This one doesn’t look so special but it taste amazing. I wish I knew how to make it look as amazing as it taste. It might not be for everyone because the texture is like thin light apple sauce. It’s very light and delicious…The avocado cream here makes it FORKING amazing. My idea of serving size might differ from your idea of serving size.
Ingredients for around 4 servings
4 apples peeled, core removed, diced
1 large long cucumber (if seeds are big remove them with a spoon) peeled, diced
1 large sweet onion – diced
3 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 hot pepper chopped fine (I used a guero chili also known as a Mexican Yellow Chili…..)
pinch ground cumin
fresh crushed sea salt to taste (you don’t need much)
fresh crushed pepper to taste (you don’t need much)
1 avocado – all the flesh scooped out and seed removed
1/2 cup water
1/2 lime – just the fresh squeezed juice
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Blend up the apples, cucumber, onion, garlic, vinegar, water, pepper and pinch of cumin to desired consistency. Taste and decide if you want to add a little salt and or pepper.
Next blend up the avocado with water, lime juice and olive oil. Serve the avocado cream over the apple gazpacho.
I was inspired to make this dish when I saw a photo of chef James Oakley’s Kombu Cured Salmon, Cucumber and Crisp Quinoa on Twitter. It was one of the most stunning plates that I’ve ever seen and it sounded so delicious that I had to give it a try. His restaurant is in Hong Kong so it’s too far for me to try it since I’m on the other side of the world in Phoenix Arizona. I didn’t know how to cure salmon with kombu so I looked it up. I found three different methods. I picked Bon Appetit’s method because it made the most sense to me. Along the way I had some problems getting the correct ingredients. I thought I bought kombu ( a darker thicker seaweed) but I picked up seaweed. I couldn’t find yuzu so I did a mixed citrus instead that became my faux Yuzukoshō ( Japanese chili/yuzu condiment). Got lucky with the cucumber sauce. I don’t know how chef Oakley’s was made but I had an idea and it worked. ANYWAYS It came out FORKING INCREDIBLE! This recipe takes two days to prepare. It was difficult to photo the hot salmon that I was about to eat and for the photo forgot to add some faux Yuzukoshō on top of the salmon but some is pictured on the green cucumber sauce in the photo. The combination was delicious! I would make different chips next time. Either a fried radish chip or a potato chip. My idea of portion size may differ from your idea of portion size. I used one salmon steak…I think it was close to a pound. It made two large dinners. I guess it could have made three or four lunches.
Ingredients for around 2 servings
1 salmon steak (mine was close to a pound)
Seaweed to cover both sides of salmon (I used two sheets)
1 lemon cut in thin slices
2 Tablespoons mirin
1 Tablespoon white miso
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 hot pepper – ( I used a Serrano) – microplane
1 orange – just the zest
1 lemon – just the zest
1 lime – just the zest
fresh crushed sea salt to taste
1/2 lb Persian cucumbers – microplane
1 teaspoon sugar
pinch sea salt
1 Tablespoon tapioca starch (I used a spice mill to ground up tapioca pearls)
Directions
A layer of seaweed goes on both sides of your fish and you top that with lemon slices. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.
Make the faux yuzukosho. Today or before you cook the fish combine the lemon, orange and lime zest with your microplane hot pepper. Add fresh crushed sea salt to taste. (refrigerate or put to the side if preparing just before the fish.
Make the glaze for the salmon. In a small bowl mix the mirin, miso and soy sauce together and brush on both sides of the salmon. Wash off the seaweed and throw out the lemons. Blot the fish dry. You can cook the salmon however you like. I slow cooked the salmon in a 225 degree oven about 15 minutes on one side and about 10 minutes on the other side and then I finished it under a high broiler for about 5 minutes. It came out medium-medium rare and really awesome…..that melt in you mouth kind of fish that you only get out only SOMETIMES in very expensive restaurants.
While you are cooking the fish add to a sauce pot the microplane cucumber, sugar, salt and ground tapioca on medium high heat…stirring constantly. In about 5 minutes the mixture will turn bright green and get smooth. When all the tapioca is cooked the mixture will be done.
Enjoy immediately.
Spread some cucumber sauce on the plate. Top the plate with salmon….then top the salmon with the faux Yuzukoshō. Serve with a few chips or crisps if desired.
Seaweed Cured Glazed Salmon with Mixed Citrus Kosho and Cucumber Sauce
A SPECIAL THANKS! To chef James Oakley for this inspiration and also a SPECIAL THANKS to Bon Appetit for their recipe of Kombu Cured Salmon with fresh Yuzu Kosho so I’d have an idea of what to do.
To make this recipe you need to have left over beef fat from something like a brisket that you saved. Or you can make it with butter instead. I made the recipe with very lean ground beef that was ground at home. Before I threw it in the oven I thought the beef mixture looked dry so I added a 1/2 cup of water. Depending on the meat you might not need to add the water. Anyway It came out amazing. My idea of serving size might differ from your idea of serving size. This makes 4 servings to me.
Ingredients for around 4 servings
2 Tablespoons oil
1 large sweet onion – diced
2 carrots – peeled and diced
1 hot pepper – small dice – (I used a guero chili that is also known as a Mexican Yellow)
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 garlic cloves – ground to paste for microplane
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup corn kernels
1/2 cup peas
1 pound ground beef
fresh ground sea salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 cup beef stock
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons hoot sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot)
2 teaspoons dried thyme (fresh would be better)
4 oz leeks – cleaned and trimmed – sliced extra thin on mandolin
1 1/2 lbs poatoes – cleaned, peeled, quartered
4 oz beef fat
1 Tablespoon sea salt (this is for boiling the potatoes)
1 egg – beaten
non stick spray
water – if the meat mixture looks dry add up to 1/2 cup water
Directions
Set oven to 400 degrees F.
Spray a casserole dish with non stick spray and set it to the side.
Get a pot on medium high heat with the oil. When oil is hot add the carrots, onions, hot pepper, black pepper and salt. Cover and stir occasionally. Vegetables should be soft in about 5 minutes. Shut off heat. Add the garlic, corn, peas. Transfer to a big bowl and put to the side. Fry up the beef on medium high. (I used the same pot…..) So I wouldn’t crowd the pot I shaped the meat like 4 burgers so I could brown them easy and then I broke the burgers up. Brown the meat. Put a small amount of salt and pepper on them. Add the beef stock, tomato paste, Worcestershire, hot sauce and thyme. Stir occasionally and let liquid reduce a little. Throw the leeks in at the end. You can combine this mixture with the vegetable mixture you have on the side.
While you are cooking you can make the potatoes. Add potatoes to a pot and cover well with water and salt on medium high heat. Your potatoes will be done in 15-20 minutes. Drain potatoes and hand mash with beef fat. Get it mashed and smooth and then add the beaten egg and mix well.
Assemble.
Put the beef vegetable mixture in the sprayed casserole dish. Top with potatoes.
Put in the pre heated oven till bubbly hot. (about 25 minutes)
I had this idea that balsamic vinegar and bomba (a hot spicy Italian pepper condiment) would go well with beets and they do. Onions, basil, blood oranges and robiola cheese tie it all together. I fried some plain capers and a few mushrooms rolled in cornstarch just for fun. I didn’t include any frying for this recipe but you can if you want. I also note that my idea of a serving size might differ from yours. I think this is something that you only eat a small dish of.
Ingredients for 6 small servings
1 1/2 lbs red beet root – washed well, skin removed – depending on size cut in half and if large quarter
1 Tablespoon Bomba or Bomba Calabrese (each brand is very different and also might be an inconsistent product as far as heat (you might need more or want to use slightly less). Today I’m using Trader Joe’s Bomba that is made with fermented Calabrian chili peppers)
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 large sweet onion – sliced very thin
3 blood oranges – supreme them if you can
8 oz robiola cheese – cut in cubes that aren’t too big
1/4 cup fresh basil
Directions
Set oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large baking dish or pan add the bomba, balsamic, water and fennel seeds and mix well. Then add the beets and cover pan tight with foil. Put on the middle rack. This stays in the oven till beets are fork tender. The time will differ depending on age and size of beets, the pan and the oven. Usually this takes one-one and one half hours. When fork tender remove the beets from the oven. Remove the beets from the liquid so they can cool ooff and you can cut them in a desired shape.
Use the liquid and add the sliced onions to it. Now you have bomba balsamic onions. After the beets are cut to desired shape mix them with the onions.
To serve top with blood oranges, basil and robiola cheese.
ENJOY!
Bomba Balsamic Beets and Onions with Blood Oranges, Basil and Robiola CheeseThe Forking Truth
I happen to have a jar of neonata. It’s a Calabrian Hot Fish condiment that often is just used on pasta. My jar was expiring so I looked up recipes on the web for neonata and Chef Matthew Taylor’s Recipe for summer squash with neonata (spelled incorrectly “neoata”), smoked yogurt and peppered feta came up so I thought I’d give it a try. I made a few changes to the original recipe. I thought of olive oil smoked paprika potatoes instead of smoked yogurt. I didn’t roast baby squash so I broiled regular squash instead. The last change was that I didn’t use Fresno peppers. I used baby bell peppers because I had baby bell peppers at home. I do note that you need to pickle the peppers the day before so they have a chance to pickle. A special THANKS to Chef Matt Taylor from Mora Italian Restaurant. This recipe is FORKING AWESOME! My idea of a serving size might differ from yours…..This makes around 4 servings.
Ingredients for around 4 servings
8 baby bell peppers sliced in thin rings (original recipe calls for 6 Fresno peppers)
1 cup champagne vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 lb potatoes – peel – cut in half
1 Tablespoon sea salt (to season the potatoes boiling)
4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (maybe up to 2 Tablespoons more or add a little water till potatoes are the right consistency) ((I used 2 Tablespoons water because the neonata has a lot of oil in it and I wanted to keep the potatoes free of dairy)
1 Tablespoon pepper brine from peppers you pickled
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
crushed sea salt to taste
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
2 lbs squash (original recipe calls to roast baby squash in a 400 F degree oven for 5 minutes) ((I used Mexican squash and cut the squash in planks and broiled with olive oil.
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil – that got sprayed lightly on both sides of squash
3 Tablespoons neonata
4 Tablespoons peppered feta cheese
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
Directions
Make the pickled peppers. Bring the vinegar, sugar and water to a boil. Pour over pepper rings. Let cool on the counter to room temperature and then refrigerate.
The next day you can do the rest.
If you are broiling turn your oven on to broil.
You can either roast, grill or broil (if you cut into planks) the squash. I used Mexican green squash that were smaller in size in trimmed ends and cut into thirds longways and then half so the planks weren’t too long.
Put the potatoes and one Tablespoon sea salt in a pot. Cover the potatoes well with water. Bring to a medium boil and cook till fork tender. (around 15-20 minutes). Mash the potatoes by hand with a masher. Add the olive oil, pepper brine, smoked paprika, salt and either add more olive oil or just water till the potatoes are the correct consistency. Add sea salt and fresh black pepper to taste.
Lightly spray a baking sheet with olive oil. Place squash on baking sheet. Lightly spray top of squash with olive oil. Place under broiler till browned. Turn squash over and brown other side. Apply salt, pepper, fresh thyme to taste.
SERVE IMMEDIATELEY!
Spread out the potatoes on plate.
Toss the squash with neonata and place over potatoes.
Top squash with peppered feta and pickled peppers.
ENJOY
Squash with neonata, olive oil smoked paprika mashed potatoes, peppered feta and pickled peppers
A Special THANKS to Chef Matthew Taylor and Mora Italian Restaurant for sharing his Forking Awesome recipe Summer Squash with Neonata, Smoked Yogurt and Peppered Feta with us so we all can enjoy!
I planned to make a dijon tarragon wine sauce to go with turkey. Then I found out that I didn’t have any white wine at home so I made this slaw instead. You know I bet it will taste really great with turkey.
Ingredients for around 8 servings
1 small head cabbage – shredded very thin
2 cups corn kernels (cooked however you want)
1 red bell pepper – diced
1 celery rib – diced
1 shallot – sliced thin
1 carrot – shredded
2 teaspoons course sea salt (this goes on cabbage to melt it)
2 teaspoons sugar (this goes on cabbage to melt it)
2 Tablespoons hot sauce (tabasco or Frank’s Red Hot)
1/4 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon piment d’ espelette pepper
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 oz fresh tarragon – torn
Directions
In a large bowl add the cabbage, shallots, celery, bell pepper and carrot. Toss in the sugar and salt and mix well. Let sit on counter for an hour and drain. Add the corn and set to the side.
In a small mixing bowl add the dijon, oil, vinegar, hot sauce, celery seeds, white pepper, piment d’ espelette and honey and mix well. Toss the dressing into the large bowl with cabbage and mix well. Tear the tarragon leaves in half and mix into the slaw.
This recipe won’t come out right unless you follow the recipe. II would also not recommend this recipe to people with arthritis. It’s easy but you have to make your own ricotta cheese because you need the whey for the sauce. Also home made ricotta taste a million times better than store bought. Once you make your own and taste the difference you will never buy a tub of ricotta again. This recipe is easy but you also have to be able to hand mix the dough and be dexterous enough to use a pastry bag over boiling water. My idea of serving size most likely will differ from yours. This will make up to 8 very small servings. If you enjoy eating a big plate of pasta than it only makes three servings……see what I mean……but they are maybe the best ricotta gnocchi that you have ever had. This will come out best if you make the cheese the day before.
Ingredients for around 4 servings
1/2 gallon whole milk
16 oz heavy cream (I do note some brands of heavy cream contain too many stabilizers for the cream to curd. No matter what you do these creams will not work for cheese. Stay away from anything marked manufacturing cream or cream for shelf use)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (for cheese)
2 lemons – just the fresh squeezed juice
2 1/4 cups fresh ricotta (this ricotta should be drained and very dry)
1 cup parmesan – shredded
1 egg – beaten
1 1/2 cups flour (this is always right for me but can differ slightly)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (to add to gnocchi dough)
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
few grates fresh nutmeg
Tablespoon sea salt for boiling gnocchi
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (to squirt on gnocchi for taste and also so they don’t stick)
3oz walnuts – crush
1 bunch of parsley (remove the stems because they are bitter (mine weighed .7oz)
.07 oz. celery leaves – chopped (use the same amount as parsley)
1 Meyer lemon (the juice and zest)
1 garlic clove – ground to paste or microplane
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 Tablespoons whey (or to desired thickness) you might want less or you might want more.
Directions
Put a medium/large pot on your stove with the milk, cream and 1/2 teaspoon of salt on medium heat. This needs to be stirred periodically. It takes a while to bring to a slow boil but once it starts it can boil over so you need to keep an eye on it. You might need to turn down the heat slightly. Once it comes to a slow boil then you SLOWLY add half the lemon juice…this will cool the cheese down and wait till you see it boiling again and then SLOWLY add the rest of the lemon juice. Slightly lower the heat and let it slowly boil for maybe 5 minutes. It should look like this.
Then you scoop out the curds with something mesh and shake out all the whey.
Put the curds in a tub…more whey(liquid) will come out of the cheese. You will have to drain several times. Save about a cup of the whey. You will use some for the Walnut Parsley Celery Leaf Pesto Sauce. The extra whey would also be good for thinning down other sauces or to add a cheesy taste to a soup.
The next day make the gnocchi dough.
In a large mixing bowl add the drained ricotta. (you should have a little over 2 cups of cheese…something like 2 1/4 cups). (If you don’t have around 2 1/4 cups of cheese some adjustments need to happen)….Add the parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon salt, white pepper, a few grates of nutmeg and the egg. Mix well. Now add the flour. It will seem too dry. You will get angry and think I screwed this up. But then like magic the dough turns out.
*****DO A TESTER GNOCCHI*****
Have a pot of water boiling…medium boiling. Pinch off a piece of gnocchi dough the size of a gnocchi. Once it floats let it cook about 4 minutes. Let it cool and try it out. If it is too soft you can work more flour into the dough. But just so you know a good gnocchi is suppose to be light and soft. You don’t really know until you taste one.
I don’t roll my gnocchi but you can if you want. It’s less time consuming and less mess to just squirt them out with a pastry bag.
This time I didn’t use a tip on the bag. (I usually don’t use a tip)
Then you fill it with a handful of dough.
Twist the end so the dough doesn’t spill out and push the dough.
Install a string so you can cut the gnocchi off easy…BUT BE FORKING CAFEFUL not to catch the string on fire.
I do about one bagful of gnocchi dough at a time. When I’m done I wait about 5 minutes to make sure the gnocchi are filly cooked. Then the gnocchi get lifted out with a slotted spoon. Try to drain off the water. Add the gnocchi to a container. Squirt a little olive oil on the gnocchi for added flavor and also so they don’t stick. Repeat till you are out of dough.
The rest is quick and easy!
in a container with a stick blender add the walnuts, parsley, celery leaves, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic olive oil, parmesan, white pepper and a Tablespoon of whey. Blend…till smooth. This will be thick add more whey (or olive oil if you prefer) till the pesto is the consistency that you want.
Toss with the gnocchi that you are serving now.
Serve right away!
Fresh Ricotta Gnocchi with Walnut Parsley Celery Leaf Pesto
My favorite way to cook dark chicken parts is to make an easy delicious stew or soup. The chicken is always flavorful and tender and the stew always comes out delicious. You can make this with one tray ( 4 pounds or a little more) of either chicken leg quarters or chicken thighs that have bone and skin. The skin will not come out edible but gives great flavor to the dish. You must cook till the chicken is at least 165 degrees F to be safe to eat but I prefer my dark meat chicken to be at least 180 degrees F. You cook it to what you prefer. I got 6 dinners (small bowl with 4oz chicken) out of this but your portions might differ than mine. To make this a complete dinner or meal you might want to add rice or noodles or even spiral cut zucchini.
Ingredients for around 6 smaller portions
4 lbs leg quarters or thighs with skin and bone (one tray go for biggest tray they have)
1 can (13.5 oz) light coconut milk
1 large sweet onion chopped
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 inch grated ginger
1 lime – just the fresh squeezed juice
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves (some tender stems are ok) – chopped
2 carrots – peeled – sliced
2 celery ribs – cut half long ways and sliced
13 garlic cloves – fine chopped
1 hot pepper (either dried and crumbled or fresh chopped fine)
1 Tablespoon course sea salt
1 Tablespoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
Set oven to 350 degrees F.
To a large baking dish or buffet 1/2 pan add the coconut milk, onion, bay leaves, turmeric, ginger, lime juice, cilantro, carrots, celery, fresh garlic, hot pepper and mix. On top of that add the chicken in an even layer. On top of the chicken in an even layer add the salt, granulated garlic and black pepper. Cover tightly with foil and put in pre-heated 350 degree F oven on the middle rack. This stays in the oven till the chicken is at least 165 degrees F to be safe to eat. I prefer my dark meat chicken to be cooked more than that and think it’s much better at 180 degrees F or even up to 200. Ovens do differ but in my oven this dish was perfect in 2 1/2 hours. Your timing may differ. When the dish is done I pull out the chicken and when it cools off (an hour latter) I separate the meat from the bone and skin. I chill the soup over night and scrape off the fat that rises to the top and warm up what I want the next day.
Forking East & Delicious Turmeric Ginger Chicken Soup
I was reading a review of a restaurant somewhere and the food critic was very impressed with blue cheese mashed potatoes with pickled onions from somewhere. I happen to have blue cheese and potatoes that I have to use up so I thought that is what I should make so I did. My idea of serving size might differ from yours. I think 2 pounds of potatoes is about eight servings but those are very small servings. You might figure 4-6 servings depending on how much you dish out. This recipe will also come out better if you make the pickled onions the day before because they need a day to get best.
ingredients for around 6 servings
1 large red onion – (cut in half so strings aren’t too long) – sliced very thin on mandolin.
1 cup white vinegar
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
2 springs fresh thyme
2 lbs potatoes – peeled – cut in half (6-7 average size potatoes)
1 Tablespoon salt (I love course sea salt)
1 egg – washed well (you will only be using the yolk)
3 oz unsalted butter – room temperature and optional more butter for serving
4 oz blue cheese – crumbled – room temperature and optional more for serving
2 Tablespoons celery leaves – torn or chopped for finishing
Directions
Make the pickled onions. Put the sliced onions in a tub or container and set them to the side. In a sauce pot bring to boil the vinegar, kosher salt, sugar, bay leaf, ground pepper, mustard seed and thyme. Cook until the salt and sugar is dissolved and pour over onions. Let this sit out on the counter until it’s room temperature and then refrigerate. If you have extra leftover onions you can use them on a sandwich. They should keep good in the refrigerator a few weeks.
When you are ready to make the potatoes put them in a pot with enough water to cover them well. Add the salt. You need to bring the potatoes to a medium high boil. depending on the size of the potatoes they need to cook usually 15-20 minutes. In the last 7 minutes of boiling carefully add the egg and let that cook. The egg will be medium cooked but on the soft side…if that isn’t good for you then you can cook it more. You will need to remove the egg and peel it. Save the egg white for a salad or just eat it as a snack. The yolk gets mashed into the hot drained potatoes along with the butter and blue cheese. Serve with the pickled onions and celery leaves. You can serve with extra blue cheese and melted butter if you desire.
Blue Cheese Mushed Potatoes with Pickled Onions and Celery Leaves
This recipe was inspired by a salad I ate at FnB restaurant in Scottsdale AZ. The Chef is a James Beard Award Winner so everything she makes is amazing. This salad was simple but delicious. It had very few ingredients so I figured I could do something similar at home. I pretty much made the same exact salad but I added two ingredients the original didn’t have. I added fried radish slices and fried capers for an added interest and texture. This salad is very good and it’s something you might want to try. The dressing is enough to dress four servings. I can’t give you the exact amount of radish you need because radishes differ so much in size. For two people it was about one watermelon radish, 6 regular radishes and about two dates but they were smaller servings.
Ingredients for around 4 servings
2 watermelon radishes sliced very thin on mandolin (or more depending on size) (reserve about a dozen slices for frying)
12 regular radishes sliced very thin on a mandolin (or more depending on size) (reserve about a dozen slices for frying)
2 teaspoons small capers – reserve one teaspoon for frying
4 (or more) dates pits removed sliced in thin strips
5 teaspoons pumpkin seeds
pinch urfa pepper (you can substitute another pepper like black pepper but urfa is better for this)
6 anchovies
1 Tablespoon anchovy oil
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small lemon – just the fresh squeezed juice
1 clove garlic – ground to paste or microplane
neutral oil to fry with
Directions
Get a sauce pot on medium-medium high heat with about an inch of oil in it. If you are using a thermometer you don’t need a high heat. You only need about 250 degrees F if your slices are very thin. Carefully add 1/2 of the reserved radish slices and fry them. They get done quickly and use either paper towels on a pan or a cooling rack to drain them. Then do the other reserved half. Be real careful when you do the capers. They have a lot of liquid that you need to squeeze out and they get done even faster and look like little crispy flowers. Set them on paper towels to the side when you are done.
Blend the anchovy’s, anchovy oil, olive oil, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon capers and garlic till it emulsifies and set to the side.
On your serving plate add the radish slices, dates pumpkin seeds and lightly add dressing. Top with some fried radish slices and some fried capers. Finish with a pinch of Urfa pepper.
Radish Dates Pumpkin Seeds Fried Radishes, Fried Capers and Caper Anchovy Dressing finished with Urfa pepper
