Zawazawa Kitchen

Pork Chops Stuffed With Green Tomatoes and Apples

September and we still have some green tomatoes, even as the apples begin to ripen on the tree. An odd summer. Before we went on our early September trips to Tokyo (Yoshie) and Boston (Steven) we built an ad-hoc green house to protect the tomatoes and give them more time to ripen on the vine. This worked, but even today there are a dozen or so that are still green. We took advantage of this to experiment with some more green tomato sauces and fillings. The pork chops were from Market Meats on 4^th Ave. in Kitsilano and were a very tasty organic kurobuta (Japanese for black big).

 

• Two Pork chops, thick cut, with enough fat to be tasty
• One large green tomato
• One apple (we used Macintosh from our tree)
• Curry leaf (two or three tablespoons)
• Garlic (three cloves)
• Onion (half a medium onion)
• Wine (we used the last of our summer rosé)
• Olive oil
• Butter

(Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees)

Slice a deep pocket in each pork chop, season with salt and pepper, set aside.

Mince onion and garlic then start simmering at low heat in olive oil.

Cut green tomatoes into small cubes (less than one centimeter square) and add to onion and garlic. Do the same with the apple. Simmer the tomato and apple mixture until soft and then add fine chopped curry leaf to taste (we like a lot, two table spoons) add a half cup of the rosé. Simmer down.

Use half of the tomato-apple mixture to stuff the pork chops, reserve the rest for the sauce.

Sear pork chops at high heat on a pan that you can put in the oven. Let pan cool a bit then splash in another cup of wine. Cook in pre-heated oven for about thirty minutes.

When the pork chops are done, remove from pan and let rest, Deglaze the pan with some more wine and scrape in all of the crispy bits. Add the reserved tomato-apple mixture and a large tab of butter. Add more wine if necessary. Reduce to a think sauce sprinkling in more of the curry leaf towards the end.

Sockeye Salmon With Green Tomatos

2010 has been an amazing year for sockeye salmon in Vancouver, with a record run up the Fraser River and fish easily available from the boats on Granville Island. An amazing bounty, one for which we give thanks. It has been a slow year for ripening tomatos though, at least in our back garden, so when we got a lovely sockeye fillet we thought to bring them together.

 

For fish

• Fillet of salmon (we used sockeye but another type would work as well)
• Sea salt
• Green tomatos
• Fennel fronds
• Taragon
• Rosé

For sauce

• Onions
• Green tomatos
• Taragon
• Sea salt
• Rosé

 Salt the fillet and let stand for a few hours.

Slice the green tomatos and layer over the fish. Sprinkle on fresh taragon, spread with fennel fronds (braised fennel makes a nice side dish). Splash on some rosé (we drank a lot of rosé in the summer of 2010). Wrap in tin foil and bake in slightly hot oven (350 for our oven) about thirty minutes until fish is almost done (it should still be a bit translucent when it comes out of the oven).

While the fish is baking, drink the rosé and make a sauce for the fish. Cook onions in a bit of oil and butter very slowly to bring out sweetness. Once the onions are soft and sweet add diced sliced green tomatos, cook until soft, add a glass of the rosé, reduce, add fresh taragon, taste and adjust seasoning, possibly add a squeeze of lemon just before serving.

The green tomatos seem to draw out the flavour of the salmon while the sweetness of the onions complements the sour green tomato.

Green Tomato Pasta

Living back in Vancouver means being back in the garden. We did a lot of clean up this year, but we did get a few things in. The tomatoes have been very productive but are taking a long time to ripen, so we have been having a lot of things with green tomatoes (this evening we will do something with salmon from the record 2010 run and green tomatoes).

 

One inspired morning Yoshie decided to make a green-tomato pasta, which we shared in the garden with our close friend Brad. It was one of those inspired by the moment dishes that we hope to make many times again.

(Ingredients for about four people)

• One large green tomato (preferably a nice meaty heirloom varietal)
• Broccoli stem and florets (mostly for the cooking water)
• Three cloves garlic
• Shitake mushrooms (a handful)
• White mushrooms (a handful)
• Olive oil, sea salt, white wine, parmesan
• Pasta (spaghetti is fine)

Boil broccoli stem and then florets in water with salt, blanch, retain water, separate the florets (3 – 4) into very small pieces (keep the stems and remaining florets for another use, in an accompanying salad perhaps)

Top up the water from the broccoli, bring to boil, salt and add the pasta

Thinly slice garlic, cook slowly in olive oil

Wipe and slice shitake and mushrooms (slice thinly)

Cut tomato in small strips (like matchsticks)

When the garlic is golden, add green tomato sticks and stir, then and mushrooms and shitake

Add a good sprinkle of sea salt and a generous amount of white wine (about a 2/3 a cup), let simmer down

When pasta is ready, add about a ¼ cup of pasta water (the starch helps to bind the sauce)

Toss pasta and green tomato sauce together, serve in bowls, decorate with finely separated broccoli flowers and top with shaved parmesan

This has a nice sour taste, good for a long summer lunch in the garden, finishing the wine.

 

(Photos Yoshie Hatori)

Simple Ginger Soup (to warm the body)

February can be a low month, even with the Olympic celebrations here in Vancouver.  January brings all the hope and renewal of a new year, in the second month reality sets in and the grind begins. The days are cold, and even though the mornings come earlier, it is still dark at the beginning of the day. It is a good time for healthy, cleansing soups. Yoshie made this soup one evening when we were tired, and it rejuvenated us, giving more energy, clean breath, and kept our bodies warm.

• Ginger (lots of ginger, one big lobe), peeled and sliced in thin strips, with a little reserved to grate as a granish
• Negi (green onions), even more than the ginger, also sliced into thin strips
• Shitake mushrooms, about a third the volume of the negi, sliced in thin strips
• Carrots, shredded, could be added as well
• Dashi stock – about four cups, not too strong
• Miso, two table spoons or a bit less, white preferred
• Sesame seeds, ground and whole
• Firm tofu, one block, drained, cut in cubes (as you would do for miso soup)
• Sesame oil
• Hot pepper oil

Make the dashi stock using kobu (kelp) and katsuobushi (bonito flakes), strain retaining only the liquid.

Sauté the ginger on medium heat in a neutral oil with a splash of sesame oil, add the shitake, add the negi. Sauté gently until all is soft. Add dashi, add tofu. Simmer till tofu is warm. Add a dab of miso, bring back up and take off heat just before a boil.

Garnish with ground sesame and sesame seeds, spike with a few drops of chili oil and add a bit of fresh grated ginger.

Drink up, then go out for a walk and look for plum blossoms.

Scallops Poached in Carrot Braise

In January I was able to spend a few days in Austin Texas, staying with Jonathon and Niva Levy. It was my first time in Texas and I was enchanted by the rolling country out to the north west of the city. The city, with its “Austin Keep it Weird” vibe was also entrancing. I am looking forward to going back.

One evening Jonathon and I cooked together (always an important thing to do with good friends). I had some nice plump scallops and one deformed and somewhat shredded extra. I was braising carrots as a side dish and the carrots were simmering away in a broth of butter, sugar, white wine, a touch of thyme and some chicken stock. The white gleam of the scallop and deep orange of the carrots moved me to chop my little deformed extra into three pieces and drop it into the carrot braise to simmer for a few minutes.

When just tender, I removed them from the liquid, put them on small crisps and topped with a tiny slice of lemon from the tree in the garden. The sweetness of the carrots brought out some new subtleties in the flavor of the scallops and the lemon cut it nicely. Next time I try this I may leave out the chicken stock. I normally have it in braised carrots to deepen the flavor but in this use it may be blurring some of the notes from the wine-scallops-carrots.

Two Fennel Recipes

For the past few years we have been hosting parties during the Tour de France, usually during one of the mountain stages. This year we hosted one party ourselves and went to another hosted by Mamiko and Ben. For some reason fennel featured at both parties.

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Fennel Salad

Simple but delicious, this is becoming one of our favourite salads.

• Fennel bulb
• Shallots
• Neutral Oil and a Strong Vinegar (Balsamic is fine)
• Sea Salt
• Pears
• Blood Orange

Make a basic dressing of oil, vinegar shallots and sea salt.

Slice the fennel bulb into very thin slices, let marinate in the dressing for a few minutes.

Peel and slice the pears, peel and section the orange, lay in the bottom of a bowl.

Dump the marinated fennel on top, garnish with a few wisps of the fennel fronds.

We ate this at Kasumi's farewell dinner. Also on the menu, steamed crab, BBQ mussels, BBQ pork, asparagus with chanterelles - some cava, some Okanogan whites (from around Oliver).

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Fennel Braised with Thyme & Black Olives - Mamiko-fu 

Mamiko has hosted two Tour de France parties now, both with recipes that made it into this blog! As you can see, Mamiko provides much better instructions than I do.

• 3 large or 4 medium fennel bulbs (about 3 pounds total)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup pitted oil-cured black olives, such as Nyons or Moroccan
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 to 6 anchovy fillets, minced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
• 1/3 cup dry white wine or dry white vermouth
• 3/4 cup chicken stock

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

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Trimming the fennel: If the fennel came with the feathery green stalks attached, use a large knife to chop these off right down at their base, where the bulb begins. Reserve a few of the brightest and freshest-looking fronds for garnish. Cut each bulb in half through the core and then halve again, into quarters.

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Browning the fennel: Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large heavy-based skillet (12-inch) over medium-high heat until it ripples. Add as many quarters of fennel as will fit without crowding, one cut side down. Leave the fennel undisturbed for 3 minutes -- moving the pieces around will only slow down the browning process. With tongs, lift a few quarters to check to see if they've browned in spots. because of its uneven surface, the fennel won't brown evenly: you're looking for patches of caramelization. Turn the quarters onto the other cut side and leave again until browned, another 3 to 4 minutes.

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Remove the quarters from the pan and arrange them browned side up in a large gratin dish or shallow baking dish (9- to 10-by-13- to 14-inches). Add the remaining oil to the skillet and brown the remaining fennel. Add this batch of fennel to the gratin dish, arranging it as best you can so the wedges line up in a single layer. It's OK if the wedges are a bit cramped; they will collapse and shrink some as they braise. Season with salt and pepper. Scatter over the olives.

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The aromatics and braising liquid: Combine the garlic, anchovies, thyme, fennel seeds, and coriander in a small saucepan, and smash the mixture against the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to make a rough paste. Add the wine, bring to a boil over high heat, and boil until reduced by about half, about 2 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a simmer.

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The braise: Pour the seasoned liquid over the fennel, cover tightly with foil, and slide onto the middle rack of the oven. Braise until the fennel has collapsed and a small knife penetrates the core of the wedges with no resistance, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Serving: If you reserved the feathery tops, chop them to give you about 2 tablespoons, and sprinkle them over the top of the braise. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

Beerzuke

Yoshie and I have been working a lot over the past few weeks. On work days we often have a beer instead of wine (depends in part on what we are cooking) and some nights we fall asleep before we even finish our beers. Sigh. This leaves the question of what to do with the stale beer the next morning. Our dear friend Susan has come to the rescue with a simple way of making pickles, a rather Japanese style pickle, but quite delicious.

• Beer, one bottle, stale is fine
• 1 cup miso (experiment with red or white)
• 1/3 cup salt
• 1/3 cup sugar (again, try different types)
• Various vegetables, inlcuding eggplant (Japanese or Italian), carrots, cabage, daikon ...)

Mix the sugar and salt, add other ingredients, add vegetables. They are quite good after 48 hours and will improve for several days. These are surprizingly good and similar to conventional Japanese pickles. And they go well with more beer!

Flounder with Lime Chives and Dulse over Pea Sprouts

We celebrated Yoshie's return to Boston with this recipe. We found a nice piece of flounder and some fresh dulse and put them together with what we had at hand.

We were looking for a play of different colours and textures and with different ways that salt comes into food.

• A small-grained purple rice (we used a Chinese rice but there are some good Thai rices of this type)
• A variety of onions or shallots
• Pea greens
• Garlic slivers
• Sea salt
• Flounder (or other white fish like sole)
• Corn starch
• Chives
• Dulse
• Lime oil

We began with a bed of rice. We cooked it in a rice cooker with small bits of onions and shallots.

For the pea sprouts we first cooked up some slivers of garlic in grapeseed d oil then flash cooked these with the pea sprouts in a wok.

The flounder we dredged in corn starch into which we had grated lime and chopped fresh chives. We then pan fired it quickly in the oil we used to cook the garlic.

While cooking the fish we also crisped up the dulse in a hot pan.

To finish we made a bed of the rice, layered the pea sprouts on top and placed the fish on this. On the fish we sprinkled the dulse, added some fresh chopped chives, squeezed on some lime juice and added a few drops of lime oil.

We accompanied with a bottle of 2007 Aigle from Switzerland.

Chicken Cake Yoshie-Fu

Most winter's Yoshie cooks a simple cake made from ground chicken. She often does this with left over ground chicken from a Nabe or shumai. This is easy to make, delicious and keeps well. It also goes well with sake, a good winter drink.

• Ground chicken, about one kilogram (you can mix in ground pork as well)
• Ground tofu, about one-third the amount of chicken
• Corn starch, one tbsp
• One or two eggs 
• Ground ginger, about three centimeters
• Shredded carrots, one or two (or even beets!)
• Minced garlic, three cloves
• Minced green onions, two
• Sesame seeds, a good sprinkling
• Mirin or sake, two tbsps
• Roasted sesame oil, one tsp
• Salt and pepper to taste

Mix ground chicken and if you are using it ground pork and ground tofu with all the other ingredients. Heat frying pan to low heat and press the ground chicken mixture in. Leave at low heat until some of the moisture comes out (about five minutes) and then raise the heat to medium. Let the moisture steam off (cooking the chicken cake) and keep cooking untill the bottom is golden brown.

Serve sprinkled with sesame seed and scatter with the green part of the green onions. Cut in wedges.

Eat with a good sake like the artisan crafted ones from Granville Island.

Two Rilke Sonnets on Fruit

From Sonnets to Orpheus by Rainer Maria Rilke translated by Edward Snow.

Sonnet 13

Ripe apple, blackberry and banana,

nectarine ... These all speak

death and life into the mouth ... I feel ...

Read it in the features of a child

who's tasting them. This comes from far.

Does all grow slowly nameless in your mouth?

Where words once were discoveries flow,

set free from the fruit's flesh, amazed.

Dare to say what you call "apple."

This sweetness that first condenses, thickens,

and then, finely sublimed in the taste,

grows clear, awake, transparent,

double-sided, sunny, earthly, native --:

O knowing, feeling, happiness--, immense!

Sonnet 15

Wait ..., this taste ... Already it's escaping.

... A bit of music, feet tapping, a hum --:

You girls, with your silences, your warmth,

dance the knowledge of the tasted fruit.

Dance the orange. Who can forget it,

the way it fights, drowning in itself,

against its sweetness. You've possessed it.

Its deliciousness has entered you.

Dance the orange. Fling the warmer landscape

out from you, so the ripe fruit may glow

in its native breezes! Aglow yourselves, peel

perfume from perfume. Create a kinship

with the pure, reluctant rind,

with the juice that fills the happy fruit.