Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook (16 page)

TOASTED MILK SOLIDS

MAKES 1 CUP / 80 GRAMS

Think of brown butter: The key is the toasted milk solids that fall to the bottom of the pan. Just the right amount of cooking transforms them into something deeply nutty and aromatic. The trouble with cooking milk solids in butter is the fat. Our first step in isolating them was toasting the milk solids (commonly sold as nonfat dry milk or powder) in the oven. The results were good, if a bit uneven. Then we realized that the pressure cooker would make uniform results easy. We put the milk solids in a Mason jar set on a rack in the pressure cooker for 90 minutes and the results were beautiful. Even better, once you’ve seen what the pressure can do, you’ll realize that it can caramelize other ingredients just as easily. We like to use it for grains, nut flours, roux, yogurt, and white chocolate, for example.

1 cup 80 grams nonfat
milk powder

Put the milk powder into a pint-sized Mason jar. Loosely close the lid on the jar. Put it on a small rack set inside a pressure cooker with 2 inches of water in the bottom of the chamber. Cook for 1 hour at high pressure and then let the pressure dissipate naturally. Remove the jar from the pressure cooker and let it cool to room temperature. Tighten the band on the lid if necessary. Toasted milk solids will keep at room temperature for up to 1 month.

CREAMED SPINACH
WITH CITRUS KOSHO

THIS IS A SPICY ANTIDOTE TO YOUR AVERAGE, OVERLY RICH
, one-note creamed spinach. The technique of pureeing the onion and garlic with the aromatics helps disperse the flavors evenly through the greens. The finished spinach is still creamy but with a kick of heat and citrus from the Citrus Kosho. Feel free to add a little more heat if you have a fiery palate. Pair this with poached eggs at breakfast or with
Chateaubriand
at dinner.

SERVES 6 AS A SIDE DISH

1 small
onion,
chopped

3
garlic
cloves

1 tablespoon 15 grams
Citrus Kosho
or store-bought yuzu kosho

4 tablespoons 56 grams
unsalted butter

½ teaspoon 3 grams
fine sea salt

1½ pounds 680 grams
baby spinach

½ cup 120 grams
crème fraîche
,
homemade or store-bought

Put the onion, garlic, and citrus kosho in a blender and puree until smooth.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion puree and salt and cook, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes until the mixture has thickened slightly and lost its sharp, raw flavor. Add the spinach a handful at a time, wilting each new addition before adding the next, seasoning the mixture very lightly with salt after every few additions. Add the crème fraîche and bring the mixture to a simmer. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.

CITRUS KOSHO

MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP / 240 GRAMS

Japanese yuzu kosho is made by fermenting the zest from yuzu fruit with chopped chiles, salt, and seasonings. You can buy it ready made, but the fresh version is something special. Yuzu is hard to come by around here, so we opt for a multicitrus blend. The Boyajian brand oils add an intense kick of the individual citrus flavors. A few drops of citrus essential oils will also do the trick nicely, but if you don’t have any on hand, your kosho will still be quite delicious. The combination of chiles and citrus in this condiment transforms into something bright and spicy and utterly addictive.

12
limes

2
grapefruits

2
oranges

18
lemons

2
serrano chiles

3 stalks
lemongrass

2 tablespoons 36 grams
fine sea salt

3 drops 0.25 gram
Boyajian lemon oil
or lemon essential oil (optional)

3 drops 0.25 gram
Boyajian lime oil
or lime essential oil (optional)

3 drops 0.25 gram
Boyajian orange oil
or orange essential oil (optional)

Zest the limes, grapefruits, oranges, and lemons into a small bowl. Thinly slice the chiles. Remove the tough outer leaves of the lemongrass to expose the tender hearts. Slice the heart of the lemongrass. Put the citrus zest, chiles, lemongrass, and salt into a mortar. Use the pestle to pulverize the ingredients to a uniform paste.

Juice and strain 1 lime and 1 lemon and add them to the mortar and stir to combine. Add the lemon, lime, and orange oils, if using, to the mortar and stir to combine. Put the citrus kosho into a small jar and refrigerate for at least 2 days to let the flavors develop. Citrus kosho can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH CAPONATA

CLASSIC EGGPLANT CAPONATA IS A BEGUILINGLY SWEET, SOUR,
spicy, and salty dish from Southern Italy. Here we’ve taken the idea and turned it into a bright winter salad using butternut squash, raisins, capers, and cilantro. You’ll need a good juicer for this recipe, but it’s worth the extra effort. This caponata is great cold. If you happen to have some left over, it sautés up beautifully in a large skillet with some olive oil.

SERVES 8 TO 10 AS A SIDE DISH

5¼ pounds 2.4 kilograms
butternut squash
(2 large)

1¼ teaspoons 7.5 grams
fine sea salt

½ teaspoon 1 gram
crushed red pepper flakes

¼ teaspoon 0.5 gram
ground mace

1 cup 170 grams
seedless golden raisins

4½ tablespoons 35 grams
capers

4 tablespoons 60 grams
rice vinegar

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons 200 grams
white grape juice

¾ cup 170 grams
dry vermouth

1
cinnamon stick

½ cup 10 grams
cilantro leaves

Peel the squash and cut each one in half crosswise where the bulb meets the neck. Scoop the seeds and pulp from inside the bottoms of the squash and put them in a medium saucepan; set aside. Cut the bottoms into pieces small enough to fit in your juicer and set aside.

Cut the top half of each squash in half lengthwise and then halve each piece crosswise, for a total of 8 pieces of squash. Use a mandoline with a julienne blade set over a large bowl to cut the squash into a thin julienne. Any odd pieces that are difficult to julienne can be added to the cut-up squash bulbs headed for the juicer. Add the salt, pepper flakes, mace, raisins, and capers to the bowl with the julienned squash and mix with a rubber spatula to combine.

Juice the remaining squash pieces (discard the pulp). Transfer the squash juice to the saucepan with the squash seeds and pulp. Add the rice vinegar, white grape juice, vermouth, and cinnamon stick to the pan. Set the pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes and then strain it over the julienned squash. Stir the squash so it is evenly coated with the hot squash juice. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days, stirring occasionally.

Fold the cilantro into the caponata. Transfer the salad to a serving bowl and serve immediately.

SMOKED EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA

IT’S FUNNY HOW MANY EGGPLANT DISHES SEEM DESIGNED TO
hide the flavor of the vegetable. This dish is all about the eggplant, highlighting its meaty yet tender texture. We smoke it and use some of the eggplant to make a tomato sauce and stuff the rest with basil and fontina cheese. It’s a luxurious vegetarian dish with intense flavor and an ooey gooey texture from the melted cheeses. Serve it with a salad or steamed green vegetables; good bread is absolutely necessary for mopping up the sauce.

SERVES 8 AS A MAIN COURSE

EGGPLANT

3¼ pounds 1,500 grams
eggplant
(about 3 large)

1½ teaspoons 9 grams
fine sea salt

Generous 1 cup 21 grams fresh
Thai basil leaves

1 pound 454 grams
fontina cheese,
grated (about 4 cups)

½ pound 225 grams
aged provolone,
grated (about 2¼ cups)

SAUCE

3 medium
carrots

3 medium
celery
ribs

1 medium
onion

3
garlic
cloves, peeled

⅓ cup 70 grams
olive oil

2¾ teaspoons 16.5 grams
fine sea salt

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons 250 grams
dry white wine

1 (14.5-ounce 410-gram) can
fire-roasted whole tomatoes

SMOKE THE EGGPLANT:
Turn on an electric smoker or set up a stovetop
smoker
. Peel the eggplants and slice them into ½-inch-thick (13 mm) rounds. Season with the salt and put them into 2 or 3 shallow pans that fit in the smoker. Smoke the eggplant for 1 hour and then cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Weigh out 10.5 ounces (300 grams) of the oddly shaped or smaller pieces (roughly 3½ cups) and reserve the prettier slices in a covered container in the refrigerator.

MAKE THE SAUCE:
Cut the 10.5 ounces (300 grams) of eggplant pieces into strips that will fit into a meat grinder and put them in a medium bowl. Cut the carrots, celery, and onion into pieces that will fit into the grinder and add them to the bowl. Add the garlic and then grind everything together.

Set a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, and when it begins to shimmer, add the ground vegetables. Stir the vegetables with a silicone spatula and add the salt. Reduce the heat to medium and slowly cook the vegetables, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pot so they do not stick, until they are lightly caramelized and almost dry, 20 to 30 minutes. Add the white wine and cook for 5 minutes. Pour the can of tomatoes into a bowl. Use your hands to crush the tomatoes and then add them and their juices to the pan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low, and simmer the sauce for 20 minutes. Turn the heat off and cool the sauce down in an ice water bath.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Set a 10 × 12-inch (25 × 30 cm) rimmed baking sheet next to your cutting board. Spoon an even layer of the smoked eggplant sauce over the bottom of the pan. Take the reserved eggplant and butterfly each slice by making a horizontal incision through the center that does not go all the way through the slice so that you can open it up. Open each piece, put one basil leaf and a handful of grated fontina inside, and press it closed over the cheese. Arrange the stuffed eggplant slices in the pan and cover them with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle all of the provolone over the top of the eggplant and cover the pan with foil.

Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove the eggplant from the oven, remove the foil, and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove the eggplant from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.