about 1 minute. Drain well. Squeeze dry. Chop into smaller pieces.
Whisk eggs, 2 tablespoons of sour cream, cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix in cooked, cooled sorrel. Set aside.
Peel potato and cut into small pieces.
In a 10 inch broiler-proof skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add minced shallot and cook for about 5-6 minutes until fragrant and tender. Add potato pieces and stir until well mixed. Reduce heat to low, and add egg mixture. Without stirring, cook for 10 minutes to set the bottom of the frittata – the top will still be runny.
Dollop remaining sour cream over the top of the frittata and sprinkle lightly with paprika (we love the Spanish smoked variety). Place under broiler and cook until top has lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes. Do watch carefully so it doesn’t burn.
To serve:
You can serve this dish hot or at room temperature. Serve directly from the skillet or you can transfer to a platter. Cut into small slices. Garnish with fresh sorrel leaves.
*Spinach or dandelion greens can be substituted here.
Atún con Granita
Submitted and tested by Mas, Charlottesville, VA
Yellowfin tuna loin (cleaned of bloodline and cut thick like a filet mignon)
Olive oil
Capers
Amontillado sherry
Roasted red or yellow sweet peppers, peeled and cut into strips
Green chard, blanched and dried on towel
Red beets, blanched, cooled, and cubed
Fresh basil cut into ribbons
Grey sea salt
Cracked black pepper
Pomegranate reduction:
32 ounces pomegranate juice
1 cup of honey
1 bay leaf
Ancho chile
Garlic clove
Black pepper
Cook in saucepan on medium high till consistency is honey-like. Allow to cool and consolidate.
Rub tuna in olive oil, pepper, and splash of amontillado. Sear tuna in a steel pan on medium high, waiting for release before turning. Cook to rare (inside temperature of 120 F). Allow to rest before cutting. Take chard, season with salt and pepper, and lay pepper strips inside with a splash of Amontillado and olive oil. Roll up into a little package. Toss and season beets with salt, pepper, olive oil, capers, and basil. Place seasoned beets next to chard roll. Cut tuna on the bias (diagonal) and place in the middle of the chard and beet salad. Drizzle with pomegranate reduction. Sprinkle tuna with grey sea salt.
Heirloom Tomato Salad
Submitted and tested by Poste Moderne Brasserie, Washington, DC
Tomato Sorbet:
½ cup chickweed (Tuscarora) tossed with Nasturtium vinagrette
6 to 7 medium heirloom tomatoes (peeled, seeded, and chopped)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons Cabernet vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
Pinch cayenne pepper
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons simple syrup
½ orange (julienned zest, blanched and shocked 3 times)
Salt and fresh black pepper
Place the tomatoes in a saucepan and simmer for 45 minutes until reduced by half. Sweat onions in olive oil until clear for 7-8 minutes. Place tomatoes and onions in a blender and puree until smooth. Press mixture through a tamis and return to a blender. Add the remaining ingredients. Strain through a chinois. Cool in an ice bath and spin in an ice cream machine. The base will be good for 3 days – be sure the base is clearly labeled and dated and spin it daily.
Tomato Water:
5 ripe and overripe heirloom tomatoes (cut into chunks)
Salt
Line a large colander with cheesecloth and place over a deep, clean bowl. Pulse the tomatoes in a robot coupe and hang over the bowl in walk-in for 24 hours. Use the solids for family tomato sauce. Take tomato water and skim off any foam from the top. Bring the water to a simmer until reduced by half. Skim and pass through a coffee filter. Store in a plastic container in the freezer.
Tomato Gelee:
2 cups tomato water
1 small red pepper (roasted, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2 inch pieces)
2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
Sea salt
3 drops tobasco
Few drops organic extra virgin olive oil
Place the tomato water in a saucepan, bring to a simmer, and reduce to 1 cup. Transfer the water to a blender, add the roasted pepper, and process into a puree. Strain through chinoise and cheesecloth into a bowl. Combine the gelatin and ¼ cup of the tomato water. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat just enough to melt gelatin (do not boil). Stir mixture back into tomato water. Add the salt and tobasco and mix well. Pour onto heirloom tomato salad plates and let set on plate. Stay 1 day ahead on this!
Yellow Tomato Gelee:
2 cups yellow tomato water
Pinch saffron threads
2 teaspoons gelatin
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Few drops organic extra virgin olive oil
Bring water and saffron to a simmer and reduce to 1 cup. Strain through a coffee filter and chinoise. In a plastic cup, mix gelatin and ¼ cup tomato water. Heat to melt gelatin (do not boil). Stir the gelatin back into the tomato water, add sugar, and stir to dissolve. Pour into a small, square, airtight container and refrigerate until set. Invert the container to release the gelee. Cut into perfect cubes with a sharp knife. Toss with olive oil to prevent sticking and refrigerate.
Current and Cherry Tomatoes:
Be sure they are blanched, shocked, peeled, and tossed with extra virgin olive oil and fresh garden basil to order.
Large garden tomatoes (1 slice each of Green Zebra, Purple Cherokee, and Yellow Taxi)
Burrata Cheese:
¼ piece of Burratta per order
Croutons:
Freeze Baguettes and slice paper-thin the long way. Brush with olive oil, salt and pepper and toast golden brown.
Garnish:
Garnish with basil flowers, purple shiso, bush basil, borage flowers, and mustard flowers.
How to Brew Your Own Beer
Tested and Submitted by Evan Williams, Flavor contributor
To get started, you’ll need the following equipment (typically available as a brewing kit):
1 6+ gallon carboy (glass or plastic)
1 6-gallon bottling bucket with spigot
1 ‘Fermometer’ stick-on thermometer
Thermometer
Hydrometer
Beer/Wine thief or turkey baster
5+ gallon pot
Long-handled plastic spoon
Large funnel with screen
Cloth grain sock or cheese cloth
No-rinse sanitizer
Auto siphon and tubing
50+ 12 ounce bottles
50+ bottle caps
Bottle capper
Fermcap-S/Defoamer drops
For the first batch, we’ll be making a hoppy, malty American Pale Ale. You’ll need the following ingredients:
Grain/Extract:
5 pounds extra light dry malt extract
1 pound Munich dry malt extract
1 pound Victory malt (pre-crushed)
½ pound Crystal 40 malt (pre-crushed)
Hops:
¾ ounce Magnum
¾ ounce Centennial
½ ounce Cascade
½ ounce Amarillo
Yeast:
Safale S-05 or Danstar Nottingham
Priming Sugar:
¾ cup Dextrose (corn sugar)
Let’s brew!
The brew day:
Fill your pot with 3 gallons of tap water and heat the stove to 155 F.
Put your pre-crushed grains into the grain sock or cheese cloth, tie it closed, and submerse in the heated water. Stir the pot to ensure that the grains are fully moistened. Stirring periodically, steep the grains for 30 minutes, applying heat from the stove as necessary to maintain 150-155 F. After 30 minutes, remove the grain bag and squeeze it into the pot to get as much liquid out as possible, and discard.
Add the malt extract and a few drops of the defoamer drops to the pot and stir over high heat until boiling. As soon as the liquid reaches a boil, add the Magnum hops for bittering. Boil for 50 minutes, then add the Cascade hops and ½ ounce of the Centennial hops. Boil for another 10 minutes, turn off the heat, and add the Amarillo hops and the other ¼ -ounce of the Centennial hops. Cover.
In your sink (or bathtub), put the covered pot into an ice & water bath, taking care not to splash any water into the “wort” (unfermented beer). Following the directions on the sanitizer bottle, sanitize the carboy.
Once the wort in your kettle has reached 65-70 F, transfer it to the carboy by pouring it through the screened funnel.
Clean the pot, fill with 3 gallons of water, and bring to a boil for 15 minutes. Cool down to 65-75 F in the same manner as before, and add to the carboy until you reach 5 ½ gallons. Attach the stick-on ‘Fermometer’ to the outside of the carboy anywhere below the top line of the liquid.
Using the sanitized thief/turkey baster, take a sample from the carboy and, using your hydrometer, obtain a specific gravity reading – it should be about 1.050-1.055 (do not return the sample to the carboy!) Add a few defoamer drops and the whole yeast packet to the wort and cover the carboy mouth with a piece of sanitized aluminum foil. Put the carboy in a cool, dark place and allow to ferment for several days.
During fermentation, you should see a large, foamy head form on the beer, and you may even observe visible swirling and churning in the fermenter. This is normal! After 3 to7 days, it will taper off, the foam will dissipate back into the beer, and the yeast will settle to the bottom. After visible activity has stopped, use your sanitized thief/turkey baster to take another hydrometer reading (again, do not return the sample to the carboy). It should read somewhere between 1.010 and 1.016. Congratulations: you’ve made beer! However, while your beer is done fermenting, it’s not yet ready to bottle. It needs another 2 weeks to mellow out, so put it back into its cool, dark hiding place and wait…
…now it’s time to bottle!
Bottling:
In a small saucepan, add ¾ cup dextrose to 2 cups of water, stir, and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes, then cover and set aside to cool.
Sanitize your bottling bucket, auto siphon, and tubing.
Following the directions on the auto siphon, transfer the beer from the carboy to the bottling bucket, taking care not to suck up the sediment from the bottom.
Add the cooled sugar water to the beer, and stir with a sanitized spoon.
Sanitize your bottles and caps with the sanitizing solution.
Fill each bottle from the spigot and cap with the bottle capper.
Wait 2 to 3 weeks for the bottles to carbonate, and voila! You have 2 cases of your very own beer. And now, we drink!
Some suggested reading:
Charlie Papazian, The Complete Joy of Homebrewing
John Palmer, How to Brew
Jamil Zainascheff and John Palmer, Brewing Classic Styles
Ray Daniels, Designing Great Beers
