Romesco Sauce

Romesco sauce, a pungent combination of roasted red pepper, garlic, nuts, and chile flakes, is a delicious accompaniment to grilled meats or poultry, fish, or even as a dip for veggies or crackers. I love most anything with roasted red peppers and this sauce is no exception. It's an addictive combination.

The bread, which is acts as a thickener, is usually fried in olive oil. This recipe, from Martha Rose Shulman, skips the frying and uses toasted bread. It makes the recipe quicker. I wouldn't say it makes the sauce light- this is a rich sauce even with toasted bread!

I like Aleppo chiles in this recipe. They are sweet-hot and a little fruity. In Boulder, you can find Aleppo chile flakes at the Savory Spice Shop, my favorite herb and spice purveyors in town. And if you don't have a Savory Spice Shop in your town, they take on-line orders

Romesco Sauce
(makes about 2 cups)

1 large roasted red pepper, cored and skin removed, roughly chopped
¾ pound ripe tomatoes (3 to 4 whole tomatoes)
2 large cloves garlic, peeled
¼ cup whole almonds, toasted
2 oz. crusty white bread, lightly toasted
1-2 teaspoons medium-hot chile flakes, such as Aleppo chiles
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 Tablespoons sherry vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Place the whole tomatoes on a metal pan and place under the broiler. Broil until it develops some char. Turn over and repeat on the other side. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Remove the the skin, and set aside the tomatoes.

With the food processor running, throw in the garlic to mince. Stop the processor and scrape garlic off the sides. Add in the almonds, bread, and chile flakes, and process to a paste. Scrape down the sides again, and add the red pepper, tomatoes, parsley, paprika, salt, and black pepper. Process until smooth. Scrape down sides. With processor running, add the vinegar and then the olive oil in a slow stream. Process until smooth and well-combined. Scrape the sides and taste. Add more salt if needed.

Best if served at room temperature. The garlic flavor builds if it is kept in the refrigerator. Can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Great as a spread on bread or crackers or as a sauce on fish, chicken, lamb, or vegetables.

From Mediterranean Harvest by Martha Rose Shulman, Rodale, Inc., 2007.

Tamarind Sauce

Tamarind pods. The sticky flesh inside is removed and usually sold in a block.

We ate this sauce on lamb chops but I think it would be wonderful on just about anything grilled: chicken, duck, beef, or shrimp (which is what the original recipe from epicurious.com used it on). It is very intense with the tamarind and the fish sauce. It's not so different from many steak sauces or Worcestershire sauce which are flavored with tamarind and anchovies.

I used tamarind sauce from my local Savory Spice Shop but that's not necessary. If you have tamarind pulp - usually sold in a block  - you can make your own sauce. Look for it in Asian markets, especially Indian ones.

Tamarind Sauce
(makes about ½ cup)

1 Tablespoon tamarind pulp
⅓ cup warm water
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon finely minced cilantro
1 Tablespoon minced garlic (3-4 cloves)
1 Tablespoon Siracha sauce
1 ½ Tablespoon turbinado or dark brown sugar
1 Tablespoon fish sauce

Combine tamarind pulp and water in a small bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes to soften pulp, Using your fingers, rub the pulp in the water to dissolve. Tamarind can have lots of fiber and big seeds so don't be surprised if it doesn't all dissolve. Push through a strainer into another bowl to remove the solids. You should have about 3 Tablespoons tamarind sauce.

Heat oil in a small saucepan until hot but not smoking. Add cilantro and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Serve with grilled meat, chicken, or shrimp. It's intense; one recipe is enough for 4 people.

Photo: pictures of the tamarind-fruit {{cc-by}} Clemens PFEIFFER, 1190 Wien, licensed under Creative Commons from WikiCommons

Beer Can Chicken, without the Beer

We really like beer can chicken, where you prop a whole chicken on a half-full can of beer or some other liquid enhanced with some aromatics. You also rub the chicken with a dry rub to make it extra yummy. It's a rather foolproof method for chicken because you cook it using indirect heat. The chicken sits off to the side of the hot element (or if you have a charcoal grill, away from the live coals) so you don't need to worry about flare-ups. Flare-ups are the bane of chicken grillers. With this method, you can set it and forget it for about an hour.

I have a can holder that provides a bit more support so the bird doesn't tip over. It's not that hard to balance the chicken on the can (you shove the can up the bird's butt and balance it on its legs and the can) but the can holder makes it really easy. Here's what it looks like without the chicken and can in place.

You can find these in kitchen stores and any store that carries a lot of BBQ accessories.

Though beer can chicken is traditional, many other liquids are used to add flavor and moisture. This recipe is from Beer Can Chicken and 74 Other Offbeat Recipes for the Grill by Steven Raichlen. Raichlen is one of the giants in the field of BBQ and grilling. I have a bunch of his books and they are all fantastic: comprehensive, detailed, and full of delicious recipes. The North Carolina pulled pork recipe I posted a couple of years ago is from his excellent BBQ USA. If you are into grilling, BBQ, and live fire cooking, you need his books. I met him here in Boulder during a book signing, and he's a real nice guy too!

This recipe calls for peach nectar but I didn't have any. I used guava nectar. That works too. So, feel free to substitute apricot, guava, or mango nectar instead of the peach in both the can liquid and the sauce. The sauce reminds me of the duck sauce we used to get when we ordered spareribs at the Chinese restaurant. It's pretty sweet but totally addictive. It would also be delicious as a glaze on salmon.

Peach Nectar Chicken
(serves 4-6)

2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

12 ounces peach nectar (or some similarly fruity nectar like guava or mango)
1 3" cinnamon stick
1 chicken, 3 ½ to 4 ½ pounds

2 cups of fruity wood chips (applewood or grape prunings)

Place the wood chips in a bowl and cover with water. Soak for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour.

Combine the brown sugar, paprika, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, cinnamon, and cardamom in a small bowl and stir to mix.

Measure out ¾ cup of peach nectar into a small saucepan for the BBQ sauce. Make 2 extra holes in the top of the can with a church key type opener. Put the cinnamon stick in the can and set aside.

Remove the giblets from the cavity of the chicken. Blot the inside and outside of the chicken dry with paper towels. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of the rub in the body cavity. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of the dry rub in the neck cavity. Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of the rub on the outside of the chicken. Spoon the rest of the rub into the can. Place the chicken on top of the can. If using the can stand, put the can in the stand, then the chicken on the can. Tuck the wings behind the chicken's back.

If using a gas grill, turn one or two elements on to high and leave one element off. That's where the chicken will go. If using a charcoal grill, get a batch of coals hot and when they are glowing, push them all off to one side. Drain the wood chips and put in a metal pie plate covered with foil and punched with a few holes or the smoker box. Place the chips on the hot side of the grill to get them smoking. Once the chips get smoking and the grill is hot (350-400°F), reduce the temperature to medium so you maintain the temperature, and place the chicken on the side of the grill that is off (or without any coals). Cover and cook for 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours until the internal temperature in the meaty part of the thigh registers 180°F. While the chicken is cooking, make the Peach Barbecue Sauce.

Peach Barbecue Sauce

¾ cup peach nectar (that you put in the saucepan above)
½ cup ketchup
2 Tablespoons peach or apricot preserves
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon dark rum
½ teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
¼ cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Put all the ingredients except the salt and pepper in the saucepan with the peach nectar you reserved from above. Heat over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until thick. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature with chicken. Store any leftover sauce in the fridge for up to 1 week. Reheat before serving.

Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Olives

A little bit of the exotic in this recipe. Preserved lemons are available in gourmet shops or you can make your own (it's quite easy but you have to plan a month ahead). They are used in Moroccan stews and they add an interesting lemon flavor - very strongly lemon but without bitterness or the extreme tartness of the juice. You only use the rind; the flesh is discarded.

Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Olives
(4-6 servings)

Southwestern Matzoh Ball Soup

Southwestern matzoh balls, jazzed up with some fresh chiles and julienned carrots

It's nearly Passover, friends. Now, being the unobservant Jew that I am, I have not cleaned out every speck of chometz (that would be bread-like products that aren't Kosher for Passover, and believe me, that definition is extremely broad). I did wash the floor today, which is pretty good in my house. I do believe in the restorative power of matzoh ball soup however. And after washing the floors, I need something restorative.

This is quite an old internet recipe, at least in terms of the age of the internet (it is not, however, the oldest one I have, which dates from 1982). This recipe came from rec.food.cooking which was the grand-daddy of internet recipe sites. It was a mishmash of people, with some definite likes and dislikes. Which led to some pretty interesting flaming but also a lot of interesting food.

This recipe is from Susan Hattie Steinsapir who was a frequent contributor to the group. I believe she lived in Southern California and she passed away at some point during the heyday of rec.food.cooking. But, she is not forgotten as I think about this lady I never met every Passover when I pull out her unorthodox version of matzoh ball soup.

Southwestern Matzoh Ball Chicken Soup
(serves 4)

A classic recipe from the days of rec.food.cooking with some enhancements from me. I added the black pepper and cumin. If the jalapeno is not very spicy, I like to add a teaspoon of very finely minced serrano chile or a pinch of ground dried chipotle chiles to spice things up a little. I also use tequila rather than vodka sometimes, for a little Nuevo American twist.

2 tablespoon Oil
2 large Egg
½ cup Matzoh Meal
1 teaspoon Salt
⅛ teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
⅛ teaspoon Ground Cumin
2 tablespoon Finely Minced Onion
1 teaspoon Finely Minced Jalapeno
1 tablespoon Minced Red Pepper
2 tablespoon Tequila or Vodka
6 cups Chicken Broth
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, dill or parsley

Beat oil and eggs together. Add matzoh meal, salt, onion, jalapenos, red pepper and vodka. Stir to blend thoroughly. Refrigerate covered for 15 minutes.

Bring 2 quarts of salted water to a boil. Reduce heat so that water is boiling gently. Drop 1" size matzoh balls (they will swell as they cook) into the water. Cover pot and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove and drain. At this point, you can chill the matzoh balls and reheat them in the chicken broth when you want to serve them.

Add the matzoh balls to chicken soup and simmer for 5 minutes (20 minutes, if chilled) before serving.

This recipe can be doubled but only use 3 eggs.

notes: This dish will serve 6 as part of a big Passover meal. By doubling the recipe and thereby decreasing the percentage of eggs, you end up with slightly denser matzoh balls. A single recipe results in very light and fluffy matzoh balls while a double recipe results in somewhat denser matzoh balls. This is based on personal observation making a double and single batch in the same day.

Link to PDF of Southwestern Matzoh Ball Chicken Soup