Harissa #2

 

My friend Jack, brought me 2 pounds of Super Cayenne chiles. They were kept overnight in the 'frig and the next morning, in my propane bbq, fire roasted, most for 10-12 minutes, a few that didn't get the flame first for another 4-5 minutes.

In total that was 

964 grams of Super Cayenne (raw weight before roasting)
950 grams -- after roasting

After removing the burnt skins, removing the stem they weighed: 476 grams.

That's quite a loss of product, but I'm not unhappy. The 2 pounds was but $10.00 (US dollars in September 2018).

Here are the remaining quantities of ingredients.

Salt 8 grams
Brown Mustard seeds 20 grams
Caraway seeds 25 grams
Cumin (powder) 15 grams
Garlic, fresh 8 grams (paper husk removed)
Garlic, granulated, 5 grams
Pickled Lemon 25 grams
Mint, leaves, fresh 10 grams
Rosewater 4 grams
Lemon juice with it's zest, 43 grams
Olive oil, as needed to make a paste.
Sodium Benzoate .7 grams (700 milligrams)

Sorry, I don't have these in ounces and 1/10 of ounces.

Wearing gloves, I peeled the skins and de-stemmed the chiles. Into the food processor bowl with metal blade went the chiles. Over that the mint leaves and fresh garlic, left whole.

In a spice grinder went the salt, caraway, mustard, and cumin. That was reduced to a fine powder and poured over the mint and garlic. Next the juice and zest of the lemon were tipped in.

About 30 pulses got the mass to a fine enough puree to allow the processor to run continuously until the ingredients blended and pulled into a mass. While the machine ran, extra virgin olive oil was added. I eyeball this. It's not hard to see how much olive oil is needed.

Next, the bowl with it's ingredients not fully blended was weighed and the sodium benzoate weighed on a scale that can resolve (weigh accurately) tenths of a gram. As only seven/tenths of a gram of benzoate salt is needed, it must be an accurate weight. After it was added, the processor bowl was replaced and the mass mixed a few more times.

Refrigerate after standing on the countertop a few hours to allow the flavors to meld.

Béarnaise sauce

There was a time when the wealthy had greenhouses and could grow plants. Therefore, they could make delicacies any time of the year. The tarragon and chervil were always available. I can get chervil at the Farmer's Market only when the weather cooperates. I ran a netsearch on Béarnaise sauce and the citations returned are all a monotone. Martha Stewart's is the same as Epicurious', as Ina Garten's, as New York Times'. The guy at the Food Lab gets closest to the original. There may be another reason that this sauce is no longer made and I'm again guessing it is too much work. But haute cuisine is worthy of re-creating. So here goes. Words in brackets are mine.

Larousse Gastronomique. Page 817.

1 tbs. chopped shallot
2 tbs (3 tbs) tarragon and chervil [sic]
a sprig of thyme
a fragment of bay leaf
3 tbs vinegar
3 tbs white wine
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of mignonette pepper
2 egg yolks
1 tbs water
1 tbs water
4 ozs butter
a squeeze of lemon juice
a pinch of cayenne pepper
1 additional tbs of tarragon, garnish
1 additional tbs of chervil, garnish

None of the above recipes from these experts use the cayenne or bay leaf. My guess about the tarragon-chervil confusion is 2 T tarragon and 1 T chervil. But my instincts would prefer 2 T chervil. Your guess?

I'm giving the instructions in a proper order.

Take the butter from the frig and set on the counter to come to room temp. Chop the tarragon, cover and reserve. Chop the chervil, cover and reserve. Peel and chop the shallots. Reserve. Crack the eggs and separate the yolks. Reserve the yolks. Save the whites for other uses. Cut the lemon for convenient squeezing. In a mortar, crush the pepper.

In a small saucepan, put the wine and vinegar. Add the tarragon, chervil, thyme and bay leaf. Season with the salt and a pepper. Reduce by ⅔, remove from heat and bring to room temperature. Mix the yolks with the 1 tbs water. Whisk the sauce over very low heat. As soon as the eggs begin to thicken the sauce, stir in the butter in ½ inch cubes, one or two at a time, whisking continuously.

Season the sauce [add more salt if needed], sharpen the sauce with lemon juice and cayenne. Strain. Finish off with the tablespoons of chervil and tarragon. Keep warm in a double-boiler.

Cooks Note: the wine vinegar reduction of 3 fluid ounces becomes, when reduced 1 fluid ounces. There is a spelling error in the Larousse Index. Under the Sauce category the spelling of the sauce is Barnaise.

Cedar Planked Swordfish - also know as Swordfish Oscar

Everyone who has eaten this says it's a first rate fish dish. And I say that too. 

Smoldering Cedar Plank

4 swordfish steaks (6 to 8 oz.)
2/3 cup of mayonnaise
1/3 cup of Dijon mustard
1 clove of garlic, mashed
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/4 tsp. of white pepper
1 tbs. of caper jar liquid OR
1 tbs. of lemon juice
6 oz. can of crab meat - well drained of all liquid

16 ozs. asparagus - peeled if thick

Use caper juice or lemon juice, not both.

High Heat Inferno

Mix the ingredients well, except the asparagus. Add the swordfish steaks and allow to marinate for 30 minutes minimum.

Do not soak the cedar plank. It is deliberately destroyed in this recipe to create the smokey flavor.

Using a portion of the sauce, spread a thin layer on cedar where you will put the steaks. Next, add the steaks and then cover the steaks on all exposed sides with the sauce.

Put the asparagus in a bowl or casserole and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Use tongs and mix the oil over the spears.

Preheat the grill 5 minutes, slide the cedar plank onto the grill, close the lid and cook 12 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook it for 3 minutes. So start the 'gus when the countdown timer reads 9 minutes to go.

Use a metal spatula to take the steaks off the plank.

COOK'S NOTE
The quality of the canned crab meat is part of the "making" of this dish. Drain all the liquid. The can of crab I bought was, in June 2014, about $4.00 at an upscale market. The next time I made this dish, I found a can of crabmeat for $2.00. I wish I had spent the extra $2 - this recipe deserves the best quality ingredients.

Salmon Steaks in Chinese Black Bean Sauce

I like this recipe as the ingredients are few and the flavors of the salmon and bean sauce are a marvellous combination.

Ingredients

16 ounces salmon steaks (or fillets)
1/4 cup Chinese black bean sauce
1 scallion
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. butter
2 T. water
2 cloves of garlic

Cut the scallion in 1" sections. Reserve. Mash the garlic and mix it with the bean sauce, lemon juice and water. Reserve. Pre-heat the skillet, for 5 minutes, using a flame of 3/8" size. Add the butter. As it melts, add the salmon and pan fry each side for 4 to 5 minutes. During the last minute of cooking, sprinkle the onion and sauce over, covering for the 60 seconds.

Serve with white rice. Any vegetable accompaniment you like and a small salad.