The Minimalist Cooks Dinner (25 page)
Read The Minimalist Cooks Dinner Online
Authors: Mark Bittman
Onions and Cheese
TIME:
30 to 40 minutes
MAKES:
4 servings
Baked eggs are little-known these days, but they are easy and underrated. I first encountered them combined with slow-cooked onions, cheese, and bread crumbs, a recipe taught me by a college friend whose family had been making it for years. The trick with baked eggs is to avoid overcooking, because the consistency of baked eggs should be like that of fried eggs, with a barely cooked white and a soft, runny yolk. This is a real joy here; when you cut into the yolk, it spills out over bread crumbs, melted cheese, and onions, moistening the lot. But just a minute too long in the oven and the yolk will become medium- or hard-cooked, and much of the pleasure will be lost.
4 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
4 cups sliced onions Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1½ cups coarse fresh bread crumbs
1 cup grated cheese, such a Gruyére or Emmentaler
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
8 extra-large eggs
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Put the butter or oil in a large, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and a liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper, cover the skillet, and turn the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and tender but not browned, about 15 minutes.
Combine the bread crumbs and cheeses and sprinkle half this mixture over the onions. Use the back of a spoon to make eight little nests in the mixture and crack an egg into each. Top with some salt and pepper and the remaining bread-crumb-and-cheese mixture.
Bake for 5 minutes, or until the eggs are barely set; turn on the broiler and brown the top for a minute or so, but be careful not to overcook the eggs. Serve hot or at room temperature.
| WINE | Pinot Noir or Chardonnay |
| SERVE WITH | Raw Beet Salad , Simple Green Salad , or simply carrot and celery sticks |
THE EASIEST WAY
to master the timing is to underbake the eggs slightly, then finish them under the broiler, keeping a careful eye on them all the while. Even then, overcooking is a danger, and it’s better to remove them prematurely and let the heat of the pan finish the cooking, or return them to the broiler for another 30 seconds, than to allow the yolk to harden.
FRESH BREAD CRUMBS
are best. To make them, just dry out a couple of slices of good bread in a low oven (or leave them out on the counter for a day or so), then grind coarsely in a food processor—coarse crumbs become crunchy rather than sandy when baked.
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Eggs can be baked on a bed of almost anything, from cooked spinach or sliced tomatoes to creamy polenta or mashed potatoes.
GRILLED FLANK STEAK WITH KIMCHEE-STYLE COLESLAW
BEEF WRAPPED IN LETTUCE LEAVES, KOREAN STYLE
SKIRT STEAK WITH COMPOUND BUTTER
SKIRT STEAK WITH PLUM PURÉE SAUCE
GRILLED STEAKS WITH ROQUEFORT SAUCE
RIB-EYE STEAKS WITH ANCHOVY-RED WINE SAUCE
PORK CUTLET WITH MISO-RED WINE SAUCE
LAMB WITH PEPPERS AND YOGURT SAUCE
Stickers
TIME:
1 hour
MAKES:
about 48 dumplings, (4 main-course servings or 8 or more appetizer servings)
There is only one major hassle in making pot stickers, the fabulous, crisp-and-tender Chinese dumplings, and that is making the dough. But store-bought wrappers are now sold in just about every supermarket.
A filling of ground pork, cabbage, scallions, ginger and garlic can be put together in less than 10 minutes. Filling each wrapper takes about 30 seconds once you get the hang of it. This means that you can make four dozen dumplings in about half an hour. At that point they can be covered and refrigerated for several hours, or frozen for later use. Happily crammed in a skillet, they take less than 10 minutes. (You’ll have to cook them in batches if you’re making four dozen, but you can eat them in batches, too.) The dipping sauce adds 5 minutes.
¾ pound ground pork or other meat
1 cup finely minced cabbage
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
6 scallions, white and green parts separated, both finely minced
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons good soy sauce
48 dumpling wrappers (or a few more to allow for som failures), about 2 inches across
1 egg, lightly beaten Peanut or vegetable oil
¼ cup rice or white vinegar
Combine the pork, cabbage, ginger, garlic, white parts of the scallions, and 2 tablespoons soy sauce in a bowl with ¼ cup water. Lay a wrapper on a clean, dry surface and, using your finger or a brush, spread a bit of egg along half of its circumference. Place a rounded teaspoon or so of the filling in the center of the wrapper, fold over, and seal by pinching the edges together. Lay each dumpling on a plate until you’re ready to cook. If you want to wait a few hours, keep the plate covered with plastic wrap and refrigerate until mealtime, or freeze for few days.
To cook, pour about 2 tablespoons oil into a large nonstick skillet, turn the heat to medium-high and heat for a minute. Add the dumplings, one at a time, to the oil; you can crowd them to the point where they touch one another, but they should still sit flat in one layer. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the bottoms of the dumplings are lightly browned. Add ¼ cup water per dozen dumplings to the skillet (in other words, if you’re
cooking 2 dozen dumplings at a time, add ½ cup water) and cover; lower the heat to medium and cook for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, to make the dipping sauce, combine the remaining ½ cup soy sauce with the green parts of the scallions and vinegar and stir.After about 3 minutes, uncover the dumplings, raise the heat again, and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the bottoms are dark brown and crisp and the water is evaporated. (Use another 2 tablespoons oil to repeat the process, if necessary.) Serve hot, with the dipping sauce.
| WINE | Dry Pinot Blanc, Tokay, or Riesling from Alsace, or beer |
| SERVE WITH | These are traditionally served as an appetizer before a meal, but served with stir-fried vegetables, they make a full meal. |
ALWAYS USE
the round wrappers, as the square kind result in too much empty dough.
IT HELPS
to incorporate a little water into the filling, which, combined with the meat juices, keeps the interior super-moist.
FOLDING THE
dumplings is almost intuitive; you will quickly get into it. To seal, you brush an edge of the dough with a little beaten egg. (Water will work as a “glue” also, but not quite as well, and you only need 1 egg for a whole batch of dumplings, so it’s worth it.)
THE COOKING
technique is unusual but simple: Brown the dumplings for a couple of minutes in oil, then add a little water, cover for 3 or 4 minutes, then uncover and finish the browning. It works.
Vegetarian Pot Stickers:
Make the filling using 2 cups finely minced cabbage, 1 cup minced shiitakes (caps only), ½ cup minced scallions or chives, and the ginger, garlic, and soy as above (omit the water). Proceed precisely as above.
Shrimp Pot Stickers:
Make the filling using 2 cups peeled and finely minced shrimp (start with about 1 pound unpeeled shrimp), ½ cup trimmed and minced snow peas, ½ cup minced shallots, and the ginger, garlic, and soy as above. Add 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (or 1 tablespoon minced bacon) to the mix, then proceed as above.
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The fillings can be almost anything
: Ground pork or beef, chicken, turkey, or even lamb will produce the most familiar kind of pot sticker. These can be all meat or, like the ones above, meat mixed with cabbage (meat mixed with chopped shiitake mushrooms is good, too). Cabbage can dominate in a vegetarian dumpling, as above, or you can use a variety of vegetables and herbs—chives or scallions are especially great in large quantity.
