Rooftop Gourmet

Now that the holidays are almost over, I have started thinking about New Years resolutions and the one that always seems to pop up every year is once again at the top of my list; cooking and eating healthier. It seems like for the past two weeks, everywhere I went there were platters of food to be picked at and elaborate meals, and desserts prepared begging me to devour everything in sight; the cold weather doesn’t help. Last night I decided to get a fresh start, which is ironic because the base of my dish is a sofrito; the ’starter’ for many dishes in all types of cuisine.

The only difference is that I used it as a starter and a finisher. In its simplest state, a sofrito is finely diced onions and tomatoes cooked for a long period of time in olive oil. Depending on what country you’re from, other ingredients are added such as bell peppers, chilies, garlic, olives, celery, etc. The sofrito is just a way to slowly develop and layer different flavors which will eventually become the base for  more elaborate dishes such as soups, stews, and braises. I figured it would be a great way to make a simple, healthy dish burst with flavor without tons of butter and fat.

Since I wasn’t planning on turning my sofrito into a hearty stew, I wanted to use colorful ingredients with a wide range of different flavors. I chose bell peppers (red, orange, and yellow), onions, jalapenos, garlic, and tomato paste instead of diced tomatoes.

The sweetness of the peppers balanced out the heat from the jalapeno and I added some fresh lime zest to liven it all up. This is such an easy meal  to make because once you get all of the prep work done, you just throw it all in a pot and let it cook slowly (about 30 minutes) in some extra virgin olive oil until everything gets soft.

I topped the sofrito with a pan roasted Cod that was light and flaky but still very moist on the inside. In Cuban cuisine, a sofrito is often used to start slow cooked bean dishes so I added some monster white beans and a tiny salad of micro basil dressed with lime juice.

 The whole dish was exploding with flavor and I didn’t feel guilty afterwards cleaning my plate. The age old saying is that white wine always goes with fish but I love finding different red varietals that work with seafood. Pinot Noir is the obvious red to turn to because its light and fruity but other reds such as Dolcetto and Grenache make fish come alive in my opinion. I paired this dish with the 2008 Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha from Spain; one of my all time favorite great value, everyday reds.

You notice that the wine is extremely young for a red wine (2008) and that’s a good thing because most grenache should be drunken fresh (there are some exceptions). It’s loaded with a ripe, red fruit and floral bouquet and extremely soft and seductive on your tongue. The finish lingers with hints of cracked black pepper and strawberry preserves. Even though it has a little bit more structure and body than a Pinot Noir, it didn’t overpower the fish one bit. Hopefully this uber healthy meal was a good kickstart to a nutritious 2010; and a good kick in the ass to get to the gym.  

I must have been a very good boy this year because instead of coal in my stocking, Santa brought me a fresh white truffle; arguably, the best Christmas present ever! My parents are fully aware of my truffle obsession and arranged to fly in a  huge white truffle, overnight straight from Alba, Italy. They handed me the Styrofoam box on Christmas eve and I had no idea what to expect until I lifted the lid just a hair. A burst of funky truffle aroma hit me in the face and turned me into a little kid on Christmas.

Most people don’t get this excited over a box of fungus, but if you’ve ever experienced fresh white truffles shaved on your meal you will empathize with me.

There are over a hundred different species of truffles, but only a few are highly prized as food in French, Italian, Spanish, and Croatian cooking. The white truffle, or otherwise known as the Alba Truffle (seen here) comes from the Piedmont region of northern Italy. The truffle is what drives people to Alba in the fall for the truffle festivals and truffle hunts.

These fungi grow underground at the base of large trees, and the weather, climate, and soil are all contributing factors to the quality of the product; very similar to wine. You can’t just grow truffles anywhere, which makes them so highly esteemed, and expensive. The famous 18th century French gastronome, Brillat-Savarin called white truffles, “the diamond of the kitchen”, because of they’re indescribable ability to elevate a dish to a whole new level.

When these little truffles are growing underground it’s very hard to know where to look for them, so we turn to pigs. Female pigs especially because there is a specific compound inside the truffle that is almost identical to the sex pheromone in boar’s saliva; making female hogs natural truffle seekers (another reason why I want to get a pet pig). If you’ve ever smelled a truffle, tasted truffle oil, or been in a restaurant when a waiter walks by you with truffle on a plate, you know why they’re so expensive (around $3,500. per pound).

 The distinctive, pungent, sexy aroma fills the room and mystifies people, leaving them craving more. They don’t even have much of a taste at all, it’s just the overpowering odor that makes people want to smell it over and over again. When you’re cooking with fresh white truffles, you never want to make anything too elaborate that will steal the show. I chose to make fresh egg noodle linguine tossed with lots of clarified butter, and topped with a raw egg yolk. While the pasta is still steaming hot, I shaved the white truffle over the dish with my new stainless steel truffle shaver.

The heat and steam from the dish made the truffle smell even more intense and sent me into a frenzy. The fresh pasta was delicate and silky, completely coated with butter and the rich egg. Truffles are classically paired with rich buttery foods because they bring the best out of those other ingredients. The pasta disappeared quickly but luckily I made a wild mushroom risotto for the second truffle course. Risotto is made with a specific grain of rice called Arborio.

This is a long grain rice which has a special starchy coating on the outside making it perfect for the slow cooking risotto process. Not only do truffles go great shaved atop risotto, the raw grains are the best way to store fresh truffles. I buried the leftover truffle in the Arborio rice and enclosed it in a mason jar so that the aromas and flavor are preserved. The wild mushroom risotto was rich and earthy, with a bit of tang from the freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

I served a special wine with this meal because it’s not everyday you have a fresh white truffle in your kitchen. I pulled out a 1995 Rinaldi Barolo, also hailing from the Piedmont region of Italy.

Barolo is the king of Piedmont when it comes to wine. It is one of the most powerful, and fruit forward varietals in the whole world, extending its longevity years longer than most wines. This wine was made 14 years ago and when I opened it up, I realized it still could have rested for another ten years. When serving older wines, it is better to pair them with simple dishes; it doesn’t get much better than old Barolo and white truffles. It was brick red in color and still had floral, earthy aromas.

The wine was round and muscular, giving off flavors of smoke, black cherry, tar, and grilled meats. Every sip was complimented by the steamy truffle smells from the plate below, transporting me to the countryside in Alba. I still have about half of the truffle leftover and I’m planning on waking up tomorrow morning to some amazing scrambled eggs.

Imagine a football field covered in 75,000 flowers. Now imagine having to pick the three prongs out of the center of every single blossom. That is how many flowers it requires to yield only one pound of saffron; talk about tedious. Each Crocus, is an autumn flowering perennial plant that produces three strands, or prongs in the center of each blossom that must be picked and dried before selling.

They look like tiny, red clown eyelashes but they pack a ton of distinctive flavor as well as adding a deep, golden color to sauces. I wanted to put a little spin on one of my favorite Spanish dishes; paella, which uses saffron flavored rice as its main component.

Instead of rice, I used black barley for the grain component and made a quick chowder that was laced with saffron. Instead of piling the other classical paella components into the dish, I decided to keep it simple and stick to two. I pan roasted a beautiful, thick piece of Black Cod (otherwise known as Butterfish) until the top was nice and crispy and the inside was moist and flaky.

Black Cod tends to be a little meatier than regular Cod and its flesh has a pink hue to it before cooking. I didn’t want to leave out my favorite component of paella, the pork, so I made some crispy Prosciutto chips to garnish the plate with.

 Chorizo is the typical meat in paella, but I just happened to have some paper-thin Prosciutto de San Danielle in the fridge. All I did was spread them out on a baking dish lined with parchment and threw them in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. I had some Chantrelle mushrooms on hand as well which I simply sauteed in butter and thyme to top the fish with.

I have been sitting infront of the computer now for hours and I still can’t figure out how to describe what saffron tastes like; saffron tastes like saffron. I have heard all sorts of things such as bitter hay, burnt flowers, earthy, and medicinal but there really is no definitive way to describe the most expensive spice in the world.

I paired this dish with the 2007 Graff Family Vineyards Pinot Blanc. This is a unique wine because not many people grow Pinot Blanc domestically, but the Graff Family does an exceptional job with it. This wine is very versatile and complex; it has great acidity and minerality from the limestone rich soil, with flavors of peach and melon fruit.

The juice is aged in French Oak barrels which gives it an underlying flavor and aroma of toasted hazelnuts. It worked extremely well with the dish because it didn’t overpower the cod and it allowed the saffron essence to shine.

 The acidity helped cut through the creamy chowder and the rich finish was pleasant with the earthy mushrooms. After every bite I took of the chowder I thought about the poor workers that have the patience to pluck the saffron prongs out of the flowers and I was incredibly thankful.

On Saturday, when I came home after a long day of work, I was greeted with the aromas of a holiday roast in the oven and my girlfriend who had been slaving in the kitchen all day. The house smelled amazing and I was anxious to see what she had in store for me so I asked her to open the oven. To my surprise, she removed a giant roasting pan holding a perfectly browned leg of lamb the size of a football! My first reaction was “how many people are coming over to eat this beast?”, followed by uncontrollable drooling. I love surprises and I love surprises even more when they’re stuffed with goat cheese! She had gone to the butcher and had them de-bone and butterfly an entire leg of lamb.

 Butterflying is a butchering technique that transforms thick, compact pieces of meat into thinner, larger ones with more surface area. It gets its name because the “unfolding” or the meat resembles the wings of a butterfly. She ended up at home with a piece of meat the size of a place mat and a roll of butchers twine; the next part I am glad I wasn’t around for because assembling and tying roasts is not my specialty.

She made a creamy goat cheese stuffing with apples, toasted pine nuts, and fresh mint that was to die for. Every component of the stuffing added another element to the dish; the nutty flavors from the pine nuts were great with the crisp and refreshing apples, and the fresh mint complimented the tangy goat cheese. Mint is one of those herbs that just elevates the flavor of lamb, and really brings out its natural gaminess. My grandmother still loves to eat her lamb chops with mint jelly (a classic condiment served with lamb) but I’m glad my girlfriend chose to put fresh mint in the stuffing rather than serve me something out of a Ghostbusters movie. She loaded the filling into the center of the lamb and rolled it up, tying it as she went along.

I have no idea how she did this part all by herself but somehow she managed to make it look absolutely beautiful; I’ll admit, I am a little frightened at how good she is at tying things up. She slowly roasted it in a 300 degree oven for almost two hours, and I had walked in just at the right time. Due to the fact that this leg of lamb (looks more like a leg of a linebacker) was stuffed with cheese, it was even more crucial to let it rest on the cutting board.

The internal temperature was hovering right around 140 degrees which indicates medium rare… just the way I like it. We sliced the roast and the cross section was picturesque; pink, tender and juicy meat surrounding a wallop of creamy stuffing. I inhaled about three slabs and some roasted potatoes before I started getting drowsy. I had to bring out a special bottle to serve with this masterpiece so I grabbed a 2006 Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf du Pape. Chateauneuf du Pape translates to “New Castle of the Pope”, and is a village in the Southern Rhone Valley France.

This wine growing region produces the best of the best from the Rhone Valley and uses primarily the Grenache grape although others such as Syrah and Mouvedre can be blended in as well. This wine is medium bodied and has aromas of sage, cedar, and dark plum. The texture of every sip is elegant and seductive with tons of peppery raspberry flavors.

Rhone Valley wines, especially Chateuneuf du Pape are classic pairings  for lamb dishes because even the wines have a slight gaminess to them. The mind-blowingly tender lamb was perfectly cooked and I could have eaten the filling with a spoon. The wine was a treat and the entire evening was exquisite thanks to the Rooftop Gourmette; no question about it, it was my turn to clean up.

Sometimes pizza take out menus can be ridiculously repetitive and boring; the same old dough, the same old sauce, and the same core toppings to choose from. Once you’ve exhausted all of your favorite combinations, it can be time for a change. The other day, a friend of mine mentioned to me that I never cook any Indian dishes so I decided to make an Indian themed pizza. I started off with some Naan bread, which is a staple in Indian cuisine.

Naan is a pita-like, flat bread that is traditionally cooked in a tandoor, or clay oven. The bread is used as a canvass for meats and vegetables, or as a spoon to scoop up curry dishes. I incorporated the curry into the sauce by combining some Yellow Madras Curry powder with lemon zest and creamy Mascarpone Cheese. I also marinated the chicken breasts in a spicy red curry sauce.

I simply grilled the chicken breasts and sliced them before making them the star of the pizza. I wanted to balance the spicy, smoky curry flavors in the sauce and the chicken with some sweet ingredients so I added some freshly diced pineapple chunks and some golden raisins.

The pineapple added a juicy acidic punch that helped cool down my taste buds, and when the golden raisins baked in the oven, they got plump and gooey. A few thin slices of Thai chile peppers added a subtle kick and some fresh cilantro topped everything off. After about 15 minutes in the oven, the Naan bread got nice and crispy on the bottom like a Tuscan thin crust pizza but remained pleasantly soft and chewy in the middle.

The combination of flavors were definitely new to me but totally worked in terms of balance. I figured that the heat in the curry and the Thai chilies were too much for a red wine, so I paired the pizza with a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

The 2008 Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc is one of my all time favorites from Marlborough, New Zealand. Loaded with zesty tropical fruit and tart acidity, and finishing with a clean, refreshing crispness; this is your French Sancerre on speed.

Throw all of the grapefruit and balanced minerality out the window and get ready for a fruit-forward torpedo of flavor; a perfect match for such a bold pizza. Look for Naan flat breads in your local grocery store because Naan pizzas are the English Muffin pizza of the 21st century.