vegetable oil

Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Buffalo Dipping Sauce

sweet potato fries
By jgreghenry Published January 27, 2012
Prep time: 45
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 0.25 c unsalted butter, melted
  • 0.25 c sriracha hot saucesauce
  • 2 T tabasco sauce
  • 1 T cider vinegar
  • 1 T ketchup
  • 1 t vegetable oil for parchment
  • 2 large sweet potatoes, skins on, scrubbed and cut into 4-inch sticks, each 1/2 inch thick
  • 3 large egg whites
  • 1 t kosher salt
  • 0.5 t fresh rosemary leaves, finely minced

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees with racks in the upper and middle positions. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and rub with oil.

Prepare the Buffalo Dipping Sauce: Whisk melted butter, sriracha sauce, tabasco sauce, vinegar & ketchup together in a bowl. Set aside.

Prepare the fries: Put sweet potatoes in a microwave-safe container, cover, and microwave 2 minutes. Stir gently, cover, and microwave 1 to 2 minutes more until pieces are pliable. Let rest 5 minutes covered; pour onto a platter to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy, add salt and rosemary, and whisk to blend. Working in batches, toss the sweet-potato pieces in the seasoned egg whites, letting the excess liquid drip back into the bowl. Place in a single layer on prepared baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes, then flip pieces over with a spatula. Rotate baking sheets from front to back and from one rack to the other. Bake until dark golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately with the Hot Buffalo Dipping Sauce on the side.

Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart

Not Ferret Fritters... Farro Fritters!

25 Jan 2012
Farro Fritters

I am pretty proud of today's Farro & Sun-Dried Tomato Fritters though I admit they don't really look like much. That's one of the problems facing food bloggers these days. If you want to reach a wide audience (and who doesn't) your food has to look extra special scrumptious, be super colorful, get wrapped in bacon, or at least have a peanut butter swirl. These foods may look pretty (especially when they are tied up in a bow), but they don't always ignite the imaginations of the more mature palates amongst us. It is kind of a Catch 22. Because the very sites (FoodGawker, TasteSpotting and more and more Pinterest) that have brought food bloggers together as a powerful community have also played a part in limiting what defines good food on the web. Leaving really delicious or super sophisticated food cast aside as un-loved and un-clicked.

That's why I feel so sad for these fritters. Sure they look like hard brown hockey pucks. But they're not, I promise you. Farro is delicious. It's got a nutty taste and a terrific texture. Farro contains a starch similar to that found in Arborio rice. It releases a creamy, binding liquid when cooked. But it retains its tender, distinct bite, much better than rice. Making it a perfect choice for fritters. But I have a feeling none of that matters. In fact I may as well have titled this recipe Ferret Fritters, at least I'd get the friends of ferrets society up in arms. Hmmm... just how big an audience are ferret lovers any way? GREG

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Farro & Sun-Dried Tomato Fritters

Farro & Sun-Dried Tomato Fritters
By jgreghenry Published January 24, 2012
Prep time: 30
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 5 T olive oil
  • 1 c farro
  • 0.5 small onion, minced
  • 2 c vegetable broth
  • 1 c parmesan cheese
  • 2 T oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, minced
  • 2 T flat leaf parsley, minced
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 pn each kosher salt & black pepper
  • 2 c or more vegetable oil, as needed for frying

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Add the farro and cook, stirring occasionally until the grains are coated and you begin to hear a popping sound sound. Stir in the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the farro is cooked through but al dente, about 12 more minutes.

Transfer the farro to a bowl let it cool about 5 minutes. Add the Parmesan cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley and the eggs. Mix well and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile heat about 1/4-inch vegetable oil in a large non-stick or cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat until quite hot, but not yet smoking. Using a large spoon, drop batter in 2-tablespoonful mounds into oil. With a small spatula or butter knife, gently flatten each mound and fry until golden, about 4 minutes per side, carefully flipping once (adjust heat if browning too quickly). Drain on paper towels. Season with more salt and serve warm.

For a Yule That's Cool! Seared Salmon with Pepita Salsa

20 Dec 2011
seared salmon with pepita salsa

Ahh, it's time for that most traditional Christmas dish of all. It's practically synonymous with sugarplums. Seared Salmon with Cilantro-Pepita Pesto !

What? Pumpkin seeds aren't typically yule in your mind? Even when paired with salmon?

Well read on. I think you'll agree Seared Salmon with Cilantro-Pepita Pesto  is bound to become a modern Christmas classic.

You see, I've been travelling. Traveling where it's cold. Traveling to a food-centric city– so everywhere I turned fantastic food was being offered to me. I ate at least 4 meals a day (plus drinks and snacks) every day for the past 7 days. With friends and family all around, it was eat, drink and be merry (Christmas) all the time. I've arrived home fat (and happy).

So when I started thinking about the Christmas food I wanted to enjoy more quietly here at home, I turned to one of my tried and true recipes. because I knew it had to be light. But light isn't necesarily the challenge. I also wanted to serve food with a cool yule spirit. But how do you make something as light as simply seared salmon seem festive enough for the holidays? Well, I chose color. Seared Salmon with Cilantro-Pepita Pesto is "red and green". It doesn't get much more holiday than that. I chose to serve mine as fillets drizzled with some of this delicious sauce. Still, I couldn't help thinking what an amazing taco this recipe would make. So I guess we'll be seeing this dish again come the New Year nestled into a steaming hot tortilla, heaped with some spicy cabbage slaw. Now that really is a new cool yule tradition. GREG

 

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Seared Salmon with Cilantro-Pepito Pesto

salmon with pepito pesto
By jgreghenry Published November 14, 2011
Prep time: 20
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 3 t vegetable oil, divided
  • 0.5 c pepito seeds, raw, plus more as garnish
  • 0.5 c cilantro
  • 1 t coriander seeds
  • 1 pn cumin seeds
  • 1 clv garlic, peeled & minced
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 pn each kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper
  • 4 (six-ounce) salmon fillets with skin
  • 1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

Directions

Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a large cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pumpkin seeds and sauté until the sizzle and pop, about 2 minutes. Transfer seeds to a paper towel lined plate to cool. Wipe the skillet clean with a papper towel and reserve skillet.

Pulse the pumpkin seeds, cilantro, coriander seeds, cumin, and garlic in a food processor until a course, grainy texture is acheived. With machine running, gradually add the lime juice, and 1/4 cup oil. If necessary add a tablespoon or two of water to achieve a thick puréed texture. Season with salt, pepper.

Wash and completely dry the salmon fillets.

Heat the remaining teaspoon of vegetable oil in the large reserved cast iron or non-stick skillet set over medium heat. When the oil is very hot; add the salmon, skin side down. Cook it until the skin is very crisp, dark brown and releases easily from the pan. This should take 3 to 4 minutes. Do not be tempted to check or move the fish around in the pan during this time. You will only succeed in making it stick to the pan or worse ruin your beautifully crisp skin.

Once the skin has crisped flip the fish, and cook it an additional 1 to 2 minutes more, until the flesh is nearly (but not quite) opaque in the center. Do not let it cook all the way through. The fish will continue to cook after it leaves the pan. Your goal is a succulent flesh graduating from a medium rare center outwards to a crispy crackly skin.

Place the seared fillets on plates, skin side down. Spoon pesto over. Garnish with remaining raw pepito seeds. Serve with lime wedges.

Source: Adapted from Bon Apetit