Valentine's Day - 2018

When I am home for Valentine's Day, I always try to make something a little extra special for dinner. This year was no exception, but because it is midweek and we are both working I didn't have all day to slave over the stove.
This dish was grilled romaine with roasted beets, diced red pepper, warm Israeli couscous all with a bitter orange dressing. Oh and we had some sous vide chicken thighs left over from a different dish, so added that too.
To make it vegetarian or vegan use oil instead of bacon and omit the chicken.
It did get the "We Can Serve This To People" appellation, so I guess madame liked it!

Ingredients - CousCous 

3 strips bacon cut into small pieces (for vegetarians, use olive oil instead of bacon)

1 small shallot diced finely

1/4 cup Israeli couscous

1/2t smoked paprika

1/2t sumac

1 medium carrot diced into 1/4" cubes. Size matters here for the speed of cooking

1/2 cup boiling water

Ingredients - The Dressing

4T bitter orange orange marmalade - jelly only, no peel strips

Juice of 1 lemon

1/3 cup high quality olive oil (a finishing oil)

salt to taste - remember that in this dish there is bacon that is itself salty

Ingredients - The Rest

1/2 red pepper diced into 1/4" pieces

2 medium roasted beets diced into 1/4" pieces

1 cooked chicken thigh diced (optional - we happened to have one left over)

1 romaine lettuce heart halved lengthwise

Coarse salt

Pepper

Method - CousCous

Do the couscous first as it takes the longest. 

Gently render the bacon in a large saucier. When the bacon is rendered, add the shallot, couscous and spices. Cook over medium heat, stirring or shaking frequently for about a minute - until the couscous is lightly toasted. Add the carrots and boiling water. Cover and simmer until the water is absorbed. This is about 10 minutes. When the couscous is cooked,  turn off the heat and allow to stand until ready to serve (at room temperature)

Method - Dressing

In a large bowl whisk together the ingredients, ad let stand. Whisk again immediately before use.

Method - The Rest (And Final Assembly)

Grill the romaine on a medium/hot griddle - or over a gas/charcoal grill if you prefer. When it is slightly charred, transfer to an individual plate. Place the room temperature couscous on one corener of the plate. Some of the chicken on another corner. Dress the romaine with a teaspoon of dressing. Pile the diced red pepper and beets onto the romaine. Add 2 more teaspoons of dressing. Sprinkle with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve with a nice, crisp white wine.  In our case a South African Sauvignon Blanc.

Grilled Romaine and peapod salad

The back story. We have decided to grow peas this year. And much to our surprise, they have started producing. Not a lot yet, but the young, tender freshly picked peas were just demanding to be eaten. So, what to do? Peas and mint are classic. Radishes provide a spicy bite, red peppers some extra sweetness, Romaine as a base and avocado/steamed eggs for richness. It all came together remarkably easily. Grilling the romaine really helped. Technically it wasn't grilled, but griddled on the ridged side of the cast iron griddle.

Ingredients

1 Dozen whole young pea pods (if fresh, then no need to blanch, but blanch in hot salty water for 15 seconds if store bought)

1/3 Shallot minced very finely (yes it really is that little)

6 Radishes sliced thinly. 

A bunch of mint (probably around 20 leaves) chopped small.

1 Diced red pepper (1/4 " dice)

1 t white sugar

4 T cider vinegar

1/2 t habanero vodka (or any other hot sauce to taste)

10 T neutral oil

2 T Finishing oil (I used a high quality extra virgin olive oil

1 Avocado cut into 1/2"  pieces

1 Romaine lettuce heart split in 2 pieces lengthwise and lightly oiled and seasoned with salt/pepper on the cut side.

2 eggs steamed like this (for 6:45 instead of 6:30 to get the yolks a little firmer) and peeled like this

Pepper to taste

Coarse sea salt to finish and provide crunch

Method

Make a vinaigrette combining the mint leaves, vinegar, sugar, both oils, hot sauce, and shallot. Leave to steep for a few minutes while you prepare the rest of the vegetation.

Add the red pepper, radishes and pea podsto the vinaigrette and mix thoroughly.

Cook and cool the eggs.

Heat the griddle until it is "rocking hot". A drop of water on it will sizzle like fury. Place the romaine cut side down on the griddle surface and cook for a couple of minutes. You want a nice char on the cut surface. It will hiss and steam a bit. Turning on the vent hood would have been a great idea if I had thought of it soon enough.

Peel and dice the avocados. Slice the eggs in half.

Assemble the salad, pouring the veg laced vinaigrette onto the hot romaine hearts. Add the avocado and egg halves. A couple of grinds of pepper and a few coarse salt crystals finished it off.

Serve with a crisp, cold white wine. We served a Spier 2014 Sauvignon Blanc. 

Caesar Salad

We had a hankering for a "proper" Caesar salad last week. No hairy fish, no gloppy dressing - just great Romaine with everything done just right. It's harder than it appears - even though the ingredients are simple.
Ingredients (Served 2 as main course)
2 garlic cloves + 1/4 t salt
3T pure olive oil
1/2 cup croutons (unflavored if buying - home made better)
1 egg
1 Romaine - pale leaves and heart only
4T Extra Virgin Olive Oil (best quality you can find
1T lemon juice
Few drops Worcesterhire sauce
1/4 cup coarsely grated Parmiggiano Reggiano
Coarse sea salt
Pepper
Method
Peel and mince the garlic, then sprinkle with salt and make a paste. Mix in 1T olive oil. Warm the other 2T of the pure olive oil in a pan, add the garlic paste and warm through. Toss in the croutons and warm through. Do not allow the garlic to brown as it will turn bitter.
Coddle the egg by placing the refrigerator temperature egg in a pan enough water to cover, bring to a simmer, turn off the heat and leave for 1 minute. Note if you are worried about salmonella and eggs, you may want to use a pasteurized egg for this.
Place the leaves in a large bowl, drizzle on the extra virgin olive oil. Toss. Add the lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Toss. Add the coddled egg and toss. The egg should emuslify into the lemon juice/oil. Add the croutons. Toss. Add the grated cheese. Toss. Serve the salad with some coarse sea salt and pepper to taste.