Day 11: Roasted Peppers, Veggies and Creme Caramel

Big today today making a bunch of grilled peppers, roasted veggies, grilled chicken thighs, chateau potatoes, and creme caramel!

Roasted Peppers

First time making roasted peppers and man, are they a labor of love! Carve out a solid 15 mins per pepper, and have a compost bag, bunch of paper towels, and small paring knife at the ready.

1. Roast your peppers over an open flame (either stove top or grill) You’re looking for char, and for the whole thing to be black all over
2. Pull the burnt skin off, directly into the compost bag. Puncture the pepper a little so all the the water spurts out and into the trash
3. Carve around the top of the pepper, and pull out the stem
4. Cut the pepper down one of the creases, and open to the seed side. Use your paring knife to remove any of the pithy lining, and then use the back of you knife to scrape and remove all the seeds
5. Flip the bell pepper over, and use your paring knife again to remove any burnt parts
6. Use a paper towel to rub over the bell pepper and remove any additional marks and liquid.

Roasted Peppers with Anchovies.

Ingredients

• 6 roasted peppers

• Salt and pepper

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

• 3 anchovy fillets

• 1 tsp finely chopped garlic

• ¼ cup chopped parsley

Method:  

1. Cut the peppers into ½ inch strips
2. Mix together olive oil, anchovies, garlic, and parsley. Toss with peppers, season with salt and pepper. If making ahead, only mix with anchovies, salt and pepper
3. Add garlic and parsley before serving - garlic tends to get bitter if pre-cut, and you want that parsley to stay fresh!

Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower with Herbed Yogurt and Golden Raisins:  

Herbed Yogurt Ingredients:

• 3 cups full fat greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp buttermilk (or, 2 tbsp of milk plus a squeeze of lemon, if you don’t have buttermilk)
• ¼ cup cream
• 2 tbsp of: minced parsley, cilantro, chives, mint
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp lemon juice + lemon zest
• Salt and pepper 

Other ingredients:

• 3 heads broccoli, stems peeled
• 2 heads cauliflower
• 2 red onions, cut into ½ inch thick rings
• Olive oil for drizzling
• Juice from 1 lemon
• ½ cup golden raisins
• ½ cup white wine
• ¼ cup picked parsley leaves
• Optional: 3 tbsp toasted pine nuts!

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 450 and line a sheet pan with parchment paper
2. Cut cauliflower and broccoli vertically into large steaks about ½ inch thick and place on the baking pan with teh onions
3. Drizzle generously with olive oil - vegetables must be well coated to brown evenly. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice
4. Roast the vegetables until tender and amber in color. Remove and let come to room temp
5. While the vegetables are cooking, make your raisins and herbed dressing.
6. Add raisins to a small pot with the wine. Bring to a light simmer and turn off the heat. Let sit for 10 minutes as the raisins absorb the liquid
7. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients for the herbed yogurt and season with salt and pepper. Add to a blender and pulse until smooth
8. Plate the roasted veggies, garnish with raisins and parsley leaves and the herbed yogurt

We also grilled some chicken thighs. When cooking chicken, ALWAYS cook skin/presentation side down. You’ll know it’s time to flip when you can see the chicken turning color from pink to whitish, about ⅔ up the side of the chicken.

Creme Caramel 

Not a huge fan of Creme Caramels (aka flan) but some imp things to note:

• Ratio: 1 cup sugar: ½ cup water
•  Difference between this and creme brûlée is that creme caramel incorporates whole egg, and not just the yolk. The protein in the egg whites creates a more gelatinous texture, and keeps it (mostly) held together when turned upside down and onto the plate for serving
• When making caramel, don’t agitate it! Place the water and sugar in a saucepan, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Do not stir! Just let it do its thing.

• Keeping the lid on is critical. Sugar is hygroscopic, which means it draws moisture out. The lid will keep the water in, and run down the sides of the pot so that the sugar doesn’t stick and burn, and seize up.
• The sugar water mixture will be clear in color for a while, and the second it starts to get golden, you need to watch it like a hawk. Remove immediately once it turns a caramel, amber color
• When you put the creme caramels into their water bath to go into the oven, you want to first layer with saran wrap, and then tin foil - saran wrap can withstand heat up to about 325 degrees, and the plastic helps keep the steam in
• The caramels are done when they wobble but won’t break.

                              

Daily tip:

• Creme fraiche is just cultured cream! You can make it, by adding buttermilk to cream

Terms:

• Persillade: Garlic parsley sauce. ¼ cup parsley : 1-2 tbsp of minced garlic.