Serious Eats: Recipes - The Secret Ingredient

Apple Cinnamon Sparkling Sangria

2012-03-18T14:45:00Z

[Photograph: Kerry Saretsky]

This is a fun American riff on classic Spanish sangria: mix together dry French apple cider, sliced apples, apple brandy, and cinnamon-steeped syrup. It's a festive, autumnal drink that warms, but is chilled enough for springtime.

About the author: Kerry Saretsky is the creator of French Revolution Food, where she reinvents her family's classic French recipes in a fresh, chic, modern way.

Ingredients

serves 4 servings, active time 5 minutes, total time 30 minutes

1 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cinnamon sticks, snapped in half
1 750 ml bottle of cidre buché, or dry French sparkling apple cider, very cold
1/2 cup Calvados
1 apple, any variety, cored and very thinly sliced

Procedures

In a small saucepan, heat the water, sugar, and cinnamon sticks together over medium-high heat. As soon as the sugar is dissolved, shut off the heat, and let the syrup steep until it has come to room temperature.
When the syrup is cooled, add the cinnamon syrup, the cider, the Calvados, and the sliced apples to a jug. Stir, and serve immediately.

Beurre Maître D'

2012-03-04T15:45:00Z

[Photograph: Kerry Saretsky]

Parsley usually plays only a small, if vital, role in this French compound butter also flavored with lemon. But this version has lots of extra parsley, that, as the butter melts into the seared steak, and seeps down into the grains of the meat, brings that grassy freshness into every stubborn cranny. It also works gorgeously on grilled swordfish or giant prawns. Make extra and stash it in the freezer for culinary emergencies.

About the author: Kerry Saretsky is the creator of French Revolution Food, where she reinvents her family's classic French recipes in a fresh, chic, modern way. She also writes the French in a Flash series for Serious Eats.

Ingredients

serves makes 4 servings, active time 5 minutes, total time 1 hour, including chilling time

4 tablespoons good unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Good sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper

Procedures

In a small bowl, mash everything together thoroughly. Then, take a small ice cream scoop and place four perfect balls of butter onto a small plate. Refrigerate for one hour.
If you want to make a steak like the one pictured, buy 4 half-pound bone-in sirloins, and trim some of the excess fat. Rub them all over with olive or vegetable oil, and season with salt and pepper. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat until very hot. Sear the steaks about 3 minutes on each side. Place a ball of beurre maître d' on each steak as it rests. I like to slice the steaks, and serve them with the warm butter dripping down around them.

Shrimp with Green Sauce

2012-02-26T16:45:00Z

[Photograph: Kerry Saretsky]

Spanish green sauce is parsley and olive oil, with the bite of onion and garlic, and I add a little zing of hot pepper. As it roasts with the shrimp, the shrimp releases all of its briny sauces and it mixes and loosens the green sauce until it becomes its own perfect thing. Bright and fresh and light, it's perfect poured over yellow rice or crusty bread.

About the author: Kerry Saretsky is the creator of French Revolution Food, where she reinvents her family's classic French recipes in a fresh, chic, modern way.

Special equipment: Food processor

Ingredients

serves makes 2 to 4 servings, active time 15 minutes, total time 10 minutes

3 to 4 cloves garlic
1 3-ounce bunch parsley
3 scallions
1/2 jalapeno
1/3 cup olive oil
Sea salt
1/4 cup white wine
1 tablespoon water
1 pound large peeled and deveined shrimp

Procedures

Preheat the oven to 500°F. In a food processor blitz the garlic. Trim the parsley leaves off the tough stems (use the soft stems, that’s fine). Quarter the scallions, and seed the jalapeno. Add the parsley, scallions, and jalapeno to the food processor and blitz. Add the olive oil, and season with salt. Blitz until combined. Pour into an 8-inch by 8-inch ceramic baking dish.
Add the wine, water, and shrimp to the green sauce, and stir to combine. Bake in the oven until the shrimp are opaque, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve right away with Spanish yellow rice of crusty bread.

The Secret Ingredient (Parsley): Spaghetti with Parsley Pesto

2012-02-19T17:45:00Z

[Photograph: Kerry Saretsky]

This is a simple, fresh, grassy side that goes gorgeously with red meat. Spaghetti tossed in a simple parsley and walnut pesto, full of garlic and Parmesan and olive oil. Simple, but different.

About the author: Kerry Saretsky is the creator of French Revolution Food, where she reinvents her family's classic French recipes in a fresh, chic, modern way.

Special equipment: Food processor

Ingredients

serves makes 4 to 6 servings, active time 10 minutes, total time 15 minutes

1 pound spaghetti
2 cloves of garlic
2 3-ounce bunches of flat leaf parsley
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
2/3 cup grated Parmesan
2/3 cup olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Procedures

Cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, and reserve a cup of pasta water.
Blast the garlic in the food processor until it’s smashed. Add the parsley, walnuts, Parmesan, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Whiz until it forms a thick paste.
Toss the pasta with the pesto, and add reserved pasta water as needed. Serve right away. You can also spoon the pesto over grilled steak.

As-Good-As-Cole-Slaw Cabbage and Parsley Salad

2012-02-12T15:45:00Z

[Photographs: Kerry Saretsky]

This salad co-stars cabbage and parsley. Full of grassy flavor and gorgeous emerald color from the parsley, the crunch of cabbage, and the punctuation of capers, anchovies, chives, and cider vinegar. It is so light and crisp and bright; it's the perfect lighter alternative to slaw. I think it goes especially well alongside fish sandwiches.

Special equipment: Food processor with a thin slicing disc

Ingredients

serves Makes 4 servings, active time 5 minutes, total time 1 hours and 5 minutes (1 hour of resting time)

1 1 1/2-pound green cabbage
The leaves from a 1 3/4 ounce-bunch of flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon crème fraîche or sour cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
About .15 ounces (exact, I know) snipped chives (from about a quarter of a standard pack)
2 tablespoons finely chopped capers
Salt
Pepper

Procedures

Core the cabbage and slice into 6 wedges. Feed through the food processor, fitted with the thin slicing disk. Feed the parsley in after it.
In a large bowl, whisk together the crème fraîche, mustard, anchovy paste, olive oil, vinegar, chives, and capers until combined. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Add the shredded cabbage and parsley, and toss to thoroughly combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve.

Avocado Panini with Brie, Mozzarella, Sun Dried Tomatoes, and Basil

2012-01-29T17:45:00Z

[Photograph: Kerry Saretsky]

This is one gorgeous, gooey panino: ciabatta stuffed with buttery ripe avocado, oozing brie and fresh mozzarella, sharp-salty-sweet sun dried tomatoes, and summery basil. Light and decadent in one warm, crunchy, creamy package.

Special equipment: panini press

Ingredients

serves makes 2 to 4 servings, active time 5 minutes, total time 15 minutes

1 12” ciabatta, halved horizontally
4 teaspoons olive oil or sundried tomato olive oil
4 3/4 ounces fresh sliced mozzarella
3 3/4 ounces sliced brie
12 sundried tomatoes
8 big basil leaves
1 Hass avocado, sliced or mashed
Squirt of lemon juice
Salt
Freshly cracked black pepper

Procedures

Drizzle the insides of both halves of bread with oil. Arrange the mozzarella on the bottom half, and the brie on the top half. Fill the inside with sundried tomato, basil leaves, and avocado. Season the avocado with a squirt of lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Stack the two halves into a sandwich, and put on a hot panini press for about 10 minutes, until the bread is crusty, and the cheese is melted. Cut into quarters and eat hot!

Greener Goddess Dressing

2012-01-22T16:45:00Z

[Photographs: Kerry Saretsky]

This traditional thick and creamy garden dressing, full of scallions, garlic, and herbs, gets a healthy, buttery boosts from the addition of super-ripe avocado. I love both avocado and tarragon with seafood, so I think this is a cool alternative to cocktail sauce with shrimp, and nothing beats it with a fresh, all-green crudités platter.

Ingredients

serves makes 4 servings, active time 5 minutes, total time 5 minutes

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 Hass avocado, roughly chopped
2 scallions, trimmed and quartered
1 large garlic clove
2 anchovy fillets
24 leaves of tarragon
12 leaves of basil
The juice of 3/4 lemon
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Procedures

Put everything in the blender, and whiz on full blast until completely smooth. Serve over an iceberg wedge, with crudités, with shrimp cocktail, or with anything you want.

Tuna and Avocado Salsa

2012-01-15T17:45:00Z

[Photographs: Kerry Saretsky]

I love this fresh, bright, vibrant recipe. It's a simple, but sophisticated salsa. First I rub the tuna with smoky spices, and slap it on the grill just to infuse the taste of char. Then, I dice the rare tuna and toss with diced fresh avocado, tomato, green onion, and cilantro, and bind it together with lime and lemon and olive oil and sea salt. Scoop it up with corn chips.

Ingredients

serves makes 4 servings, active time 15 minutes, total time 15 minutes

1 1/2 to 2/3-pound tuna steak
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
Kosher salt
1 1/2 Hass avocadoes, diced
6 small or 4 large vine-ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
1/2 to 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
3 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Tortilla chips, for serving

Procedures

Preheat an indoor or outdoor grill to the highest heat. Season all sides of the tuna with the spices and salt. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and rub the oil and spices all over the tuna. Sear on the grill 1 minute on each side. Set aside to rest.
Dice or slice all the vegetables and herbs for the salsa and put them in a bowl. Add the lime juice, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and season well with salt. Dice the seared tuna the same size as the avocado and tomatoes, and add. Taste the salsa; it should be well salted and a bit acidic. Add the juice of up to 1/2 lemon to achieve the desired acidity. Serve with a ton of tortilla chips.

Mémé's Avocado Carpaccio

2012-01-08T17:45:00Z

[Photographs: Kerry Saretsky]

This is my grandmother's recipe, and she serves it at the beginning of almost every big family meal. Simple, but a perfect study in creamy avocado meeting the tart spark of citrus. Avocado may not be much of a secret in this stark dish, but who can complain when avocado is the main event?

Ingredients

serves makes 4 servings, active time 5 to 10 minutes, total time 5 to 10 minutes

2 Hass avocadoes
1 lemon
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel
2 scallions, sliced on an angle
A few leaves of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
A few leaves of cilantro, roughly chopped
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Procedures

Halve the avocados, and remove the pits. Use a large spoon to scoop the flesh from the skin of the avocados, leaving the flesh of each avocado half intact. Turn the avocado over so the hole where the pit was is facing down to the cutting board, and the avocado is situated so the long length of the avocado is running north-south. Slice an array of vertical cuts, creating thin slices of avocado, but be careful not to cut all the way to the top of the avocado. Leave a bit untouched at the top. Turn the avocado half over and fan out the slices, still keep that top bit intact. Place the fanned avocado half on a serving plate, and repeat with the remaining 3 avocado halves.
Cut the lemon into sixths. Spritz each avocado half with one sixth of the lemon. Drizzle each avocado half with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Sprinkle each with 1/8 teaspoon of fleur de sel, and divide the scallions, parsley, and cilantro amongst the avocados. Season with pepper to taste.
Slice the remaining two sixths of the lemon in half again. Trim the wedges, and serve alongside the avocados.

Homemade Honey Sticks

2011-12-24T19:45:00Z

[Photographs: Kerry Saretsky]

The honey sticks you get when apple picking--only good and homemade and stickier.

Special equipment: plastic drinking straws, clear tape, a pipette (optional)

Ingredients

serves serves a party, active time 15 minutes, total time 15 minutes

Acacia honey
Excellent quality different-flavored extracts, such as orange, lemon, almond, vanilla, peppermint, and strawberry

Procedures

This is less of a recipe than a method. Press the bottom of the drinking straw so that two opposite sides of the straw meet. Tape to secure. Trip off the bendy top of the straw. Using honey in a squeezable plastic bottle makes this infinitely less difficult. Stick the open end of the straw inside the honey bottle, turn the bottle upside down, and gently fill the straw about 4/5 of the way up with honey. Use the pipette (or a steady hand) to add 4 or 5 drops of extract into the straw, and massage it a bit into the honey. Use different colored straws for different flavors, and make as many or as few as you want. One word of caution: don't make these too far in advance. One night out on the counter and the honey will seep through the tape on the bottom of the straws.

The Secret Ingredient (Honey): Creamy Honey Mustard for Seafood

2011-12-18T17:00:00Z

[Photographs: Kerry Saretsky]

The ultimate Florida-inspired honey-mustard sauce for seafood. Perfect cold for dipping crab claws and shrimp, or hot, spooned over chargrilled salmon.

Ingredients

serves makes 4 servings, active time 5 minutes , total time 5 minutes

1/2 cup crème fraiche
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspooons honey
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
1 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
A drizzle olive oil
4 6-ounce salmon fillets

Procedures

In a bowl, mix together the crème fraiche, honey, and mustards. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the sauce with poached shrimp instead of cocktail sauce, or with crab claws, poached lobster, fried oysters or clams. Another alternative is hot grilled, seared, or roasted fish. For the parsley salmon, preheat the oven to 475° F. Toss the parsley with a drizzle of olive oil. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Crust the tops of the salmon with parsley, and then place a layer of foil over the salmon, and weigh it down with a heavy pot for 10 minutes. Drizzle a rimmed baking sheet with a touch of olive oil, and place the salmon, without the foil, in the oven for about 10 minutes. Pour the mustard sauce over the top and serve hot, or serve room temperature with the sauce on the side.

The Secret Ingredient (Honey): Honey-Thyme Roasted Pork Loin

2011-12-11T19:45:00Z

[Photographs: Kerry Saretsky]

Pork loin, lean, tender, and juicy, is doused in a honey-butter-thyme glaze, and then roasted until the honey bubbles up and sticks in a sweet-savory layer on the outside of the pork. Served with an earthy and easy pan sauce, this is the easiest and best way to cook pork.

Ingredients

serves 2 to 3 servings, active time 12 minutes, total time 25 minutes

1 1 1/4-pound pork tenderloin
Kosher salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh thyme
1/4 cup thyme or lavender honey
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 low-sodium organic chicken stock

Procedures

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Take the pork out of the fridge 15 minutes before you want to use it. Pat it dry with a paper towel, and season the pork liberally on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, sear the pork until golden brown on all sides, about 3 minutes per sides, or 12 minutes total. Take the pork out of the pan, and add the chicken stock. Scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, and reserve the sauce.
While the pork is searing, whisk together the thyme, honey, and butter until completely incorporated. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Carefully rub the mixture all over the outside of the seared pork.
Place the honey-ed pork on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet that has been lightly oiled. Use a spoon to pour any of the honey mixture that runs off the meat back on top of the pork loin. Pour the chicken stock from the searing pan into the baking sheet. Roast the pork in the oven until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145°F. Take the pork out of the oven, tent with foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Slice into medallions, and serve with the pan sauce and a few extra sprigs of fresh thyme.

The Secret Ingredient (Turmeric): Gobi Gobi

2011-11-20T18:00:00Z

[Photographs: Kerry Saretsky]

I am an enthusiastic frequenter of Indian restaurants, and I never leave without having Aloo Gobi—potatoes and cauliflower, cooking with coriander, cumin seeds, a bit of chili, and of course, turmeric, which gives it that golden kiss and earthen flavor.

I often find dishes based heavily in spices to be heavy; they can lack that fresh lightness of just-snipped herbs and fresh drizzles of raw olive oil because the spices are seared and baked and braised forcibly into the food. This is my effort to freshen and enliven aloo gobi. I lose the potatoes (which is why I call this gobi gobi) and double the cauliflower, then toss in the fresh flavors of soft cauliflower florets, a whole chili, hot fresh garlic and ginger, and piles of fresh cilantro. Lightly toasted smoky cumin seeds nestle themselves into the cauliflower buds and add a short, bright crunch, and the turmeric is a light golden bronzer that flushes the outside of the pale cauliflower with a marigold tan and adds a bit of earthen depth. A flash of butter finishes it off--because what's better than cauliflower with butter? It's bright and light, but different and interesting and unexpected, especially if served in a non-Indian context, like along side seared fish or roast chicken.

Ingredients

serves serves 2 to 4, active time 8 minutes, total time 20 minutes

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon grated fresh garlic
1 green chili, split down the middle, seeds and ribs removed
2 small heads of cauliflower, split into florets
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Procedures

Heat the oil in a wide sauté pan over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the turmeric, cumin seeds, ginger, garlic, and chili. Sauté just until fragrant—about 30 seconds. Add the cauliflower and season with salt. Add 2/3 cup of water, and cover. Simmer, covered, for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender.
Take off the lid of the pot, and allow any remaining water to evaporate over high heat, and then allow the cauliflower to take on an ever-so-slight golden tinge by searing in the dry pan for just 5 to 7 more minutes. Toss with the butter and cilantro, and serve.

The Secret Ingredient (Turmeric): Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Turmeric, Onions, and Olives

2011-11-13T18:00:00Z

[Photographs: Kerry Saretsky]

Turmeric is one versatile little spice. It is used as a dye. It is used to deter ants in gardening. It is used medicinally, to fight memory loss and cancer. It is used cosmetically to deter aging. And of course it is used in foods, mostly in curries, but also as a substitute for saffron, and as a colorant in mustard. There's pretty much nothing that turmeric can't do, considering that we normally see it in an innocent little glass jar on the spice aisle, not looking like much of a superhero.

But my relationship with turmeric is simple: I eat it. And have, for as long as I can remember. My Mémé is from Morocco, and I can't count the number of t-shirts I've sacrificed to the yellow spice while watching and helping Mémé concoct her tagines as they bubbled and blipped on the stove. I love that taste that I described last week as toasting earth, that is fragrant and almost floral, but also a touch metallic or bitter. The idea that people use it only for its color is so frustrating, because its flavor is so distinctive and dynamic.

This tagine is inspired by Mémé, although it's not of her creation. I sear lamb shanks, and stew them with caramelized onions and green olives saturated with bright golden turmeric, a touch of cumin, and a cinnamon stick. Cilantro and fresh mint finish the resulting tagine that is mildly sweet and intensely savory, colored and flavored by the very special and prominent note of turmeric. Spooned over a bed of couscous, it doesn't get much better than this.

It just goes to show you should never, ever judge a spice by its color.

Ingredients

serves 4, active time 25 minutes, total time 4 hours and 5 minutes

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 lamb shanks
Kosher salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
3 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced in halfmoons
3 garlic cloves, whole but peeled and smashed
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 cinnamon stick
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup medium-sized green olives, pits in
Cilantro
Mint
Cooked couscous, for serving

Procedures

Heat the olive oil in a high-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat. Season the lamb liberally with salt and pepper. Sear the lamb in the hot oil until the lamb is golden brown on all sides. It should take about 10 minutes in the pan.
Lower the heat to medium; place the lamb on a plate and set aside. Immediately and carefully add the onions and garlic to the hot oil, and season with salt and pepper. Sauté, stirring often, until the onions are slightly caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add the turmeric, cumin, and cinnamon to the onions, and sauté until the spices are fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the wine and deglaze the pan.
When the wine has reduced by about half, add the vegetable broth and the olives. Bring the liquid to a boil, and add the lamb back into the pot. Cover, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 3 hours, turning the lamb over once in the pot. Then, simmer uncovered for minutes, to allow the sauce to thicken slightly. Serve over couscous and top with the fresh cilantro and mint.

The Secret Ingredient (Turmeric): Maman's Yellow Peas and Onions

2011-11-06T18:00:00Z

[Photographs: Kerry Saretsky]

My mother has been making these peas my entire life. They are one of the dishes I call home ahead about. "Mom, I'm coming home next week. Will you make your peas and onions?" I'm not sure why she makes them. They're not particularly French. Or complicated. But they are special—soft, sweet, savory.

Turmeric doesn't often stand alone. It's the cheap color substitute for saffron, or one in many ingredients in a curry. It's rarely special and remarkable. But in these peas, it's the main flavor, the headliner. That smell like toasting earth, intense as its color. Toasted in olive oil, mixed together with peas and sweet, soft onions. That's the dish. Serve with baguette, and you'll be a turmeric convert.

Ingredients

serves serves 4, active time 5 minutes, total time 55 minutes

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
2 pounds frozen peas
Salt

Procedures

Heat the oil in a wide, high-sided sauté pan over high heat. Add the onions, and sauté until soft, stirring often for up to 10 minutes. Add the turmeric, and stir into the onions. Add the peas, and season with salt. Cover with a lid and cook, stirring occasionally, on medium-high to high heat, for 40 minutes. Serve with warm, crusty baguette.