Post by amarante on Oct 20, 2016 15:03:43 GMT -5
MAC AND GREENS
SERVES 10 TO 12
Source: Marcus Samuelsson - The Red Rooster Cookbook
Sometimes you put a dish on the menu to try it out, and it takes over. You find that out when you take it off the menu and there’s a chorus of disappointed voices. That dish has become a classic.
I wanted comfort food, but I knew I needed something to cut the richness. Collards give you something to chew on and a different kind of richness. Then I took another left turn and slipped in some cauliflower for another level of texture. Everybody agrees. Mac and Greens is yummy.
Cut the cauliflower into very small florets—the size of a fingernail.
FOR THE MAC AND GREENS
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
½ cup thinly sliced shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups (1 quart) heavy cream
1 cup milk
1½ cups tiny cauliflower florets
½ cup crème fraîche
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
4 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded
4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (½ packed cup)
1 teaspoon mustard powder
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 pound orecchiette or other small, sturdy pasta, cooked until just tender
2 cups Killer Collards, reheated
FOR THE TOPPING
⅓ cup dry bread crumbs
¼ packed cup fresh parsley leaves
2 packed tablespoons fresh basil leaves
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (¼ packed cup)
¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
FOR THE MAC AND GREENS
1 Set a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the broiler. Butter a 9-x-13-inch baking dish.
“2 Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring often, until turning golden, 9 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour in half the cream and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens and comes to a simmer. Pour in the remaining cream, the milk, and the cauliflower and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils. Turn off the heat and add the crème fraîche and cheeses. Whisk until the cheeses melt. Whisk in the mustard, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the pasta and collards and stir well. Pour into the baking dish.
FOR THE TOPPING
3 Put all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until the herbs are minced. Strew evenly over the mac and greens.
KILLER COLLARDS
SERVES 6 TO 8
Everyone has a mom or aunty who knows “the best” way to make collards, so I knew we’d have controversy when I skipped the ham hock or salt pork and made them lush with a lot of spiced butter. I love it! That kind of argument makes for the liveliest dinner table conversation.
1 cup (8 ounces) Spiced Butter
1 onion, chopped
2 Thai bird chiles, minced, or ½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
2 pounds collard greens, stemmed and chopped
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Coarse kosher salt
1 Melt the spiced butter in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and chiles and sauté until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes. Add the collards and stir in the vinegar, brown sugar, and salt to taste and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer until the greens are very tender, about 1½ hours.
2 Serve hot or warm.
SPICED BUTTER
We use this butter as a flavor enhancer—you find it in a lot of recipes in the book. It has a hint of funk, like the funk of fermented foods, the new wave of flavor to follow umami.
There are a lot of versions of spiced butter in Ethiopia. My version is true to that made by my wife Maya’s tribe, the Gurage.
►Melt 8 sticks (2 pounds) unsalted butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 minced shallots, a 2-inch piece ginger (peeled, sliced, and smashed), 1½ tablespoons coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, 1½ teaspoons fenugreek, 1½ teaspoons ajwain, 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon ground turmeric. Simmer very gently for 30 minutes to infuse the flavors. Keep an eye on this; you don’t want the milk solids to brown.
Skim off all the foam and any floating seeds and let the butter sit for about 10 minutes for the milk solids to settle on the bottom.
Carefully pour the spiced butter through a sieve lined with a few layers of cheesecloth into a container, leaving the solids behind. Let it cool, then cover and refrigerate. It will keep for months.
This makes about 3 cups.
SERVES 10 TO 12
Source: Marcus Samuelsson - The Red Rooster Cookbook
Sometimes you put a dish on the menu to try it out, and it takes over. You find that out when you take it off the menu and there’s a chorus of disappointed voices. That dish has become a classic.
I wanted comfort food, but I knew I needed something to cut the richness. Collards give you something to chew on and a different kind of richness. Then I took another left turn and slipped in some cauliflower for another level of texture. Everybody agrees. Mac and Greens is yummy.
Cut the cauliflower into very small florets—the size of a fingernail.
FOR THE MAC AND GREENS
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
½ cup thinly sliced shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups (1 quart) heavy cream
1 cup milk
1½ cups tiny cauliflower florets
½ cup crème fraîche
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
4 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded
4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (½ packed cup)
1 teaspoon mustard powder
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 pound orecchiette or other small, sturdy pasta, cooked until just tender
2 cups Killer Collards, reheated
FOR THE TOPPING
⅓ cup dry bread crumbs
¼ packed cup fresh parsley leaves
2 packed tablespoons fresh basil leaves
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (¼ packed cup)
¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
FOR THE MAC AND GREENS
1 Set a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the broiler. Butter a 9-x-13-inch baking dish.
“2 Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring often, until turning golden, 9 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour in half the cream and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens and comes to a simmer. Pour in the remaining cream, the milk, and the cauliflower and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils. Turn off the heat and add the crème fraîche and cheeses. Whisk until the cheeses melt. Whisk in the mustard, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the pasta and collards and stir well. Pour into the baking dish.
FOR THE TOPPING
3 Put all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until the herbs are minced. Strew evenly over the mac and greens.
KILLER COLLARDS
SERVES 6 TO 8
Everyone has a mom or aunty who knows “the best” way to make collards, so I knew we’d have controversy when I skipped the ham hock or salt pork and made them lush with a lot of spiced butter. I love it! That kind of argument makes for the liveliest dinner table conversation.
1 cup (8 ounces) Spiced Butter
1 onion, chopped
2 Thai bird chiles, minced, or ½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
2 pounds collard greens, stemmed and chopped
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Coarse kosher salt
1 Melt the spiced butter in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and chiles and sauté until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes. Add the collards and stir in the vinegar, brown sugar, and salt to taste and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer until the greens are very tender, about 1½ hours.
2 Serve hot or warm.
SPICED BUTTER
We use this butter as a flavor enhancer—you find it in a lot of recipes in the book. It has a hint of funk, like the funk of fermented foods, the new wave of flavor to follow umami.
There are a lot of versions of spiced butter in Ethiopia. My version is true to that made by my wife Maya’s tribe, the Gurage.
►Melt 8 sticks (2 pounds) unsalted butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 minced shallots, a 2-inch piece ginger (peeled, sliced, and smashed), 1½ tablespoons coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, 1½ teaspoons fenugreek, 1½ teaspoons ajwain, 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon ground turmeric. Simmer very gently for 30 minutes to infuse the flavors. Keep an eye on this; you don’t want the milk solids to brown.
Skim off all the foam and any floating seeds and let the butter sit for about 10 minutes for the milk solids to settle on the bottom.
Carefully pour the spiced butter through a sieve lined with a few layers of cheesecloth into a container, leaving the solids behind. Let it cool, then cover and refrigerate. It will keep for months.
This makes about 3 cups.