Balsamic Vinaigrette

Pure as the driven snow; thick, zesty and delicious. And it takes about 15 seconds to prepare.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 shallots, peeled
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp dried tarragon
  
• 1/4 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth, about 10 seconds. Serve on any green salad.

Cauliflower Florets in Sambal

Update 6/2/09: As I've been discovering other uses for sambal, I've decided to spin the sauce out to its own post.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large head cauliflower, cored, washed and broken into florets
• 1 batch sambal

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 500º F.
2. Arrange the cauliflower in a casserole or glass dish; bake for 30 minutes, stirring twice.
3. Combine the cauliflower and the sauce in a saucepan over medium heat, and cooking for several minutes, stirring frequently to cover.
   

Serve with rice.

Feijoada Completa

I went into a local Portuguese grocery to find carne seca, a spicy Brazilian dried beef product. There was a Brazilian woman talking to the cashier. I asked the cashier if she had it. She looked at me quizzically. The Brazilian woman, however, began to wax poetic.

"Ah, carne seca! Feijoada! com presunto. e cebola. e farofa. e caipirinha...ah, boy."

"I think you need to go to a Brazilian store," said the cashier.

This recipe is the result of a good deal of research, and draws principally on the feijoada completa recipe on this page and this recipe. The salt pork provides all the salt you need.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb black beans, soaked overnight and drained
  
• 1 lb. ham, cut into 3/4" pieces
• 1 lb. linguica (see below)
  
• 1/2 lb flanken or other stew beef (see below)
  
• 2 spanish onions, diced
  
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
  
• 4 oz. salt pork, finely minced (divided use)
  
• 2 oz. carne seca or plain beef jerky, soaked overnight
  
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
  
• Zest of one orange

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prick the linguica several times with a fork. Simmer in water for about 10 minutes, then cut into 3/4" pieces.
2. Drain and mince the soaked carne seca.
3. Tenderize the stew beef by pounding it with a tenderizer or kitchen mallet, then cut into 3/4" pieces.
4. Heat 3 oz of salt pork in a heavy stew pot over medium heat until it begins to cast off grease. Turn heat to high and add the flanken. Sear on all sides for about 30 seconds per side.
   
5. Add the beans, bay leaves, zest and all of the meat to the pot. Add enough water to cover by one to two inches. (You can add or remove some later.)
   
6. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 90 minutes. Add more water if needed.
7. In a nonstick frying pan, heat the remaining salt pork on medium heat until it begins to cast off grease. Sauté the onions and garlic with the sugar until they begin to turn golden.
8. To the onion mixture, add 2 cups of beans from the stew. Mash well and allow to cook together for 3-5 minutes.
9. Stir this mixture back into the stew; cook for another 30 minutes.

Serve with farofa and fresh orange slices. Pair with a tart cocktail such as caipirinha.

Collard Greens with Garlic

Collard greens are a bit like kale; they have an astringent taste that offsets fatty or fried foods quite elegantly. You often find them overcooked and slightly sweet; if this is your idea of collards, you've been missing out.

Here, I pan-fry them very quickly with salt to draw out some of the vegetal flavor while retaining a good deal of crunch.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 bunches collard greens
• 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp. olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Lay several leaves of collards on top of each other in alternating directions. Roll tightly; cut the roll into narrow ribbons using a chef's knife.
2. In a glass bowl or other non-reactive container, combine the greens and the salt.
3. Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over a medium flame until very hot but not smoking. Add the garlic; it will crisp instantly.
4. Immediately add the greens, covering for 30 seconds. They will wilt substantially.
5. Uncover and continue to cook, turning constantly, for another 1-2 minutes or until softened but still crunchy.
   

Serve immediately.

Coconut rice

This is easy and nice; it goes well with many warm-weather foods.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups jasmine rice
• 3 cups water
• 2 oz. shredded, unsweetened coconut
• 2 bay leaves

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse and prepare the rice according to the directions on the package, adding bay leaves before cooking.
2. Meanwhile, put the coconut in a skillet. Roast on medium-low heat, turning constantly, until it begins to turn golden-orange.
   
3. The instant the coconut is golden-orange, remove it from the heat and set aside until the rice is done.
4. Remove the bay leaves from the rice; stir in the coconut. Serve immediately.
   

Farofa

This weekend, I made a full feijoada dinner. This is apparently a big deal kind of thing in Brazil, where it's got all kinds of fixins.

One of those fixins is farofa, or pan-roasted cassava flour. I had this for the first time with a friend at the excellent Muqueca restaurant in Cambridge. At the time, my reaction could basically be summarized as 'wtf'? What are you supposed to do with a pile of roasted flour?

The answer: If you try mix it in with a soupy bean stew, it takes on the consistency of Thanksgiving stuffing, but with all that great savory flavor. Don't miss it.

Note: In all of the following recipes, I make copious use of salt pork. Savegnor's (on Kirkland St, near Dali restaurant) makes their own "lean" salt pork, which is basically salt-cured bacon. Whole Foods sells a Niemann Ranch variety, which is much fattier. If you're interested in cutting down on cholesterol a bit, you could go with equal amounts olive oil.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 oz salt pork, minced
• 500g (about 3 cups) cassava flour (also called yucca flour or manioc)
• 1 large Spanish onion, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1 tsp. sugar
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a deep skillet, heat the salt pork over a medium flame until it begins to cast off some grease.
2. Add the onion and sugar; sauté with the salt pork, stirring frequently, until the onions turn translucent.
3. Add the parsley and continue to sauté until the onions turn golden.
4. Add the cassava flour a little at a time, turning constantly. Make sure none sticks to the bottom of the pan.
5. Keep turning the mixture in the pan until the cassava begins to turn golden beige. The mixture is extremely hot in the pan; use caution if tasting!
   

Keep dry until serving.

Coconut caramels

This stuff is a workout to make; you really feel it in your arms. Which is great, since a workout is exactly what you'll need after eating a few of these diabolical candies. Based on this recipe.

I was actually trying to figure out how to make these butter macaroons that I had in Costa Rica, and basically wound up with dulce de leche instead. I'm not complaining.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cans (14 oz each) of sweetened condensed milk
• 4 oz. unsweetened shredded coconut (1-2 cups depending on shred size)
• 1 cup butter
• 4 graham crackers
  
• 1 tsp vanilla
  
• 1/4 tsp salt
• (optional) 1 cup peanuts or other nuts, crushed

DIRECTIONS:

1. Grind the graham crackers into crumbs using a food processor.
2. Combine all ingredients in a nonstick saucepan.
3. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture begins to bubble.
4. Beat the mixture constantly over medium heat until it begins to get very thick and caramel-colored.
5. Let the mixture cool for several minutes. As soon as it is cool enough to handle, roll into 1" balls.
6. (optional) Roll the balls in the crushed peanuts before placing on a cookie sheet to cool.
   

The candies keep well in an airtight container; separate layers with wax paper to prevent sticking. Reheat in microwave for 15 seconds before serving.