Squid Ink Pasta with Calamari, Snap Peas, Lime, Serranos, and Mint

To celebrate my getting a job, Mitch and I ate at Liluma. Even though it's really close to our apartment, we hadn't been before. Partly that had to do with prices, but also with the fact that everyone in the restaurant looked over 70--but when we did go we sat on the patio, so it didn't seem so crusty. I forgot my camera, so no review of that one, but I will tell you that, though it was no Niche, Liluma was delicious. But what I'm getting at is that Liluma had a chilled calamari, lime, and chili salad on the menu. I thought that looked great, and I spent half the next day thinking about how I could turn that into a whole meal.

What I came up with was this--a seemingly odd but quite delicious fusion of Southeast Asian flavors and Italian cooking. It's great for a hot day and would make a good lunch for company. Also it takes a very short time to prepare, making it a perfect week-night meal.

If you can't find squid ink pasta, don't worry--any pasta will taste great even if it won't look as striking.

Squid Ink Pasta with Calamari, Snap Peas, Lime, Serranos, and Mint

Serves 2-4, depending on appetites (usually closer to 4)

1 pound squid ink pasta

2 cups snap peas, sliced diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces

3 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 pound calamari, sliced into rings

1/2 cup lime juice

2 tablespoons fish sauce (optional, but adds a delicious saltiness and fullness of flavor)

2 serrano peppers, finely chopped

1 small bunch of mint, leavers thinly sliced

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Put the snap peas in a strainer, and lower the strainer into the boiling water for 1 minutes. Lift it out of the water and rinse the snap peas with cold water.

Cook the pasta in the pot of boiling water, following package instructions for timing.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the calamari and cook for a minute or so, until it is fully cooked. Add the lime juice, fish sauce, and serranos. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Add the snap peas. Using a slotted spoon, lift out the calamari and peas and place them in a separate bowl. By this time the pasta will be done. Strain the pasta in a colander, then toss it in the sauce. Toss the mint with the pasta, and then serve the pasta with the calamari and peas on top. 

Skip the cheese on this one--if you must have something like that use bread crumbs toasted in olive oil.

Seared Scallops over Summer Vegetable Crudo

According to my parents, I loved scallops before the age of five. I don't remember that. What I do remember is hating scallops up until my early teens, when I finally started to warm to them again. Now I think they are delicious, so long as they are the big kind, not overcooked, and not steamed or something.

I had a delicious scallop dish at Niche, and so I had scallops on my mind when my mostly-vegetarian friend Amanda Perry came to town. Straub's had some lovely looking big scallops, so I picked them up and thought through how to pair them with some of the fresh veggies I got from the market the weekend before. I settled on a sort of raw vegetable salad, centered around summer squash and ripe red tomato. I love the colors, and so I added some crisp green beans as well. To bring all the flavors together, emphasize the sweetness of the veggies, and also bring a little acid into the dish, I added a balsamic reduction. Then I seared the scallops, sliced them horizontally (as Niche did), and placed them on top of the "crudo."

This dish is light and summery--perfect for an appetizer or as a light lunch if served with a soup or some bread. It doesn't take long to prepare and yet looks beautiful when served.

Seared Scallops over Summer Vegetable Crudo
Serves 2

1 ripe tomato
4 large scallops
small handful thin green beans
1 summer squash
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Make the balsamic reduction by boiling the balsamic vinegar for about 10 minutes or until it is as reduced as you want it to be. Let it cool.

Using a mandoline or other slicer, very thinly slice the summer squash lengthwise. Place the squash in a strainer with a few big sprinkles of salt. Let it sit for about 15 minutes and then press out some of the water.

Slice the tomato into very thin wedges. Cut the green beans into half inch pieces. Arrange the squash and tomato on two plates, alternating and overlapping them in a line in the middle of each plate. Sprinkle the green beans on the sides of the plate.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over high heat until the oil is very hot. Lower the scallops into the pan with tongs (the oil might splatter). Sear on one side for a few minutes, or until it is browned. Turn over and brown the other side. Remove the scallops from the pan and slice them lengthwise. Arrange them on top of the squash and tomatoes, and drizzle the balsamic reduction on the side before serving.

Vietnamese Sizzling Rice Crepe with Pork, Shrimp, and Mushrooms

I've been very into Vietnamese food lately, with the help of Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors by Andrea Nguyen. I love the abundance of fresh herbs and the delicate balancing of sweet, tart, spicy, and salty flavors. I first tasted banh xeo, or sizzling rice crepes, at Long Provincial Vietnamese Restaurant in Seattle, and I immediately fell in love with it. The outside is crispy and the inside is soft and chewy, with some crunch from the bean sprouts. I like it best filled with shrimp and pork. As is traditional, I serve it with nuoc cham and a plate of fresh lettuce and herbs.

This dish should be started ahead of time to allow the batter enough time to soak, but it doesn't take  much time at all once you begin cooking. It looks more complicated than it is, since the batter and dipping sauce can be made ahead, and the garnishes need nothing more than to be placed on a plate.

Banh Xeo, or Vietnamese Sizzling Rice Crepe with Pork, Shrimp, and Mushrooms

     Batter:
1 cup raw jasmine rice (or other long grain white rice)
2 tablespoons leftover cooked rice or 2 tablespoons rice flour (you can omit this if you don't have it)
1/4 cup packed steamed mung beans (steam dried mung beans, preferably peeled, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until soft)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 cup coconut milk
1 1/4 cup water
2 scallions, thinly sliced 
     Filling and Cooking:
3/4 pound pork shoulder, sliced into matchsticks
1/2 pound small shrimp (leave the shell on for an authentic crunch, or if that weirds you out, peel them)
1 cup thinly sliced shitake mushrooms (or substitute 1 can straw mushrooms, drained and cut in half lengthwise--this is more authentic, but I love the flavor of shitakes)
1 small onion, thinly sliced from root to tip
3/4 cup ground steamed mung bean (see above)
4 cups bean sprouts
vegetable oil, for pan-frying 
     Serving:
Herb and Vegetable Garnish Plate, see below
Nuoc Cham, see below


For the batter: Soak the rice in cold water for 3 to 5 hours. Drain the rice, transfer it to a blender, and add all the rest of the batter ingredients except the scallions. Blend for 2 or 3 minutes, or until the batter is very smooth. Stir in the scallions. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour at room temperature or up to 3 days in the refrigerator (ideally bring it back to room temperature before cooking)

Filling and cooking the crepes: Mix together all the filling ingredients except the bean sprouts and the oil. Divide the mixture into 8 even portions (this will make frying the crepes simpler).

In an 10 inch nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of oil over medium-high to high heat. When the oil is hot, add one portion of the filling. Stir-fry for about 1 minute, or until the meat is seared. Spread the filling out evenly in the pan, leaving one line down the middle of the pan empty (this will be where you fold the crepe over--you want this part empty to make the folding easier).

Stir the batter to reincorporate anything that has settled to the bottom. Ladle in about 1/3 cup of batter to the pan, and swirl it around until the batter covers the bottom of the skillet. After about 1 minute, add a handful of bean sprouts to one side of the crepe. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 3 minutes, or until the sprouts have softened.

Remove the lid from the skillet and drizzle a bit of oil around the edges of the crepe to add crispiness. Continue to cook until the edges pull away from the pan and reach a golden brown. The bottom should also be crispy. Using a spatula, fold the crepe over on itself and slide it out of the pan. Cover and place in a warm oven until serving time. Repeat with the remaining crepes, using two pans at once if you can to make it quicker.

To serve and eat: Serve the warm crepes with the herb and vegetable garnish plate and the nuoc cham. Cut a piece of crepe, wrap it and some herbs in lettuce, and then dip it in the sauce before eating.





Herb and Vegetable Garnish Plate:
1 small pickling cucumber or 1/2 an English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded if necessary, and thinly sliced
1 small head butter lettuce
1 bunch mint
1 bunch Thai basil
1 bunch cilantro
other herbs, such as lemon balm, shiso, cinnamon basil, lime basil, Vietnamese coriander, sorrel, etc.

Arrange all these ingredients on a platter, tearing up the herbs into smaller pieces and separating the lettuce leaves.

Nuoc Cham (basic Vietnamese dipping sauce):
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or use more lime juice)
3 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup warm water
5 tablespoons fish sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 3 Thai peppers, to taste (keep in mind these tiny peppers are incredibly spicy)

Stir together all the ingredients until the sugar dissolves. Taste the sauce, and adjust the flavor balance as you like.

Fried Soft Shell Crab with and Creole Rice and Remoulade

Late spring and early summer mark the season for soft shell crabs, a treat I don't know if I had ever tried until I went East for college. But they are available here in St. Louis (from Bob's Seafood), and so I brought a few home one day for dinner. I don't love them sauteed, because I think they get a little mushy. Fried is really the way to go for soft shell crabs, though I do hear that grilled is also good. Dip the crabs in milk, then dredge them in flour (preferably Wondra), cornstarch, salt and pepper. Fry in a layer of olive oil, serve with Creole rice and remoulade. I served the crabs on a bed of baby sorrel and mustard greens, which provide a nice tart and spicy contrast to the richness of the crab. You will want to make the rice and remoulade before starting the crabs.

Fried Soft Shell Crabs (serves 2)
4 soft shell crabs, cleaned just prior to cooking
1 cup whole milk
1 cup flour (preferably Wondra)
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 inch of olive oil for frying


In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil to 360 degrees F (use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature). While the oil is heating, pour the milk in shallow bowl. Mix the flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper on a plate. Dip each crab in the milk and then dredge thoroughly in the flour mixture, making sure all surfaces are covered.

When the oil is hot, place in the pan as many crabs as will comfortably fit without crowding. Fry for about 3 minutes per side, or until the crabs are nicely browned and cooked through. Transfer with tongs or a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate while you cook the remaining crabs. Serve on a bed of greens with Remoulade and Creole Rice, if you like.

Creole Rice (serves 2)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup white long grain rice, such as jasmine
Cajun seasoning, to taste (different brands or homemade blends vary greatly--I use MarketSpice Cajun Seasoning and I quite like it)
2 cups water

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When it is hot but not smoking, add the onion, bell pepper, and celery. Cook until the vegetables have softened, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and some Cajun seasoning (you can always add more later) to the pan. Stir to coat the rice in the oil and cook without water for 1 minute. Add the water to the pan, cover, and increase the heat to high. When the water is boiling vigorously, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes. Reduce to low for 5 minutes more. Stir the rice, being careful not to break the grains much, taste, and season with additional Cajun seasoning as needed.

Remoulade
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
2 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Cajun seasoning, to taste
3/4 cup olive oil

Place all ingredients except the oil in a food processor or blender. Process for 15 seconds. With the food processor running, add the oil in a slow steady stream. Once all the oil has been added, process for an additional 5 seconds to incorporate everything. The remoulade should be thick and creamy. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until serving time.

Mussels in Lemongrass Coconut Broth

A good steaming bowl of mussels in flavorful broth served with some crusty Ciabatta bread is enough to make me happy any night. And this particular recipe may be the best version of such a dish I have had. It starts with a broth made from shrimp shells (just buy some large shrimp, peel them, and freeze the shrimp for later while reserving the shells for broth). After the broth has absorbed all the flavors, you saute the mussels briefly, pour in the broth and coconut milk, and toss with cilantro. The flavors are southeast Asian, but the preparation is mostly French. For a lighter variation, leave out the coconut milk.

Mussels in Lemongrass Coconut Broth
The Broth:
3 tablespoons olive oil
shells from 1 pound of shrimp
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 cups homemade chicken broth (or substitute 3 cups storebought chicken broth and 3 cups water)
1 small onion,  roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, in half inch slices
half a carrot, in half inch slices
1 lime (zest the lime, then cut it in half. You will use both parts, but to maximize flavor they should be separate)
5 Kaffir lime leaves (if you can find them)
stems from 1 bunch of cilantro
5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed with the side of a knife
1 small nob of ginger, sliced
2 stalks lemongrass, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon peppercorns
2 small thai peppers, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

In a large skillet or saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, toss in the shrimp shells. Saute for almost 5 minutes, or until the shells begin to brown. Pour in the white wine, and stir the bottom of the pan to release any browned bit. Continue to cook until the wine has almost entirely boiled off. Add the chicken broth or water, followed by the rest of the ingredients. Add additional water to cover the shells and vegetables. Return to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Strain the broth, pressing the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Set aside

The Mussels:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 Thai chili, thinly sliced, optional
5 green onions, white and light green part only, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press or finely chopped
1 tablespoon grated or finely chopped ginger
2 pounds very fresh mussels, rinsed in cold water
3 or 4 cups of the reserved broth
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and sesame oil. When the oils are hot, add the garlic, ginger, green onions, and Thai chili. Stir for 1 minute. Add the mussels, and stir fry until the first mussels open. Pour in the broth and the coconut milk, and cover the pan. When all the mussels are open, toss with the cilantro and continue to cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Serve in bowls with crusty bread on the side to soak up the extra broth.