A Man, A Plan,...a Can? Salmon Cakes with Chipoltle Salsa

“We ate well and cheaply…” Ernest Hemmingway, “A Moveable Feast”

Following the mantra of  “fresh is better,” we have moved away from the can. For the most part, this is true. But what about canned tomatoes when it’s not tomato season? If you want to make crab cakes, you need to open some type of container of crabmeat. And if you want to eat wild salmon more frequently, canned makes a reasonable alternative. I’m not talking to a beautiful filet of wild King or Sockeye salmon sitting on the center of a plate. The cost in recent years has made that a special occasion item. So how about salmon cakes made with canned salmon? Using canned is cheaper than fresh and it has the advantage that it is almost always wild salmon whereas much of the fresh salmon in the store is farm-raised.

You can easily find canned salmon in your grocery store, either pink or red, the red being sockeye. After opening the can, you may have to remove some skin and a few bones but other than that, it’s ready to go, so for economy and ease, you’re set.

We all can’t dine at the Ritz everyday. Well, we certainly can’t. And to give the salmon cakes an upgrade, we’ll pair them with some smoky chipotle salsa.  That will require a few more cans but since the can opener is out of the drawer already……

Salmon Cakes with Chipotle Salsa

Since the salsa was made with chopped cilantro, I omitted adding fresh herbs to the salmon cakes. Season the salmon cakes with fresh herbs of your choosing.

One  14.75 ounce can salmon

½ cup diced red bell pepper

½ cup diced onion

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

juice of ½ lime

1 Tablespoon herb of your choice, chopped

1 egg, beaten

¾ cup panko bread crumbs

For cooking the salmon cakes: vegetable oil, such as canola. You could also add 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter to the oil if you wish.

1. Drain the salmon and remove any skin and bones. Transfer the cleaned salmon to a bowl. Add the bell pepper, onion, salt, pepper, and lime juice. Mix to combine. Stir in the beaten egg, mix, then add the bread crumbs. Mix until all of the ingredients are well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the salmon cake mixture for at least an hour.

2. Shape the salmon cakes to your preference; I weighed ours to 2 ½ ounces each. Heat a non-stick sauté pan over medium high heat. When the pan is hot, swirl in 2 tablespoons oil. Add the salmon cakes to the pan and cook until browned. Turn the cakes over and brown the other side. Remove the cakes from the pan and let them drain on a tray lined with paper towels. You can keep the cakes warm in the oven. Serve with the chipotle salsa.

Chipotle Salsa

One 14 ½ ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably fire roasted

2 chipotle chiles, finely chopped

1 cup diced onion

1 cup diced (red) bell pepper

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

juice of one lime

¼ cup chopped cilantro

1. To make the salsa, place all of the salsa ingredients into a bowl and mix until combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

Spring = Asparagus

Two recipes for the arrival of local asparagus.

Asparagus Tart with Ramps and Cheddar Cheese

I used ramps in the tart because I found them at a local farm market. Stores such as Whole Foods or Wegman’s also carry them in the spring. You could substitute with a cup of sliced leeks sautéed with 1 teaspoon minced garlic. I used a square tart pan but a 9" round tart pan works just as well.

Tart Crust

For one 9” crust

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter

6 Tablespoons shortening

6 Tablespoons cold water

1. Place the flour and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add  the butter and 2 tablespoons of the shortening to the flour and mix until it forms small crumb-sized pieces. Add the remaining shortening and mix, leaving larger sized pieces of shortening. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together. Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a flat round disk. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour before use. Alternatively, the dough can be mixed by hand using a fork or pastry blender.

2. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the crust dough until 1/8^th inch thick. Fit the into a 9” tart pan, trimming any overhanging dough with your thumb. Using a fork, lightly prick the bottom and sides of the tart shell. Refrigerate or freeze the tart shell for 20 to 30 minutes before baking.

For the tart:

12 ounces asparagus spears

¼ pound ramps

3 or 4 strips bacon (optional)

4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 ounce goat cheese, crumbled

1. Snap the ends off of the asparagus spears. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the bottom 1” of each spear. Place a pan with ½ cup lightly salted water over high heat. Add the asparagus, cover and cook until tender; test by pressing the point of a knife into the thickest part of the stem. 

Remove from heat, drain in a colander and refresh under cold water. Set aside.

2. Wash the ramps under cold water, removing any dirt. Trim the bottoms and slice the ramps crosswise into 1/8” pieces. Continue cutting, slicing the leafy part of the ramps into thin ribbons. Place the sauté pan back over medium heat. When hot, swirl in one tablespoon olive oil. Add the ramps and sauté until softened and the leaves have wilted. Remove from heat. This may not appear to be enough ramps for the tart but their flavor is strong enough for such a small amount.

3. Cook the bacon until crisp then drain on paper towels. Set aside.

5. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove the tart shell from the refrigerator or freezer. Place the tart shell on a baking tray. Line the shell with a piece of aluminum foil. Fill the foil with dried beans, rice or pie weighs. Place the tray with the tart shell into the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Remove partially baked tart shell from the oven; carefully lift out the foil with the pie weights. Return the tart shell to the oven and bake for and additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

The custard:

2 eggs

¾ cup half and half

½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

To assemble the tart, mix together the custard ingredients in a bowl until blended.  Keeping the tart shell on the baking tray spread the ramps (or sautéed leeks/garlic mixture) evenly on the bottom of the tart shell. Crumble the bacon into the tart shell; top with the asparagus spears. Spread the cheddar cheese over the tart and top with the crumbled goat cheese. Pull out the oven rack, place the tray with the tart shell onto the rack and fill the tart with the custard mixture; use only enough to fill the shell. Carefully slide the rack into the oven and bake the tart for 28 to 30 minutes, until the custard has set. Remove from oven and let cool before serving. Remove the asparagus tart from the tart pan, slice and serve.  

Asparagus Pizza with Fontina, Prociutto, and Goat Cheese

It is impossible to get brick oven quality pizza out of your home oven but there are some tricks and techniques that will bring it closer. You need to use a pizza stone. I move one oven rack to the bottom of the oven, the hottest spot, and let the stone preheat for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Another trick is one I picked up from baker Jim Lahey of NYC’s Sullivan Street Bakery. Lahey suggests finishing the pizza under the broiler.

While the broiler is located on the top of an electric oven, it’s usually located under a gas oven, which can be a bit trickier. If you choose to go for some extra browning under the broiler, keep an eye on the progress of the pizza under the broiler. You want to look for some nice dark spots like the kind you would get in a very hot brick pizza oven.

Baking pizza in a home oven requires a little extra work. The way I have done it over the years is as follows. I always slightly bake the crust before topping it. After the crust is formed and is on the baking disk (a round pizza tray) I put it in the oven for about five minutes to let it rise slightly and firm up. I pull it before it gets any color and let it cool slightly. Before you build the pizza, make certain the crust is free of the pan so it can slide off the pan and into the oven directly onto the pizza stone. You might want to rotate the pizza during the cooking since all ovens have hot spots. If you decide to finish the pizza under the broiler, remove the pizza when it’s almost finished baking and turn on the broiler. Return the pizza to the oven under the broiler, taking care to watch it as it browns. I have a gas range and the broiler is under the oven so I have to put the pizza back onto the pizza pan and slide the pan with the pizza on it under the broiler. 

Practice does makes perfect, or somewhere close. You could also learn to make pizza outdoors on your grill.

Asparagus Pizza with Fontina, Prociutto, and Goat Cheese

If you don’t like the flavor of raw garlic, you can sauté the garlic in olive oil for a few minutes to soften its flavor.

Needed: one recipe pizza dough

2 cups asparagus, sliced into 1” pieces on the bias

4 ounces Fontina cheese, grated

3 to 4 slices prociutto

2 to 3 Tablespoons goat cheese

1 Tablespoon minced shallot

ground black pepper

garlic oil: 1 to 2 teaspoons minced garlic mixed with 2 to 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place pizza stone into the oven and let it heat for 20 to 30 minutes.

2. Blanch the asparagus pieces in boiling salted water until tender; they should pierce easily with a knife poiunt. Drain the asparagus into a colander and refresh under cold running water. Set aside.

3. Prepare your crust. If you are using my pizza dough recipe, use plenty of flour. Sprinkle your pizza pan with flour and cornmeal. On a well-floured surface, pat the dough out into a circle then lift the dough and continue shaping the dough over the back of your hands; keep your fingers bent under to avoid tearing the dough. The dough should be very soft and easy to work. Shape the dough into a 13 inch circle; exact geometry isn’t necessary. Place the dough onto the pan and bake for 1 to 2 minutes to set the dough. Remove from oven.

2. Turn oven up to 500 degrees. Assemble the pizza: Make sure the crust is not stuck to the pizza pan. Spread  2 to 3 Tablespoons of the garlic oil  and the minced shallot over the bottom on the pizza. Spread about ½ of the grated Fontina cheese onto the crust. Scatter the asparagus pieces over the crust. Tear the prociutto into pieces and drape it over the pizza. Finish with the remaining Fontina and crumble the goat cheese over the pizza. Season with some ground black pepper.

3. Place the pizza directly onto the pizza stone and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Baking times will vary depending on your oven. Rotate the pizza once or twice as it bakes. If you want to finish the pizza under the broiler, remove it just before it appears to be done, turn on the broiler and return it to the oven under the broiler for a few extra minutes. Watch the pizza as it cooks under the broiler. Remove the pizza from the oven and let stand for a couple of minutes before slicing and serving. 

 

Pizza Dough

I have adapted this recipe from one by the great baker, teacher, and author Peter Reinhart.  Far be it from me to find a problem with one of his recipes but dough recipes generally need a bit of tweaking. This dough if a softer style dough than what you may be used to. It’s what Reinhart refers to as “Neo-Neapolitan Style,” the type similar to the kind  you would find at brick oven style pizzerias. You may, of course use any pizza dough. Make your dough in advance if you can since a slow rise in the refrigerator gives the dough more flavor.  If you are concerned about working with a soft, sticky dough, you can add a small amount of additional flour to tighten the dough

Pizza Dough

For two 10 ounce dough balls

11 ¾ ounces or 2 ¼ plus 2 Tablespoon King Arthur all-purpose flour

½  teaspoon yeast (Rapid Rise, or similar "instant" style yeast)

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 cup warm water

1. Mix together until the dough comes together and forms a ball. It will be tacky to the touch, even a bit sticky. Scatter about 1 tablespoon flour onto a clean surface. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead the dough in the flour for about 4 to 5 minutes; add a little more flour if necessary. The dough should be smooth but tacky or even sticky to the touch; if you press the dough ball with your finger, the dough should spring back. Divide the dough into two equal (10 ounce) pieces. Oil the dough balls generously and place each dough ball into its own sealable plastic bag. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes then refrigerate the dough overnight or freeze if for a later use. If you want to use the dough the same day, let the dough rise for at least an hour. All dough is best made in advance and allowed to “age” in the refrigerator. Pull any chilled dough out of the refrigerator for a hour or so to warm before use.

Listening: The Wayne Shorter Quartet: "Without A Net" 

The legendary sax player turns 80 this August 25. Here he is from 2003.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCyGBNKlrPI

Mussels: Two Ways Two Days

“What do I do when my love is away?”*

My red-haired food co-pilot went away recently and I was left to cook, for one, which is something that I haven’t done in a long time. But it gave me a chance to make something I like but she doesn’t. There isn’t too much that she won’t eat, but mussels are one of them. I went and bought a two pound bag of cultivated mussels which was more than enough for two meals and began thinking of how I wanted to prepare them.

Mussels are an easy dinner and an inexpensive one too and they can be prepared in many ways: steamed in white wine or with beer and leeks, or Thai style with green curry and coconut milk. You get the idea. I was leaning toward white wine and garlic when I felt a stuck-in-a-rut moment coming on. If being stuck in a food prep rut has a soundtrack, think of Billy Gibbons’ hard crunching, gear grinding guitar sound. Yeah, it was a pretty good rut.

Then I remembered our local brewery, Round Guys Brewery. I went to pick up a half-growler and I asked for a suggestion. When they heard it was for steaming mussels the reply came with no hesitation, "Fat Bob’s Tripel XVII,”  a  Belgian-style beer made with 10% rye malt, Ardennes yeast and Saaz hops, into which I would swirl chipotle peppers for some smoke and some bite. All that would be needed is some crusty bread, a salad, and dinner is ready. 

For mussel dinner number two, I returned to a variation of the classic moules a la mariniere, with some pasta tossed in at the end.

Cultivated mussels are relatively clean but before you use them give them a thorough rinse in a bowl of cold water, moving them around in the water. Drain the mussels in a colander. If the mussels have any beards attached (the fibrous strings that stick out of the shells) trim them off with a knife. If any of the mussels are open, tap them against a flat surface. If the mussels are still alive, they will close: if they don’t close, discard them.

Now get in the kitchen.... and support your local brewer, if you have one.

This is what I did when my love was away.

Mussels Steamed in Beer and Chipotle Broth

This could also be made with clams, which my wife would definitely like.

I used about 22 mussels for one serving, so one bag, which holds about 4 dozen mussels, will easily serve two people.

¼ cup diced onion or minced shallot                                        

1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup beer

1 or 2 chipotle peppers (to taste), chopped

1 teaspoon adobo sauce from the chipotle peppers

1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, optional

olive oil, for cooking

1. Place a medium-sized sauté pan over medium high heat. When hot, swirl in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the onion (or shallot) to the pan. Reduce heat and sweat the onion for 3 to 4 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the beer, the chipotles and the adobo to the pan and stir. Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the mussels, cover and steam until the mussels open, about 3 to 4 minutes. Swirl in the butter and serve.

Mussels in White Wine with Fettucine

The remaining two dozen mussels would have made dinner for two when paired with pasta. It will take longer for the pasta water to come to a boil and for the pasta to cook than it will take for the mussels to steam.

For two servings:

Two dozen mussels

6 ounces dry fettucine

2 strips bacon, optional

¼ cup minced shallot

1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced

hot pepper flakes, optional, to taste

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

To finish the mussels: either 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, or ¼ cup light cream.

1 Tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley

1. Cook the bacon, if using, until crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

2. Place a large pot of salted water over high heat. When the water comes to a boil, add the pasta and cook the fettucine for one minute less than suggested.

3. Place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the shallots and sweat for a minute. Add the garlic and hot pepper flakes to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the wine, black pepper, and the mussels. Cover the pan and steam the mussels until they open, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the opened mussels to a bowl, cover with a piece of foil, and keep warm.

4. When the pasta is ready, drain it into a colander. Put the fettucine into the pan of mussel broth. Finish to your choice by adding the olive oil, butter or cream to the pan and stir to combine. Crumble in the bacon. Cook the pasta in the sauce for an additional minute. Return the mussels to the pan and add the parsley. Divide the pasta, mussels, and sauce between two bowls and serve.

richie havens, 1941-2031, thank you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTXK1kztE1E

Round Guys Brewery Co: http://roundguysbrewery.com/

*”With a Little Help From My Friends,” Lennon and McCartney