Soubise

A soubise (sue-beez) is basically stewed onions that have been slow braised in a low oven with a bit of rice to bind it all together. At the end, a bit of cheese and cream is added. It's divine. And classic Julia Child. Is it a "side?" Is it a sauce? You decide. Here, I paired it with fresh asparagus. I've also used it on sandwiches. Paired with beef or lamb, you can't go wrong.

I really encourage you to try this one. As the onions bake, something magical happens. They sweeten and take on a whole new dimension. No, it's not a gratin. It's a bit sweeter, but with a deeper nuance.

The first time I made this, I used a mandolin to make really thin slices. I don't really recommend that route. As the soubise baked, the onions basically disappeared and melted away. The second time, I sliced them by hand. With a proper, sharp knife, it is quick going. The sharper the knife, the less tears you'll shed.

You will need a sturdy, small pot for baking. I don't recommend a baking dish. You want some depth for this dish. I used an 8-inch, cast iron, enameled Dutch oven.

Unlike Julia's recipe, I added one tablespoon of fresh minced thyme to the onions. Once, I subbed a good Parmesan for the required Gruyere. Both work equally well, but the latter will give a bit more gooey nuttiness. You may wish to mix in some chopped parsley at the end for a bit of color.

This keeps well for several days in the fridge. 

• 2 lbs. thin-sliced yellow onions (7-8 cups, but I recommend weighing them)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 tablespoons Arborio rice
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme leaves
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup fresh-grated Gruyere cheese
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 300 F. degrees. Bring a small pot of salted water to the boil.

Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat and begin adding sliced onions and thyme. Cook just until they begin to go soft and are well-coated with the butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

Add rice to the salted, boiling water  and cook for just five minutes or so. Drain into a sieve. Add the drained rice to the onion mixture and stir.

Pour mixture into a small Dutch oven or something similar. Cover tightly and bake for one hour, stirring once or twice during the process.

Remove from oven and add the lesser amounts of cheese and cream, adding more if you think it's needed.

If desired, stir in a bit of chopped parsley. This makes about four cups.

Pasta with Asparagus, Mushrooms, and Tomatoes

Even here in the South, it's been a long cold winter. So when the spell finally broke the other day and temperatures hit the 80-degree mark, my appetite suddenly changed. I wanted to eat spring. 

Green, plump stalks of fresh asparagus are now heralding the markets. In this simple pasta dish, it takes center stage with earthy mushrooms, sweet grape tomatoes and lots of garlic. Nothing complicated. A simple but satisfying dish, as welcome as spring.

Feel free to adjust the garlic quantities to taste. Here, I used plain button mushrooms for their plump earthiness. Since this is meatless, use mushrooms that have some "tooth" in them.

• 8 ounces fresh asparagus, trimmed of tough ends and then cut into thirds
• 8 ounces grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 4 ounces mushrooms, roughly sliced
• 1/2 cup diced, sweet onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• Butter
• Olive oil
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese or similar
• Fresh lemon zest
• Fish sauce (optional)
• Corn starch (optional)
• 8 ounces spaghetti

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Add a few slices from one of the reserved, two garlic cloves to add some added flavor to the pasta. Add spaghetti and cook until done.

Meanwhile ...

In a medium pan, melt a nob of butter along with some olive oil. Add the chopped onion. Cook for several minutes then add the asparagus and mushrooms. Cook several minutes more. Add a bit of chicken stock and the chopped garlic. Last, add the tomatoes and allow the mixture to simmer a bit. If you have it, add a shake or two of fish sauce. If the mixture appears too dry, add a bit more stock and, if you want it a bit thicker, a teaspoon or two of corn starch mixed with some of the stock. 

Keep the vegetables on the large side when cutting.

Remove pan from heat.

Drain spaghetti. Add a good drizzle of olive oil and a few tablespoons of butter. Salt and pepper to taste. Using a micro plane, zest in some fresh garlic and lemon zest. Toss. Taste and re-season if necessary. Mix in cheese. 

Serve pasta on the side of a plate with vegetable mixture overlapping a bit. Drizzle with the sauce. 

Hello, spring!

Slurp!

Rack of Lamb with Herbs and Garlic

(Epicurious.com photo)

I once received a rack of lamb as a gift. How great was that? Below is how I prepared it. I suspect that the garlic-herb mixture would be good on any part of lamb. It is now pretty easy to buy a rack of lamb already "Frenched" for you sealed in a cryo-vac pakaged. "Frenched" means the bones or ribs have been scrapped to serve as a kind of "handle."

This recipe is from epicurious.com. I did not change one thing, it is that great!
For the Lamb:

• 2 (8-rib) Frenched racks of lamb, each about 1.5 lbs. trimmed of all but a thin layer of fat
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Herb Coating

• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Instant-read thermometer

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the lamb:

Heat a dry 12-inch heavy skillet (I use a cast-iron skillet) over high heat until hot, at least 2 minutes. 

Meanwhile, pat lamb dry and rub meat all over with salt and pepper. Add oil to hot skillet, then brown racks, in 2 batches, if necessary, on all sides (not ends), about 10 minutes per batch. Have your hood range on and/or window open. Transfer racks to a small (13 x 9) roasting pan. 

Coat the Lamb:

Stir together garlic, herbs, salt, pepper, and oil. Coat meaty parts of lamb with herb mixture, pressing to help adhere. On middle oven rack, roast 15 minutes, then cover lamb loosely with foil and roast until thermometer inserted diagonally into center of meat registers 120ºF, 5-10 minutes more. Let stand, covered, 10 minutes. Cut each rack into 4 double chops.

Notes: It's important to finely mince the herbs. A rough chop will simply allow them to burn.

Pork Roast with Apples and Root Vegetables

My grocer stocks wonderful pork roasts that weigh less than 2 pounds. They are meant for crock pots and slow cookers. But I roast them.

Don't be put off by the Mediterranean seasonings of lemon and fennel. Nothing complements a pork roast as these two flavors. Neither is overpowering; together, they are a hit.

These small pork roasts are "netted" to keep the meat together in a cylindrical shape and usually have just enough fat to keep them moist. 

Feel free to use other roots, such as parsnips or carrots. 

• 1, 1.5 lb. rolled pork roast
• 1/4 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
• lemon zest from 1/2 lemon
• 1 large rutabaga
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 large crisp apple such as Braeburn, Jazz, Honey Crisp, Granny Smith*
• Lawrey's Seasoned Salt--a few shakes
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• Garlic powder, several good sprinkles on top, bottom and sides of roast
• 1 good teaspoon dried onion flakes, crushed to a powder (or 1/2 teaspoon onion powder)
• 10 unpeeled, raw garlic cloves (optional)
• 1 strip bacon, cut in half (optional)
• Fresh rosemary
• Dried, whole thyme

Sprinkle the roast with the dried ingredients. I usually do this over the pan I am going to roast it in. I roll the roast in the seasonings that fall to the bottom of the pan to pick up as much as possible. Grate the lemon on top of the pork roast. Pat in. Give a light drizzle of olive oil to the roast and rub in all over. Sprinkle top with Kosher salt. The salt will give a nice crust to the roast.

Just peel and chop into chunks.

Peel raw rutabaga with a sharp knife, removing waxy outer layer and stem and root parts. Cut into one-inch chunks. Peel raw apple. Cut in half. Using a melon baller, remove the center seeds and stem and blossom ends. Cut each half into four sections. Peel raw sweet potato and cut into one-inch chunks.

Remove rutabaga, apples, sweet potato and, if using, garlic cloves to a small bowl. Drizzle with olive oil to coat. Sprinkle with a bit of dried, crushed thyme leaves, a bit of Kosher salt and pepper.

I like to roast meat on a rack so heat surrounds the entire cut of mean. If you don't have a small rack, you can easily make one using tin foil and coiling it like this:

Center pork in a roasting pan. Surround it in a single layer with the root vegetables keeping the apples closer to the pork and the rutabagas to the outside of the pan. Strip the leaves off of a rosemary stem. Mince them. Sprinkle over the rutabaga and apple mixture.

If using bacon, place strips over the pork roast. 

For this pork roast, I only used rutabagas and apples. Boring.

For this pork roast, I went all out. I added sweet potato for color. One strip of bacon cut in half
for added flavor, garlic cloves and one extra sprig of rosemary. Beautiful!

Roast for 10-15 minutes at 420 degrees. Lower temp to 150 and roast for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and, if desired, stir in about one tablespoon butter and stir around the apples and roots. Return to oven until instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the roast registers about 145 F degrees. Remove. Tent with foil and allow to rest at least 15-20 minutes. Remove pork roast and cut off netting. Thinly slice. Serve with apples and roots and a drizzle of the sauce.

Of course, the cook gets to eat the bacon!

*Because the apple is not as dense as the roots it will cook faster. As such, cut into thick slices rather than chunks