Unique Recipes

Unique Recipes Culinary Adventure

October 25, 2008

Aps/cooking munchies – something light like grapes, berries

Wine – whatever I have around the house

Bucatini All Amatriciana

Shanghai Soup Dumplings

Mocha Ice Cream in a Bag

BABBO’S BUCATINI ALL'AMATRICIANA

http://www.babbonyc.com/rec-bucatini.html

This dish is one of the most celebrated in Italian cuisine and a favorite here at Babbo. Named for the tiny town of Amatrice, located 100 miles east of Lazio from Abruzzo this dish can be made both with or without tomatoes. Ever since Abbruzzese shepherds begin the tradition of eating this spicy pasta after a day in the chilly mountain air, the cooking process has always begun with the rich smell of a fatty piece of pork bubbling in the pan. At Babbo, we use our homemade guanciale, or cured pig jowls, with its distinct pork flavor, to achieve the same rich taste that comforted the shepherds of old.

INSTRUCTIONS

Serves 4

¾ pound guanciale, or pancetta, thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves

1 red onion, halved and sliced ½-inch thick

1 ½ teaspoons hot red pepper flakes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 ½ cups basic tomato sauce (recipe follows)

1 pound bucatini (Called Perciateli by De Cecco brand, available at King Soopers 30th St.)

1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves only

Pecorino Romano, for grating

1. Being 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of salt.

2. Place the guanciale slices in a 12- to 14-inch sauté pan in a single layer and cook over medium-low heat until most of the fat has been rendered from the meat, turning occasionally. Remove the meat to a plate lined with paper towels and discard half the fat, leaving enough to coat the garlic, onion and red pepper flakes. Return the guanciale to the pan with the vegetables, and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or until the onions, garlic and guanciale are light golden brown. Season with salt and pepper, add the tomato sauce, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Cook the bucatini in the boiling water according to the package directions, until al dente. Drain the pasta and add it to the simmering sauce. Add the parsley leaves, increase the heat to high and toss to coat. Divide the pasta among four warmed pasta bowls. Top with freshly grated Pecorino cheese and serve immediately.

BASIC TOMATO SAUCE

Makes 4 cups

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 Spanish onion, chopped in 1/4-inch dice

4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried

1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded

2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved (We used 1 can of whole San Marzanos and 1 can of regular chopped tomatoes so we could compare…different, but neither stood out as different enough to influence the dish)

Salt, to taste

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot, and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and serve. This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.

Shanghai Soup Dumplings

(Xiaolongbao)

Bon Appetit May 2007

Steam the dumplings in batches and eat them when they're at their best — hot out of the steamer.

Makes about 75 dumplings.

Soup

10 cups plus 3 tablespoons (or more) water

2 3/4 to 3 pounds chicken wings, backs, and necks

2 1/2 ounces Chinese-style cured smoked ham or Smithfield ham, cut into 4 slices

3/4 cup coarsely chopped green onions (white parts only)

2 (1-inch-diameter 1/2-inch-thick) slices peeled fresh ginger

1 whole dried shiitake mushroom

1 large garlic clove, flattened

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine)

1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin (from 2 envelopes)

Sauce

1 cup black vinegar

6 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons very thin matchstick-size strips peeled fresh ginger

Filling

1 pound ground pork

1/4 pound peeled deveined uncooked shrimp, finely chopped

1/3 cup finely chopped green onions (white parts only)

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 large garlic clove, minced

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon Shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine)

1/4 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

Dumplings

75 (about) 3-inch square or round dumpling wrappers (from two 14-ounce packages) (don't use wonton wrappers; they are too thin)

1 large head of Napa cabbage, leaves separated

Make the soup: Combine 10 cups water and all remaining soup ingredients except gelatin in large pot. Bring to boil, spooning off any foam that rises to surface. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until chicken pieces are very soft and beginning to fall apart, adding more water by cupfuls if necessary to keep chicken submerged, about 2 hours 30 minutes.

Strain and chill: Strain soup; discard solids. Return broth to same pot. Boil until reduced to 2 cups, about 35 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour 3 tablespoons water into small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand until gelatin softens. Add to hot broth; stir until gelatin is dissolved. Transfer to 13x9x2-inch glass dish. Cover; refrigerate aspic overnight.

Make the sauce: Mix 1 cup black vinegar, 6 tablespoons soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons fresh ginger strips in small bowl. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Make the filling: Combine all filling ingredients in large bowl and mix with fork just until blended. Cut aspic into 1/3-inch cubes. Add aspic to pork mixture; stir gently with wooden spoon just until incorporated. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Assemble the dumplings: Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 1 dumpling wrapper on work surface. Spoon 1 very generous teaspoon filling onto center of wrapper, including at least 2 or 3 aspic cubes.

Pleat the wrapper: Lightly brush edges of dumpling wrapper with water. Bring 1 corner of wrapper up around filling, then pleat remaining edges of wrapper at regular intervals all around filling until filling is enclosed and wrapper forms bundle-like shape with small opening at top.

Twist the top: Gather top edges of wrapper together and twist at top to enclose filling. Place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. DO AHEAD Can be refrigerated, covered, for 1 day, or frozen in single layer in covered containers for 2 weeks.

Prepare the steamer: Line each layer of bamboo steamer basket with cabbage leaves; place over wok filled with enough water to reach just below bottom of bamboo steamer basket. (Or line metal steamer rack with cabbage leaves and set over water in large pot.) Place dumplings atop cabbage, spacing apart.

Steam the dumplings: Bring water to boil. Cover; steam until cooked through, adding more water to wok if evaporating too quickly, about 12 minutes for fresh dumplings and 15 minutes for frozen. Serve dumplings immediately, passing sauce alongside for dipping.

[The soup just disappeared, the next day I tried to boil the water first, then put the dumplings on, but it didn’t help. Other thoughts, freeze the soup cubes, use many more cubes in each dumpling. Also, some of the twisted tops got really doughy.]

Ice Cream in a Bag

August 6, 2008

New York Times

Time: 40 minutes

3 to 4 pounds ice (10 cups or more)

1/2 cup table salt or 1 cup kosher salt, plus a pinch (or use rock salt)

1 cup milk

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.

(We added some grated Sharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate and chopped chocolate covered coffee beans.)

1. Pour all the ice into a large glass or plastic bowl, cover it with salt, and stir.

2. In a bowl, mix milk, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla extract (any other addition?) and a pinch of salt together until sugar dissolves. Pour into a sealable 1-gallon freezer bag, push out as much air as possible, and seal.

3. Place a wide plastic bowl with a lid, like a salad spinner bowl, on a kitchen towel. Fill bowl with about half the ice. Lay freezer bag on ice and flatten it with your hand. Dump rest of the ice, along with any melted water, on top of bag, leaving zipper edge exposed. Place lid on the bowl. Let rest for 15 minutes, shaking it once or twice to redistribute ice and brine.

4. Pour about half the ice and brine into another bowl. Lift bag out by the zipper edge and lay it on a towel. (Avoid touching ice or brine, which are cold enough to cause frostbite.) Cover your hands with another towel and gently knead frozen areas for about a minute to mix them with liquid.

5. Return freezer bag to bowl, laying it flat on ice. Cover it with reserved ice and brine. Put lid on bowl and freeze as above for another 15 minutes.

6. Remove bag and carefully towel off the brine. Serve ice cream, or keep bag in freezer until ready to serve.

Yield: One pint.

Note: You can use this method to freeze any ice cream or sorbet mix. If you make ice cream regularly, you can eliminate ice cubes and reuse salt. Make a brine with 3 quarts water and 1 pound salt, divide it between two 1-gallon freezer bags, and store bags flat in freezer. To make ice cream, sandwich the bag of mix between brine bags, enclosing stack in towels.

[I put the salted ice in two bags in the garage freezer.]