Those who try the following recipe for steamed turbot stuffed with mango and accompanied by wasabi-flavor mashed potatoes and find it delicious, as I did, can thank Gerd Knaust, chef at the Oriental Hotel in Singapore. This version has been adapted from his more elaborate original to save time.
Steamed Turbot Stuffed With Mango
1 large stalk lemon grass
2 large shallots
1 cup dry white wine
10 ounces turbot
1 large ripe but firm mango
A couple of sprigs of cilantro to yield 1 tablespoon chopped
A few shakes of salt.
1. Remove tough outer leaves from lemon grass, and slice off tough bottom. Slice remainder of tender part of lemon grass into 1/8-inch-thick rounds. Chop shallots.
2. Combine lemon grass, shallots and wine in the bottom of the pot in which the turbot will be steamed.
3. Wash turbot and cut it into four equal portions. Carefully make a pocket in each portion, slicing the fish horizontally.
4. Skin mango and cut four thin slices to fit into each turbot pocket. Arrange stuffed slices in a steamer.
5. Thinly slice the remaining mango; wash, dry and chop the cilantro.
6. Bring wine mixture to a boil in the steamer. Cover and steam fish for 3 to 4 minutes, until it is cooked.
7. When fish is cooked, remove, and spoon the wine mixture into a food processor. Process to a rough puree. Arrange the fish on two dinner plates. Sprinkle with a little salt and a few spoons of the pureed cooking liquid; decorate with mango slices, and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with mashed potatoes.
Yield: 2 servings.
Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 300 calories, 5 grams fat, 70 milligrams cholesterol, 290 milligrams sodium, 20 grams protein, 20 grams carbohydrate.
Wasabi Mashed Potatoes
1 pound tiny new potatoes
1/2 cup of 2 percent milk
3 to 4 teaspoons wasabi powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste.
1. Scrub but do not peel the potatoes, and boil them in just enough water to cover them, until they are tender, 15 to 20 minutes, depending on size.
2. When the potatoes are cooked, drain and quarter them, and put through potato masher. Add enough milk to achieve the desired consistency, along with the wasabi powder, salt and pepper, and serve with the turbot.
Yield: 2 servings.
Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 260 calories, 1 gram fat, 5 milligrams cholesterol, 180 milligrams sodium, 7 grams protein, 60 grams carbohydrate.
My mother used English sausages mostly, and those flat, sludgy lentils (Puy lentils weren't so easily available then), but this is at its best made with highly flavored Italian sausages (I love the ones tagged "Genovese," deep with garlic and basil) and either French Puy lentils or the similar Italian ones from Umbria.
This isn't about fancifying a down-home dish: it's about doing what feels right and responding to what's available; in short, it's about cooking.
This, incidentally, is what Italians serve traditionally on New Year's Day; the coin-shaped lentils symbolize the prosperity that is hoped for over the coming year, much as Jewish tradition uses honey richly for the Rosh Hashanah meal to represent the wish for a sweet and happy life for the year ahead.
To cook the lentils, put 2–3 tablespoons of the oil into a good-sized saucepan (and one that has a lid that fits) on the heat and when it's warm add the chopped onion. Sprinkle with salt (which helps prevent its browning) and cook over a low to medium heat till soft (about 5 minutes). Add the lentils, stir well and then cover generously with cold water. Bring to the boil, then cover and let simmer gently for half an hour or so until cooked and most, if not all, the liquid's absorbed. I don't add salt at this stage since the sauce provided by the sausages later (and which will be poured over the lentils) will be pretty salty itself. So, wait and taste. And remember, you can of course cook the lentils in advance.
Anyway, when either the lentils are nearly ready or you're about to reheat them, put a heavy-based frying pan on the burner, cover with a film of oil and add the bruised garlic. Cook for a few minutes then add and brown the sausages. When the sausages are brown on both sides—which won't take more than 5 minutes or so—throw in the wine and water and let bubble up. Cover the pan, either with a lid or aluminum foil, and cook for about 15 minutes. Using a fork, mash the now-soft garlic into the sauce and taste for seasoning, adding a little more water if it's too strong.
Remove the lentils to a shallowish bowl or dish (I evacuate the sausages from their cooking pan, plonk the lentils in, then proceed) then cover with the sausages and their garlicky, winey gravy. Sprinkle over some flat-leaf parsley.
English chef Jamie Oliver claims that he never liked the title of the TV series that made him famous. The Naked Chef and its sequels had nothing to do with nudity, he says. The name was meant only to convey the simplicity of his recipes.
In his new cookbook, Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life (Hyperion), Oliver calls "Cheat's Pappardelle" a great dish with "slap-you-around-the-face flavors." Here, too, the name requires an explanation. You can "cheat" in preparing this recipe by not making your own pappardelle. Instead, Oliver recommends that you simply cut ready-made fresh lasagna sheets into thick, pappardelle-size noodles. Pangrattato is the name for yet another kitchen trick. Impoverished Italians used to make this rich bread-crumb mixture to give their food extra flavor when they had no Parmesan cheese.
Recipe of the week
Cheat's Pappardelle With Slow-Braised Leeks and Crispy Porcini Pangrattato
5 big leeks, outer leaves trimmed back, washed
Olive oil
3 good knobs butter, divided
3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
A few sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked
Small wineglass of white wine
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pint good-quality vegetable or chicken stock
12 slices ham, preferably Parma
2 (8-oz) packages fresh lasagna sheets
All-purpose flour, for dusting
2 handfuls freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
For the pangrattato:
1 small handful dried porcini mushrooms
½ ciabatta bread, preferably stale, cut into chunks
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Halve leeks lengthwise; cut at an angle into ½-inch slices. Heat wide saucepan; add splash of oil and knob of butter; when you hear gentle sizzling, add sliced garlic, thyme leaves, leeks. Move leeks around so every piece gets coated. Pour in wine, season with pepper, stir in stock. Cover leeks with slices of Parma ham, place lid on pan, cook gently for 25 to 30 minutes. Once leeks are tender, take pan off heat.
Bring big pan of salted water to boil. Lay lasagna sheets on clean working surface, sprinkle with a little flour. Place sheets on top of each other, slice into ½-inch strips. Toss through your fingers to shake out pappardelle, then cook in boiling water 2 minutes or until al dente.
Remove Parma ham from saucepan; slice up and stir back into leeks. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in Parmesan and rest of butter. Drain pasta, reserving a little cooking water; add pasta to leeks. Add a little cooking water if need be for a silky, smooth sauce. Serve quickly, sprinkled with some pangrattato, extra Parmesan, and any leftover thyme tips. Serve the rest of pangrattato in bowl on side. Serves 4 to 6.
To make the pangrattato:
Whiz mushrooms and bread with pinch of salt and pepper in food processor until mixture looks like bread crumbs. Heat generous glug of olive oil in frying pan. Add garlic cloves and rosemary, cook for minute, then fry bread crumbs in oil until golden and crisp. Keep shaking pan—don't let bread crumbs catch on bottom. Drain on paper towels, discard rosemary and garlic, allow bread crumbs to cool.
