Bambi in a Pot

I am slightly enamored of venison. I eat it almost any chance I get, which mostly means I order it on the very rare occasions when (a) I’ve chosen to eat out and (b) venison is on the menu. For some reason, in this city of gastronomic wonders, deer meat is just not something you see at the butcher counters of even very upscale markets, and only infrequently on restaurant menus. And I have to say, I don’t understand this. I know that there is a pretty serious problem with overpopulation of deer (and geese) in the mid-Atlantic region, and yet markets and menus are not flooded with venison and goose. Wouldn’t that be a perfect solution to all kinds of problems, not the least of which is an overdependence on factory farms for meat? Gah. 

Anyway, it turns out that the Quattro’s stand at the Union Square Greenmarket DOES have venison, at least sometimes, so I bought a couple of pounds of stew meat, and stashed it in my freezer until I figured out what to make. I had never cooked venison before, and it took some time to find a recipe I thought I could trust. And then the week I wanted to make the stew happened to coincide with the beginning of a cold/flu/plague that took me out for almost 2 weeks. I was not yet (completely) down for the count when I made this, but I still purposely chose a pretty simple recipe, with only a few ingredients, both for a basic flavor and ease of preparation. So it’s kind of key to make sure the meat and greens you use are top quality here, because there isn’t much going on that will cover up anything less than the best.

You’ll want a couple pounds of stew meat (something a little fattier than what I had would probably not be a bad thing), and a couple pounds of greens, like dandelions, escarole, or chicory. Also a pound of fennel, some cayenne, and salt. For the most part, that is the ingredient list. 

Wash the greens, chop them up, and mix them together. Put about a third of them in the bottom of a big soup pot, topped with a third of the chopped fennel, a sprinkle of cayenne, and some salt. Add half the meat (salted).

Repeat the layers, ending with the last third of the greens and fennel, and then pour in water–just enough to get to the top of the greens.

Bring to a boil very slowly, then turn down to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes without stirring. THEN give it a stir, and again every half hour until the meat is tender (about 2 hours total). Taste for salt and spice, and add in about 2/3 a cup of grated Pecorino Romano. Serve with bread and more grated cheese.

This was a much more watery stew than I was expecting–more like a soup, really–but here’s the secret I discovered over the rest of the week, as my cold-addled tastebuds decided everything on a takeout menu tasted weird and could only tolerate the simplest of flavors: this stew is even better, I think, if you add in a little rice or barley as it’s reheating. Just toss in a handful or so of dry grains for each bowl you’re heating up, and cook until the grain is tender. It’ll soak up some of the extra liquid, and adds a little more substance if you don’t happen to have a good loaf of crusty bread lying around. 

Bittman to the Rescue

I was out of town from last Thursday until late Monday, and then had a work function (read: booze cruise) (on a boat called the Romantica, captained by a guy who goes by the moniker “Papa Fish”) (seriously) Tuesday night, so it wasn’t until Wednesday that I was able to get back into the kitchen.  And yes, we did cook a bit while we were at Copper, but honestly, cooking on an electric stove just doesn’t do it for me.

Which is maybe how I justified turning the oven to 400F for, oh, an hour or so last night.  (More than that, actually, because I made a peach galette, too.)  Let me remind you that the high temperature recorded in Central Park yesterday was 93F, and even by 8 o’clock, it was still registering at 86F.  Let me also remind you that I don’t let much stand in the way of a recipe I especially want to make.

The recipe, in this case, is Mark Bittman’s Layered Vegetable Torte, which happened to be the Minimalist column yesterday.  Almost suspiciously convenient, no?  That he’d write about a dish that required pretty much exactly what I got in the vegetable box this week?  How could I not make this recipe immediately?  Considering that I’m heading to the shore for the weekend tomorrow, a recipe that used up this many different ingredients was exactly what needed to be made.

First you need a pile of veggies.  It doesn’t actually matter so much what you’ve got on hand, though something squashy is recommended. I had an eggplant, some zucchini, a bulb of fennel, a longish greenish sweet pepper that I can’t remember what it’s called, some scallions and garlic scapes, a few cherry tomatoes, and a veritable bouquet of fresh herbs. 

All the veggies get sliced into pieces about 1/4″ thick, drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and roasted at 400F for as long as it takes.  Turn once, after 10 or 15 minutes, and pull them out for good when they’re thoroughly soft.  Alternately, if you’re lucky enough to have a proper grill, that’ll work, too, just don’t tell me about it.  I love my grill pan, but with this quantity of veg, it’s just not big enough to get the job done in a timely manner.  Sigh.  One day, I will have a grill of my own, and a place to put it, and that day will be beautiful.  And you will all be invited over for dinner. (Oh, wait–you’re all already invited over.  So that much at least won’t change.)

I cut the scallions and scapes into pieces about 1″ long and roasted them, too, which in retrospect was maybe not the best idea.  I think it would have worked better if I’d kept them whole and put them in for only the last 10 minutes, which is what I did with the tomatoes. 

Anyway, get out your springform pan and oil it lightly.  You’ll either want to put it on a cookie sheet or wrap it in foil, because if it’s anything like mine, it’s not 100% watertight. Or oil-tight, rather.  Layer the veggies and chopped herbs, and chopped garlic if you’re using it.  Squish the layers together with a spatula, then sprinkle on a couple handfuls of breadcrumbs, and grate a pile of parmesan on top.  Do not skip the “drizzle with about 1 tablespoon oil” step, which is what I inadvertently did. 

Nothing awful will happen, but the cheese won’t brown quite properly without it (after 30 minutes in the oven, still at 400F).

So yes, 30 minutes.  Take it out, let it rest a bit, undo the springform, let it rest a bit more. 

Then slice it up, and serve with maybe some leftover polenta?

Oh, and about that galette: leftover bit of unrolled pie crust in the freezer, 4 peaches (peeled and chopped), juice of half a lime, a bit of honey, a tablespoon of butter cut into bits, wave the magic wand and bake for 40 minutes at 400F.  The sil-pat is essential here (thanks, mom!), or else I just don’t know how to prepare a galette, because the peach juice leaked out all over the place and it would have been a bitch and a half to clean off a cookie sheet.  I think I skimped on the honey, but other than that, it was delicious. 

Wandering in Translation

So here’s the thing. I had this bulb of fennel. I have been gradually learning to like fennel in many different preparations, but I’m still really a novice when it comes to cooking it myself. But that’s what Tastespotting is for. And what jumped out at me from a search for fennel was this random German blog’s recipe for Fennel Roquefort Tarte. Problem 1 is that the amounts are in grams and milliliters and whatnot. Problem 2 is that even putting the page through Google’s translator, it’s still kind of spotty.

So without further ado, here is the recipe, translated by Google, photo-illustrated by me, and followed by my adapted version of the recipe.

“Mix all ingredients together and mix into a dough verkneten. The dough into a ball shape and at least 2 hours in the refrigerator and let it rest. Approx. 15 minutes before the roll from the refrigerator, on a desktop bemehlten TARTE roll and a form so interpreted.

“At regular intervals with a fork and insert again for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

“Thoroughly wash the fennel and cut crosswise into slices. The drink may not be removed, because the discs will not hold together.

“Olive oil in a pan and heat the fennel slices on both sides sear the fennel may well be beautifully brown.

“Milk, eggs and cream together and mix with salt and pepper. Roquefort dice.

“The fennel slices on the circular ground TARTE distribute the nicest slices for the top layer repeal.

“With the egg / milk mixture and douse the Roquefort cubes evenly distribute it.

“In at 180 ° C preheated oven at medium rail bake about 30 minutes until the tart is nicely golden brown.

“Something cool.”

Fennel and Roquefort Tarte, American version
adapted from Kleiner Kuriositätenladen

for a 9″ tart pan, springform pan, or pie plate

Crust:
2/3 c all purpose flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, in pieces
1 egg, yolk in dough, white as an eggwash
2 Tbsp + 3/4 tsp cold water

Filling:
1 large fennel bulb cut into thin slices
1 egg
1/4 c + 1 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp sour cream
1/4 lb roquefort
Fresh ground pepper
olive oil

Mix together all the crust ingredients, and blend completely, either by hand or with the dough blade in a cuisinart. Form into a ball, squish slightly flat, and wrap in parchment. Refrigerate for a couple of hours. (don’t throw out the parchment)

Roll it out on a floured surface and place into a buttered pan of your choosing (I used a springform). Prick the surface all over with a fork, then refrigerate again for 30 minutes. Cover the crust with the parchment, and then place some dried beans or pie weights or whatever inside. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes, then remove the beans, brush with the egg white, and bake another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice up the fennel and rinse it. You’re going to want to cut out as much of the core as possible, but leave enough that the middle slices stay intact. Cook in olive oil over medium-high heat, until nicely browned, on both sides. Put all the fennel into the crust, placing the whole slices on top.

Mix together the egg, milk, sour cream, and cheese. Season with ground pepper. Pour over the fennel, and bake at 350F for 30 minutes or more, until the tart has solidifed.

At this point it’s probably advisable to let it cool slightly before slicing (hence “Something cool”), but it’s fine to eat right away. Trust me.

Contemplating

Remaining to cook this weekend:
1 bulb of fennel
1 head of cabbage
1 cucumber
3 purple peppers and 1 green one

re: fennel

Braised Fennel with Shallots on Hungry Cravings

Onion and Fennel Bisque on One Perfect Bite

Fennel, Roquefort Tart from this German blog called Kleiner Kuriositätenladen (which Google translates as Little Curiosity Shop). I’m really tempted by this, partly because it looks DELICIOUS and partly because I love the daring prospect of making a recipe that’s been translated by Google into English. I suppose I could just have my mom or MJT translate for me, but where’s the fun in that? “Crust” is translated as “crumbly” and the recipe calls for something called “1 protein to the blind baking,” which I’m guessing is a reference to pie weights. One is warned after washing the fennel bulb that “the drink may not be removed.” Also the final step reads simply, “Something cool.” Yes, we might have found ourselves a winner here.

re: cabbage

The Sweet and Sour Cabbage from the New York Times that I’ve already made but didn’t manage to photograph. I will have to make some more chili garlic sauce, though, because it was really much better with some spice.

re: cuke

Who am I kidding? It’s going to become a blender-full of cucumber/mint/lime juice, which I’ve now made enough times to consider an Old Favorite.

re: peppers

no freaking clue. Peppers have always seemed like a lovely addition to many dishes, but I don’t think of them as the star. Maybe I’ll pickle them. Pickled purple peppers (going from Smitten Kitchen‘s recipe) sounds charming.

On Grilling

So I brought what was left with me to the shore this weekend–a lot of lettuce, plus some baby summer squash, part of a head of radicchio, and part of a fennel bulb.

Q: What do these vegetables have in common?

A: Along with bell pepper and onion, they are wonderful on the grill, with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Here we see the finished product, along with my mom’s dog Libby and a beautiful LBI sunset:

(three of my favorite things in the world, all in one photo)

The rest of dinner consisted of cheeseburgers and fresh Jersey corn. Summer on a plate.