Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2015 i SAVEUR

For the past few years, I’ve been slowly transforming a sweet wreck of a Brooklyn house into a habitable home for my girlfriend, Evyn, and our two young children. And while I may have ignored the fact that small kids get bigger and need space to sleep and play, I did spend a lot of time thinking about the room where they’ll eat their eggs and oatmeal in the morning. I fretted over paint colors (fifty shades of greige) and the traffic patterns of little feet between table and fridge. I hunted down vintage brass cabinet hardware and boned up on hood extraction rates and generally went nuts in the process. In other words, I fell down the rabbit hole of kitchen renovation. And I loved every minute in the…

LEAF AND SPEAR MAKES 1 COCKTAIL After infusing rum with slightly bitter kale, bartender Christiaan Rollich of A.O.C. Wine Bar in Los Angeles (aocwinebar.com) combines the spirit with a house made green harissa syrup, which adds sugar for balance and a hint of jalapeno for pop. Combine 2 oz. cavolo nero–infused rum (see recipe below), 1 oz. fresh lime juice, and ¾ oz. green harissa syrup (see recipe below) in an ice-flled shaker; shake vigorously and strain into an ice-fled collins glass. Garnish with a cavolo nero leaf. FOR THE CAVOLO NERO–INFUSED RUM MAKES 1 CUP Puree 1 cup Selvarey white rum and 2 large stemmed cavolo nero leaves in a blender until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve; chill until ready to use. FOR THE GREEN HARISSA SYRUP MAKES…

CRUDITÉS WITH BERCY BUTTER AND ANCHOVIES SERVES 6 Tiny dried anchovies add crunch and brininess when sprinkled over Bercy butter, a classic French compound butter enriched with bone marrow. For the Bercy butter: 1 3” beef marrow bone 16 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened 1 oil-packed anchovy fillet, drained and minced 1 shallot, minced ½ cup dry white wine 1 tbsp. champagne vinegar 1 tsp. kosher salt ½ tsp. sugar 2 tsp. minced chives 2 tsp. minced parsley For the anchovies: 2 tbsp. champagne vinegar 2 tbsp. sugar 1 tsp. tamari Pinch cayenne 2 tsp. sesame oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 oz. Korean dried baby anchovies ½ tsp. sesame seeds, toasted 1 small red Thai chile, minced For the vegetable crudités: 6 baby carrots, scrubbed 6 breakfast radishes, halved 6…

“Every food, no matter how poorly it was previously executed by your lovely family, deserves a shot at redemption.” Updating our family’s gefilte fish recipe meant navigating delicate terrain. Our Aunt Beth first learned it from her Grandma Mary back in 1986. Although by all accounts Mary Avadenka was a terrible cook and no one in the family even liked gefilte fish, as with everything related to Judaism, the neurotic fear of lost tradition compelled action, so Aunt Beth found herself in her grandmother’s kitchen overwhelmed by the potent smell of boiling fish stock. Ever since, Aunt Beth and her sisters Eve and Lynne (our mother) have gotten together in Huntington Woods, Michigan—wearing clothes they don’t mind burning after the activity—for the annual argument of “more matzo meal, less salt,…

WHERE TO EAT China Tang “My number-one recommendation, with five asterisks,” Carbone says about China Tang. From fashion designer and entrepreneur David Tang, this formal restaurant specializes in refined twists on classics, like abalone and pork dumplings with caviar, or delicately steamed grouper in Sichuan chile oil piled high with fiery chiles, the inspiration for Carbone’s own grouper (pictured on page 79). 15 Queen’s Road, Central; chinatang.hk Ho Lee Fook For a low-key night, Carbone heads to this inexpensive, funky restaurant that means, fittingly, “good fortune for your mouth.” Chef Jowett Yu’s food is the kind that goes well with a frosty glass of beer: kimchi fried rice, chicken wings, and, Carbone’s favorite, Yu’s mom’s dumplings, packed with cabbage and pork. G/F No. 1-5 Elgin St., Central; holeefookhk.tumblr.com Yardbird If…

On a warm afternoon in San Francisco, Sylvan Mishima Brackett, the chef, owner, and chief flea-market addict at Izakaya Rintaro, stands in the new Mission District restaurant’s front garden explaining all the curios. Brackett, whose personal style is more architect than chef, with closes-haven hair, wrinkled button-down shirt, and faded jeans cuffed just so, points to a tree-stump doorstop; it turns out to be a Japanese mortar called an usu, which is used for pounding rice into mochi. Nearby is an odd-looking cast-iron and copper stove—a wood-burning rice cooker that looks as if it came straight out of a Kurosawa period piece. “A friend of mine cooked on it for years in Japan’s countryside,” Brackett explains. “She said that I could have it if I paid for the shipping, so…

Michael Solomonov Born in Israel, this Philadelphia empire builder has several hot spots, including the much lauded Israeli restaurant Zahav. He recently opened Dizengoff, a hummusiya, which focuses on outstanding hummus and Israeli salad (dizengoffphilly.com). Favorite Restaurant: “In what used to be a sketchy area of Tel Aviv, there’s a kabob shop called Busi. They serve a million salads, and everything else is cooked over charcoal.” Mourad Lahlou This Marrakesh native earned a Michelin star at San Francisco’s Aziza for his elegant Moroccan food. In January, he unveiled the glossy Mourad restaurant, offering dishes like roasted carrots with kumquat, hazelnut, and sumac (mouradsf.com). Essential Tool: “A couscous steamer (available at williamssonoma.com) is so versatile. One of my favorite things is to steam different foods, like meat and couscous, together.” Sara…

More than just a bland delivery system for cheese, artisanal crackers have become increasingly interesting, ingredient-packed, and flavorful. The new versions are meant to be matched with appropriately great cheese, charcuterie, pâté, even smoked fish. Whitney Lamy, founder of Whitney’s Castleton Crackers in Castleton, Vermont, points out that artisanal crackers make toppings taste better: She likes to use her maple-glazed ones, for instance, with pungent Roquefort. Here are ten delicious artisanal crackers worth seeking out—and one to make at home. TEN TO TRY, AND ONE DIY RYE CRACKERS WITH FIGS AND SEEDS MAKES ABOUT 8 DOZEN Freezing simple, no-knead rye bread, which is chockfull of nuts, seeds, and dried figs, makes it easier to slice before baking into crisp yet chewy crackers. We love to smear them with Harbison, a…

HANDMADE STOVE Lacanche ranges have been hand-forged in Burgundy since 1796, but the venerable brand’s ovens f t in perfectly with an ultra modern kitchen. (From $6,295; frenchranges.com) INTEGRATED LIGHTING Roderick Vos used LED lights to outft a sleek custom metal pot rack and backlight glasses on a shelf. Make display units into light fxtures by attaching linear LED bulbs inside them. COLOR CODING Grouping glassware by color and style makes for an eye-pleasing display. VARIED COUNTER TOPS Mix and match surfaces: Use oak (here, by the stove) with concrete (against the back wall) for a range of textures. EXHIBITION-READY POTS Two classic Iittala casseroles— the Sarpaneva (left, $295) and the Dahlström (right, $375)—are good-looking enough to be left out of the cabinet. (fnnstyle.com) HOW TO GET IT…

SPECIAL CITRUS Lemon and salt: They’re powerful enough on their own, but when combined they become preserved lemons, a transformative North African pantry staple that’s much more than the sum of its parts. Preserved lemons add a chilled-out acidity that brightens roast chicken, Moroccan stews, and simple sautéed vegetable dishes like Richard Kuo’s morels with mint, peas, and shallot (see page 30 for recipe). Cure them with cumin and coriander (as we do here) for a hit of spice, or use whatever other seasonings you like. PRESERVED LEMONS Toast 1 tsp. each coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and whole black peppercorns in an 8” skillet over medium-high until seeds pop, 1–2 minutes. Let cool and mix with ¼ cup kosher salt in a bowl. Quarter 6 lemons lengthwise so that they…

Restaurants are at peak Midd’e East mania: Italian haunts, French-accented wine bars, and even clubby steakhouses are all embracing Levantine flavers. Particularly intriguing are all the new combinations now available, like soft-serve churned with ras el hanout at Provisions in Houston, strip steak with labneh at Edmund’s Oast in Charleston, and New Orleans chef Alon Shaya’s tricked-out hummus at his new Israeli place, Shaya. He pairs the creamy chickpea spread with baroque toppings like fried eggplant with tomatoes and za’atar, romanesco with pomegranate and dates, and pan-seared duck with leeks and tapenade (see page 22 for recipe). Shaya’s fancy spreads are just one of several fantastic innovations in contemporary American–Middle Eastern food. Turn the page for the cuisine’s key ingredients, techniques, and other big-time promoters.…

Photo on page 20 SERVES 4 For an extra smooth hummus, chef Alon Shaya of Shaya in New Orleans peels the garbanzo beans after boiling them. 1 lb. dried garbanzo beans, soaked overnight in 2 tsp. baking soda and water, drained 1 tsp. baking soda 9 cloves garlic (8 peeled, 1 minced) 10 tbsp. fresh lemon juice 5 tbsp. tahini 1 tsp. ground cumin Kosher salt, to taste ½ cup olive oil, plus more 1 tsp. capers, rinsed and chopped 10 salt-cured black olives, pitted and roughly chopped 1 oil-packed anchovy fillet, drained and roughly chopped 3 tbsp. unsalted butter ¼ tsp. crushed red chile fakes 1 leek, washed and thinly sliced ½ tsp. minced thyme 2 skin-on duck breasts Pita bread, for serving Boil beans, baking soda, peeled garlic,…

Hickory chickens, dryland fish, and merkels (said with a dash of Southern twang) are among the many colorful names for morels. But whatever you call these elegant, honeycomb-like mushrooms, they’re our favorite harbinger of spring. Their appeal lies not just in their earthy flavor, but in their spongelike texture and structure, which makes them perfect for soaking up sauce in every nook and cranny. Traditionally pigeonholed in heavy French dishes with lots of cream, they’re actually a versatile mushroom that can be dried, pulverized, braised, roasted, or paired with everything from black bean sauce to charred lemons. Here are four genius ways to bring this stunning ingredient into your kitchen this season. MORELS IN BLACK BEAN SAUCE WITH FRIED ENOKI MUSHROOMS SERVES 6 At New York’s Tuome restaurant, chef Tomas…

BEET AND RICOTTA GNOCCHI WITH WILTED BEET GREENS AND AGED BALSAMIC SERVES 6–8 For this Piedmontese dish, a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar adds a tangy complexity. Chef Jenn Louis likes La Vecchia Dispensa “Cleopatra” from the Modena region (isolaimports.com). 1 ¼ lb. small red beets with greens, greens separated, stems cut into ½” pieces, leaves torn into 2” pieces, and beets scrubbed ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste ½ cup homemade ricotta (see page 85 for recipe) or store-bought whole-milk ricotta ½ cup finely grated parmesan, plus more for serving 1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg 1 egg 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour Semolina flour, for dusting 2 tbsp. unsalted butter Aged balsamic vinegar, for drizzling 1 Heat oven to 350°. Toss…

STEAMED GROUPER IN CHILE OIL Calabrian chiles and chile paste produce a fiery, brick-red oil that is spooned over delicate steamed fish, crunchy spring vegetables, and firegola, a Sardinian pasta similar to Israeli couscous. 1 ¼ cups olive oil 2 tbsp. dried hot Calabrian chiles (buonitalia.com) 3 sprigs thyme 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 1 sprig rosemary ⅓ cup Calabrian crushed hot chiles (italfoodsinc.com) Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 6 oz. garlic chives (melissas.com) or scallions, trimmed and cut into 2” pieces 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced on the bias, plus ½ cup inner celery leaves 2 bulbs fennel, halved and thinly sliced 3 cups toasted firegola (eataly.com) ½ cup packed curly parsley leaves (half the leaves roughly chopped) ½ cup packed mint leaves (half the…