This recipe is from a Jamie Oliver cookbook my friends the Foxes gave me for Christmas a few years back. It has a lot of really interesting recipes in it (although unfortunately, a fair number of them require ingredients that are hard to come by in Central Texas, or at least at reasonable prices)
Rebecca asks me to make this all the time. It's absurdly quick and easy, and a big serving of the resulting dish has something like 75 calories, so bon appetit!
Hardware
Big non-stick skillet or saute pan
Mandoline slicer (if you have one)
Medium mixing bowl
Colander (optional)
Software
4-6 zucchini squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
pinch red pepper flake
2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely minced
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and black pepper to taste
Slice the zucchini evenly into thin (1/16th inch) slices - this is quick and easy if you have a mandoline or something similar. Toss in the mixing bowl with the red pepper flake and garlic, set aside.
Heat the oil in your pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the zucchini and cook, stirring frequently, until it begins to lightly brown around the edges (4-5 minutes.)
Add the butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until most of the juice has cooked off and the zucchini is browned and cooked through (3-4 minutes)
Season with salt to taste and serve hot.
Interesting pro tip: if you have time, you can improve the texture and flavor of the final product considerably by 'koshering' the zucchini. After slicing them, place in a colander and toss with a couple of heavy pinches of kosher salt. Let rest for at least 15 minutes (30 is better) then rinse and pat dry. The salt will pull a lot of the moisture out of the zucchini, making the final product much tastier.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
Red Beans and Rice
Another recipe courtesy of Alton Brown - this one is healthy and delicious. Its flavors improve significantly after cooking - it's actually best if you make it, store it in the fridge for 2 days, then reheat and serve. Not that it's bad right out of the pot...
If you don't want to make homemade pickled pork to go in your beans you can use a pound of andouille sausage instead, but it won't be as good :) Technically you can also use bacon but if you're going to go that route, I prefer the sweet smokiness of the Baked Bean.
Hardware:
Large dutch oven or stock pot
knife and cutting board
Software:
1 lb red beans, rinsed and picked over for rocks
2 quarts (8 cups) water
2 large bell peppers, seeded and cored, diced
1 medium onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
12 -16 ounces homemade pickled pork (recipe follows)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon tabasco sauce (or similar)
additional salt and black pepper to taste
Add a splash of vegetable oil to your pot and place over medium-high heat. Add the celery, onion, bell pepper and salt and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cover. Cook covered for 90 minutes or until the beans are tender, then continue cooking uncovered until desired consistency is reached. You can use a potato masher or immersion blender to help speed along this process.
Serve over warm white rice with extra tabasco sauce for those who like it hot.
Homemade Pickled Pork (shockingly easy)
Hardware:
saucepan
zip top bag
plastic bin for containment
Software
1-2 lbs pork shoulder (aka boston butt) cut into 1 inch cubes
2 cups water
1 cup apple cider vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons mustard seed
2 tablespoons tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon celery seed
dozen black peppercorns
Bring all ingredients except the pork to a boil in your saucepan. Kill the heat and add ~2 cups ice. Once cooled, place your pork shoulder in the zip-top bag and pour the pickling solution over it. Press as much air as possible out of the bag and close. Store in the refrigerator (turning occasionally) for a minimum of 2 days and a maximum of 2 weeks (after that, you can drain off the solution and freeze it)
If you don't want to make homemade pickled pork to go in your beans you can use a pound of andouille sausage instead, but it won't be as good :) Technically you can also use bacon but if you're going to go that route, I prefer the sweet smokiness of the Baked Bean.
Hardware:
Large dutch oven or stock pot
knife and cutting board
Software:
1 lb red beans, rinsed and picked over for rocks
2 quarts (8 cups) water
2 large bell peppers, seeded and cored, diced
1 medium onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
12 -16 ounces homemade pickled pork (recipe follows)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon tabasco sauce (or similar)
additional salt and black pepper to taste
Add a splash of vegetable oil to your pot and place over medium-high heat. Add the celery, onion, bell pepper and salt and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cover. Cook covered for 90 minutes or until the beans are tender, then continue cooking uncovered until desired consistency is reached. You can use a potato masher or immersion blender to help speed along this process.
Serve over warm white rice with extra tabasco sauce for those who like it hot.
Homemade Pickled Pork (shockingly easy)
Hardware:
saucepan
zip top bag
plastic bin for containment
Software
1-2 lbs pork shoulder (aka boston butt) cut into 1 inch cubes
2 cups water
1 cup apple cider vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons mustard seed
2 tablespoons tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon celery seed
dozen black peppercorns
Bring all ingredients except the pork to a boil in your saucepan. Kill the heat and add ~2 cups ice. Once cooled, place your pork shoulder in the zip-top bag and pour the pickling solution over it. Press as much air as possible out of the bag and close. Store in the refrigerator (turning occasionally) for a minimum of 2 days and a maximum of 2 weeks (after that, you can drain off the solution and freeze it)
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