Michael Symon's Live to Cook_ Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen - Michael Symon [10]
A few minutes after you put the fish in the oven, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium saucepan over high heat. When the butter is hot and foaming, add the lemon slices and cook them until they begin to caramelize, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the lemons, add the sliced almonds and caperberries, and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the shallots and sauté for another 30 seconds. Add the garlic, parsley, and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Continue to cook until the lemons soften and the almonds and butter brown, about 2 minutes.
Place the halibut fillets on warm plates or a warm serving platter and spoon the capers, lemon, almonds, and butter sauce over them.
ROASTED DATES WITH PANCETTA, ALMONDS, AND CHILE
SPICY STUFFED PEPPERS
LAMB TARTARE WITH LEMON AND GREEK YOGURT
ZUCCHINI FRITTERS WITH FETA AND DILL
LIGHTLY CURED TUNA WITH OLIVES, ORANGE, AND SHAVED FENNEL
CRISPY PIG’S EARS WITH PICKLED VEGETABLES
CORN CRÊPES WITH BARBECUE DUCK CONFIT
BEEF CHEEK PIEROGIES WITH WILD MUSHROOMS AND HORSERADISH
The following recipes are all great small dishes to open a meal; many of them are also terrific as hors d’oeuvres if you’re having people over. These dishes range from incredibly simple to moderately time consuming, though none are difficult. The dates and the tuna are super easy. The crispy pig’s ears and pierogies require a few steps but are worth the effort. What I love most about this selection of recipes, though, is that it represents my whole life as a cook. I’ve been eating and making fritters and stuffed peppers since my childhood, the pierogies have been a restaurant staple for years, and it’s only in the past few years that I’ve fallen in love with pig’s ears, so these simple dishes show the entire range of my life as cook.
ROASTED DATES WITH PANCETTA, ALMONDS, AND CHILE
These are incredibly simple—sliced almonds and red pepper flakes are added to sautéing pancetta and then spooned over roasted dates—but so addictive. The beauty of this preparation is the intensity and concentration of all the flavors: the sweetness of the dates, but also the savory saltiness of the pancetta, nuttiness of the almonds, and spicy heat of the chile. It’s the perfect balance of the taste elements I love. Your mouth will just pop with these flavors.
At Players restaurant, my first restaurant after culinary school, chef-owner Mark Shary used to stuff a date with an almond, wrap it in bacon, and roast it. These morsels were served on toothpicks. This is my interpretation, turning a little snack or hors d’oeuvre into a bona fide starter. Leftover dates can be puréed and used as a spread on croutons or served as a condiment with a cheese course.
Serves 4 to 6
2 cups pitted dates
3 ounces pancetta, finely diced (½ cup)
½ cup sliced almonds
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup Chicken Stock
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Put the dates on a small rimmed baking sheet and roast in the oven until heated through, about 5 minutes. Turn off the oven but leave the dates in there while you cook the pancetta.
In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, cook the pancetta until it is three-quarters crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the almonds and continue cooking until they brown, a few minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add the red pepper flakes and stock and bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter, stirring continuously until the butter is melted. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley.
Add the dates to the pan and swirl and toss them in the sauce. Divide the cooked dates among four to six plates and spoon the sauce over them.
SPICY STUFFED PEPPERS
Hot peppers from my yia