Copyright © 2011 by James Ja mes Peterson Photographs copyright © 2011 by James Peterson All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. www.crownpublishing. www.crownpu blishing.com com www.tenspeed.com www.tenspeed. com
Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Random R andom House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Cataloging-in-Publication Data Peterson, James. Kitchen simple / James Peterson. — 1st ed. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-58008-318-8 978-1-58008-318-8 (alk (alk.. paper) 1. Quick and easy cooking. I. Title. Title. TX833.5.P48 2011 641.5’55--dc22 2011004435 ISBN 978-1 97 8-1-58008-318-8 -58008-318-8 Printed in China Cover and text design by Nancy Austin 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First Edition
iv
Fennel Salad
Mushroom and Tarragon Salad It’s imperative imperative to have fresh tarragon for this salad— dried doesn’t have the same flavor. Most people don’t think of making a salad entirely out of mushrooms, but this salad is amazingly tast y and satisf ying. Use Use cremini mushrooms, if you can find them. T he recipe calls for a rather large amount of olive oil—the mushrooms soak it up like a sponge. Serve the salad on its own or as part of a crudité assortment (see page 61).
This simple and inexpensive salad ha s become all the rage in Italian or Italianesque restaurants where it is sold at a huge markup. To make this salad, it helps to be equipped with a Benriner vegetable slicer (see page 12). If you don’t have a vegetable veget able slicer, slic er, you can make mak e this salad with a very sharp knife. Be sure to use your best olive oil. Makes 4 first-course servings 1 large or 2 small bulbs fennel 1 / cup 4
Salt
Makes 4 first-course servings
Pepper
11 / 4 pounds cultivated mushrooms, preferably cremini 1 / cup 2
extra virgin olive oil
1 / 4 cup
wine vinegar, preferably sherry vinegar
Small chunk Parmigiano-Reggiano (optional)
Leaves from 10 sprigs fresh tarragon Salt Pepper
Rinse the t he mushrooms in a colander. Inspect the bottoms of the stems; if they are dried out or dark, trim them off. Slice the t he mushrooms (include (include the stems) and toss them with the oil, vinegar, and tarragon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve right away or cover and keep in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours.
56
extra virgin olive oil
Cut the green fronds off the fennel. (These can be saved in the freezer; they’re great in broths. Or you can dry them and use them as a seasoning for grilled fish.) Cut the fennel bulb in half from top to bottom and use a small knife to cut out the core from each half. Slice the fennel as thinly as you can with a vegetable slicer or sharp knife. Just before serving, toss the fennel with the oil and season with sa lt and pepper. (Don’t (Don’t do this in advance, a dvance, or the salt will make the salad limp.) Arrange on indi vidual plates. Use a cheese cheese slicer or vegetable vegetable peeler to shave off several thin slices of Parmesan for each plate and arrange them on top.
Kitchen Simple
Variations:
Tomato Gratin Essentially baked tomatoes, nothing concentrates and underlines the flavor of tomatoes in quite the same way as a gratin. One special trick: bake the tomatoes just long enough for them to release liquid, then pour this liquid into a saucepan, boil it down to a syr up, and sprinkle it over the tomatoes dur ing the final half hour of baking. The only downside to a tomato gratin is peeling the tomatoes (if you leave the peels on, they come off and become string y) and the long cooking time, but the overall method requires very little active time. Serve this gratin with grilled gr illed meats m eats or fish (its acidit y accents accen ts seafood). se afood). Makes 4 side-dish servings 8 tomatoes Salt Pepper
Preheat the oven to 350°F. 350°F. Rub a large gratin g ratin dish with olive oil. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Plunge the tomatoes into the pot, two at a time, and let sit, over high heat, for about 45 seconds. Drain in a colander and rinse rin se thoroughly with cold water. Cut out the stems and peel away the skins. Cut each tomato into eight wedges for medium tomatoes or twelve wedges for large tomatoes. Push the seeds out of each wedge with your index finger. finger. Arrange the tomato wedges in rows in the baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Tilt the gratin dish to see how much liquid has accumulated. If there’s more than, say, 1/2 cup, ladle off the excess into a saucepan. Return the gratin to the oven and boil down the liquid until it’s lightly syrupy. Pour this back over the g ratin. Continue baking until the tomatoes begin to brown around the edges, about 30 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper and serve ser ve immediately.
90
Try sprinkling the gratin with grated ParmigianoReggiano cheese about 10 minutes before taking it out of the oven. Also, try pouring a little cream into the gratin when you pour the t he reduced tomato liquid on top. You can also sprinkle the gratin with chopped basil just before serving.
Tomatoes à la Provençale Many recipes reci pes for f or baked bake d tomatoes tomato es call cal l for cooking c ooking them t hem rather quickly, in a hot oven. The problem with this method is that the tomatoes are left water y. A better method is to cook them slowly and for a long time so that the water they contain evaporates and their flavor concentrates. Makes 4 side-dish servings 4 medium tomatoes 3 cloves garlic, minced and then crushed to a paste 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley 1 / 3 cup
bread crumbs (made by working 2 slices slightly stale white bread through a strainer)
Salt Pepper
Stem the tomatoes and cut them in half through their equators. Squeeze out the seeds and a nd set them, cut side up, in a baking dish. Smear garlic on top of the tomatoes and in the openings. Sprinkle over the parsley and bread crumbs, pressing them into the openings, and slide into the oven. Season with w ith salt and pepper. p epper. Turn Turn the oven to 350°F (there’s no need to preheat). Bake for 1 hour, or until the tomatoes look shrunk and wizened. Serve hot or warm.
Kitchen Simple
Pasta and Peas While recipes for this dish abound, this part icular recipe is inspired by one from Justin Schwartz’s wonderful book, Naples at Table. Table. Makes 6 first-course or 4 main-course servings 4 tablespoons butter One 4-ounce slice prosciutto ( 1 / 4 inch thick), cut into 1 / 4-inch dice 1 small onion, chopped One 10-ounce package frozen peas or 10 ounces fresh baby peas 1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
Pasta with Porcini Mushroom Sauce Dried mushrooms are among the most flavorf ul of all foods—aa few slices of mushroom w ill go a long way. foods— When shopping for dried porcini, available in gourmet supermarkets, look for mushrooms that st ill feel flexible through the bag, rather than completely dry and brittle. Look for mushrooms with the largest slices you can find, rather rathe r than little lit tle chips. chips . You should be b e able to t o smell the fragrance of the mushrooms through the bag. Keep unused porcini tightly wrapped in the f reezer reezer.. Makes 4 light main-course servings
Pepper
4 large pieces dried porcini mushrooms, soaked for 30 minutes in just enough water to cover
1 pound dried pasta, such as spaghetti or linguine, or 11 / 2 pounds fresh
1 cup heavy cream
Finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to serve
Pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
1 pound dried pasta, such as fettuccine or linguine, or 11 / 2 pounds fresh
In a large sauté pan, pa n, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the prosciutto and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion turns translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the peas and cook co ok just long enough to heat them through and, if they’re t hey’re fresh, lightly cook them, anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes (taste (taste one to determine doneness). doneness). Add the parsley and season sea son to taste with salt and pepper.
Finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to serve at the table
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Meanwhile, boil dried pasta according to the instructions on the package, or if fresh, f resh, for 30 to 60 seconds, until soft, with w ith the slightest resistance to the tooth.
Squeeze the mushrooms over the container you used to soak them in so you catch all the soaking liquid. Pour the soaking liquid into a saucepan, leaving any grit behind in the container. Add the cream to the soaking liquid as well as the t he mushrooms and simmer gently until the sauce barely begins to thicken. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Drain the pasta and transfer to a heated bowl. Toss it with the pea mixture. Serve in heated pasta or soup plates. Pass the Parmesan at the table.
Boil dried pasta according to the instructions on the package, or if fresh, for 30 to 60 seconds, until soft, with the slightest resistance to the tooth. Drain the pasta in a colander and transfer to a heated bowl. Pour over the sauce and toss. Ser ve on heated plates. Pass the Parmesan at the table.
134
Kitchen Simple
