Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times (30 page)

3.
Add salt and pepper to taste and the remaining sesame seeds and sesame oil. Stir once, sprinkle with the scallion, and serve.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 1 HOUR

THIS IS A
classic spring or fall dish, times when you can get good, fresh turnips but don’t mind long, slow cooking. Here turnips and pork are both browned for perfect color and then simmered in a little liquid until tender.

Don’t ignore the instruction to preheat the skillet for at least a minute, then allow the butter and/or oil to become hot, and don’t crowd the meat, or it won’t brown properly. Make sure the first side of the pork cubes browns well and that the second is on its way to being browned before adding the turnips. The turnips themselves are so high in natural sugars that they brown almost instantly and continue to gain color as they braise.

1.
Put a 12-inch skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat and let sit for at least a minute. Add the oil and butter. When the butter foam subsides or the oil is hot, add the pork, a few chunks at a time. When it is all in the skillet, turn the heat to high. Cook for about 5 minutes, undisturbed, until the pork is nicely browned on one side. Turn each piece, return the heat to medium-high, and cook for about 3 minutes more.

2.
Add the turnip chunks and shake the skillet so that the pork and turnips are all sitting in one layer or nearly so. Cook for another 3 or
4 minutes, or until the turnips begin to brown. Add the liquid and stir once or twice. Add salt and pepper to taste and half the lovage if you’re using it, turn the heat to medium-low, and cover the skillet.

3.
Cook, stirring every 10 minutes, until both pork and turnips are quite tender, about 30 minutes. Remove the cover and raise the heat to medium-high; boil the liquid until it is reduced to a syrupy glaze. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary, then garnish with the remaining herb if you like and serve.

VARIATIONS

Creamy Pork with Turnips

In the final step, transfer the pork and turnips to a warm platter. Do not quite reduce the liquid to a glaze; when there is about ½ cup left, reduce the heat to low, stir in 1 cup sour or sweet cream, and slowly bring back to a boil over medium heat. Stir the pork and turnips back into the sauce, garnish, and serve, preferably over rice.

Pork and Turnips with Mustard

You can do this in combination with the preceding variation if you like. Stir 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, or more to taste, into the finished sauce. Heat through and serve.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 1 HOUR

SPREADING A ROAST
with a sweet coating—apricot jam comes to mind—adds an interesting contrast of flavor, and the sugar encourages browning. But the results are often too sweet. So I decided to experiment with alternative coatings for a small roast of pork—one that would cook quickly enough to be considered for weeknight dinners—and settled on applesauce, which has a not-too-obvious benefit. Because applesauce doesn’t contain nearly the same percentage of sugar as jam, more of it can be used without overwhelming the meat with sweetness, and the thicker coating protects the meat and keeps it moist. This is important, because the superlean pork sold in supermarkets almost inexorably dries out as it cooks.

1.
Preheat the oven to 500°F; set the oven rack as close to the top of the oven as is practical (take the thickness of the roast into account). Meanwhile, put the applesauce in a fine strainer over a bowl or in the
sink to allow excess liquid to drain. Line a roasting pan with a double thickness of aluminum foil (to avoid tough cleanup) and brush the foil with a little oil.

2.
When the oven is hot, sprinkle the roast with salt and pepper, then spread an even layer of the applesauce all over it, using up all the applesauce. Sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper and roast, checking every 15 minutes or so to make sure the applesauce doesn’t burn. It’s fine if it darkens and browns, or even turns dark brown, as long as the top doesn’t blacken.

3.
Begin checking the pork with an instant-read thermometer after 45 minutes. When the internal temperature reaches 155°F, remove the meat from the oven. Let it rest for 5 minutes before carving. Serve the sliced meat with any accumulated juices.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 2 HOURS, LARGELY UNATTENDED

YOU’LL FIND STRONGLY
seasoned, crunchy pork everywhere in Latin America, and it’s always irresistible.

1.
Put the pork in a deep skillet or wide saucepan; wrap the garlic, coriander, chile, and cinnamon in a piece of cheesecloth and add to the pan, along with the nutmeg and salt to taste. Add water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat to low and simmer until the pork is very tender, about 1¼ hours, adding water as necessary.

2.
When the pork is soft, remove the cheesecloth sack and discard. Raise the heat to medium-high and boil off all the liquid.

3.
If you choose not to grill, you can now brown the pork in its own remaining fat. Garnish with cilantro and serve with lime wedges. Or thread the pork onto 8 skewers and, when you’re ready to eat, grill them lightly on all sides to brown before garnishing and serving.

VARIATION

Roast Pork with Jam or Marmalade

This is the original version, which some will prefer: Substitute 1 cup apricot jam or orange marmalade for the applesauce; warm it over low heat, stirring in 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice to thin it slightly. Proceed as directed.

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

TIME: ABOUT 2 HOURS, LARGELY UNATTENDED

IN ITS HOMELAND
of Alsace, choucroute garnie is no more special than a frank and sauerkraut, with which it has much in common. But while the French treat this archetypally hearty combination of sauerkraut, spices, wine, and smoked meats as common fare, here it has become the province of restaurants. In any case, choucroute is a flexible combination of wintertime staples, the perfect cold-weather dish, featuring sauerkraut cooked in a little goose fat (or duck fat or lard) and wine, then “garnished”—this is some garnish—with a variety of candidly heavy meats, some smoked, some fresh or salted. Note that good sauerkraut does not come in cans but is sold fresh from barrels or in plastic. It should contain no more than cabbage and salt—beyond that, the less the better.

1.
Rinse the sauerkraut and drain it well. Combine it with the onion, juniper berries, and wine in a large skillet or broad pot and add enough water to come about two-thirds of the way up the side of the sauerkraut (in some pots, the wine may provide enough liquid). Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.

2.
Turn down the heat and nestle the bacon in the sauerkraut. Cover and cook for 1 hour, then add the sausages and pork chops. Re-cover and cook for another 30 minutes. The sauerkraut should be tender but retain some crunch; cook for another 15 minutes if necessary, then taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3.
To serve, cut the meat into pieces and serve it on a platter with the sauerkraut along with hot mustard.

VARIATIONS

• Add several tablespoons of duck fat or lard to the simmering sauerkraut (a traditional addition).

• Use any sausages you like, including those made from chicken, veal, turkey, or seafood.

• Add 12 small potatoes to the pot when about 45 minutes of cooking time remain.

• Add 2 to 3 peeled, cored, and grated apples to the sauerkraut when about 15 minutes of cooking remain.

• Stir 2 tablespoons kirsch into the sauerkraut about 5 minutes before serving.

MAKES 4 TO 8 SERVINGS

TIME: AT LEAST 2 HOURS

THIS IS THE
way to get tender, moist ribs without burning them. They take some time, but not much attention.

1.
Start a not-too-fierce fire on a covered grill big enough to bank the coals to one side once they get hot (on a gas grill, turn the heat to medium on one side and keep it off on the other; if there are three burners, you can light the 2 side ones and cook in the middle). When the grill is hot, put the spareribs on the less hot part of the grill, and cover the grill. Walk away for about 30 minutes.

2.
Turn the ribs and continue to cook them, adding to the fire if necessary. They should be browning very slowly, firming up, and drying out. When the meat begins to pull away from the bone and the meat between the bones is easily pierced with a thin-bladed knife, the
meat is nearly done. At this point you can cool the ribs slightly, then wrap well in foil and put in the refrigerator or continue to cook.

3.
When you’re ready to serve the ribs, brown them on both sides over direct heat, being careful not to burn them. When they’re done, season them with salt and pepper and serve.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TOTAL TIME: 3 HOURS

THIS IS A
really easy dish that takes some time. But once you get it started (which will take just five minutes or so), you can all but ignore it during the cooking, just checking every now and then to turn the ribs and make sure the liquid doesn’t dry out.

To make this into a whole-meal stew, use two cups of water and add some peeled and chunked carrots or turnips, whole pearl onions or shallots, or all of these. Some shredded cabbage added during the last half hour or so of cooking is also good.

1.
Combine the meat, ¼ cup soy sauce, the anise, chile, ginger, garlic, and sugar with ½ cup of water in a skillet just broad enough to hold the meat.

2.
Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours or so, turning the meat occasionally and adding water ½ cup at a time if and when the pan dries out. The meat is done when it is tender and nearly falling from the bone.

ROASTED ASPARAGUS WITH PARMESAN

GRILLED ASPARAGUS WITH LEMON DRESSING

ROSEMARY-LEMON WHITE BEAN DIP

GREEN BEANS AND TOMATOES

BEET ROESTI WITH ROSEMARY

STEAMED BROCCOLI WITH BEURRE NOISETTE

GLAZED CARROTS

CAULIFLOWER WITH GARLIC AND ANCHOVY

GRILLED CORN

GRILLED EGGPLANT DIP

ENDIVES BRAISED IN BROTH WITH PARMESAN

FENNEL WITH OLIVE OIL DIPPING SAUCE

FENNEL GRATIN

FIGS STUFFED WITH GOAT CHEESE

COOL COOKED GREENS WITH LEMON

STIR-FRIED LEEKS WITH GINGER

PORCINI-SCENTED “WILD” MUSHROOM SAUTÉ

SAUTÉED SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS

GARLIC-MUSHROOM FLAN

MARINATED OLIVES

ROASTED PEPPERS

GRILLED RED PEPPERS WITH OLIVE OIL AND SHERRY VINEGAR

CANAPÉS WITH PIQUILLO PEPPERS AND ANCHOVIES

ROAST NEW POTATOES WITH ROSEMARY

NEW POTATOES WITH BUTTER AND MINT