Charcuterie_ The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing - Michael Ruhlman [128]
Here are two vegetable “confits” that have myriad uses. They are distinguished mainly by their seasonings, since the basic method for preparing any confit is to heat low and slow till the meat is all but melting. Vegetable confits can be served warm or cold, by themselves as you would a chutney or added to sauces or other dishes to enhance them. They’re like vegetable concentrates and could even be added to pâtés as a seasoning.
ONION CONFIT
This onion confit is cooked-down onions with a little seasoning and, to balance the intense sweetness of the onions, a little acid. But it demonstrates exactly how rich and complex a plain old onion really is. The confit can be used as an accompaniment for a terrine or it can be added to other sauces, such as the Caraway-Beer Mustard (page 284), for additional complex sweetness. It goes well with smoked items and is perfect with sausages. You could even spread it on a roast beef sandwich and it would be delicious.
3 ounces/80 grams unsalted butter
2 pounds/1 kilogram Spanish or other sweet onions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1⁄2 cup/125 milliliters dry white wine
1⁄4 cup/60 milliliters honey
1⁄4 cup/60 milliliters white wine vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Melt the butter in a large heavy-bottomed sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cover. Cook until soft, approximately 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove the lid and season the onions with salt and pepper. Add the wine, honey, and vinegar, turn the heat to medium-high, and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat and let cool.
3. Chill before serving. The onion confit will keep for 3 weeks, tightly covered, in the refrigerator.
Yield: 2 cups/500 milliliters
TOMATO CONFIT
Like onion confit, this can be used to accompany pâtés and terrines, and it also works well with smoked meats and sausages.
2 tablespoons/20 grams minced or grated peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons/36 grams minced shallots
1 1⁄2 tablespoons/28 grams minced garlic
1⁄4 cup/60 milliliters extra virgin olive oil
1 1⁄2 tablespoons/25 milliliters red wine vinegar
6 ripe Roma (plum) tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
1⁄4 cup/25 grams minced fresh herbs, such as flat-leaf basil, parsley, and chives, or a combination
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Combine the ginger, shallots, garlic, oil, and vinegar in a deep skillet large enough to contain the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, add the tomatoes, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes until soft and paste-like.
2. Transfer to a bowl to cool, then fold in the herbs and season with salt and pepper. The confit keeps for a week in the refrigerator. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Yield: 2 cups/500 milliliters
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SAUCES AND CONDIMENTS:
NOT OPTIONAL
....
Most chefs worth their salt would as willingly enter the dining room naked as send a dish to a customer without a sauce. Sauces and condiments should not be thought of, in the professional kitchen or at home, as extras or add-ons, but rather as fundamental parts of any given dish, just as seasoning is. They’re also fun and easy to make. Brian and I like to put out several sauces, chutneys, and relishes with a variety of sausages or terrines, because they’re so visually compelling. The following recipes use basic techniques—preparing a vinaigrette, a mayonnaise, a chutney—to build great sauces and condiments that work especially well in the charcutier’s kitchen.
Basic Mayonnaise
Aïoli
Rémoulade
Sauce Gribiche
Cucumber Dill Relish
Smoked Tomato and Corn Salsa
Tart Cherry Mustard
Green Chile Mustard
Caraway-Beer Mustard
Basic Vinaigrette
Russian Dressing
Chipotle Barbecue Sauce