Category: Technique

Pickled Pepquinos with Daikon and Carrots

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What is Pepquino, you may ask? That’s what I thought as saw these tiny vegetables looking like micro watermelons. Freaks of nature or genetically engineered? Pepquinos are a native and ancient species  from South America and marketed and brought to world by the Dutch company Koppert Kress.

Looking like watermelon on the outside, they are green on in the inside and have a sour like cucumber taste. You can pop them in your mouth raw , or pickle them, as I did.I can even imagine a fantastic cucumber like martini.Use your foodie imagination. I wanted to play with sweet and sour with some acidity. Pepquinos Availability is from April to November .

I cant go throughout summer without canning or pickling something and I quickly went to work on the Pequinos. I had some Daikon Radish and rainbow hued carrots , which once in the hot brine gave the liquid a pinkish hue. I love my relish and have been eating it with sandwiches, cheeses, pates, etc. You can process the batch or just refrigerate immediately if you plan to serve and consume within the next few weeks. The Pepquinos will definitely be a conversation starter with your guests.

Pickled Pepquinos with Daikon and Carrots
 
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A pickled relish with the micro fruit Pepquinos.
Author:
Recipe type: Appetiser
Ingredients
  • 8 oz Pepquinos
  • 4 rainbow hues carrots , peeled and sliced into rounds
  • 1 yellow onion sliced into rings
  • ½ of a large Daikon Radish, peeled and cut into strips
  • ⅓ cup Kosher Salt
  • Brine solution of 1 part sugar to 2 parts vinegar
  • 2 dried chili peppers per canning jar
  • 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
Instructions
  1. Prep your vegetables .
  2. Wash your Pepquinos.
  3. Peel and slice your carrots, onions and Daikon radish.
  4. In a bowl add your Pepquinos,onions, carrots, Daikon . Add Kosher salt and cover with cold water.Chill overnight or for at least 4 hours.
  5. Drain vegetables.
  6. In a sauce pan heat vinegar and sugar with mustard seeds and dried chilies.Heat until a boiling.
  7. Prep and sanitize your jars (in hot boiling water).
  8. Pack your vegetables in to the jars and put the hot brine over the vegetables. Slide the dried chilies into the jar and add the lids.
  9. From this point you can refrigerate to eat immediatlety or process in a water batch for about 7-10 minutes. Don't over-process as you want the vegetables to remain crisp.
Notes
You can either process in a hot water batch to put up or refrigerated to consume immediately.Lasts a few weeks refrigerated.
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Homemade Curry Ketchup

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Ketchup gets a bad rap. People abuse it to mask sub par food, or load it onto junk food. I mean can you imagine a burger without it? And lets not even mention the sugar content or high fructose corn syrup in most commercial brands. I have always liked ketchup, but wasn’t the type to quickly reach for it to drown everything on plate.However , when Certain Someone first took me to his house in Germany, I fell in love with Curry Ketchup. It’s a German thing and when you go, you must have a Currywurst. Your taste buds will thank you. Needless to say every time we go, or Certain Someone goes, I bring back huge bottles of the stuff.

The other day I catered an event and still had a few leftover very ripe  tomatoes that needed to be used quick. In addition, my organic delivery service gave me a large bag of tomatillos, those small green tomatillos that are covered in a protective leaf covering, and used in Mexican food. I wanted to use them all together and immediately ketchup came to mind. Now if you cant get tomatoes, don’t worry, just use the tomatoes you have on hand, or add some regular green tomatoes for a kick.  Enjoy the freshest, natural taste you can imagine making your own ketchup. Your body will be grateful and your loved ones will appreciate the taste and effort.


Homemade Curry Ketchup
 
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A ketchup with a spicy curry kick.
Author:
Recipe type: condiment
Ingredients
  • 2-2½ pounds ripe tomatoes ( can mix red, green, tomatillos) cut into quarters. Do not peel.
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup light brown sugar
  • 1 inch fresh ginger peeled and chopped
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder
  • 2 Black Cardamon pods
  • 3 Star Anise
  • 3-4 cloves
  • 2 dried Thai Chilies
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • Salt to taste
Instructions
  1. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, add quartered tomatoes, and all the spices, vinegar.
  2. Turn heat to medium high to get a simmer.
  3. Reduce heat to lowest setting and slowly cook for approx 1 hour . The ingredients should break down and start to liquefy. Be sure to stir often to prevent sticking and burning.
  4. Take a fine wire mesh strainer or a food mill and strain the mixture into a bowl. Be sure to press and extract all the liquid and pulp, while leaving the skins, and spices the strainer.
  5. You should have a thick like sauce. If not thick enough add the strained sauce to a sauce pan and continue to reduce until thickened to the right consistency. Be sure to stir often.
  6. Pour into a clean glass jar and allow to cool.
  7. Refrigerate and use within 2 weeks.
  8. Make approx 2 cups.
Notes
Keeps 2 weeks refrigerated. You can adjust the spices to make more or less heat and spice according to your tastes.
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Soy, Star Anise, Chili Braised Turkey Legs…A Centering Dish

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I returned home last Saturday after a fun, enlightening , and a bit hectic week in one of my favorite cities in the world, Vienna Austria. Some of my readers may know of my decade long connection to this city. The purpose of this trip was twofold, to produce content for American Airlines Black Atlas and for familial reasons. My late uncle, Bob Curtis, friends were having an exhibition for his works. I have to so much to share, so stay tuned for videos and articles from the trip. Besides food , my other passion is travel and I hope to record more of what I see as I explore the world.

So after  along flight with connections a delays, there really is nothing like a home cooked meal. Chicago was cold , raining and bleak. My freezer was bare and Certain Someone was prepping to fly out later that evening.With turkey  legs in the freezer , I decided to make us something satisfying and comforting  as I decompressed and shaked off the jet lag  and CS launched into his work week. My inspiration for this came from  a New York Times article. I changed up my techniques and ingredients. In Vienna this past week I noticed a huge Asian influence  from the diverse population. I have had some dubious Asian style style cuisines in my European travels, but everything I ate in Vienna was top rate. Malaysian, Thai, Vietnamese, etc. Fresh chilies added liberally to my dishes gave a great sinus clearing and metabolism inducing  kick. The Viennese embrace the exotic.

 

Soy, Star Anise, Chili Braised Turkey Legs...A Centering Dish
 
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Soy and Star Anise Braised Turkey Legs ( influenced by Roasted Drumsticks with Star Anise and Soy Sauce New York Times May 6, 2011) Slow braised Asian style Turkey legs. Sweet and Spicy.
Author:
Recipe type: Entree
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
  • 2- 4  Turkey legs
  • 8 Star Anise
  • 1 tablespoon Ginger minced ( I actually didn't have ginger and substituted candied ginger minced)
  • ⅓ cup Soy Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon dried onion flakes or ⅛ cup fresh chopped onion
  • ⅓ cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup of water
  • 3-4 dried chilies
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 375 F
  2. In a deep roasting pan add your turkey legs.
  3. Combine all your ingredients.
  4. Slow cook for 2½ hours until tender turning/ basting at half hour intervals.
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Pork Belly Buns or Bao…Dim Sum Treats

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One of the favorite dining experiences of Certain Someone and I, is going to China Town on a Sunday and indulging in Dim Sum. The tasty assortment and nibbles are endless and satisfying. Another added bonus is that is doesn’t cost us a fortune.  I love any sort of steamed bun or bao and normally have purchased them frozen. I finally decided to make my own after finding some pork belly in my freezer. Brainstorming on what to do with my hunk of rich meat , I thought back to last December and a long weekend in New York City. Certain Someone had purchased tickets for his favorite band Rammstein, an industrial metal German band known for intense pyrotechnics. This was their first concert in the United States in 10 years  to test the waters. It was so good that they are now on tour in the US. Anyway, as I’m normally in charge of the food recommendations. I was dying to go to the famous Momofuku Noddle Bar. The hype over the years was huge and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. They don’t take reservations there except for the fried chicken. So we taxied over and waited  in line for approx 30 minutes on a Friday night. If it was any longer Certain Someone would have walked. But he was a good sport and we waited for the surprisingly short duration. Finally two spaces opened up for us at the bar. Tight ,noisy , and nor very intimate. But I was there for the food. Our server /bartender was very hospitable to us and Certain Someone ordered a nice selection of items. Was it good? Yes. Was it an epiphany , not so much. Was it expensive for what you got, yes again, with all the drinks thrown in as well. Compared to the venues we have gone to in various Chinatowns,we were paying for the scene , more than the food. In the end , we are the types who prefer a more low key , non pretentious place that gives more value for the price. But I can say been there , done that. If the place wasn’t so loud, small and had better seating, then maybe I would view the whole experience differently. Its hard to enjoy a meal cramped up , elbow to elbow on a high chair at the bar, with your backs against the cold new York winter air.I do need to visit David Chang’s other venues .

So I decided to make my own buns for way less money. Be prepared to dedicate a better part of your day to these. Some aspects can be pre made , thereby making it an excellent appetizer for parties or summer cookouts coming up. The most intimidating piece of this for me was the bun/bao, as Chinese pastry has always mystified me. You can dress the buns up in a myriad of ways. I love various Asian influence like pickled vegetables and maybe some spice to offset the rich fattiness of the pork belly. If you don’t like pork, try roasted chicken or duck with the crispy skin left on. Shrimp or beef works too. I made quick pickle of julienned Daikon radish and carrots, sliced some cucumbers, green onion, and cilantro.  Add a slather of Hoisin and you are in for a treat.

I followed this recipe from Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie , but made some changes in the dough as I didn’t have dried milk in my pantry. I substituted 2 tablespoons  heated whole milk to the 3/4 ( less 2 tablespoons ) of water. The dough turned out beautifully. If you need more flour or liquid, add it slowly until the dough forms a nice ball while kneading.

Next time I’m going to make my own brine with some aromatics like star anise and garlic, and peppercorns. Or I may just add them to my braising liquid for a more luxurious flavor.

For the quick pickle, I didn’t soak my vegetables in salt water overnight, as normal picking recipes call for. I just heated 1 part sugar to 1 part white vinegar, a start anise and dried Thai chili to a boil and plunged my vegetable in . Remove from heat immediately and let cool submerged in  the liquid. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Warning…These bao are quite filling and somewhat addictive. But I suspect the whole family will love them. Try various proteins as filling choices, and have yourself a little Bao party with all the fixings.

Tea Smoked Home Cured Bacon

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I make my own sausage, cheese, pickles, pasta,soap,elaborate cakes,etc. Yet I have never made bacon. The web these days is full of DIY charcuterie enthusiasts, and I applaud them. I’m just not into participating in the mass events that populate the blogs these days. So when I saw a blogger I have always respected and admired  make her own, I asked myself why haven’t I done so? Naturally I had to Cocofiy it and add my exotic touch. This is grown folks bacon that’s infused with a rich sophisticated smokiness from smoking with Lapsang Souchong , Sichaun peppercorns, Star Anise and other spices. I used a commercial cure from Lem Backwoods in addition to other spices. I like this cure as it reduces the risk of botulism during the smoking /cooking process at lower temperatures. With these sort of commercial cures, the addition of more salt is not needed, so I didn’t add any to my spice blend. I cured for seven days as opposed to Lem’s recommendation of four days. Then rinsed my belly. I found my bacon wasn’t salty at all, unlike store bought bacon. I called Lem Backwoods and they said I was right not to add more salt and sometimes depending on usage or technique, some could find it salty. Either way I was happy with my results and the infused flavor from the tea smoke. The Alchemist, who’s vegan these days even requested some, as bacon is the hardest to give up.

Now most recipes call for the removal of the skin. Bah! I like thick slabs of bacon with the skin, country style. The skin slices through like butter once smoked.

You can smoke outdoor or indoors. I made a my own smoker with my roasting pan and lid, a rack used for baking, foil, and spices atop two  gas burners.

The finished product keeps about seven days in the refrigerator, or can be frozen. I recommend slicing and freezing to use as needed. Are you ready for the recipe?

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Tea Smoked Home Cured Bacon

Caution: make sure your kitchen is well ventilated with windows open, fan on, etc.

The Cure (4-7 days curing time)

  • Pork Belly with skin on (I used about 4.5 lbs)
  • 1/4 teaspoon for each 1lb of meat of Lem Backwoods cure or any other commercial meat cure containing salt and Sodium Nitrate (total 1 1/8 teaspoons)
  • 1/8 teaspoon fennel pollen
  • 2 tablespoon Brown Sugar
  • 1 tablespoon coarse ground Black Peppercorns
  • 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
  • Smidgen of water to mix

The Smoking Aromatics

  • 2 tablespoons Lapsang Souchong Tea leaves
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup Jasmine Rice (uncooked)
  • 1 tablespoon Sichaun Peppercorns
  • 7 Star Anise Pods

Mix your dry cure ingredients with a bit of water to dissolve . Add pork belly to a large resealable plastic bag. Add the cure and rub on both sides. Seal bag, place on a baking sheet or pan and refrigerate. Turn the bag every other day to distribute any seasonings and brine that forms while in the refrigerator. Cure for 4-7 days.

Take the pork belly and rinse off with water. Pat dry thoroughly.

Prepare your smoker. Take a large piece of aluminum foil and make a edges to contain your aromatics. Add the aromatics to the foil.Take a large roasting pan with lid, and place foil lined aromatics on the bottom of roaster. Place a rack , the kind you use for cooling baked goods, and place atop the aromatics. Place your pork belly , skin side up, on the rack. Cover and close any vents that may be on the roaster Using two burners , turn heat to med high for the first five minutes to start the smoking. Reduce heat to medium to low heat. Leave burners on for  hour. Turn off heat and leave covered for 1 more hour.The meat should be brownish red in color.

Uncover and let the pork belly cool.Pat off any excess moisture with a paper towel.Wrap in plastic film and refrigerate. A few hours later take out to slice and prepare and wrap for freezing if you plan to. At this point you can fry your bacon.

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