NORTH Festival - Finnish Smoked Potatoes

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One of the best parts of being a Contributing Writer for Honest Cooking is the chance to be a part of a global cooking network. And this fall, my fellow New Yorkers will have the opportunity to experience HC's international reach first-hand, at the publication's first food festival, celebrating Nordic cuisine.

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As part of the festival, I was asked to prepare a dish inspired by the flavors and ingredients of Finland. After perusing a few cookbooks and websites, I settled on the idea of smoke, but wanted to use it outside of the traditional context of smoked fish.   Among the other ingredients featured in Finnish recipes were dill, mustard and root vegetables, which (in combination with the smoke) reminded me of one of the best dishes I've eaten this year: smoked salt potatoes with green garlic at Bar Tartine in San Francisco.

Armed with inspiration, I set out to create my own smoked salt potato dish. In my previous experience cooking with smoke salt, I found the flavor unexpectedly mild, so I layered it into the dish in three ways. The result is a definitively smoky—but far from overpowering—vegan side, which, coincidentally, would pair very nicely with smoked or fresh fish.

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Smoked Salt Potatoes with Celery, Mustard & Dill

Cook time: 30 min      
Serves 2-3 as a side

Ingredients 

• 340g fingerling potatoes
• two very leafy celery stalks
• a generous handful of dill (3g)
• 1 tbsp whole grain mustard (14g - I prefer Maille)
• roughly 1 tbsp smoked salt*
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (50g) 

Instructions 

1. Scrub potatoes and place into a deep pan or small pot. Cover with cold water. Add a pinch of smoked salt and the bay leaf and bring to a boil.
2. Once water is boiling, reduce to a simmer. Cook potatoes for about 10 minutes, until tender. 
3. Meanwhile, pull the leaves off the celery stalks and put to the side. Mince the remaining stalks and put to the side.
4. Mix mustard, a handful of the celery leaves, dill, olive oil and a pinch of smoked salt in a blender. (The puree doesn't have to be perfectly smooth, but pulse until you have achieved a fairly uniform consistency.)
5. Once potatoes are cooked, drain water and flatten (one at a time) with the back of a wooden spoon or the heel of your hand. 
6. Heat a neutral, high-heat oil (such as grapeseed) in a cast iron pan. Add the potatoes, leaving enough space for each to be in direct contact with the base of the pan. Sprinkle with a pinch of smoked salt.
7. Cook potatoes approximately 3 minutes or until crisped on one side. Flip them and repeat. 
8. To serve, sprinkle fried potatoes with minced celery. Garnish with celery leaves and dressing to taste.  

*I used Alderwood smoked salt, as was used at Bar Tartine, but other smoked salts should work equally well. 

 Learn more about Nordic cuisine at the NORTH Festival 2013 in New York City. This post is a collaboration between the blogger and NORTH Festival 2013. 

recipe: kettle eggs

When I lived in Paris, the first meal that I ordered in a restaurant was oeufs à la coque. The description of ingredients sounded like an omelet, but that it was not. Instead, I received a salad and two piping hot, seemingly uncooked eggs. Uncooked to the point that I wasn't even sure they were edible. But, out of embarrassment, I ate every last bite. (The added irony? The French word for omelet is omelette. Whoops.)

I never quite got used to eating runny egg whites, but later in my time abroad discovered oeufs mollet—essentially a creamier version of American soft-boiled eggs. The whites are cooked, but still moist, and the yoke is just touched by heat, so that you still have to crack it open to release the golden liquid I like to think of as "egg butter."

Of course, I experimented with all different ways to achieve the same effect at home, and found that the best results came from water that was heated to a piping hot boil, then removed from the heat. Out of laziness or sheer genius, I decided my electric kettle (a staple in French kitchens) was the perfect place to achieve this effect, as it did an even better job than a stove-top pot of retaining heat after having stopped boiling.

Hence, my invention of "kettle eggs." To this day, it's still my favorite breakfast.

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Kettle Eggs

Ingredients

• two eggs
• toasted bread
• water (enough to fill a large kettle 3/4 of the way)

Instructions

1. Fill a large electric or stove top kettle 3/4 of the way.
2. Bring to a full, piping-hot boil.
3. Turn off the heat.
4. Gently place two eggs into the kettle and close the top.
5. Time six minutes, swiftly remove eggs and promptly rinse with cold water until cool enough to handle.
6. Crack eggs open (carefully) and scoop the insides out onto the toasted bread of your choice.
7. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

behind the knives: anthony ricco of spice market

Photos by Lauren DeFilippo

It’s said that those who can’t, teach. But when it comes to cooking, Spice Market’s Executive Chef Anthony Ricco is a master at both.

Before enrolling in a Culinary Arts program at the Institute of Culinary Education, Ricco was working as a prep cook at the China Grill. He says, “My brother forced me to go to ICE because I was holding on to the brochure for almost a year, and he knew I had talent in the kitchen, but I was wasting it. ICE helped me find my culinary voice by giving me access to quality product and excellent teachers who are very talented chefs.”

After graduation, Ricco worked at a restaurant in Long Island City, then found a position at Jean Georges, where he spent three years working every station in the kitchen. Then, he received an offer to work at one of Jean-George Vongerichten’s other New York restaurants, Spice Market.

Chili tapioca

When considering whether or not to take the position, Ricco recalls being motivated by one detail—or rather, one dish: tuna ribbons with chili tapioca, asian pear and lime in a chilled lime-coconut broth. Last month, fifteen lucky students had the chance to relive Ricco’s sense of culinary discovery, in a “Light Asian Flavors” class at his alma mater.

Plating tuna ribbons with chili tapioca and asian pear

It wasn’t Chef Anthony’s first time teaching at ICE. This past winter, I was one of a handful of students who he taught to prepare the “Signature Dishes of Spice Market.” Despite the complexity of the restaurant’s recipes, it was clear that there were intensely flavorful components that I could recreate at home. From the restaurant’s signature chili oil to a spicy, tangy ginger vinaigrette or a crunchy garnish of garlic chips, each element was a clear and accessible entry into the processes by which professionals layer flavor to create a winning dish.

Seasoning chicken with an Indonesian spice rub

Needless to say, when I showed up for my second class with Chef Anthony, it was no surprise to see that I wasn’t his only repeat student. This time, I was charged with making white pepper ice cream and a spiced passion fruit simple syrup. Being more of a savory cook, it was a challenge outside my comfort zone, but involved techniques that I was eager to learn.

In fact, that’s where Chef Anthony’s strength lies. He understands that the flavors and culinary style he works with every day are foreign to most American home cooks, and makes sure that every student, no matter what recipe they are personally assigned, has the chance to learn the techniques behind the various elements of each dish. That’s how I ended up not only making ice cream and simple syrup, but also breaking down a chicken and a red snapper (both for the first time).

And of course, given that he manages a staff of more than sixty at Spice Market, it was no surprise that Chef Anthony was able to supervise and motivate our motley crew of amateur cooks to churn out such advanced dishes. After four hours of cooking, that was the ultimate reward: to be transported by pungent, spicy, sweet flavors to the far reaches of Asia—or at least, Spice Market, which is a destination in itself.

Tuna and Chili Tapioca with Asian Pear
*Adapted for home cooks by Chef Ricco

Tapioca (about 20 servings)

• 7 oz. large pearl tapioca
• 5 shallots peeled and sliced thin
• 2 ancho chilies toasted and chopped
• 9 chipotle peppers toasted & chopped
• 6 dried thai chilies
• 4 tbs. Annatto seeds
• ¼ c. Grape seed oil
• 1 tsp. Cloves toasted
• 4 cinnamon sticks toasted and smashed
• 1 tbs. Sichuan peppercorns crushed
• 4 tbs. Salt
• 3 tbs. Sugar
• 7 c. Water
• Chili oil
• 1 tsp. Salt to finish

Sweat all but tapioca, sugar, salt and water in oil until golden. Add water, salt and sugar and bring to boil, simmer for 30 minutes then strain thru a chinois. Bring back to a boil then add tapioca and cook, stirring until clear. Drain under cold running water until cool. Put in a container and just cover with chili oil, then season with salt and reserve.

Lime-Coconut Broth

• 5 stalks lemongrass
• 40 kaffir leaves washed & chopped
• 1 green finger chili washed & chopped
• 3 c. coconut juice
• ¾ c. coconut milk
• ¾ c. lime juice + 3 oz to finish
• ¾ c. sugar
• 1½ tsp. Salt

Clean, crush and finely chop lemongrass. Combine coconut juice, milk, chili, lime juice, sugar and salt and bring to boil. Add lemongrass and kaffir, mix well and let cool, uncovered. Strain through chinois and finish with lime juice.

To Serve

• Tuna
• Tapioca
• Asian pear, peeled, cut into ¼” diamonds
• Jicama, peeled and cut into ¼” diamonds
• Red bell pepper char grilled, peel, cut in ¼” diamonds
• Scallion greens cut on bias
• Lime coconut broth

Slice tuna into 1” long, ½” wide and ⅛” thick pieces. Serve 10 pieces per plate. Arrange in a chilled shallow medium size bowl and fold each piece in half. Season tuna with salt then scatter with chili tapioca, then with jicama and pear. Sprinkle with scallions and then scatter with red pepper. Cover halfway with coconut-lime infusion and serve.