Bluefish with Fava Beans, Corn, Tomatoes and Fresh Herbs. Photo: Rebecca Flint Marx
Let's face it: ever since Hannibal Lecter sung their praises in "The Silence of the Lambs," fava beans haven't enjoyed the greatest associations -- particularly where Chianti and liver are involved.
And that's a shame, because they're some of the most flavorful and versatile treats that summer has to offer. In season for a few precious weeks, favas -- which have been enjoyed throughout the world for about 5,000 years and are packed with so much protein they've been called "the meat of the poor" -- can be used in everything from salads and purées to soups and pasta dishes.
When the flat, wide beans are shelled and blanched, they adopt a vibrant grassy hue and buttery texture that enriches any meal, and their rapid cooking time makes it easy to incorporate them into a quick weeknight dinner -- or into lunch the following day. While stringing and shucking the beans (which, unshelled, are about five inches long) is a bit labor-intensive, it's one of those activities that's all but made for summer, particularly if you have a porch, some time on your hands and a glass of something cold by your side.
Like paella, tortilla española is a quintessential Spanish dish. Ubiquitous on tapas bar menus, the circular potato and onion omelet is also versatile. Add peppers (as above) or chorizo for color and texture, or follow the lead of Michael Fiorello, chef de cuisine at Chicago tapas bar Mercat a la Planxa, who loves tossing in jamón Ibérico or seasonal mushrooms.
While labor intensive, basic tortilla española (an original recipe is after the jump) is well worth the effort for its inimitable flavor and flexibility. Adapt this recipe to suit your own needs -- perhaps finish it on the stove top, perhaps in the oven, as done at Mercat a la Planxa. Fiorello agrees: "You can cook tortilla using many different techniques." No matter how you slice it, tortilla española is addictive. If you can wait this long -- and you ought not -- it will keep for a couple of days.
In this weekly series, home cook Bruce Watson works his way through a decades-old family cookbook, adapting the best recipes exclusively for Slashfood.
Over the last few years, Korean barbecue has gained fresh relevance in the United States. Whether served on hot dog buns in Manhattan, tortillas in Los Angeles or rice in Korean restaurants around the country, the sweet, oniony flavors of bulgoki, japchae and galbi are incredibly delicious and increasingly popular.
When I was a kid, bulgoki (also spelled bulgogi, pulgoki, pulgogi and any number of other ways) was a staple in my house. My parents, who lived in Korea before I was born, loved the stuff and would cook it on an electric griddle at our dinner table. As my sisters and I got older, we got involved in the fun; some of my first cooking experiences involved flipping bulgoki with a pair of bamboo tongs.
I've played with amounts and ingredients, but my mother's basic bulgoki recipe is fantastic. In fact, my only major change is in the dipping sauce: while my parents used light soy sauce with a sprinkle of pepper, I prefer a more traditional garlic/vinegar sauce, which I've included below. Get the recipe for bulgoki after the jump.
In this weekly series, home cook Bruce Watson works his way through a decades-old family cookbook, adapting the best recipes exclusively for Slashfood.
When I have access to fresh produce, cucumber season becomes one of my favorite times of the year. Although it runs from May to August, the wonderful green beauties won't reach their full flourish until later in the summer. Still, it's hard to resist the cool, summery flavor of the first cukes of the season. With that in mind, I decided to flip through my family cookbook in search of some great cucumber recipes.
My Aunt Renie's cucumber salad manages to halve the distance between sharp and smooth, sweet and sour, creamy and intense. In my adjusted version, I cut back on the onions, switched in Greek yogurt and tossed in some fresh dill.
The final version had the soothing coolness of a traditional cucumber salad, but also retained a nice vinegar tang that keeps me on my toes. This is great by itself, or as an accompaniment to barbecue or any other strongly seasoned dish.
An unmistakable perfume is in the air: the intoxicating vapors of resiny cedar, sweet applewood, sexy mesquite and reliable ol' hick'ry, arising from grills and escaping from smokers on every block and in every park. Brats are sizzling, hot dogs plumping, chicken breasts marinating, hamburgers being seasoned. And he-men and she-women can barely wait to tuck into perfectly seared T-bones, dry-aged Porterhouses, smoky brisket, even refined filets mignons.
In steakhouses, spinach, typically creamed, is a traditional accompaniment for steak. This is because steak demands to be in the company of strong flavors, and spinach -- among the most assertive of greens in both texture and taste -- delivers. So, as grilling season commences, Slashfood reminds you to eat your spinach. Beyond the jump is an original recipe for a spinach salad that's nothing like the oily, eggy cafeteria staple; gilded with lemon and oregano and with a smoky bacon crunch that resonates with food from the grill. C'mon, give it a try -- it'll please both your mother and Popeye!
They're cheesy, cheap and classic. What are talking about? Casseroles, of course! In this brand-new series food writer and blogger Emily Farris, author of "Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven" crafts tasty new casseroles exclusively for Slashfood readers. Green Eggs and Ham is her premier dish -- just in time for Easter.
As a kid, I never understood why Easter dinner was called "dinner" if it happened at noon. Luckily, one of the great things about being an adult is that we can make our own rules and name our own meals. And because I still can't bring myself to call a meal that happens that early "dinner," this year I'm hosting Easter brunch.
Am I making a 10-pound ham and scrambling three-dozen eggs while my guests drink free-flowing mimosas? Nope, this thing is happening potluck style. Like most people I know, I can't afford to host lavish brunches (not to mention dinners!), but wanted my meal to incorporate the different elements of Easter and, well, be a little brunch-y. So green eggs and ham it was, with eggs, ham, spinach, biscuits and my favorite thing in the world: cheese.
After a bit of experimentation, I wound up with a sort-of upside-down quiche with a biscuit crust, and who wouldn't go crazy for that? Although it'd be a wonderful meal for Easter brunch or supper, it's also a great way to use up that leftover Easter ham. Regardless, it's the sort of thing that would make Dr. Seuss -- or the Easter Bunny -- proud.
Risotto, like polenta and grits, is one of those dishes to which the maxim "patience is a virtue" is frequently applied. And this photo, taken by Elise at Simply Recipes, beautifully illustrates why. A bowl of creamy, nutty grains of perfectly cooked rice, crowned with mushrooms that have been sautéed and cooked in cognac and cream, is glorious payoff for the constant care that risotto requires. While the idea adding cup after cup of stock to a pot of slowly cooking rice may not be everyone's idea of fun, results such as this one prove -- to borrow yet another maxim -- that good things do indeed come to those who wait.
Just in time for your next Saturday night pasta party, a new jarred sauce that's worth a first taste and second helping has appeared on store shelves. Mezzetta, the company famous for such glass-jarred wonders as snappy peperoncini and an addictive giardiniera, has launched Napa Valley Bistro, a line of pasta sauces prepared with Napa Valley wines. We were glad to cook up a sample sent our way and toss it with some noodles. Hey, anything for our readers – especially if it involves eating spaghetti.
We tried two versions: basic marinara and the creamy version. The saucy results are after the jump.
Over the weekend we received a disturbing note: "I mangled the (H-E-double-hockey-sticks) out of my scallops tonight and don't want to do it again." Instantly, we switched to nerd mode and wanted to help.
As fans of the sea, we can think of no better flavor than that of a deliciously caramelized scallop, seared on its lonesome in molten brown butter to crispy brown, tender perfection (as in the above photo). Achieving such perfection, for most, is another reality entirely. Overcooked, oversauced and overseasoned are the usual adjectives employed when a pan of these pliant bivalves meets a cruel fate.
Scallops are among the most delicate creatures in our oceans. Store them on ice or in the coldest part of the fridge to keep them fresh. Like a Grade-A steak, a scallop has natural sugars begging to be exploited. Try one raw and you'll understand why. But grocery store scallops are another story: they tend to come with a lot of water, which results in the first sin of searing. Award-winning chef Cathal Armstrong of Virginia's Restaurant Eve says a lot of scallops are treated with liquid phosphates. "They absorb them and it gives them a better retail value -- and white color -- but also a lot of water." Look for "dry pack" or "unsoaked" scallops. If that's not possible, drain them, pat them dry with a paper towel and dust them with easy available Wondra flour, which Armstrong says, "doesn't clump, but instead gives it a nice crust."
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are embarking upon a Bento Boom. The prettily packaged (often very elaborate) box lunch has been around in Japan since the 1600s, has its share of obsessives stateside, and now boasts an upscale San Francisco Bay Area entrepreneur as its, uh, bentoperson. Meet Peko-Peko (Japanese for "hungry").
How can a simple, typically cheap boxed lunch go upscale? Well, owner Sylvan Brackett's restaurant background is at Alice Waters' famed local eatery Chez Panisse. His tribute to the food of his childhood -- his mother is Japanese -- do not come cheap. When they're so gorgeously presented in beautiful "to go" boxes, or on traditional servingware when catered, we'd be inclined to shell out the $25 minimum. (Full disclosure: We sampled Brackett's incredible potstickers as college acquaintances). Seasonal, organic ingredients might include Marin Sun Pork Kakuni (soy and sake-simmered pork belly) with chrysanthemum greens or a layered box of Dungeness crab, pork cutlet, local pickled ginger and Brackett's house-brined umeboshi (pickles).
Though gourmet bento has not yet charmed all of America, Brackett studied the cuisine in Japan and declares, "Beautifully laid out food is common there." How does Mom feel about him taking the casual food she served him as a tot and bringing it to the Alice Waters crowd? "She thinks it's amusing."
A lot of people think New Yorkers live in their own little bubble.
Well, you know, sometimes it's a big bubble.
A friend called Saturday morning to ask if we knew about the pop-up restaurant opening in Brooklyn -- "you know, in the giant, see-through bubble." We sat straight up in bed, ran to our laptop to see the link he sent us and gasped.
It was called the "Spacebuster," and we challenge you to find the child of the '80s who could resist such a thing. A team of German architects-slash-artists have been hosting events in the billowing plastic beast -- its goal is to create spontaneous communities in urban landscapes -- since 2006, and this is her virgin trip to the U.S. (local Slashfoodies can meet her at a formal reception on Tuesday).
The Eighteenth, a roaming underground monthly dinner club, was in charge of a menu that included endive, a bone-broth soup, polenta and anile flotante. We brushed off the $27 fixed-price menu without a second thought. What is money in a bubble? We pictured a night free of the elements New Yorkers continually battle -- pollution, traffic, stench -- short of major natural disaster, nothing could touch us in a bubble! Upon realizing the evening would be staged in the quiet courtyard of a Gothic can factory, we were sold.
This photo makes us want to skip on down to Johnny Rocket's, pop the Shirelles on the stereo and sip milkshakes two-straws-to-a-glass -- all before 10am.
But of course what looks to be a simple burger and mac combo platter with a sweet side of Moxie is actually a duck-pork patty slathered with seven-pickle relish accompanied by a gorgonzola and cheddar mac 'n cheese. We're pretty sure that's not what the Fonz was noshing on back in the day. Gotta love that fresh strawberry shake served up in a laboratory glass, too. Click over to the snapshot to learn what those lunchboxes have printed on 'em, part of the cutesy theme at Seattle's Lunchbox Laboratory.
If you're not in our Flickr pool yet it's time to jump in, start tagging photos "slashfood" and show off your skills already. And tell us if this pic makes you get a burger for lunch.
Zesty, spicy and sweet in equal parts, Thai beef salad may be the ideal dish for spring. Though it might simply look like beef plunked on top of greens, its almost-invisible ingredients -- lime juice, minced red chiles and fish sauce -- lend it a flavor profile we crave again and again. Packed with protein, it also features enough veggies that one can walk away feeling a bit lighter on her feet than after, say, downing a porterhouse.
We were reminded how much we love this salad when we came upon La Fille de La Ville's photo. Why La Fille de la Ville? It's pretty literal, we discovered when we emailed her: "I'm just a girl of the town!" she exclaimed. Sounds like a typical New Orleans resident smitten with her city. She's a newbie there but sounds pretty darn enthused about NOLA's "epicurean delights." Find her recipe -- and breathless gastronomical reports -- on her site.
What would happen if one crossed the rich sweetness of northern-style corn bread with the fun shape of a pancake? We're not sure, but it would probably look a lot like an arepa. Simple and hearty, the rich Venezuelan cornmeal patties -- often sliced open and stuffed for a cool-looking sandwich -- are here topped to make an open-faced snack.
Sara of Sara's Kitchen whipped up this intriguing combo of fresh arepa, black beans, a savory avocado salsa and just a touch of queso blanco. A mix of bright flavors and fun textures, it has us intrigued -- and mulling over a few salsa notions of our own!
"We've had our fair share of flames and failures" ruminate the couple behind culinary blog Love and Olive Oil: "Like any good relationship, cooking has its ups and downs."
Tell us about it! We've mangled many a simple recipe over the course of the years. But so long as our end results look as tempting as this duo's ginger-and-brown-sugar-spiked Mongolian Beef, which was inspired by a P.F. Chang's dish, we'll keep hanging out in the kitchen.
We can change the way we make eggs -- scrambled, poached, fried -- but what about changing the eggs themselves? Mix up your scrambling routine with quail eggs.
Just in time for your next Saturday night pasta party, a new jarred sauce that's worth a first taste and second helping has appeared on store shelves. 
Zesty, spicy and sweet in equal parts, Thai beef salad may be the ideal 
Second Helping of Slashfood - June 19
Competitive-Eating Contest to Pit Humans Against Elephants
The Backyard Boom - The Hungry Bride
