Roast Pepper Tartine with Garlic Confit
I can find a use for garlic confit in just about anything. Mash it and stir some into vinaigrettes, spoon it in between the skin and meat of a chicken before roasting it, or stir it into soups. It doesn't hurt to make way more confit than I suggest in this recipe, since confit-ing was originally a method for preserving, the cloves keep extremely well in a refrigerated jar for later use.
2 Heads of garlic, sliced in half and cloves taken out and peeled as needed
Olive oil as needed (canola is okay too, don't worry about extra-virgin)
4 sweet bell peppers sliced down the middle length-wise, ribs and seeds removed
(I like 3 red 1 orange because I think it looks nice. Use whatever combination you want)
A good crusty loaf of bread, sliced 1/2" thick on a bias, and into whatever size you think is most manageable to pick up and eat
Finely chopped chives
• Place the garlic in the smallest saucepan you have and pour in olive oil until the cloves are completely covered. Set your burner to the lowest setting you can, and keep an eye on the garlic until it turns a rich gold-brown color. This should take around 30+ minutes but it depends on your stovetop. When finished they should be sweet and spreadable. Resist the temptation to turn the heat up. When done remove the cloves and save the garlic flavored oil for another use.
• On a parchment lined baking sheet arrange the pepper halves facing up and put under the broiler. You really want to char the peppers until their skin almost completely black. Don't be scared of them looking burned, the blackness will wash right off, and you really want the deep roasted flavor this technique will give you
• Once the peppers are all thoroughly charred, transfer them to a large bowl and cover them with plastic wrap. This will essentially steam them, causing the charred skin to separate. After 7-10 minutes remove the peppers, under cold running water wash off the char, give them a give them a rough chopping, and set them aside
• Arrange the bread on a baking sheet and put into a preheated 425º over for 5 minutes, or until light gold
• Remove the bread, flip each piece over, and mash and smear some garlic confit on each piece, and then pile on as much of the pepper mix as is practical. Season with salt and pepper and return them to the oven and turn on the broiler to finish things off. Make sure to keep an eye on the bread so it doesn't burn.
• Plate the Tartine, drizzle some of the garlic oil from the confit, and finish with the chives and salt and pepper. Serve warm.
Cauliflower and Sunchokes in Romesco
I've heard Romesco called Spain's ketchup, in that they put it on anything and everything. The addition of honey isn't traditional but I think the added sweetness really helps. Besides this recipe, my favorites accompaniments for romesco are over-easy eggs, flakey white fish like halibut, and scallions tossed with olive oil, salt, then grilled.
For Romesco:
3 Red bell peppers sliced down the middle length-wise, ribs and seeds removed
2 tbsp Honey
10 tbsp Tomato paste
3 tsp Pimenton (Spanish smoked paprika, one of my favorite spice. If you don't have any substitute bittersweet Hungarian paprika or a not-too-spicy chili powder, but the flavor will not be the same)
4 tbsp Olive oil
3/4 cup Raw almonds (roasted are fine too)
3 Large cloves of garlic
For Vegetables:
1 Small head of cauliflower, separated into large, bite-sized florets.
1 lb approx of Sunchokes (about the same amount as cauliflower), cut in half if not bite-sized.
Olive oil as needed
Finely chopped chives
• On a parchment lined baking sheet arrange the pepper halves facing up and put under the broiler. You really want to char the peppers until their skin almost completely black. Don't be scared of them looking burned, the blackness will wash right off, and you really want the deep roasted flavor this technique will give you
• Once the peppers are all thoroughly charred, transfer them to a large bowl and cover them with plastic wrap. This will essentially steam them, causing the charred skin to separate. After 7-10 minutes remove the peppers, under cold running water wash off the char, and place in a large deep bowl. Place the honey, pimenton and tomato paste on top of the peppers. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
• Add the olive oil, almonds and garlic to a saute pan and turn the heat to medium. There is going to be some sizzling and popping. The idea is to get some rich flavor out of the almonds and garlic, but watch the almonds very closely. The second you start to smell them strongly and their color begins to darken evacuate them, oil and all, into the bowl with the tomato paste and peppers. Almonds go from nicely toasted to burnt and bitter in seconds, so don't give them the opportunity. (Also be careful when pouring the hot oil)
• After sizzling has stopped and everything is at a safe temperature to handle, transfer to a blender and puree. Save the finished romesco for later.
• Toss the sunchokes in olive oil, salt and pepper to coat and place in a baking dish or casserole and bake in a 375º oven for 20 minutes, after which remove the dish.
• Apply olive oil, salt and pepper to the cauliflower florets, and mix them in with the sunchokes, and put back into the oven for another 20-25 minutes or until everything is golden brown.
• Remove the vegetables from the oven, pour an even layer of the romesco in the baking dish, and place the vegetables in an even layer on top. Put the dish back in the oven for another 2-3 minutes.
• Finish with freshly chopped chives and serve hot.
Vegetarian Cassoulet
The best part about this dish is the bread on top, half crunchy, half drenched in a stew that's been simmering for hours. Even though this dish is vegetarian, it's extremely robust and filling. I wouldn't consider making any variation of cassoulet until I've started wearing a sweater and gloves.
1 pound dried white beans, soaked overnight. Don't use canned beans here, they'll disintegrate and make the cassoulet too starchy.
1 cup white wine or 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Vegetable stock, water, or a mixture of both as needed
Olive oil as needed
1 large onion, chopped
2 large leeks, white and pale green parts only, cut crosswise then into 1/2" pieces
3 large carrots cut into 1" wide chunks
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4-5 sprigs of thyme, minced
28 ounce can of diced tomatoes with their juice
1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs
1 cup minced parsley
1 baguette, sliced 1/2" thick on the bias
If you want to add meat to this dish, brown all of the meat in the same pan before you start the vegetables, remove the meat, and then re-add it at the same point as the tomatoes. Traditional meats for cassoulet are confit duck leg, pork or lamb shoulder, sausage (anything garlicky or smokey) and of course bacon. It isn't uncommon for a cassoulet to contain every one of those meats mentioned.
While not traditional, I also like large quartered mushrooms, if only for the sake of sponging up the sauce, add them as you would meat, already browned.
• Using a wide deep pot or dutch oven, cook the onion, leeks and carrots in about 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium heat until the onions are transparent, season liberally with salt and pepper then add the garlic, and continue cooking until the vegetables are golden.
• Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping any brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
• Add the tomatoes, beans, half of the thyme and stock/water until a thick soup consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
• Cover the pot and place in a 300º oven for 2-3 hours, stir every 30 minutes, add liquid as needed, until the beans are cooked and everything is completely tender.
• Remove from the oven, thoroughly stir in the bread crumbs, the remaining thyme and 1/2 of the parsley
• Evenly layer the slices of baguette over the surface of the cassoulet, making sure they're about halfway submerged into the liquid. return the cassoulet to the oven, only this time broiling it until the bread layer is golden. Be careful not to burn the bread with a watchful eye - by the time you smell it, it will have already burned.
•garnish with the remaining parsley and a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, and serve.
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