Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [171]
Fried eggs can be grilled in a heavy pan, but the results are indistinguishable from fried eggs cooked on a stove top. Grilling eggs on a salt block is a different story. Himalayan salt plates are cut from a salt deposit in Pakistan that formed about 600 million years ago. They are solid blocks of dense salt, which can be heated over a fire and then grilled on. The salt retains heat exceptionally well, and we have used them for grilling fish, seafood, eggs, and thinly sliced meat. You need to heat the block gradually over a bilevel fire to ensure that it doesn’t crack. The preheating takes about 30 minutes, but once the salt is hot, eggs will cook in a few minutes.
SEMIFIRM CHEESE
Campfire Raclette with New Potatoes Cooked in the Coals
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Raclette is both a Swiss cheese, similar to Gruyère, and a traditional alpine party food of the same name. The latter consists of a chunk of raclette cheese that is exposed to heat (traditionally an open fire) and scraped off, as it melts, onto a plate of garnishes, including potatoes, bread, ham, and pickles. Sounds like perfect campfire fare to us, so we created this extravagant raclette meal. Part of it, the potatoes and shallots, are cooked right in the coals of a charcoal or wood fire while more delicate vegetables grill on the grate above. The cheese is melted in a cast-iron skillet at the last minute.
INGREDIENTS:
24 small red-skin or gold potatoes, scrubbed
2 to 3 tablespoons canola oil
Coarse salt and ground black pepper
12 shallots, skins left on
2 small zucchini, thickly sliced lengthwise
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
2 large plum tomatoes, thickly sliced in rounds
24 cornichons (small pickled gherkins), drained
4 ounces Black Forest ham, thinly sliced
1¾ pounds raclette cheese, rind removed, thickly sliced
Paprika
1 French baguette, sliced
DIRECTIONS:
Light a charcoal or wood fire for medium-high heat, about 400°F. Leave the grill grate off the grill so the coals are accessible.
Coat the potatoes with a thin film of oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Wrap individually in small squares of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Put the potatoes in the coals and cook until they can be easily pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes, turning once or twice.
About 5 minutes before the potatoes are done, scatter the shallots in the coals and cook until the skins are charred, turning several times, about 5 minutes. Using long-handled tongs or heavy grill gloves, remove the potatoes and shallots to a platter and cool for 5 minutes.
Put the grill grate over the fire.
Coat the zucchini, asparagus, and plum tomatoes with oil and season with salt and pepper.
Brush the grill grate and coat with oil. Grill the vegetables until grill-marked and barely cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Arrange on a serving platter. Unwrap the potatoes and peel the charred skins from the shallots. Arrange on the serving platter. Arrange the cornichons and ham on a separate platter.
Place a cast-iron skillet directly over the hottest part of the fire and heat for 5 minutes. Cover the bottom of the skillet with slices of cheese. It is preferable to cook the cheese in batches, as people want more. Cook until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown on the edges. Using a heavy pot holder or grill gloves, remove the skillet from the heat.
Sprinkle the cheese with paprika. Serve 6 potatoes and 3 shallots per person. Scrape some cheese over the top, making sure to include some of the browned edges. People should serve themselves grilled vegetables, cornichons, and ham to eat with the raclette. Serve with bread.
BLUE CHEESE
Stilton and Pear Quiche
MAKES 8 SERVINGS
One would think that a cheese and custard tart (a quiche, in other words) would be too delicate to bake over an open fire, but the custard filling absorbs fire flavors, especially wood smoke, spectacularly well. We bake the custard filling in a pie shell. Since the pastry is closest to the heat, it crisps