Pork’s best friend: parsley and red cabbage citrus salad
Pork is always a delight. It could easily be served with a side of pork and it would still retain it’s allure. But because it is necessary to eat a balanced meal now and again, I have devised a simple winter salad to accompany anything pork. In this case it’s keeping company with a perfect pulled pork sandwich.
I think the lush colors and the ease of preparation make it the perfect accompaniment to a christmas ham. The citrusy sweetness and the acidic bite of the lime juice makes it refreshing and the parsley and cabbage give it a substantial texture.
Parsley and red cabbage citrus salad
1/4 head of red cabbage sliced into thin ribbons
1 bunch of parsley, chopped
1 navel orange
5 scallions, sliced thin
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup olive oil
honey
salt, pepper
In a small bowl whisk the lime juice, olive oil, honey, and salt and pepper.
Using a microplane grate the orange zest into the dressing. Slice the orange flesh from the peel and dice it into 1/2” dice.
In a large bowl toss together the parsley, cabbage, scallions, and the oranges. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss. Taste for acidity and adjust as necessary.
Better than store bought…marshmallows
My favorite sweet from See’s Candies is a dark chocolate scotch mallow; a layer of caramel and a layer of marshmallow all enrobed in dark chocolate. It is divine. We’ve (Dexter and I) often wondered what it takes to make marshmallows. I knew it was possible but I just hadn’t gotten around to looking into it…until this past weekend.
It was a simple process in and of itself, as long as it was in the mixer. The tricky part came when it was time to move the sticky mass from the mixer bowl to the cookie sheet. It’s like working with really sticky caulk. The recipe said to line the sheet pan with oil brushed plastic wrap. That was a mistake because oil brushed plastic wrap doesn’t stick to the marshmallow but it doesn’t stay in the sheet pan either. Next time I’ll line the pan with oil brushed foil.
I know there are cooks who pride themselves on the professional appearance of their food, and if they don’t get it it right the first time, they toss it and try again. You should know by now…I am not that cook! In this case I did my best to wrangle that sweet blob into a rectangular shape but it was no use…it had a mind of it’s own.
Once it was reasonably contained and wrapped up tightly in it’s pan I parked it in the garage for the night…it’s cold and dry out there and quite safe for a defenseless pan of sweet delight. The next morning I cut squares of the marshmallow. Here the recipe indicated that scissors should be the tool of choice but I thought that sounded crazy, so I just used my biggest knife. Some squares got dusted with powdered sugar, some I clumsily coated in milk chocolate, and others were drowned in dark chocolate. My chocolate technique was as unprofessional as everything else and I was freaked out about the heat of the chocolate melting the marshmallows so I felt like I had to work fast. I ultimately used 2 skewers to pick up the marshmallow, drag it through the melted chocolate and then airlift it onto the sheet pan.
But here’s the thing…they are delicious and really didn’t take that much time or fuss…mostly they just freaked me out because I’ve never worked with anything like that before. But to eat them…oh! They are so fresh and fluffy…not dense and yet not feather light either. The flavor and texture are outstanding and I can’t wait to make them again for the holidays. I also want to try construct a homemade scotch mallow. I’ll post it when I do.
One note about the recipe. I don’t think I would attempt this without a stand mixer…12 minutes is a lot of mixing time and it really does get very big and even my KitchenAid was working hard.
Marshmallows Recipe
3 envelopes of Knox gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar for dredging
In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Soak for 10 minutes. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Pour boiling syrup into gelatin and mix at high speed. Add the salt and beat for 12 minutes. Add vanilla and incorporate into mixture. Brush your spatula with oil and scrape the mixture onto a sheet pan lined with foil brushed with oil and spread evenly. Cover with another piece of foil brushed with oil.
Let mixture sit for a few hours. Remove from pan, dredge the marshmallow slab with confectioners’ sugar and cut into equal pieces with a chef’s knife. Dredge each piece of marshmallow in powdered sugar or dip in chocolate.
Totally naked, baby, totally nude
Let me clarify my position on potatoes…I adore them! However, I do not love mashed potatoes. I know, I know, you’re shaking your head right now and muttering “what is not to love?”. I can understand that, I get that salt, butter, and cream are an admirable and compelling addition to the common potato. But, when it comes to the potato I’ve been born again baby…I was lost but now I’m found! I like to start with a potato that is totally naked, totally nude. This truth has been revealed to me in stages over the past year.
First there was our trip to London where I ate the classic “Sunday Roast” and discovered a potato, peeled, and cooked whole, but not soggy. Instead it was almost flaky on the outside and waxy in the middle. The taste of the potato was complete potatoey perfection from both the flavor and texture. I’d never had anything like it and it was superb. Then upon my return I tried to replicate this potato and I just couldn’t get it right, the outer layer was always soggy. Then one day I was watching Nigella and she was preparing a potato dish. Her pan choice wasn’t a deep pan or pot but rather a shallow sauce-pan with only the barest minimum of water necessary to get the job done. Then she cooked the potatoes until they were almost done, drained them, and returned them to the heat to “fluff”…and fluff they did. Excellent! I finally had a method to work with.
Lucky for me not all local potatoes were lost in our late summer flood. There were the luscious purple potatoes from Jordandal Farm and then the perfect french fingerling’s and yukons from Vermont Valley. I’ve come to love potatoes cooked with this method and while I’m sure at some point I’ll end up mashing a potato again, I know it won’t be one of these perfect local gems. They are best with coarse, kosher salt and maybe a very slight puddle of butter or meat drippings to skate it through on the way to my mouth.
Last night I served the potatoes alongside braised beef, shallots, and sauteed mushrooms…each bite was a delight. For breakfast this morning I ate the leftover potatoes, heated gently, sprinkled with some seasoning, and topped with a dollop of garlic yogurt (left over from falafel night) and chopped parsley. I wanted more.
Braised beef with naked potatoes, and shitake mushrooms
For the braised beef:
Beef roast, chuck is best
1 cup red wine
1 cup water
handful of peel shallots
2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1 carrot, peeled and chunked
salt, pepper, thyme
For the potato and mushrooms:
8 to 10 small potatoes
Shitake mushrooms
butter
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Brown the roast on both sides in a dutch oven. Add everything else, pop a lid on the pan and put it in the oven. Let it cook for 2.5 to 3 hours depending upon the size of the roast.
Then:
Peel your potatoes and place them in a shallow saucepan with about ½ inch of water and a good pinch of salt. Cook these on medium until they are almost done. When you knife them they should be tender but not fall off the knife blade. Drain the pan of water and return it, covered, to the burner on medium low. Remember to give them a shake every so often to keep them from sticking
Remove the roast and shallots from the pan and cover tightly to keep warm. Put the pan on a burner and reduce the remaining beef juices to a nice consistency…adding beef stock, water, or wine if necessary.
Sauté the mushrooms in the butter until tender.
Slice the beef about ¼ inch thick. Serve in a shallow bowl. First add the beef juice, then the beef, the shallots, the mushrooms, and finally the potatoes.
