Dinner on the Fly: Skate and Radishes in Anchovy Brown Butter and Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes and Dandelion Greens

In the spirit of Spring let me post this dish.  Walking around Essex market I was stopped by some dandelion greens.  There is only one time of year when you see them.  Unlike asparagus which you can get all year round but probably shouldn't, dandelion greens are only seen in certain markets in Spring.  They are a earthy and very bitter green.  I highly recommend this recipe for Ligurian mashed potatoes and dandelion greens by Mark Bittman.  It's a great recipe to use with any spring green actually and simple enough for a busy week night.   Remember that there are only four ingredients so make them count.  Use very good olive oil, sea salt and a flavorful potato.  Otherwise the subtleties in this dish can be lost. A good note for any dish that has very few ingredients.  

Radishes sauteed in brown butter is a favorite side dish of mine in Spring.  (See this earlier post.)  I recently made some anchovy butter and my sauteed radishes got a little update.   It was like falling in love all over again.  

 Skate and Radishes Sauteed in Anchovy Butter

• 1 skate wing (should be enough for 2 people)
• one large radish or 1 bunch small radishes
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
• salt and pepper to taste (remember that the anchovy is also salty)
• parchment paper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Melt butter with anchovy paste in a medium skillet until golden brown.  Lay the skate wing onto parchment paper.  Drizzle a small amount of the butter onto the skate.  Fold the sides of the parchment paper in two or three times to seal, cover, and to make an envelope for the fish.  Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Sautee` your sliced radishes in the remaining butter.  Turn the heat down to medium low and cook until tender.  Serve over skate.  To remove the fish from the bone, slide a fork or knife down the contour of the bone on either side and the meat will come off in strips.

Dinner on the Fly: Octopus Potato Salad with Pancetta and Mint

Let's demystify octopus, shall we?  It is not that complicated, People.  You can make it for dinner on an ordinary day and it is no big deal.  So what are you afraid of?  It was fine when you ordered it in that Spanish tapas place.  Of course it was already cleaned, chopped, prepared and somehow artfully arranged on your plate.  But really you just can not imagine it on your kitchen counter as a blubbery, bulbous mass with purple, suctioned-cupped tentacles.  I am here to tell you that you can do this.

First here are a few of things you should know:

1. You are going to buy it frozen.  I know what you are thinking and believe me I am not accustomed to buying fish or seafood from my local supermarket's freezer section.  First of all, I am willing to bet that your local supermarket is not selling octopus, am I right?  ( If you live in NY I have gotten mine at Sunny Fish Market in Queens or Buon Italia in Manhattan, but I am sure there are many other great places.)  Octopus actually freezes well and is almost always sold to a wholesaler frozen.  I have heard rumors of New York neighborhoods like Chinatown or Bay Ridge, where you can get fresh octopus but I have not made those outings yet to be sure. Anthing you buy fresh is a real treat but I am willing to bet that the wonderful pulpa you had at that Spanish Tapas Bar probably started out frozen.
2. You are going to stick it in a pot and boil it.  Now does that sound hard? I haven't bought a frozen octopus that hasn't already been cleaned but I suppose it is still worth it to pose the question to your fish monger.  But boiling is pretty much the extent of preparing your octopus.  I have never had to beat it against a wall or put a cork in the water but feel free to try that if you feel so inclined.  Depending on the size of the octopus, you want to boil it for 45 minutes to an hour.  You should note that it will reduce in size by about a third.  It will be ready when you stick in fork in it and it is tender. Pull it out of the pot, chop it into attractive pieces and you are done.
3. If you are not accustomed to eating octopus, try it.  It is surprisingly delicious.  And if the environment and sustainability is a concern of yours, as it is a concern of mine, octopus is one of the better choices at your fish market.  I can not say that it is certainly local but octopi are a short lived and fast growing breed, making them better able to withstand overfishing. 

Octopus Potato Salad with Pancetta and Mint

• 1 octopus, prepared and chopped
• 3 potatoes, boiled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1/4 of a cup chopped pancetta
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
• 2 shallots, 1 minced and 1 sliced 
• 1 stalk chopped celery 
• 1/2 a cup of cooked (or from a can) chick peas 
• pinch of red chili flakes
• 5 tablespoons of olive oil 
• 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
• sea salt
• black pepper

In a small bowl, add minced shallot and vinegar.  Slowly drizzle in 4 tablespoons of the olive oil while beating the vinegar and shallot with a fork.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Chop your potatoes first and then boil them in salted water (they will cook faster that way). Let them cool for 10 minutes. In a large bowl combine celery, warm potatos (not hot), and chick peas.  Add some of the olive oil and vinegar mixture while the potatoes are still warm and toss.  Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet.  Add pancetta and sliced shallot and turn the heat to medium low.  Let cook until the pancetta and shallots turn golden brown on the edges.  This will render some pork fat and carmelize the shallots.  When they are almost done and the skillet is still hot add the red chili flakes.  Let cool for a few minutes then add to the potato mixture and toss.  Add mint leaves, season with salt, pepper and the remaining oil and vinegar dressing to taste.

The Classics: Potato Salad (Greenpoint Style)

At our house, the first warm day that my husband takes out his grill is potato salad season.  I love a good potato salad particularly because it is such an easy side for a casual get together.  One labor day I brought it to a luncheon at a friend's family beach house in the Rockaways.  Her grandmother was so full of compliments I felt like a Domestic Potato Salad Goddess for the day.  Really, I think I just got lucky.  Two uninspiring batches of potato salad later and my domestic goddess status was demoted.

The ingredients in my potato salad are like commas in my writing attempts.  I just, don't know, when, I have too many, where, to put them in, or when, to leave them out.  Like all cooking, art and life (it alway comes to that), the priority has to be balance, then all the ingredients fall into place.  The formula: potatoes, one or two crunchy vegetables, one or two flavor boosters like onion, hot pepper, or capers, a choice of meat, egg or fish, an herb or spice, and a dressing to serve as a binder, most commonly mayonaise or oil paired with an acidic flavor.  More than that and I have not been successful.  The flavors just don't shine through.

So if I haven't mentioned this before, Nick and I live in Greenpoint, Brookyn.  This is a well established Polish community with distinctly Polish flavors up and down (and in between) our main drag.  This suits me and my Polish-American husband just fine, especially when we are craving some comfort food in form of a smokey fish or meat.  The morning of this potato salad, a neighbor brought us a beautiful, rich coral orange steak of smoked salmon from Acme Smoked Fish.  Sadly. I have never been able to go myself as they are only open for public retail on Friday mornings.  Ah, the limitations of a day job.  Thinking of playing hooky anytime soon? Maybe for an exceptional smoked salmon experience?   Needless to say, some if it made it into our potato salad and the rest, well, got devoured as is and with our fingers.

Potato Salad Greenpoint Style with Smoked Salmon

5 or 6 potatoes cubed

2 to three scallions (I like to use only the greens) chopped

3 radishes chopped

A handful of the chopped radish greens*

2 teaspoons capers

3 1/2 inch cut of smoked salmon steak diced

sea salt to taste

black pepper to taste

1/2 cup mayonaise

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

2 glugs of olive oil

juice of one lemon

Boil your potatos in salted water until tender but not mushy.  You want them to be soft when your fork goes through but not to fall apart.  Then drain.  In a large bowl, toss your chopped radishes, radish greens, scallions, smoked salmon and capers,  In a small bowl, whisk together mayonaise, mustard, olive oil, and lemon juice with a little salt and pepper.  I like to add the potatoes while they are still very warm but not steaming hot.  I would recommend letting them cool for 7 to 10 minutes.  The hotter they are the more they will absorb your dressing.  You want them to absorb some of the dressing but not so much so that the other ingredients don't get enough.  Finish with another sprinkling of sea salt and black pepper.

*I often reserve the greens of a root vegetable to use in a dish like I would parsley.  Why waste it when it is tasty and delicious?

Dinner on the Fly: Chunky Cauliflower, Leek and Potato Soup

Okay, so it is 8pm on a Thursday evening and I have just gotten home.  Yesterday was our CSA pick up  and we have a fridge full of veggies just calling my name.  There is no way I can order some greasy, not-so-extraordinary, delivery pizza just so we can eat before 10pm.  This is just one more weekday night of Iron Chef in Steph's kitchen.

Here are this evenings ingredients.  A leek, a cauliflower, some potatoes and one hour to put dinner on the table.  So I here is what I came up with:  a variation on the classic leek and potato soup but using cauliflower as well.

You want to start with a good, old fashioned roux.  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add the same amount of flour, stirring all the while.  This will cook quickly, not much more than 30 seconds.   Add your diced potato, leek and cauliflower, then cover with milk (preferably warm).  Give it some sea salt and black pepper, and let it simmer.  I left it on the heat until the potatoes were tender.  I am not sure exactly how long that was but I managed to answer my emails before setting the table.  So maybe a half an hour.  Garnish it with parmesian cheese and chives.  It would probably be great if you pureed it also.  I may try that with my leftovers!