On Ramps

Scored some beautiful local ramps this weekend. I had never cooked them before. They came out great. Here's my recipe, informed by multiple internet sources.

1 bunch ramps, with tops, roots removed.
1 small zucchini
olive oil
salt

Cut off the leaves off the ramps where they begin to grow wide and flat. Leave the round stems attached to the bulbs. If any bulbs are much bigger than others, cut these in half lengthwise. Set aside the leafy tops and cut into 3cm lengths. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise, then into 1cm thick slices.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over low-moderate heat. Add the ramp bulbs. Cover and sweat for about 10 minutes. Remove cover, raise heat to medium-high, and add the squash. Saute for 5 minutes or until the zucchini has begun to brown and is tender. Add the ramp tops and saute until wilted - about another minute or two. Salt to taste and serve.

Morellino Value

Been getting some really gratifying values at Rosemont Market. To me this is unquestionably the Portland area's best wine store, as buyer John Naylor has the best palate around. This 2006 Morellino from Bruni gives a slightly austere impression at first. (Especially if you make the mistake of trying it after you polish off the last of yesterday's soft and juicy new world bottle, as we had the misfortune of doing.) However, after a half hour of air time, the depth and length of this really well-constructed wine start to show. Glossy dark cherry fruit and savory lip-smacking fine tannins lead to a nicely judged spicy finish. Imagine a good riserva Chianti with about 30% merlot, and you will get the right idea. Highly recommended for the price - $13 - $15. Anyone who loves Tuscan wines should try this.

Other super values recently purchased there include the 2008 Wallace Brook Oregon Pinot Gris - Adelsheim negociant bottling, I think - for $7.99, and an aging but still-hanging-on 2006 Bourgogne blanc from Matrot at twelve or thirteen bucks. The latter tastes like low-grade Meursault, and may well be.

Ox Tails with Spring Onions

Ox Tails with Spring Onions
serves 4

The ox tails here are merely the focal point for the heavenly gravy, glossy and full-bodied because of the infusion of gelatin from the oxtails, piquant because of the wine and vinegar, sweet because of the root vegetables, and all brightened by the green onions.

work time: 45 minutes
elapsed time: 3.5 hours

8 - 10 ox tail sections, approx. 3" x 3"
1 head garlic, whole cloves separated and peeled, with roots cut off
6 - 8 whole shallots, peeled, with roots cut off
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces (roughly the same size as the shallots)
2 - 3 sweet green spring onions - e.g., Vidalia
1 bottle red wine
2 Tb balsamic vinegar
1 small (14oz) can diced tomatoes
3 European bay leaves
flour
salt
pepper
oil


If the ox tails are frozen, thaw them in the wine at room temperature for a couple of hours. Then drain and pat dry.

With a sharp knife, trim any excess fat off the ox tails.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Pre-heat a large ovenproof saute pan or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Dredge the ox tails in flour and shake off excess. Add several tablespoons of oil to the hot pan. Brown the ox tails thoroughly on all sides without burning, turning with tongs as needed. This will probably take 15 - 20 minutes. Set aside.

Turn the heat down to medium and saute the garlic, shallots, and carrots in the pan for a few minutes. Add two or three tablespoons of flour - enough to absorb any excess oil - and stir. Cook over low heat for five minutes. Add the tomatoes and the wine and bring to a full simmer over high heat, making sure to scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the oxtails and the bay leaves. Cover.

Place the covered pan in the oven and cook for three hours and fifteen minutes. Turn the oxtails over halfway through cooking.

Slice the green onions thickly. Divide into three piles: whites, light greens, and medium greens. (Compost the dark greens.) Saute the white part of the onion over high heat until it begins to brown. Add the light greens and saute a few more minutes. Whites and light greens should have begun to soften. Add the medium greens, stir briefly, and remove from heat. Stir the onions into the oxtails.





Cover the oxtail pan and let rest for fifteen minutes. During this period, finish making the risotto and the salad.

Place one oxtail section in each of four soup plates, with a generous amount of gravy. Spoon a serving of low-profile risotto into each plate. (Make the risotto with water, not stock, just a small amount of butter, and a few tablespoons of frehly grated Romano cheese. Don't overcook.) The gravy and the risotto are really good match, texturally. Serve a salad on the side, and accompany with a serious Italian wine, such as Rivetti's "Pin".

Not Your Mother's Brussels Sprouts

Steph got some amazing Brussels sprouts at the farmers' market the other day. Even the compost bucket was made beautiful by them. (Note the purple veins in the leaves and the stalk they came on.)



We had them tonight with some leftover chicken meat gently reheated in a cup or so of of dark pan deglazing, orzo, and some crusty bread from Black Crow Bakery. The sprouts were perfectly sweet and nutty, with just the right springy but yielding texture - absolutely head and shoulders above the usual dodgy supermarket version. Tristan - who at the beginning of the meal claimed not to like Brussels sprouts - had seconds. So did Steph and I.

My standard method for sprouts - which I think came originally from Julia Child - is as follows:

Cut off the bottoms of the sprouts if darkened or dirty. Obviously you don't need to do this if you're plucking them right from the stalk. Remove any loose or buggy outer leaves. If they are large, cut the sprouts in half. You want to end up with even sized pieces for even cooking. Par-cook them in a large saucepan full of vigorously boiling water, until easily pierced with a fork but still bright-green and fresh smelling. Check every 30 seconds, as they can get away from you easily, and no one likes an overcooked Brussels sprout. Immediately plunge into several changes of very cold water to stop all cooking. See photo of sprouts in strainer to get an idea of the color you are shooting for. Set aside.



Five minutes before ready to serve, toss sprouts gently in a skillet over moderate heat with a generous amount of butter, until just heated through. Off heat, squeeze half a lemon over them and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Serve immediately on warm plates.

Stiff Windpipe, Red Feet, and Larousse Gastronomique: They’re All Bad

To celebrate a special occasion some months ago, I forked over a bunch of money to buy the family a copy of the Larousse Gastronomique. It has a reputation as one of the great reference books for foodies.



It’s been a big disappointment. On six or eight occasions, usually over a family supper, we’ve hauled it out, eagerly anticipating an in-depth explanation of some term or concept. For example, earlier this week we looked up a controversial mackerel-family fish known variously as “white tuna” and “Escolar”. Marion Burros at the Times seems to know all about it, but not Larousse. Each time we have looked something up, we have found no reference whatsoever. Most recently, tonight, we found that there was no entry for turkey Tetrazzini. So much for the comprehensive encyclopedia of food and cooking.

The tome is fascinating to dip into, if you have no agenda and just feel like killing some time. For example, here is some information about turbot (entry immediately preceding turkey):

“...Its tough skin lacks visible scales but is covered with small bony tubercles (hence its name, which derives from the Scandinavian word for a thorn).

“Highly esteemed since ancient times and nicknamed roi du carême (king of Lent) for centuries, turbot has been prepared in the most sumptuous ways. For Napoleon, Laguipière created turbot à l’impériale (cut into slices, poached in milk, arranged with crayfish tails and coated with a truffle sauce). The way in which it was cut up at table, with a silver fish slice, was formerly governed by precise rules.”

Mostly, though, it just makes you understand, with exasperation and profound sympathy for American cooks of the mid twentieth century, exactly why Julia Child became so popular as a decipherer of French arcana. From the entry on turkey:

“Selecting and preparing turkey. A good turkey should be young, plump and short-necked, with a supple windpipe. If the bird is old, its feet are reddish and scaly.”

Thank you so much, Larousse Gastronomique.

Really Good Lentils

This is one of those recipes that's so simple and yet - every time - so amazingly more than the sum of its parts. And visually beautiful, in a serene, quiet way. I'm quoting it here almost verbatim from Rogers and Gray's Italian Country Cookbook. Do not substitute ingredients.




Lenticchie
serves 6 as a side dish

1 cup lentilles du Puy or Castellucio lentils
1/2 head garlic, cut horizontally
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (book calls for "2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs," but we like thyme in this)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the lentils and place in a large saucepan. Cover with plenty of cold water, add the garlic, and bring to a boil. Simmer very gently for about 20 minutes or until the lentils are al dente. Drain, discarding the garlic, and toss the lentils in the olive oil, lemon juice, and herbs. Season to taste and serve warm.

2004 Edna Valley Vineyard Merlot, San Luis Obispo

Purchased 2009-10-04 at Hannaford supermarket in Yarmouth, for $13.00

Sight: Bright medium garnet moving quickly toward brick. Pretty, with no great depth of color. Looks older than it is, with telltale onionskin highlights at the edges.

Nose: Gentle forest floor – damp leaves and freshly sliced mushrooms. Allspice, black cherry jam, ripe raspberry, leather, prunes, dried cranberry, bit of quiet vanilla, amaretto, seasoned split firewood. Part of the fruit element is a bit wizened, but not with any of the over-ripe raisined quality of an Amarone, say. The intensity is moderate, but everything that is there is very appealing and balanced. At first the nose was plummy and round and puddingy like a good minor Pomerol, but after a couple hours of air it is now more Burgundian, with the fruit notes sharper and more attenuated, and the autumnal qualities more in the foreground. This kind of development in the glass is immensely appealing – what makes wine interesting.

Palate: Sweet plum fruit. Tannins obvious but very soft and savory. Beef au jus. (What it is and probably what it likes … but we had it with chicken in brown gravy and mashed potatoes, which was a fine match too.) Very good merlot typicity. Later, the flavors become less black and more red, with some brandy and cinnamon elements emerging, like a spiced sour cherry tart. Again, moving away from Pomerol toward Beaune. Two excellent experiences for the price of one! Blurb on label mentions olives but I’m not getting that. Okay, now I am. (Power of suggestion?) But in an entirely good way, like a hint of rich, mild, meaty Gaeta olives, not the vegetably green-olive thing that characterized so many central coast reds twenty five years ago.

Finish. Medium length, but growing longer as the bottle sits open. Earlier, the soft tannins were the satisfying show, but now the acid / fruit balance is more prominent. Very good. Brandied quality there that stops just short of being too alcoholic. Wood is present but totally integrated and understated. This is really a nice bottle.


One of the great joys of wine (and life) is its unpredictability. How is this bottle improbable? Let me count the ways: 1) I bought it in a big chain supermarket. 2) It’s a merlot.* 3) It’s from California.** 4) It was very reasonably priced. 5) It is a perfectly mature red wine. 5) It has a level of development and complexity and sophistication that I would be happy to get in a $30 bottle of wine these days. Very nice surprise at this price level.

Is this a great wine? No. Is it a big, attention-grabbing wine? No. Will it get any better? No. Does it pass the drinkability test?*** Yes. Is it a great and affordable introduction to what five years in the bottle can do for a modest wine that is nonetheless balanced enough to handle it? Yes. How often to you get to try a decent wine with some enhancing age on it, right off the shelf? Seldom. Go try it and learn what maturity is all about. Then, in your life, follow the example this wine sets. Age gracefully. Don't overreach, but let all you have hang out unapologetically.



* Unlike some folks who have taken a few too many cues from Sideways, I am not at all prejudiced against merlot. I love good merlot. I’d be a fool if I didn’t. (Ever hear of a little thing called Petrus?) Its just that in my sub-twenty-dollar price range there are SO many tedious over-priced examples out there that after a while you give up from sheer enervation.

** For decades, California, among all the famous wine-producing regions of the world, has consistently shown a truly stunning inability to provide interesting and yet non-freak-show wines for under about $40 in today’s money. Anyone wants to invite me over for some Kistler chardonnay, I’m there. (What can I bring?) Otherwise, you can come find me in the aisle where bottles from any of the dozens of regions in France, Spain, Germany, and Italy that are still churning out lovely bottles for less than $20 reside. And no, I did not omit Australia by accident. Chile? We’ll see. There are possibilities there.

*** Wait. What? Empty? Really? We just opened that bottle as you were putting the plates in the oven! How many glasses did you have? Two big ones? That’s all? Crap.