I am a Cordon Blue-trained chef with a catering business called the Divine Plate based in Reno, Nevada. This blog is a place for me to share ideas and observations about food--creating it, eating it, discovering it and enjoying it.
Well I flipped a coin and decided this week's recipe from the Arte Italia cooking class with Chef Apreda will be the Sea Bass in Pomodoro Sauce. The cooking method for the fish is unique; stove top, salt and herbs, skindown–creates a moist wonderfully flavorful fish. The sauce was great with the fish, but could go with chicken, veal or even pasta. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did and feel free to use other types of fish too.
(Sorry for the poor picture quality. It was a fast paced class and I grabbed them in between prep duties with my cell phone!)
Pesce cotto al sale con pappa al pomodoro
(Herb and sea salt cooked sea bass with tomato sauce)
Tomato sauce
Approximately 4 quarts tomato puree
Leeks fine chop approximately 3 cups
Dried bread / bread crusts approximately 3 cups
salt
Garlic oil
Olive oil
Fresh basil
In a large sauce pot heat olive oil and garlic oil (approximately ¼ cup of each) add leeks and sauté till translucent, add tomato puree and a generous amount of salt, bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer for approximately 2 ½ hours. Remove from heat and stir in dried bread, let sit for approximately 10 minutes. Using a wand blend bread into sauce, then hand stir in chiffonade of fresh basil approximately ¼ cup.
Sea Bass filets skin on
Coarse sea salt
Fresh: rosemary sprigs, sage, thyme, bay leaves, garlic slices
Large sauté pan
Mix the salt and herbs together in the pan generously covering the bottom about 1 ½ inches deep, heat on the stove till hot (do not let the salt brown) lay the sea bass filets on top of salt skin side down, cook for approximately ½ an hour to ¾ of an hour. Fish will still be moist but cooked through.
To plate:
Scoop a generous portion of tomato sauce into center of plate remove sea bass filet from pan gently scrape off salt, using your finger. Place skin side up on sauce.
The holiday gifts just keep giving. The latest in the form of lovingly prepared and savored food. My sister Paige and I have been talking about Slow Food for quite a while now, but we were a little slow to actually join. Conveniently, and under our direct guidance, our mother got us memberships this past holiday season.
Slow Food is an international movement with 100,000 members in 132 counties including one in our fair city of Reno. According to their website, Slow Food was founded in 1989 to “counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.” The mission of Slow Food Reno is to create a culture where the Great Basin Community promotes and advocates wholesome, clean and flavorful food.
We went to our first Slow Food Reno event on January 18–a potluck held at Buckbean Brewery. I must admit I wasn’t sure what to expect. Who would be there? Would I fit in? I had some preconceived ideas–everyone would be vegan and living in a yurt. Or at the very least vegetarian with a well-cultivated acre behind their house and, if you know me or have been following my blog, you know that I like (probably wouldn’t hurt to say love) meat and dairy. One look at the group that had gathered and the dishes they brought and I rejoiced. It was a wonderful eclectic gathering of people.
One of the topics I knew was going to be discussed was raising backyard chickens. So with that in mind I got some eggs from my friend Mike who raise chickens with her husband. They have a variety of breeds that produce beautiful eggs in various hues of green, blue, brown and speckled.
Their beauty created a dilemma for me. I wanted to use both the eggs and the shells somehow. I knew it was possible to use an eggshell as a “container”. I have in the past cut the tops tipped the egg out boiled the shell to clean and then used it for cold salads even a shot glass once. But I wanted to experiment and see if I could cook in the shells. I took my favorite crème brulée recipe, filled the shells, used a cardboard egg carton in a pan with a water bath, baked and then once cooled, caramelized the tops. All went as planned, although I did learn to make a nest out of aluminum foil to hold the egg when caramelizing the sugar with a torch as the cardboard is quite flammable!
The eggshell may burn a little, but it just adds some color dimension if you want to make them really fancy dust the edges with edible gold or silver powder (can be found at bakery supply stores). The second “eggsperiment” I did was a black truffle egg custard, this was almost the last of the truffles I brought back from a spring trip to France– so sad to see them gone, but so divine in the going. The eggs seemed to be a big hit with the people at my table. The best feed back I go was that is was so RICH, it is best to only fill your eggshells a little over half full. Keep this in mind if you follow the recipes below.
Before I sign off I wanted to let you know Dan and Doug out at Buckbean Brewery have a great set up with some really awesome beers, many of which are available around town at various grocery stores and restaurants. It is worth the trip to go out to the brewery and see how your beer is made and who is making it. Buckbean is also very active in our community. If you are a food lover, come to the next Slow Food Reno potluck, you don’t have to be a member to come to the potlucks, but I am pretty sure you’ll want to join afterwards.
Black Truffle Egg Custard
Preheat oven to 275°
12 servings
12 empty eggshells – you can use an egg topper to cut off the tops over a sharp serrated knife (if using a knife I recommend setting the egg on its side on a wet towel)
Save contents of three of the eggs for recipe (other nine refrigerate for another use)
1 C milk
1 C heavy cream
1 ½ to 2 ¼ TBLS truffle oil
salt and pepper
Garnish: fresh chives, shaved black truffle
1. Heat the milk and cream together in a saucepan till it boils immediately remove from heat and pour into a blender (or food processor) and turn on. Drizzle truffle oil in then add the three eggs a pinch of salt and pepper blend until well combined.
2. Strain the mixture through a chinois (a very fine mesh strainer) into a pitcher. Let sit and skim off foam that rises to the top (about 5 to 10 minutes). Pour the mixture into the eggshells (1/2 full). Prop them up in a cardboard egg carton in a baking dish. Fill the dish up to halfway up the outside of the eggshells with hot water (this makes a Bain Marie). Cover the pan with a lid and bake for 40 to 45 minutes (I didn’t have a pan with a lid large enough to do all the eggs I wanted too so I just sealed it with aluminum foil and it worked fine)
3. Garnish with chive and black truffle, serve warm or at room temperature.
More of those Italian recipes from my class at Arte Italia coming soon.
I just got to enjoy one of my holiday gifts–a culinary class with award winning Executive Chef Francesco Apreda of the Hotel Hassler in Rome, Italy. The class was offered through Arte Italia a wonderful local organization that promotes the exploration and conservation of Italian culture through classes and exhibits. I am in love with the visiting chefs culinary class concept (and pretty fond of Chef Apreda). And, as an added bonus, Arte Italia donates all class fees to St. Vincent’s Dining Room.
The class began with Chef Apreda and Reno’s own Ivano Centemeri, celebrated chef from La Strada, serving us “students” risotto balls made with saffron and Taleggio. These delightful arancini have always been one of my favorites and the other guests at my table went crazy for them. Since the chefs started us off with these and did not demonstrate their recipe I will share with you mine since I know my classmates are waiting for it.
Over the next few weeks I will also share some of the other dishes Chef Apreda made for us, I am sure you will enjoy them as much we all did.
These are a little time consuming to make but well worth it. Many people are intimidated by risotto and really should not be, the technique is simple and really just requires you to keep your eye on it. For this dish I like my risotto to be a little moist but still al dente, just follow the directions and don’t be afraid to taste as you go.
Taleggio Arancini Step one is to make the saffron risotto and then cool it down;
About 5 cups chicken stock
Pinch of saffron
¼ cup finely minced onion or shallots
3 Tbls olive oil
1 ½ cups Arborio rice
¼ cup dry Marsala or dry white wine
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
2 Tbls butter
salt
pepper
In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer. Crumble in the saffron and keep over a moderately low heat with a ladle in it.
In a large saucepan (heavy bottomed is preferable) heat the olive oil over a medium high heat. Add the onions/shallots and stir till translucent about two minutes.
Add the rice and stir with a rubber spatula until the rice is well coated with the oil and slightly translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the Marsala/wine stirring constantly, until it is absorbed 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the warm saffron stock in ½ cup increments stirring constantly, until the stock has been completely absorbed. The stock should bubble gently when added; adjust heat as needed. Continue cooking the rice adding ½ cup at a time stirring till absorbed before adding another ½ cup. Near the end you may want to cut back to ¼ cup increments. Cook until the rice is tender but firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy not soupy, 20 to 30 minutes. (You may not need all the stock, or you may need more.)
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Parmesan and butter season with salt and pepper. Lay out on a lightly oiled sheet tray, refrigerate to cool down.
Step two is to make the balls;
The cooked and cooled risotto (does not have to be cold but not to warm or it won’t hold its shape)
Taleggio (you can use any cheese which melts easily but Taleggio is wonderful in taste and texture)
Once cooled down make a golf ball size in the palm of your hand, use your thumb to make an indentation in the center insert a small cube of Taleggio, then seal the risotto over the top to make a ball again.
Once you have used all the risotto refrigerate the balls for ½ an hour (this just makes it easier to bread them)
Step three is to bread the balls and then deep-fry them;
Set up a classic three stage breading station;
Pan 1 flour
Pan 2 whisked egg with a pinch of salt and pepper
Pan 3 finely ground breadcrumbs
Once you have breaded all the balls you may deep-fry them till golden brown or you may refrigerate them for a couple of hours or days. If you do wait to deep fry them bring them back to room temperature before frying, otherwise they may be done on the outside and not warm in the center, if this is occurring you may finish in the oven to heat all the way through.
These are wonderful on their own, but you may want to serve with a spicy tomato sauce for dipping. Also don’t feel limited to stuffing the balls with cheese, you can use a lamb mixture or sausage or a mushroom ragout. Get creative and try not to eat them all before you serve them to your guests.
One of my guests requested this recipe, so here it is. I recently served some meringue baskets with fresh whipped cream and berries. It is a great light dessert, looks elegant and is very easy to make, with many variations. I love sharing recipes as I believe good food is meant to be shared. So, if I can’t prepare something delicious you, I am happy to share the recipe.
Preheat oven to 225°
2/3 C powdered sugar
1/2 C egg whites approximately 4 eggs (room temperature)
1/3 C granulated sugar
Using a very clean bowl and utensils mix egg whites on low until frothy, add 2 T granulated sugar and whip till soft peaks form. With mixer on low, add sifted powdered sugar and remaining granulated sugar. Increase speed to medium/medium high, whip until stiff glossy peaks.
At this stage on a parchment lined sheet tray you can:
Put into a bag and pipe into disks or baskets
Drop by spoonfuls “dollop cookies”
Drop by spoonfuls and hollow out to make “nests”
Cook in oven for 60 to 80 minutes, will be dried out and crisp no color. Shut off oven and leave meringues in to cool down and dry out (2 plus hours). Store in an airtight container (can be stored for days before filling).
These are best made on a dry day.
There are many ways to finish:
You may dip in chocolate
You may fill the basket with fresh whipping cream (heavy whipping cream, vanilla, powdered sugar and granulated sugar whipped to stiff peaks-sugar to taste) and berries assemble no more than 3 hours before being served
Layer discs to make individual napoleons or large discs for a cake; layer with berries/fruit and fresh whipping cream or pastry cream and berries/fruit
If you brush the meringues with tempered chocolate it will help to make a seal between the meringue and fillings allowing the dessert to be assembled earlier without fear of becoming soggy.
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