1. OUTPUT: 04/29/13 19:06 USER: ELANDEROS V44S_BR MASTER 10-12-10
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BLACKYELLOWCYANMAGENTA
Think like a chef
CHILE AND TANGERINE
BRAISED LENTILS
Serves 4 to 6
ᔡ Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 red chile, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup puy lentils
1¾ cups chicken or vegetable stock, heated
Zest of 2 tangerines and juice of
6 tangerines
Sea salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
Small bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely
chopped
ᔡ Instructions:
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over
medium heat. Add the carrot, onion, celery,
garlic, and chile and cook until the
vegetables begin to soften (about 5 minutes).
Meanwhile, place the lentils in a fine-mesh
colander and rinse well under cold water.
Drain before adding to the vegetables.
Add the hot stock and about two thirds of
the tangerine juice. Bring to a boil, then
reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to
25 minutes or until the lentils are al dente
and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
Add a little more stock if the lentils look a
little dry during cooking.
Remove from the heat and stir in the
tangerine zest and remaining juice.
Season, then leave to cool a little before
stirring through the crème fraîche and
parsley. Serve warm or at room
temperature.
This recipe is from “Full of Flavor: How to
Create Like a Chef,” by Maria Elia (Kyle
Books, $27.95). Here are her suggestions for
altering the recipes:
• Try a different flavored stock, or finish with
chopped fresh mint or cilantro.
• Replace the lentils with fresh borlotti beans —
you’ll need to cook for an additional 30 to 40
minutes, so you’ll will need a little extra stock or
water.
• Lentils are one of the most versatile
ingredients, so try taking them on a flavor
journey, from Morocco to the Mediterranean. It’s
as easy as adding ginger and spices or a dash of
tomato paste, some fennel seeds (optional) and
cherry tomato halves. Just cook as indicated
above.
• Finish with lots of fresh basil and parsley, a
squeeze of lemon, and some extra virgin olive oil.
Stir through a spoon of ricotta the next day, or
serve topped with a little grated Parmesan.
BY SHARON K. GHAG
sghag@modbee.com
C
ooking is part
skill, part
discovery.
Innovation
comes with
confidence; change a recipe
to suit your taste and by
chance it evolves into
something new. Perhaps it’s
more spice or less heat;
maybe it’s carrots in place of
beets or applesauce in place
of bananas. The results
become a launching point
for more innovation and
greater confidence in the
kitchen.
A new ingredient is also a
chance to expand that base of
knowledge. A banana bread recipe
that uses sweetened condensed
milk expands a baking repertoire.
A soup that incorporates squash
blossoms for flavor and as a type
of thickener becomes a twofold
discovery. That squash blossoms
come canned at Mexican markets
is one revelation that leads to all
the wonders at such markets.
SEE PAGE D-2, CREATE
SALT EXPOSED
All salt isn’t created alike.
Here’s a
glossary
that
shakes
out some
of the
differ-
ences:
ᔡ Colored.
Pink, black,
gray and
other colored
salts contain
minerals or
other
impurities that
give them their
hue. The
impurities may
come from
sea water, or
from the clay
or substrate at
the bottom, or
they can be
deliberately
introduced.
Hawaiian pink salt, for
example, is colored by the
iron oxide from clay that is
added to the salt.
ᔡ Iodized. Containing
added iodine, a mineral
needed for thyroid
function. Inadequate
consumption of iodine can
cause goiter.
ᔡ Kosher. This salt is the
best kind for kashering, or
making kosher: extracting
the blood from meat. Its
relatively large, flat grains
can be left on the surface
of meat to extract blood
without dissolving.
ᔡ Rock. The salt of the
earth. It can be harvested
directly, but it’s usually
pumped up in solution and
re-evaporated on the
surface. This is the salt
you use on your driveway
and in your ice cream
maker, but it can also be
refined for table salt.
ᔡ Pickling. Salt without
additives, which can cloud
pickling liquid. It is
fine-grained enough to
dissolve quickly.
ᔡ Popcorn. Salt made
from very fine grains so it
is less likely to fall to the
bottom of the popcorn
bowl. (Butter also helps
prevent that problem.)
ᔡ Sea. Formed through
the evaporation of sea
water.
ᔡ Table. Fine-grained salt
with additives (usually
anti-caking agents) to
make it flow smoothly and
resist absorbing moisture
from the air. It is often
iodized.
— The Washington
Post
COOKING / NUTRITION
Taste TV/Ask Amy D3
Puzzles/Games D4
Comics D5
Lentils are
braised with
chile and
tangerine
for a bright
citrusy
flavor. They
could easily
be made
with
different
types of
broth and
added
spices —
think cumin,
coriander
and curry
powder.
COCONUT ICE
ᔡ Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
1 cup glucose powder
1 teaspoon butter
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup milk
Pinch of salt
1 cup unsweetened coconut
Vanilla essence
Red food coloring
ᔡ Instructions:
Mix together sugar, glucose
powder, butter, cream of tartar, milk
and salt in a pan. Bring slowly to a
boil, then boil for 10 minutes,
stirring continuously.
Take off heat and beat in coconut
and a few drops of vanilla essence.
Stand pan in cold water and beat
until it thickens. Pour half into a
buttered 8-by-8-inch pan, then beat
the food coloring into the other half,
before pouring it on top of the
uncolored mix. Leave to set in fridge.
Cut when set.
This recipe is from “Gran’s Kitchen:
Recipes From the Notebooks of Dulcie
May Booker,” by Natalie Oldfield
(Hardie Grant Books, $29.95).
The candy needs a full 10 minutes at a
roiling boil. It also requires a powerful
mixer. Cool the cooking pan in an ice
bath until the candy thickens, stirring
constantly, and then beat in a stand
mixer until texture lightens up. Quickly
pour into prepared pan and smooth top.
Adapt, create and
taste: That’s how
recipes evolve
NOT MAKING CUT
Q: What is a beef filet? I
recently bought some
filets and when I got home
I had to trim quite a lot of
fat and silver skin from
them. Is this normal?
A: A true filet is a
boneless cut from the
front end of the beef
tenderloin. It’s very low in
fat, which is why filet
mignon is traditionally
wrapped with a strip of
bacon, and it is known for
its tenderness. A true filet
has marbling — wavy
lines of fat distributed
throughout the muscle —
but it shouldn’t have a rim
of fat you could cut away.
If the meat was not tender,
I’d suspect you were sold
a chunk tender,
sometimes called fake
filet. It has marbling, but it
also has more connective
tissue, so it’s tougher than
a true filet. It should be
cheaper, too. A good filet
costs more because it’s
worth more.
— Kathleen Purvis,
The Charlotte
Observer (Charlotte,
N.C.)
Sweetened condensed milk adds flavor
and moisture to banana bread. Change
up the recipe by omitting some of the
spices or adding chocolate chips or nuts
or coconut.
SHARON K. GHAG/sghag@modbee.com
BANANA BREAD
Makes 1 loaf
ᔡ Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1½ teaspoons ground ginger
Seeds of 5 cardamom pods
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ cup granulated sugar
ª cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted
butter, plus extra for greasing
2 eggs, lightly beaten
5 medium-size overripe bananas
14-ounce can sweetened
condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
ᔡ Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease
and line a loaf pan with parchment
paper. Add all the dry ingredients
except the sugar to a bowl and
loosely bring together. In a separate
bowl, beat the sugar and butter
together, then add the eggs. Continue
beating and add the condensed milk,
and vanilla extract. Stir well, then
gently fold in the dry ingredients
with a wooden spoon. Pour the batter
into a loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes,
until golden brown, testing the
center with a toothpick (it should
come out clean). If the edges of the
cake are nearing too brown, remove
from the oven and let cool. The cake
will set as it cools.
This recipe is from “Kitchen & Co.:
Colorful Home Cooking Through the
Seasons,” by Rosie French and Ellie
Grace (Kyle Books, $22.95).
Change it up:
• Omit some of the spices.
• Add coconut or nuts or chocolate
chips.
Recipes &
Requests serves up
Italian wedding
soup.
Page D2.
First Course
Wednesday, May 1, 2013 | The Modesto Bee | modbee.com D1