Truffled endive, white asparagus and heart of palm salad

Saucy Little Dish is trying something new!  Each month we will be working with a different ingredient and each Dish will create a dish using that ingredient.  We are excited to start the Spring 2013 off with Endive/Chicory.

In addition to our new theme months, SLD would like to introduce our newest dish, Beth Harrell.  Beth is originally from Florida and we met this saucy thing in Williamburg, Brooklyn and she now lives in Chicago.  Not only has she lived in all sorts of culinary hubs, she studied the art of baking and pastry at Le Cordon Bleu Paris.  I don’t know about you, but I know we are excited to see what Beth whips up!

From Dish Beth:

(inspired by El Almacen’s Ensalada de Palmito) Yields 6 servings

I’ve always thought of endive as the stuck up, snooty little finger food of fancy pants ladies luncheons. Other than an elegant vehicle for stuffing cheesy, mayonnaisey dips down my gullet, I didn’t really know what else it was good for. That is, until, I had this delightful truffled endive and heart of palm salad at El Almacen, an awesome Argentinian restaurant in my old neighborhood, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  Since I live in Chicago now, I decided I’d try and make this thing at home.

Slightly bitter endive, its chicory sister radicchio, and tangy heart of palm, are tossed with large flakes of buttery, salty parmesan and a simple truffle vinaigrette. Since it’s spring, I’ve also added some white asparagus to the mix. Earthy and decadent, this would be a perfect start to a romantic dinner with your hunny bunny. But I wouldn’t know anything about that. Guh.

Here goes…

2 endives (the whiter the leaf, the less bitter the taste)

White asparagus (about 6-8 stalks)

Small head of radicchio

8 oz jar of heart of palm, drained

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Big handful of salt

Truffle Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Parmesan cheese (not the powdery pizza kind. Get a wedge and shave flakes off with a vegetable peeler. This is a CLASSY salad, dammit!)

Slice the endive, radicchio, asparagus and heart of palm into long, thin strips. Make sure to cut the top and base off of the endive and asparagus. Place all but the heart of palm into large bowl with the apple cider vinegar and salt. Toss to coat and let sit for 30 minutes or so (you want to slightly pickle them). Place in colander to drain. Rinse with cold water (don’t have to totally wash all vinegar away, just give it a quick rinse), return to bowl

Add heart of palm. Toss with Truffle Vinaigrette and sprinkle with parmesan before serving.

Truffle Vinaigrette

Shallot (or small onion, shallots are just expensive onions anyway)

2-3 T white truffle oil (If you’re on a specialty oil budget, you can sometimes find this shit for cheap at TJ Maxx)

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1-2 T champagne vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Grate the onion/shallot right into the bowl and then pour/sprinkle in remaining ingredients. Whisk and taste and  whisk and taste, adding more as needed until it’s to your liking.

Oh yeah! And for the record, it’s pronounced on-DEEV, not N-dive. Enjoy lovers!

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New England Clam Chowder – By Way of Brooklyn

From Dish Rachelle:

I’m pretty sure that in my lifetime I’ve done some serious damage to the clam population of the Northeast. Some of my favorite dishes – and my family’s favorite dishes – center around this one simple ingredient. I grew up eating fried clam strips with tartar sauce with my Mom at Howard Johnson’s at brunch on Sundays and at fish fry places on the boardwalk at the Jersey Shore. I always ordered the chalky New England clam chowder at Friendly’s when I was little (and we know what a big part Friendly’s played in my childhood). I’ve known my father to cook three dishes, and three dishes only: 1) “Cheese eggs” (aka scrambled eggs with American cheese) 2) Linguine with white clam sauce and 3) Baked clams (see the bottom of this post for a neat trick he taught me). I love Zuppa di Clams and even raw ones on the half shell with cocktail sauce. This is really just starting to sound like a survey of New Jersey restaurant menus.

I’ve made Manhattan clam chowder before (“red”) but never New England. I was very pleasantly surprised. Sorry, clams – this might become another go-to.

Ingredients (makes 2 entrée-sized portions or 4 appetizers)

18 raw whole clams, shells on
2 strips bacon, chopped
Olive oil
½ large yellow onion, chopped
splash of dry white wine
1 large baking potato, diced small
clam stock (see below)
1/3 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
Ground pepper

Start by steaming your clams open. In a large, deep saucepan, place rinsed clams (shells on) in about a half-inch of water. Cover and steam over medium-high heat, giving the pan a shake every few minutes. Cook until the water looks foamy and the shells are all wide open, about 10 minutes.

With tongs, remove the clams to a bowl. Do not drain or discard the clammy water at the bottom of your saucepan, because this will become the base of your stock! Remove the clam meat from the shells and reserve for later. Place the empty shells back in the saucepan and add about a pint and a half of water, covering and bringing it up to a simmer. Let this cook while you prepare your other ingredients.


Cook the chopped bacon in a soup/stew pot over medium heat. When it looks about done, add the onions and a little bit of olive oil so they don’t stick, and soften. Deglaze with the white wine and add the potatoes.

Return to your clam stock and taste it. It will likely be very salty. Remove shells* and pour the liquid through a cheese cloth to remove any sand or grit that has come from them, and then pour the strained liquid straight into your soup pot. Add some fresh water if necessary to cover ingredients and dilute the salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, mostly covered, about 15 minutes.

Check your potatoes and make sure they’re done. If so, roughly chop the clam meat and add to the pot along with any liquids that emerged. Add the corn and stir. Cook, mostly covered, over low heat for another 5 minutes.

Add heavy cream and if you prefer a thicker soup, the cornstarch (you can dissolve it in a little bit of warm water first to make a paste so that it’s not gritty in your mouth). Plate and season with ground pepper.

*You can toss them, or rinse and save them for another use. My Dad used to make baked clams using canned clams – easy, but without the benefit of shells for easy baking and nice presentation. No problem: when he ordered clams casino at a restaurant, he used to ask the waiter if he could keep the empty shells so that the next time he felt to urge to make baked clams he’d have them on hand.

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Supper in INDY: Coq au Vin, a cozy winter feast

From Dish Danielle:

Over holiday break I spent a cozy week in Northern Indiana’s cornfield country with my beau and his family. It was much colder than it’s been here in Brooklyn, and one snowy evening, I caught a hankering for some sort of ‘red wine & chicken’ supper. After a short trip to their local organic market and an even shorter trip into Evelyn’s pantry (where she’s got her summer garden’s remaining bounty) she & I decided to whip up our own speedier rendition of the French classic ‘Coq au Vin.’

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 2 large chicken breasts w/skin, cut in half
• 4 chicken thighs with skin
• cumin
• S&P
• about 2 c dry red wine (we used a pinot noir that was on hand)
• 3 shallots, diced
• 1 HUGE leek, sliced & rinsed thoroughly
• 6 fresh thyme sprigs
• 6 fresh rosemary springs
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 add’l garlic cloves sliced thin
• 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
• 2 tbsps all purpose flour
• 1 ½ c chicken stock
• 1 c beef stock
• 2 tbsp butter
• 4 carrots, peeled & diced into 1½ ” pieces
• 4 parsnips, peeled & diced into 1½” pieces

The first thing we did was prep the chicken: I consulted a few recipes online, and most of them called for an overnight marinade. As it was already after 7pm, Evelyn and I decided to give the chicken a nice flavorful rub to ensure its deliciousness and eliminate the need to put the meal off another day. So: pat chicken dry and sprinkle cumin, salt & pepper on all sides liberally. Then rub the minced garlic onto chicken on all sides.

Place a deep cast iron over medium high heat. Add a splash of olive oil. Sear chicken on all sides and remove from pan. Reduce heat to med-low. Sprinkle flour into same pan and stir into oil/juices leftover from chicken.

Add shallots & leeks and sauté for 4mins. Now add wine, 3 of the thyme & rosemary springs, sliced garlic, peppercorns, and both stocks to the pan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and add carrots and parsnips. Cover and cook for 5 mins.

Now place the chicken back into the pan, cover and cook for about 12-15 more minutes, until the chicken is cooked through, (about 6mins in I removed the wilted thyme/rosemary sprigs and replaced with the remaining fresh ones). You’re almost ready for a cozy winter feast! At this point, some recipes remove the chicken & root veggies and reduce the liquid further. We were starving and didn’t bother with that nonsense. Either way your meal will be delicious—no matter how thick your sauce.

Serve with a winter green, (we chose brussel sprouts); pour a round of red, and bon appétit to a lovely winter meal in with the family.

….Is that just a leek in your grocery bag or are you just happy to cook an SLD!!??

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