Tag Archives: Garlic

May 18, 2012 · 11:09 am

MORE FARMERS MARKET DINNER: BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

San Francisco’s Ferry Building Farmers Market is much more than the outdoor stalls which attract crowds a couple of days each week. There are all sorts of shops inside the building selling everything from kitchen gear to local caviar. The cheese shops are outstanding, the bakeries are great, and the mushroom place has a huge choice of the freshest specimens. For the carnivores, there are several great shops, but a favorite of both Sarah and me is Prather Ranch. We bought four succulent lamb shanks already done up in plastic, but clearly very fresh. These would be the centerpiece of our farmers market meal.

Turning the braising lamb shanks

After getting the lamb shanks home, Sarah browned them in a huge Magnalite casserole along with a couple of cloves of smashed garlic and some aromatic vegetables: carrots and onions. Chefs seem divided over the use of celery in the classic mirepoix combination of onions, celery, and carrots. Some refuse to use celery as they think it is too bitter. Whatever your own personal bias might be, be sure to brown the lamb shanks in some oil and your choice of vegetables. Add some stock or water and a good slug of red wine. Season with salt and pepper. Toss in a generous handful of fresh thyme and Mediterranean (not Mexican) oregano. Bring to a boil, and then cover and reduce the heat to the lowest simmer.

Some purists insist on using rosemary and garlic as the classic seasoning for lamb. You can do that instead if you prefer, but I can guarantee that thyme and oregano work beautifully.

Steaming braising liquid with herbs

Sarah finished her dish over low heat on the stove top, turning and basting frequently as well as skimming off excess fat. If you prefer, you can braise the lamb shanks, covered,  in the oven at low heat – no more than 250°F. Be sure to check the pot frequently and skim the rendered fat. Plan to braise the shanks for at least 2 to 3 hours or until the meat is well done, tender, and falling off the bone.

When they are done to your liking, remove the lamb shanks to a platter and serve them immediately while still warm.

Finished lamb shanks

Lamb shanks vary greatly in size, but in most cases you should allow one for each diner. With only three of us and four lamb shanks we wound up with leftovers.

Ready to serve

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April 5, 2012 · 12:53 pm

ONION SOUP WITH GARLIC CROUTONS AND MELTED CHEESE

Yellow onions

Who doesn’t like onion soup? My older daughter for one. She actually doesn’t like anything with onions. I can’t understand her taste, because for me a well-made bowl of onion soup topped with a crisp round of garlic crouton and melted Gruyère cheese approaches the perfect simple evening meal. The problem is that there is many a bowl of not-well-made soup. The dehydrated variety doesn’t even really qualify as soup, and the canned sort is not much better. Sometimes you see a version of onion soup in the steam table on a buffet line. That, too, is usually not very appealing. And all of this is too bad because the real thing is so easy to make.

Thinly-sliced onions

Julia Child showed Americans how to make a good soup, along with a lot of her other revelations on good cooking. From time to time we still watch Julia making soup on a black-and-white DVD of her early shows I got as a gift from my children many years ago. I also check out her classic recipe in our tattered, disintegrating copy of Volume One of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” (pages 43-45). As is always the case, Julia took no shortcuts, and her instructions can sometimes appear daunting.  Those may be the reasons that onion soup is not a mainstay of most kitchens. Another reason may be that the soup is viewed by  modern cooks as a bit old-fashioned. I say too bad to that! The final reason may be that many, like my daughter, don’t like onions. That remains a mystery to me.

Caramelized onions

The version  that follows is a riff on Julia Child’s recipe, but I have tried to simplify preparation a bit so that you can whip up soup in the afternoon for dinner in the evening. Add some crusty French bread and fresh butter along with a bottle of chilled dry white wine, and you have everything you need for a relaxing evening at home.

Soup at the simmer

RECIPE

Ingredients  

  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 medium yellow onions, slice as thinly as possible (use a mandoline)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 3 Tablesoons all-purpose flour
  • 4 Cups beef stock (home-made or packaged)
  • ½ Cup dry, white vermouth
  • pepper to taste
  • 4 half-inch slices of French baguette
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced in half crosswise
  • 2 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated coarsely

Ready to pop under the broiler

Preparation

  1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed 4-quart saucepan with lid. Add the onions and salt. Stir and cover to sweat the onions. Be careful not to let them burn.
  2. When the onions are translucent and soft, remove the lid, turn up the heat to medium-high, and stir in the sugar.
  3. Stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, caramelize the onions until they are golden brown. They will not begin to brown until most of the liquid has boiled off. Be very careful not to let the onions burn.
  4. When you are satisfied with the color of the onions,  add the flour, stirring until the onions are completely coated. Cook a few minutes so that the flou loses its raw taste.
  5. Add the beef stock and vermouth; adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Stir well. Cover and turn the heat to simmer so that the mixture just barely bubbles every few seconds. Simmer for at least two hours.
  6. While the soup is simmering, prepare the croutons by placing the baguette slices on a sheet pan in an oven preheated to 200°. Bake until the bread has dried out a bit. Then remove from the oven and scrape the cut garlic over both sides of the bread slices. Return to the oven and continue to bake until the bread has completely dried and turned a light brown color. Remove from the oven, cool the croutons,  and set aside.
  7. When your soup has simmered long enough, ladle it into four oven-proof soup bowls. Top each bowl with a garlic crouton and cover with the grated cheese.
  8. Place the bowls on a sheet pan and slide under a pre-heated broiler for just a few minutes until the cheese is melted and – if you prefer – lightly browned.
  9. Serve immediately.

Is it soup yet? Definitely!

Serves two if you’re really hungry or four if you would rather enjoy the wine.

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July 22, 2011 · 2:07 pm

GARLIC SCAPES

        In our area, the green garlic season is over and so are fresh green garlic soup or green garlic focaccia. The real garlic season is still ahead with the Gilroy Garlic Festival, braids of plump garlic heads, and roasted garlic. . In a very small window of opportunity, it is possible to enjoy garlic scapes. But that window is very narrow, and unless you live in northern climes, you may have already missed it. Still, it is worth a look as you stroll past the booths in your local farmers market. Garlic, like most other allia including chives and onions send up a single, usually leafless flowering stem from the crown of the plant. The flowers blossom – often beautifully – and form seeds or small plantlets. Garlic growers may harvest green garlic early in the spring, but after the scapes appear, the farmers trim them off so that the energy of the plant is pushed toward producing big garlic bulbs that are attractive at the market. Often the scapes curl back on themselves with the flower bud a prominent feature. This curly show is attractive and makes for some unique cooking. Just be careful that when you buy scapes that you select young ones with a tight flower capsule and tender stems. Scapes that are harvested too late can be straight, woody and tough. Once that happens, it is nearly impossible to cook them to tenderness.
        Speaking of Gilroy, the Garlic Festival is just around the corner (July 29 through 31). They call themselves the garlic capital of the world. That is probably not true. If you buy your garlic at the local supermarket, there is a good chance that it comes from China! China produces over 75% of the world’s supply of garlic and nearly 55 times as much as the United States.
        So what do you do with scapes? You can do about the same things that you do with green garlic, but even better is to use them simply sautéed or incorporated into a main dish like a frittata.
RECIPES
SAUTÉED GARLIC SCAPES AND MUSHROOMS
Ingredients
4 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 Cups (about) tender, young garlic scapes trimmed of any woody stems
8 oz cremeni mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
1. Heat the butter and olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the butter has stopped foaming, add the scapes and mushrooms.
2. Toss frequently until the scapes are softened and slightly wilted and the mushrooms are cooked through (about 5 to 10 minutes) Serve immediately.
Yield: Serves 2 to 4 as a side dish

Sautéed garlic scapes and mushrooms

BACON, POTATO AND GARLIC SCAPE FRITTATA
Ingredients
8 slices bacon
2 russet potatoes, scrubbed
4 Cups tender, young garlic scapes, trimmed of any woody stems
6 large eggs, beaten
½ Cup cream
1 ounce Swiss cheese, shredded

1. In a large oven-proof cast iron frying pan, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon, drain on paper towels, and chop coarsely. Set aside
2. In the meantime, slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and boil in salted water for about 20 minutes until soft but not completely cooked. Drain, cool and cut into ¼ inch thick slices.
3. Add the potato slices to the still hot bacon drippings and stir occasionally until they begin to brown lightly. Add the scapes and continue to stir until the scapes are softened and slightly wilted. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped bacon.
4. In a bowl, combine the beaten eggs and cream. Then pour over the potato-scape-bacon mixture, stirring to evenly mix.
5. Sprinkle the grated Swiss cheese over the top
6. Place the iron frying pan in the middle of an oven preheated to 275°. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the eggs are set and the cheese is bubbling.
7. Remove from the oven, cut into wedges, and serve immediately
Yield: Serves 4 to 6 for breakfast or a light lunch.

Bacon, potato, and garlic scape frittata

Bacon, potato, and garlic scape frittata

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