Scroll down for these recipes:
Beer-marinated Hanger Steak
Submitted and tested by Belmont Butchery, Richmond, VA
Lamb Tenderloins Wrapped in Phyllo with Baby Carrots, Caramelized Garlic, and Cumin Madeira Jus
Submitted and tested by The Butcher’s Block, Alexandria, VA
Steak Au Poivre
The Organic Butcher, McLean, VA & Charlottesville, VA
Salmon-Potato Chowder (PDF)
Flavor recipe editor Theresa Curry
Creamy Parsnip Soup (PDF)
Submitted and tested by Restaurant Eve, Alexandria, VA
Sauteed Potatoes and Mascarpone Cream (PDF)
Submitted and tested by Dino, Washington, DC
Winter Root Mash (PDF)
Submitted and tested by Blue Ridge Restaurant, Washington, DC
Saffron Crême Brûlée (PDF)
Submitted and tested by Buck’s Fishing and Camping, Washington, DC
Beer-marinated Hanger Steak
Submitted and tested by Belmont Butchery, Richmond, VA
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons black pepper, coarsely ground
1/2 cup dark lager beer
2 1/2 pounds hanger steaks (about 3 pieces), trimmed
Marinating:
Whisk first 7 ingredients together in medium bowl, then whisk in beer. Pour marinade into large resealable plastic bag. Add steaks, seal bag, and chill 1 day, turning bag occasionally.
Preparing & serving:
Heat pan over medium-high heat. Remove steaks from marinade and pat dry. Discard marinade. Place steaks in hot skillet and cook until well browned and thermometer inserted into center registers 125 F to 130 F for medium rare, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer steaks to carving board and let rest 5 minutes. Slice steaks thinly across grain. Arrange on platter, spoon any accumulated juices over, and serve.
Lamb Tenderloins Wrapped in Phyllo with Baby Carrots, Caramelized Garlic, and Cumin Madeira Jus
Submitted and tested by The Butcher’s Block, Alexandria, VA
Yield: 6 servings
For the tenderloin:
6 lamb tenderloins
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
6 sheets phyllo pastry
1 cup clarified butter, melted
1 cup fresh spinach, blanched and squeezed dry
1 cup finely chopped mushrooms, cooked
Sear the lamb tenderloins so that they are still rare, about 10 seconds on each side. Let cool. Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut lamb into thirds and roll them in mustard. Lay out one sheet of phyllo pastry and brush half with clarified butter. Fold the pastry in half, making a rectangle, and brush it with butter again.
Lay two lamb tenders down on the pastry, and then put a small amount of spinach in between. Place some mushrooms on top in the middle. Place some spinach on either side of the mushrooms. Top with a third lamb, creating a pyramid. Wrap the remaining pastry around the pyramid, rolling and folding it until it is completely covered. Brush the outside of the roll with butter on all sides. Repeat with the remaining lamb. Sear on all sides. Finish in the oven at 350 F for 7 minutes.
For the sauce:
3 medium shallots, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
Olive oil
5 sprigs of thyme
1 1/2 cups Madeira
1 cup lamb glace
1 cup veal demi-glace
Pinch of cumin
In a large sauce pot, sauté the vegetables in olive oil until lightly brown. Add thyme and Madeira. Reduce liquid by two-thirds then add the lamb glace and veal demi-glace. Reduce until it coats the back of a spoon. Add a pinch of cumin. Strain.
For the caramelized garlic:
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
Follow these steps to remove the strong flavor and bitterness of the raw garlic: Put the garlic in a small saucepan, add enough cold water to cover and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, strain out the water and add more cold water. Repeat this five times. After the fifth time, remove from heat and strain out only half the water. Set aside the garlic and the remaining water.
Place sugar in a small pot and cook over low heat until caramel color is reached. Pour the garlic and the remaining water into the caramel sugar. Boil until all the caramel is dissolved.
For the carrots:
18 baby carrots
Golf-ball-sized piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
2 tablespoons honey
Salt to taste
Put the carrots in a small saucepan and cover with cold water just to cover. Add ginger, honey, and salt. Cook until carrots are tender.
Assembling & serving:
Slice the lamb phyllo in half, serve with carrots and caramelized garlic. Pour sauce around.
Steak Au Poivre
Submitted and tested by The Organic Butcher, McLean, VA & Charlottesville, VA
Two 12- to 16-ounce strip steaks (1 1/2 inches thick)
1 1/2 tablespoons black peppercorns
1 teaspoon white peppercorns
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons minced shallots
4 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons cognac
Remove steaks from the refrigerator 30 to 60 minutes prior to cooking. Crush peppercorns with a mallet and place on a plate. Season strip steaks with salt and place on the plate, pressing until they are coated with the crushed peppercorns.
In a heavy skillet, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat until hot. Place the steaks in the pan and cook approximately 4 minutes a side for medium rare. Remove the steaks from the pan and set aside, reserving drippings.
Add shallots to pan drippings and sauté until soft. Add cream and cognac and bring to a boil while scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat when the sauce begins to thicken, after about 1 minute. Pour sauce over steaks and season with kosher salt to taste.
Salmon-Potato Chowder (PDF)
Flavor recipe editor Theresa Curry
This chowder uses leftover mashed potatoes to thicken the broth, so it’s not as rich as some chowders—comforting for weary holiday stomachs. I like to use an extra potato so there are cubes of potatoes as well as the creamy broth to provide texture. Although corn seems to be the vegetable of choice in chowders, you can add any chopped, leftover vegetables at the end with the salmon, or you can add frozen vegetables before simmering. Slivered leftover ham provides another taste and replaces bacon or fatback. Since I’ve always found it hard to work with raw salmon, I cook the salmon fillet first, which makes it easy to remove the skin. Huge chunks of vegetables, salmon and potato look good in photos, but the best chowder has small pieces that easily rest in your spoon.
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
To cook the salmon:
12-ounce salmon filet
½ teaspoon oil
In a cast-iron pan, sear the salmon, flesh side down for 5 minutes. Transfer the filet, skin side up, to an ovenproof pan and broil on the top rack until salmon is just cooked through. Transfer to a clean cutting board, remove the skin, and flake into bite-size pieces with a fork.
To make the chowder:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped carrot
1/3 cup chopped celery
4 cups chicken broth or clam juice
1 cup water
5 sprigs fresh thyme
2½ cups frozen corn (or frozen vegetables of your choice,
thawed and coarsely chopped)
1 potato, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
¼ cup chopped fresh dill or 2 teaspoons dried tarragon
1 cup leftover ham, cut in small cubes
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Half-and-half to thin to desired consistency (about ½ cup)
Heat butter and oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables just begin to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add broth, water, thyme sprigs, frozen vegetables, and green onions and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook, maintaining a gentle simmer, until the potato pieces and frozen vegetables are cooked through, about 8 minutes.
Remove thyme sprigs from chowder. Stir leftover mashed potatoes, chopped cooked vegetables, fresh dill, ham bits, and mustard into the soup until well blended. Return to a simmer. Add salmon and half-and-half, and reheat. Season with salt and pepper.
Creamy Parsnip Soup (PDF)
Submitted and tested by Restaurant Eve, Alexandria, VA
For a lower fat version, add half a peeled, cut up potato with the parsnips and substitute milk for cream. Do not over cook the parsnips as they will rapidly lose their sweetness.
Yield: 8 small servings
1 cup rough chopped onion
2 cups rough chopped parsnips
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large pot, slowly cook onions in butter until translucent. Do not brown. Add parsnips and continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Do not brown. Add stock and cream, bring to a simmer and cook until parsnips are tender.
Blend and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Season with salt and pepper.
Sauteed Potatoes and Mascarpone Cream (PDF)
Submitted and tested by Dino, Washington, DC
There are many locally made varieties of mascarpone available. You want a thick one, thicker than sour cream but not as thick as cream cheese. You could substitute olive oil for the duck fat, but please don’t. And used smoked, not regular, prosciutto.
Yield: 4 servings
For horseradish mascarpone sauce:
8 ounces mascarpone (see note, above)
½ cup heavy cream
6½ ounce jar white horseradish, drained and squeezed dry
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
1 tablespoon finely minced parsley
A few drops hot sauce, such as Sriacha
Pinch allspice
1/8 teaspoon cracked black peppercorn
Combine ingredients, mixing well.
For the potatoes:
4 gold-flesh, gold-skin old-fashioned new potatoes
1/2 cup duck fat
8 slices speck (smoked prosciutto, see note, above)
Horseradish mascarpone cream (recipe above)
4 large leaves
Parsley for garnish
Fresh cracked black peppercorns
Red or black Hawaiian salt or other good salt
Place potatoes in cold salted water and cook until done (when they can be pierced easily with a knife). Cool in ice water. When cold, smash them flat (about ½-inch thick) with your hand or the bottom of a frying pan.
Heat a large heavy pan (large enough to hold the potatoes in a single layer over high heat). Add duck fat. When fat is very hot but not quite smoking, use a slotted spatula to gently place the potatoes in the pan. Fry on first side for 2 to 3 minutes, until the bottom of the potato is browned. Do not touch the potato for the first 2 minutes so a crust can form. Use a spatula to loosen the potatoes to flip. Brown on second side.
Arrange potatoes in the center of 4 plates. Sprinkle with fresh cracked black pepper and salt. Drape each potato with two slices of speck, letting some of the potato show. Put a tablespoon of the mascarpone sauce in the middle of the potato in a mound, and add the parsley leaves. Serve immediately.
Winter Root Mash (PDF)
Submitted and tested by Blue Ridge Restaurant, Washington, DC
Cultured butter is also known as European butter. It is slightly fermented to give it a more pronounced flavor.
Yield: 4 servings
½ pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small kabocha squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
Juice of 1 lemon
1 sprig thyme
1 small knob ginger
1 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 pats cultured butter (see note, above)
Combine all ingredients in a baking dish just large enough to hold everything and season generously with salt. Toss to combine and fill the baking dish with enough water so that the vegetables are about 1/3 covered.
Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 325 F for about 1½ hours. The vegetables should be very soft when done, but be careful not to check them too often because releasing the built up steam causes loss of flavor.
Once the vegetables are soft, place entire contents into a food processor and puree. Check for seasoning and serve with a pat of cultured butter on top.
Saffron Crême Brûlée (PDF)
Submitted and tested by Buck’s Fishing and Camping, Washington, DC
Yield: 8 servings
½ cup water
1 generous teaspoon saffron threads
1 quart heavy cream
½ cup sugar
6 egg yolks
Pinch salt
Additional sugar for brûlée
Preheat oven to 325 F. In a saucepan, bring water to a boil and steep saffron threads in the water for 10 minutes. Add cream to the saffron water mixture. Bring to a boil and steep 30 to 60 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine sugar, yolks, and salt. Slowly whisk the lukewarm cream into the egg mixture. Strain the mixture batter and pour into eight 4-ounce ramekins.
Line a baking pan with sides about one inch high with a tea towel. Place the ramekins in the baking pan. Pour hot tap water into the pan until the level is half way up the ramekins. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the outside edges are set and there is only a slight jiggle in the very center of the custard. Let cool in refrigerator.
Just before serving, sprinkle the top with a thin layer of sugar. Using a torch, melt the sugar to form a crispy top. (This can be done under a broiler but must be watched very carefully or it will burn). Let the crême brûlée rest about 5 minutes before serving.
Just a few of the restaurants in the Washington Food Shed that serve local ingredients:
Addie’s
Blue Duck Tavern
Blue Ridge
Brasserie Beck
Buck’s Fishing and Camping
Café Atlantico
Cashion’s Eat Place
Cityzen
Cork
Dino
Equinox
Hook
Jaleo
Johnny’s Half Shell
Komi
Marcel’s
Palena
Poste Modern Brasserie
Proof
Restaurant Eve
Restaurant Nora
Volt
Tosca
Vidalia
Zaytinya
