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Real Men Eat Watercress (Soup!)

10 Jan 2012
watercress soup with sage

Move aside quiche there a a new super food in town and men love it.

Real men like Napoleon Bonaparte and (yep) Sippity Sup! And we're not the only super-dudes in love with this peppery green bite. It’s said that Hippocrates, the father of medicine, built an entire hospital next to a patch of the stuff because he recognized early on the health benefits it could provide to his patients. Gruff Greek soldiers ate watercress to increase their masculine vigor. Even Roman Emperors said it enabled them to make “bold decisions”. I can vouch for that. I ate Creamy Watercress Soup with Sage and decided to write this super-charged tribute.

In Victorian times elegant ladies jumped on the watercress bandwagon too. It could be purchased in parks and street corners, gathered into posey-style bundles. These daintly little nosegays could be nibbled upon, like an ice cream cone while strolling.

And what a nibble watercress seems to be. It's said to have more vitamin C than oranges, more calcium than milk, more folate than bananas, and more iron than spinach.

But its real attribute is that manly men like it. The Romans even believed it could prevent baldness. Now I ask you what man wouldn't eat watercress with that kind of information available to him? Still, even if you have a full head of hair (or are in fact a lady) eating watercress still has delicious benefits. Most notably it has a peppery crunch that elivens this vibrantly colored creamy soup made with leeks, and potatoes called potage au cresson. My version is a simple (but manly) take on the classic. GREG

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Creamy Watercress Soup with Sage

watercress soup
By jgreghenry Published January 9, 2012
Prep time: 30
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 2 T unsalted butter
  • 2 leeks, halved lengthwise, cleaned, white and light greeen parts roughly chopped
  • 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
  • 1 clv garlic, peeled & minced
  • 3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
  • 3 c chicken stock
  • 2 bn watercress (about 1 pound), leaves only, plus more for garnish (optional)
  • 6 leaves of fresh sage, rinsed and chopped
  • 0.5 c heavy cream
  • 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
  • 1 pn each, salt and white pepper, to taste

Directions

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan set over medium heat. Add the leeks, celery and garlic, stirring to coat. Lower the heat and cover the pan, cooking the leeks until softened somewhat, but not yet colored, about 4 minutes. Add the potato and chicken stock. Simmer, uncovered until the potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. Remove the pot from the pan and stir in the watercress and sage. Set the pan aside to cool somewhat.

Meanwhile mix the cream and egg yolks together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until very smooth. The strain the soup with a fine meshed sieve discarding any solids. Return the soup to the pan, setting it over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the cream and egg yolk mixture. Season with salt and white pepper. Garnish with watercress (optional). Serve warm.

A Marvel of Balance & Proportion- Pork Belly and Braised Endive Sandwich

27 Apr 2011
Pork Belly and Braised Endive Sandwich

Sandwich. Panini. Grinder. Hoagie. Submarine.

Do you sense a theme here? Yep, my brain is stuck in sandwich gear. You can blame the Saveur Magazine sandwich issue if you want, or maybe the Tom Colicchio cookbook ‘wichcraft. Both of which are living on my desk this week.

But in truth I have been a sandwich fan since I was a kid. Because one things kids know about sandwiches is this: less is more. And today that adage is truer than ever.

I realize Jared Fogel and the rest of the Subway franchise are looking at me askew right now. But I am sorry it’s true. Nobody needs a 12-inch sandwich loaded up with 16 ingredients to be happy. I don’t care how much weight he lost eating those things. That sandwich doesn’t pass the muster in my opinion.

It’s the super-size mentality that has destroyed so many great foods in the past few generations. Did you realize that a standard bagel used to be about  3-inches in diameter and contain about 140 calories? Today they have more than 350 calories with out the schmear!

Remember when McDonald’s introduced the Quarter Pounder? (Yeah, well I do…)

A quarter pound of meat seemed obscene at the time. But a quarter pound of beef no longer shocks anyone. In fact you can hardly find a 10-inch dinner plate anymore­– ‘cuz a burger won't fit on it! 12-inches is the new norm in plate size.

Well these behemoths are not sandwiches. They shouldn’t even be food.

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Pork Belly and Braised Endive Sandwich

Pork Belly and Braised Endive Sandwich
By jgreghenry Published April 27, 2011
Prep time: 180
Yield:1 ()

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 lb boneless pork belly, skin on
  • 0 salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 T canola oil
  • 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 carrots, roughly chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
  • 1 leek, white and light green parts washed and roughly chopped
  • 2 clv garlic, peeled
  • 3 c chicken stock, approximately
  • 1 t caraway seeds
  • 2 heads endive, leaves separated
  • 2 t sugar
  • 0.25 c balsamic vinegar
  • 4 ciabatta rolls
  • 0 dijon mustard, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large oven-proof skillet set over medium heat. Lay the meat, skin side down, in the skillet and cook, undisturbed for about 15 minutes. The key to crispiness is to not disturb the meat while it cooks. It will stick at first. But it will unstick itself when ready. At that point transfer the meat to a plate and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat. Reserving the excess for later. Add the onion, carrots, celery, leek and garlic to the hot skillet. Cook stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Return the meat to the skillet, skin side up this time, and add about 2 cups of chicken stock. Just enough to surround the meat with out submerging it. Bring to the stock to a simmer, then transfer the skillet to the oven uncovered. Cook the meat about 1 hour, then add more stock to adjust the level in the skillet. Continue cooking until the meat is fork tender, about 30 more minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven and let the meat cool somewhat it the liquid. Once cool enough to handle, gently peel off the skin, cut the meat into 3/8-inch thick slices and return it to the skillet. Set aside in a warm place, but don't cover the skillet so that the meat will stay crisp. In a separate skillet heat about 2 tablespoons of the reserved fat over medium heat. If need be add a bit of oil to get the proper amount of fat. Add the caraway seeds and toss, heating them until fragrant. Add the endive leaves and saute them until they are wilted and beginning to brown. Add the sugar, vinegar, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Continue cooking until the liquid is reduced and the endive leaves get very soft. Remove from heat and set aside. Slice the ciabatta rolls in half, spread the mustard on the bottom half. Top with pork belly slices, followed by the endive. Close the sandwiches and serve.

Notes:

serves 4 Source: Adapted from 'wichcraft

Market Matters: The Golden Glow Of Orange Cauliflower Soup with Curried Apples

06 Feb 2011
Orange Cauliflower

Orange Cauliflower. Golden Cauliflower. Cheddar Cauliflower. Do not adjust your set. Do not run from the room screaming. This is not an alien brain and I am not Orson Wells. To prove it I plan to take this oddly colored vegetable, the subject of this week's Market Matters from the Hollywood Farmers Market, and make Golden Cauliflower Soup with Curried Apple, then eat it.

Though I can promise that is not the tale of little-orange-brained-green-men and their plan to take over the earth. It is, however,  a mysterious bit of science non-fiction nonetheless. You see, this other-worldly cauliflower was discovered in a Canadian Marsh more than 30 years ago. The bright orange hue and the tell-tale shape announced to the world that a new breed of cauliflower had hybridized itself in that faraway marsh, without the aid of man. Dah Da Da, Duhhhh!

It was quickly harvested and sent to the laboratory for investigation. Cauliflower was confirmed. But the version found that day in Canada was lacking something in the flavor department so a few not so mad scientists began cross-breeding it with the more familiar, more tasty white version. Well, after decades of tinkering the orange cauliflower was born. It can range in color from a creamy yellow, through gold and all the way to outright pumpkiny! It is higher in several vitamins than white cauliflower, and is a good source of (you guessed it) beta-carotene too. The best part is it hold its golden beauty throughout all kinds of cooking.

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