2008 was a very good year....

...for tomatoes in Newburgh, NY. That's where we lived then and where we grew, roasted and canned tomato sauce. We actually did that every year but there was something magical about the quart mason jars full of that 2008 vintage. Last night, as part of Meatless Monday dinner, we opened the last one.  Nearly 4 year old tomato sauce you say? Isn't that, um, dangerous? Not at all if the jars are initially prepared correctly, the canning process is carried out properly and the seal remains intact. It was both exciting and a little sad to crack open that seal, but the finished meal made it all worth it. Cynthia's original recipe was a perfect use for that special vintage.

Herbed Crepes with Ricotta, Spinach and Chard Filling

Ingredients (crepes)

• 1 cup AP flour
• 1 cup + 2-4 tbsp liquid of your choice, could be stock, milk, beer, water or any combination thereof - I used 1 cup Better than Bouillon No Chicken and 3 tablespoons of Duck Rabbit Milk Stout beer
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tbsp unsalted quality butter melted and cooled or same amount EVOO
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/3 cup minced herbs, I used a combination of chervil, chives, rosemary, dill and basil

Ingredients (filling)

• 4 big handfuls spinach and swiss chard
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• olive oil
• salt
• crushed red pepper
• 8 oz. ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmigiano, romano or grana padano cheese
• 1 egg
• generous grating of nutmeg
• black pepper

 Ingredients (finished dish)

• tomato sauce -- ours is from garden grown plum tomatoes, roasted with whole garlic and olive oil -- to this we added a pinch of sugar, 2 oz. red wine, a pinch of salt and a few stems of basil, crushed (later this summer I'll write a whole post about our roasting/canning process)

• grated parmigiano
• peas (fresh or frozen/thawed)

Preparation (crepes)

In your favorite blender blitz everything but herbs for 5 seconds on high speed.  Add finely chopped herbs and let sit for 1 hour.  Batter should be about as thick as heavy cream, add a little more liquid if too thick, otherwise you'll have pancakes and not crepes.

To make crepes, heat at least an 8" skillet over medium high heat.  If it's a regular surface (not non-stick) be sure to melt a little butter in the pan to insure easy crepe release, using a pastry brush to evenly distribute over the cooking area.  Add 1/4 cup of stirred batter to pan for each crepe, swirling the pan to evenly distribute batter.  Cook for about a minute on the first side, use spatula to loosen edges and using your fingers, two hands please, flip crepe to other side for another 30 seconds or so.  Perfect circles aren't necessary as you'll be filling and rolling, which hides a plethora of mistakes.

Preparation (filling)

• saute spinach, chard and garlic in olive oil on medium heat until fully wilted, adding salt and crushed red pepper to taste
• remove from heat and allow to cool
• combine ricotta, grated cheese, egg, and cooled greens in a bowl and combine thoroughly
• add nutmeg and pepper to taste

Preparation (finished dish)

• fill each crepe with two generous tablespoons of the blended filling, placing it in a line along the lower third of the crepe 
• begin rolling the crepe then fold the edges of the crepe in and continuing to roll until you have enclosed the filling completely
• layer the bottom of an oven safe dish with tomato sauce
• lay stuffed crepe in dish
• cover with additional tomato sauce
• dust with grated cheese

Three stages -- pre-sauce, sauced and "cheesed"

• cook in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes
• remove from oven and add sprinkling of peas
• serve hot

The finished dish is reminiscent of a good cannelloni but the crepes are much more tender than a typical pasta. The mouth feel is almost silky and the cheese and greens become the stars. 

We will miss the 2008 tomato sauce. There is some 2010 in the pantry -- a good but not great year -- our first here in Virginia. With have some high hope for 2012 based on some soil amendments we've made this spring. Is it almost August yet?

Tacos for two, Meatless Monday style

If you read this, you know that this past weekend was a kind of a meat-a-polooza. Heavy (but delicious) German food that featured schweinhaxen (braised ham hock) on top of a spicy sausage dressing. That was my main course on Saturday night. I have to be honest and admit the leftovers were pretty tasty on Sunday too. Good thing Meatless Monday arrived just in time.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about tacos and making the tortillas at home. You can see that post here. What you can't see there is the funny little email I got from one of my coworkers who had read the post. She, who will remain nameless, is from California you see, said something along the lines of "nice tacos, but let me know when Cynthia masters corn tortillas and I might be interested". OK, it was probably worded a little nicer than that, but who can remember such things?

My wife, never one to back down from a challenge, immediately ran out and picked up some masa (Maseca brand) and was just waiting for the right time to use it. Meatless Monday seemed to be the perfect opportunity. On top of that, it gave Cyn a chance to make something from her very favorite chef, Rick Bayless. Not only is he her favorite chef, but he is the owner/operator of what I think she would tell you without hesitation, is her favorite restaurant, Topolobampo in Chicago. And this from a woman who knows food and has been to a lot of really good restaurants.

So, she set about to create her version of Chef Bayless's Tacos of Creamy Chard, Potatoes and Poblanos. The original recipe is designed for 16-18 soft tacos, but since there are but two of us, she cut the recipe in half. She also modified a few places based on our particular tastes. Here is Cynthia's version, adapted from the original Bayless recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 medium large fresh poblano peppers (about 6 oz)
• 2 tsp vegetable or olive oil
• 1/2 medium white onion sliced 1/4" thick
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• big pinch oregano, Mexican preferred
• smaller pinch dried thyme
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tbsp to 1/4 cup good dry sherry, or beer, or wine
• 1 large red skin potatoes cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1 nice bunch of swiss chard sliced into 1/2 inch ribbons, removing the thick center veins (save them!)

• 1/3 to 1/2 cup of cream, sour cream or creme fraiche
• about 1/2 tsp salt
• (the original recipe also calls for queso fresco to be added, we eliminated it, choosing to use a little more creme fraiche instead)
• 8-10 freshly made soft corn tortillas

Preparation

• Following the directions on the package, mix the masa with the appropriate amount of water until a slightly sticky dough forms. Allow the dough to set, covered with plastic wrap or a slightly damp towel, for about 30 minutes.

Cynthia added the following touch which was not a part of the original recipe: 

• Slice the chard stems into 1/4 inch pieces. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar, 6 tbsp of sugar and 2 and a quarter tsp of kosher salt (pickling ratio thanks to David Chang). Bring to a boil, add sliced chard and cook for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside for later.

• In a large saute pan, at least a 10 incher, over medium high heat add a tsp or so of oil and fry the potato cubes until crispy and brown on all sides, seasoning the potatoes when they first hit the pan. We used a nice salt blend from Penzeys called Smoky 4S Special Seasoned Salt. (Note, this is where we diverge from the original recipe quite a bit which calls for cooking the potatoes in a broth. We wanted the crunchy texture).

• Roast the poblanos over an open flame or in a broiler turning them until until the skin is blistered and charred. Remove from the flame and cover in a bowl for about 5 minutes. Pull out the stem and seed pod, then rinse briefly to remove skin and seeds. Slice into 1/4 inch strips.

• In a large skillet, add the oil and the onion. Cook until nicely brown but still a little crunchy. Add the chard in batches and cook down until fully soft, adding the 1/4 c water and the sherry. Add the garlic add spices, stir for about 1 minute then add the sliced poblanos. Add the cream and still until well mixed. Lower the heat to a low simmer and continue to stir occasionally. 

• Form the dough into small balls about the size of a walnut (this is approximate and will take some trial and error) and press into flat rounds using a handy dandy tortilla press that you can probably pick up at any Latino supermarket for about $10. 

• Cook in a DRY hot pan for about 30-45 seconds on the first side and 30 seconds on the other side (again, this will take some practice). Remove and cover with a slightly damp towel to keep warm.

• Note from the cook: it's okay to use store bought tortillas. Unless you're slightly warped like me, you should not attempt making your own tortillas. It has taken two recipe attempts to get a yummy tortilla hot off the pan - it's not for the faint of heart. If you still want to try something special but don't want to commit to the bag o'limed corn (the masa) and a press, buy fresh corn tortillas and fry them yourself for tostadas (flat) or tacos (use two pairs of tongs to hold the shape you want while frying - it helps to be double jointed and an ex-gymnast).

Assemble components in a tortilla to your taste. Fold up edges, and there is your taco!