In the Hands of a Chef (10 page)

½ teaspoon minced shallot

5 anchovies, rinsed and coarsely chopped

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 cups vegetable oil for deep-frying

½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ cup semolina flour

1 medium white onion, sliced paper-thin

8 leaves Romaine lettuce, washed, dried, and cut crosswise into 3-inch-wide strips

8 escarole leaves, washed thoroughly, dried, and cut crosswise into 1-inch-wide strips

3 ounces thinly sliced capocollo, cut into ¾-inch-wide strips

2 ounces shaved pecorino Romano

1.
Combine the garlic, shallot, anchovies, and mustard in a small bowl. Whisk in the red wine vinegar to make an emulsion. Add the extra virgin olive oil in a thin, steady stream, whisking constantly until the vinaigrette is smooth and emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.

2.
Heat the vegetable oil in a small deep pot to 350°F. Use a deep-fry thermometer to check the temperature.

3.
Toss the flours together in a large bowl. Add the onion and toss until coated. The onion will separate into rings, which is fine. Fry the onions, a handful at a time, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Scoop out and drain on paper towels. When all the onions are done, season with salt.

4.
Toss the Romaine, escarole, and capocollo together in a large bowl. Add the vinaigrette and toss again. Taste, then season with salt and pepper if necessary.

5.
Arrange the salad on chilled plates. Top each with some pecorino shavings and a small handful of fried onions, and serve.

C
hipotle peppers and a host
of south-of-the-border seasonings put a Mexican spin on this adults-only shrimp and avocado salad. But when I wanted a wild over-the-top accompaniment, I remembered an old Martha Stewart trick of hollowing out cucumber sections to make sake glasses. A little salt transforms the cucumbers into shot glasses for tequila shooters. Make sure you eat this in the shade.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

1 European (seedless) cucumber, washed

¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon tequila

2 teaspoons sugar

1 garlic clove, minced

2 jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded, and minced

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, finely chopped, with their sauce

2 ripe avocados

8 extra-large shrimp (about ¾ pound), peeled and deveined

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

1 small red onion, chopped into ¼-inch dice

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus 4 sprigs for garnish

1 lime, cut into quarters

1.
Trim the ends of the cucumber, then cut it crosswise into quarters. Using a melon bailer or a small spoon, scoop the flesh out of each piece, leaving 1/4-inch-thick walls and a Mi-inch bottom. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

2.
Whisk together the lime juice, 1 tablespoon of the tequila,
½
teaspoon of the sugar, the garlic, and jalapeños in a small bowl. Whisk in
¼
cup plus 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a slow, thin stream. Season with salt and pepper.

3.
Mix the chipotle chiles with 1 teaspoon of the sugar and 1 tablespoon of the vinaigrette in a small bowl. Add the shrimp and toss well. Cover and marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator. Refrigerate the rest of the vinaigrette.

4.
When you’re ready to finish the dish, peel, pit and cut each avocado into 8 slices.

5.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Season the shrimp with salt, then add to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes on each side, or until just cooked through. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool.

6.
When the pan has cooled, add the tomatoes, red onion, and herbs to the shrimp, along with ¼ cup of the vinaigrette. Season with salt and toss well (do this in the pan so you don’t lose any of the shrimp’s cooking juices).

7.
Arrange 4 slices of avocado on each plate. Sprinkle the avocado with salt and pepper and drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette. Spoon the salad on top, putting 2 shrimp on each plate. Dip the tops of the cucumber into salt if desired. Fill each one with 2 tablespoons of the tequila.

8.
Stand a cucumber shooter next to each salad, garnish each salad with a wedge of lime and a sprig of cilantro, and serve.

T
his salad was born
out of one of those what-do-we-have-in-the-larder nights when there seemed to be a little of this and a little of that. Adding the figs was taking a chance—figs and tarragon?—but they’re wonderful. The extra sweetness is welcome in a cold salad, and they add a little more textural contrast. A great companion to grilled fish or chicken.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

1½ pounds fingerling potatoes (if fingerlings are unavailable, substitute other small new potatoes), scrubbed and cut lengthwise in half

6 bay leaves, preferably fresh

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 celery stalk, peeled and chopped into ¼ inch dice

12 dried figs, preferably Turkish, stems removed and cut lengthwise into quarters

1 small red onion, chopped into ½-inch dice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

¼ cup chopped pitted green olives

1.
Put the potatoes in a saucepan and add cold water to cover by
½
inch. Add the bay leaves and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are just tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the potatoes to cool in the water. Drain, removing and discarding the bay leaves.

2.
Whisk the mustard and red wine vinegar together in a small bowl to form an emulsion. Continue whisking while slowly adding the olive in a thin, steady stream. Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper.

3.
Just before serving, combine the potatoes, celery, figs, red onion, parsley, tarragon, and olives in a large bowl, add the vinaigrette, and toss to coat. Taste, season with salt and pepper if necessary, and serve.

P
anzanella, Italian bread salad, is
one of the reasons to save your stale bread during the summer months, when other salad ingredients are at their peak. As Americans, we often reduce the life cycle of bread to two stages—fresh and throw-it-away. But in cultures where bread is baked locally, the cycle extends from one day of baking to the next, and it may last for as long as a week. As a loaf becomes progressively firmer, it can be grilled or toasted, rubbed with olive oil to make crostini or bruschetta, or fried in olive oil for delicious croutons. Here the croutons absorb the flavor of the olive oil and add crunch to the finished salad.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

½ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more if needed

20 garlic cloves, peeled

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups 1-inch crustless bread cubes

1 large red onion, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices

5 large red peppers, roasted (see page 99), peeled, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1-inch-wide strips

2 anchovies, rinsed and finely chopped

1 tablespoon capers, rinsed

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup chopped fresh fiat-leaf parsley

½ cup chopped fresh basil

1 ounce Pecorino Romano shavings

DO AHEAD:
Roast and peel the peppers. Peel the garlic; wrap it tightly in several layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate so it doesn’t dry out.

1.
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over low heat. Add the garlic cloves, season with salt and pepper, and cook until tender and golden, about 15 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

2.
Increase the heat to medium. Add the bread to the pan and sauté until golden brown on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the bread to a large bowl.

3.
Add the onion to the pan and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add to the bread.

4.
Add the garlic, roasted peppers, anchovies, and capers to the bowl. Toss well. Season with salt and pepper. Add the balsamic vinegar, parsley, basil, and, if necessary, additional olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss again. Taste, and adjust the seasonings as necessary.

5.
Arrange the salad on chilled plates, top with the pecorino shavings, and serve.

P
ears and blue cheese, especially
Stilton, Roquefort, or Gorgonzola, are a combination that seems to continually reinvent itself. The new wrinkle here is radicchio. The combination works well as an appetizer or a great end-of-the-meal salad because it mimics a fruit and cheese course. Be sure to use Gorgonzola
dolce,
the sweet, softer style of the cheese, not the firmer aged cheese known as Gorgonzola
naturale.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

2 ripe but firm Bosc pears

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 large head radicchio, washed, dried, and cut into quarters

6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for oiling the baking sheet

1 cup heavy cream

2 ounces Gorgonzola
dolce,
cut into small pieces

2 ounces watercress, washed, dried, and trimmed of thick stems

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

About 2 ounces (¼ cup) hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

1 shallot, peeled, sliced paper-thin, soaked in ice water for 30 minutes (to remove bitterness), drained, and dried

1.
Preheat the oven to 450°F.

2.
Cut the pears in half and remove their cores. Place the pears and radicchio in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper, and toss with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Place the pears and radicchio cut side down on a well-oiled baking sheet. Roast on the bottom rack of the oven until the radicchio is tender and brown around the edges, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the radicchio and set aside. Continue cooking the pears until tender and caramelized to a deep golden brown on the cut side, an additional 15 to 20 minutes.

3.
Put the cream in a small saucepan and set it over medium heat—place the pan slightly off center so that as the cream heats, the foam and fat will accumulate against the side of the pan. Simmer, skimming the foam frequently, until the cream reduces by one-quarter, about 3 minutes. Lower the heat and whisk in the cheese until completely melted. Don’t let the mixture boil, or it will break; lower the heat if necessary. Season with salt and pepper, remove from the heat, and keep warm.

4.
Divide the sauce among four warmed plates. Gently toss the pears, radicchio, and watercress with 2 tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Arrange atop the sauced plates.

5.
Toss the hazelnuts and sliced shallots with the remaining 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar and 2 teaspoons olive oil. Spoon the hazelnuts and shallots over the salads and serve.

E
veryone knows that herbs are
flavorings, but what about herbs as vegetables in their own right? The concept isn’t as farfetched as it might seem. Sorrel is known primarily as an herb in this country, but in Europe, especially in France, it’s often cooked and served as a sauce. Fennel clearly straddles the line, and in Italy, arugula is sometimes used as a seasoning, as well as a green. Eva Sommaripa, whose farm in Westport, Massachusetts, is the source of many of the high-quality herbs we use at Rialto, encouraged me to broaden my perspective on herbs many years ago, especially when thinking of salad greens. As Eva’s friends can attest, she is nothing if not persuasive. I put herbs on everything and often feature an herb salad on my menu.

Like the Middle Eastern tabbouleh, this salad uses parsley leaves as a primary ingredient. After you’ve made it once or twice, try substituting basil leaves or chives for half of the parsley for a much different effect.