The Minimalist Cooks Dinner (13 page)
Read The Minimalist Cooks Dinner Online
Authors: Mark Bittman
Although lime is by far the most commonly used citrus fruit in Thai and other Southeast Asian cooking, grapefruit and its close relative, the pomelo, are often found in savory dishes, especially cool salads. And why not? Grapefruit adds distinctive flavor, unusual texture, and an impressive amount of juice. This is a nearly traditional salad in which the grapefruit plays a leading role, complementing the mild shrimp and allowing you to make an almost ridiculously easy dressing, comprising nothing more than nam pla (Thai fish sauce) or soy, lime, a bit of sugar, and some water.
1 to 1½ pounds unshelled shrimp
Salt
3 tablespoons nam pla (Thai fish sauce) or soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar Juice of 2 limes
6 cups torn lettuce or mesclun, washed and dried
2 grapefruit, peeled and sectioned, tough white pith removed, each section cut in half
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro Minced chiles or crushed red pepper flakes, optional
½ cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts, optional
Put the shrimp in a saucepan with salted water to cover. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes, or until the shrimp are opaque in the center. Cool in the refrigerator or under cold running water, then peel (and devein if you like). Cut the shrimp in half if they’re large.
To make the dressing, combine the nam pla or soy with 2 tablespoons water, the sugar, and lime juice and blend or whisk until smooth.
Arrange the lettuce on four plates and top each portion with a few grapefruit pieces, some shrimp, and the mint and cilantro. Drizzle with the dressing, then sprinkle with a little chile and chopped peanuts, if you like, or pass them at the table.
| WINE | Beer or not-too-dry Riesling or Gewürztraminer |
| SERVE WITH | Cold Noodles with Sesame (or Peanut) Sauce or Stir-Fried Coconut Noodles |
USE GOOD SHRIMP
—Pacific or Gulf whites are the best, though the less expensive and widely available tiger shrimp are acceptable—and buy them big, because you’ll have fewer to peel. If you trust your fishmonger, you can even buy precooked, prepeeled shrimp, and save yourself a lot of trouble.
THE BEST WAY
to retain the juices of the grapefruit is to peel and section it as you would an orange, not by cutting it in half and scooping out the flesh as you would to serve it at the table. Remove as much of the tough white pith as you can before cutting each section in two, which you should do just before assembling the salad.
Grilled Shrimp and Grapefruit Salad:
Grill the shrimp, plain or basted with a flavorful sauce, like a combination of lime, ginger, garlic, soy, and peanut oil.
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Substitute Thai basil for either the mint or cilantro, or add it to the mix.
with Marjoram “Pesto”
TIME:
30 minutes
MAKES:
4 servings
To make Italian-style herb pastes—like pesto—you take a great deal of a single herb (if you combine them you muddy the flavor) and pulverize it with olive oil and seasonings. The olive oil should be good, the seasonings should include salt, pepper, and garlic, and the rest of the guidelines are quite flexible. The idea, as with the familiar basil-based pesto, is to preserve, intensify, and complement the flavor of the herb, not transform or overwhelm it. Here’s a paste based on marjoram, an unheralded herb that grows well in much of the country and can be found almost any place fresh herbs are sold. It perfectly complements cold poached shrimp.
1½ pounds shrimp, preferably not peeled
Salt
2 cups fresh marjoram, leaves and small stems only
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, peeled
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon capers
2 anchovy fillets, optional
Freshly ground black pepper
Combine the shrimp in a saucepan with water to cover and a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat; let the shrimp cool in the water for about 5 minutes, or until the shrimp are opaque in the center. Rinse under cold running water until cool. Peel (and devein if you like), then arrange on a platter.
Combine the marjoram and garlic in a blender or small food processor. Process until finely minced, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula once or twice if necessary. Add the vinegar and most of the oil and process until smooth.
Add the capers and anchovies, if using, and pulse the machine on and off a few times; you want to mince, not puree, the mixture, so don’t overprocess.
Stir in the remaining oil, along with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the sauce with the cold shrimp.
| WINE | A white Burgundy or a nicely oaked California Chardonnay |
| SERVE WITH | This salad can be built into a whole meal by garnishing it with an assortment of raw and partly cooked and chilled vegetables and other foods, like carrots, celery, artichokes, red bell peppers, hard-boiled eggs, and so on. |
THIS SAUCE
contains raw garlic, anchovies, and capers, a combination that reduces the need for ordinary salt to an absolute minimum; in fact, you shouldn’t add any salt at all until you taste it.
YOU CAN BUY
peeled shrimp, but shrimp poached in their shells have more flavor (as do shrimp poached in salt water; the water should taste salty). If you’re going to peel the shrimp yourself, as I recommend, it pays to buy large shrimp and cut down on the work. Go for those in the range of 30 to 40 per pound (sometimes labeled “U-40” as in “under-40”), or even larger if the cost is not prohibitive.
MARJORAM IS
related to and resembles oregano, but its flavor is better. Oregano is a good but not perfect substitute.
Cold Poached Scallops, Squid, or Octopus with Marjoram Pesto:
Scallops, squid, and octopus are all good cold. Scallops may be cooked just like shrimp, but for a minute or two less, and squid should be cooked just until it loses its rub-beriness, a minute or two; but octopus must be simmered for at least an hour to become tender.
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To subtly improve the flavor of the shrimp, add other seasonings to the poaching liquid—the easiest thing is to grab a handful of pickling mix, which usually contains peppercorns, allspice, bay leaf, coriander, and dill seeds. Throw in a couple of garlic cloves or a piece of onion if you like.
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You can substitute any herb for the marjoram, but the best (and most traditional) are basil, parsley, oregano, and mint.
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Some of the oil can be replaced by water. (Hot water will help preserve the color of the herb.)
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Other optional flavorings include pine nuts (pignolis), dry hard cheese, like Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, chopped eggs, and pitted olives. These should not be pureed if possible but minced (or, in the case of cheese, grated) and added when the paste is already smooth.
Shrimp
TIME:
About 20 minutes
MAKES:
4 servings
Much of the flavor of shrimp can be lost in the cooking, especially when you’re grilling or broiling, which allow the juices exuded by the shrimp to escape. Far better for preserving the crustacean’s essence is cooking it in liquid, and among the best of those liquids is olive oil. This is not sautéing, but cooking the shrimp slowly in the oil, to tease out its liquids without evaporating them, so these juices combine with the oil to create an irresistible sauce.
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 or 4 big garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
1 teaspoon ground cumin, or to taste
1 teaspoon paprika, or to taste
2 pounds unshelled shrimp, in the 15- to 20-per-pound range
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Combine the oil and garlic in a 10- or 12-inch skillet. Turn the heat to medium and cook until the garlic begins to sizzle. Add the cumin and paprika. Stir, raise the heat to medium-high, and add the shrimp, along with some salt and pepper.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are all pink, no longer; you do not want to evaporate their liquid. Turn off the heat, add the parsley and serve.
| WINE | Rioja or another red from northern Spain; for the scampi variation, try a crisp white like Orvieto or Pinot Grigio; the Asian variation is best with beer |
| SERVE WITH | 60-Minute Bread or good store-bought bread is essential; Simple Green Salad is also nice. |
I USUALLY PEEL
shrimp before cooking, but in this instance the shrimp are better left unpeeled, for the simple reason that the peels contain as much flavor as the meat (maybe more), and you want that flavor in the sauce. The results are a little messier, and certainly more difficult to eat, but they are tastier—and the dish is easier to prepare.
THE KIND AND SIZE
of shrimp is always a question for cooks, and here I recommend fairly large specimens, about 15 to 20 per pound. Pacific white shrimp, which come from southern California, Mexico, and the western shoulder of South America, are a good choice, as are Gulf white shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico. The less expensive farm-raised shrimp from Asia, like black tigers, are less flavorful, but they will still show very nicely in this dish.
Shrimp, Scampi-Style:
Omit the cumin and paprika; use cayenne in place of black pepper. When the shrimp are cooked, stir in 2 or more tablespoons fresh lemon juice. Garnish with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.
Shrimp with Asian Flavors:
Substitute peanut or vegetable oil for the olive oil and cook 1 tablespoon chopped ginger and 2 or 3 dried red chiles (or to taste) along with the garlic; omit the cumin and paprika. When the shrimp are done, stir in 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Garnish with minced scallions or cilantro and serve with lime wedges.
in Lime Juice
TIME:
20 to 30 minutes
MAKES:
4 servings
This is a Southeast Asian-style preparation, mildly sweet and mouth-puckeringly sour. It’s also ridiculously fast; if you start some rice before tackling the shrimp, they will both be done at about the same time, 20 minutes later. (This assumes your shrimp are already peeled, a task that will take you about 10 minutes, and one that should be undertaken before cooking the rice.)
