Tag Archives: Fresh Herbs

May 31, 2009 · 10:52 am

5 Steps to a “Perfect” Roast Chicken

"Perfect" Roast Chicken at Cafe du Soleil, photo by Philippe Touitou

"Perfect" Roast Chicken at Cafe du Soleil, photo by Philippe Touitou

You may have heard some Chefs say that in order to judge a prospective cook’s abilities they ask them to prepare a simple roast chicken. While I have never seen this done in an actual professional kitchen, there is something to be said for stripping away the bells and whistles that some chef’s rely on. Respect for proper techniques and the sophistication of knowing that great products should not be overwhelmed would certainly be qualities I would appreciate in any cook.

I rarely use the word perfect for anything. Occasionaly, though, I like to step out on a limb for a particular subject, and proclaim that I know what perfection is and that I know how to achieve it. In the case of roast chicken, I first encountered perfection when I began working with David Leiderman to reopen Chez Louis Bistro in midtown Manhattan. David’s roast chicken epiphany came when he first visited L’Ami Louis in Paris. There, they roast the finest Bresse chickens to juicy crispiness in a high-heat wood-burning oven. They serve them with a garlic potato cake, and when you hear David describe it you want to hop the next flight to Paris to indulge.

David developed some steps to reproduce the L’Ami Louis roast chicken back here in the US which I will share with you here. Taken separately they are quite common culinary techniques. Combined together they produce a “perfect” roast chicken!!!!

Perfect Roast Chicken:

Note: Since Bresse chickens are hard to find in the US (and extremely expensive if you do find them), I use Murray’s brand Free Range Chickens. I prefer the 3 1/2 # size.

1) BRINE – Brine chickens for about one hour in a solution of 1 cup Kosher salt per gallon of water. Remove and pat dry.

2) MARINATE – Prepare a marinade of chopped fresh tarragon, thyme, and rosemary, chopped garlic, and enough vegetable oil just to make a spreadable mixture. Spread marinade on inside and outside of chicken and marinate for a few hours or preferably overnight.

3) SMOKE – This step is optional and is an attempt to recreate the slight wood flavor that a wood-burning oven would impart to a roast chicken. Cover the bottom of a heavy roasting pan with wood chips (apple is best), and place on top of a medium flame  until the chips begin to smoke (you need a well ventilated kitchen, or you can bring it outside after removing from the heat). Turn off burner, place a wire rack over chips, and place chicken on rack. Cover with an inverted roasting pan of the same size, or with aluminum foil. Let smoke for about 10 minutes. You can do this step and then refrigerate chicken again until ready to use.

4) SEAR – Pat chicken skin until dry. Heat a heavy roasting pan on a high flame until very hot. Add a few drops vegetable oil, then sear chicken on all sides until nicely browned. Alternately if you have a gas or charcoal grill at hand you can sear the chicken on that until lightly charred.

 5) ROAST – This should be done on the highest setting of your oven. For most ovens this is 550F. Yes, the chicken will splatter the oven a bit, but this is the way to get a nice crisp skin. The chicken does not need additional seasoning before roasting. Place chicken in your roasting pan, and set on medium shelf of oven. You may need to cover the tips of the legs with aluminum foil to prevent them from burning. Roast the chicken for about 30 minutes. Test doneness by inserting a metal thermometer into the spot where the leg joins the body. When the thermometer reads 150F remove chicken from oven and “carryover” cooking should bring it to 160F. You should let the chicken “rest” for 10 – 30 minutes before carving. Don’t cover chicken with foil at any point in the roasting or “resting” periods.

 Carve, and enjoy!!!

At Cafe du Soleil we serve the roast chicken with roasted garlic rosemary potatoes, whole roasted garlic, and romesco sauce.

8 Comments

Filed under French Regional Specialties, Poultry, Ratio Recipes

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

February 28, 2009 · 11:30 pm

Whole Roasted Daurade a la Provencale

Daurade Roti at Cafe du Soleil - Photo by Philippe Touitou

Daurade Roti at Cafe du Soleil - Photo by Philippe Touitou

 

I love roasting fish whole. The preparation is simple and the results outweigh the minimal effort. You just need to have a willing audience – willing to stare their dinner in the eye, and willing to tackle the bones as they eat.

It’s relatively easy to find whole fish at most fish markets. Ask them to scale the fish for you, trim the fins and tail, and remove the gills. This dish will work well with many kinds of fish. Pictured is a Daurade (Sea Bream) imported from the Mediterranean. These fish have become more common in recent years with the rise in aquaculture. They are farm raised in Greece and shipped here quickly so they are usually very reliably fresh. Another excellent imported farm-raised fish is the Branzino which is a Mediterranean Sea Bass.

Other fish to try are Red Snapper, Black Sea Bass, Farm-Raised Striped Bass, and Domestic Sea Bream, also known as Porgies.

The preparation is the same for all. Season the fish inside and out with salt and pepper, and a light drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Stuff the cavity with fresh or dried herbs (I like thyme and fresh bay leaves if you can find them) and slices of lemon and tomato. Place on an oiled baking sheet or baking dish, and roast in the oven at 400F for about 10 to 15 minutes.

The best way to tell if it’s done is an old trick I learned in restaurants over the years – you pull on the finbone closest to the head of the fish. You should just barely be able to pull it away from the flesh. This makes alot of sense since if you can’t pull it away it means the flesh is still raw at that point (try pulling a bone from a raw fish and you’ll see what I mean), and if you can pull it away too easily it means the resistance is gone and it’s overcooked.

Drizzle the fish with some more EVOO and you’re ready to serve. You don’t really need a sauce with this, but here are a couple suggestions:

When you remove the fish from the oven and transfer it to your serving dish, pour a little white or rose wine into the baking dish, place it on a burner, and scrape up any bits that may have stuck to the dish while letting the wine reduce a little. Add a knob of butter if desired and serve on the side or pour over the fish.

Alternately you could prepare a light beurre blanc (see my beurre blanc post of March 15, 2008 for a recipe) and flavor it with capers and lemon, or whatever else strikes your fancy.

Also in the photo you can see a lovely row of baked Provencale Vegetables on the platter with the Daurade. This makes an excellent accompaniment. Rather than give an exact recipe I’ll just describe how they’re made:

Saute some sliced onions and red peppers in olive oil, season with salt and pepper and chopped garlic to tatse, and spread over the bottom of a baking dish. Slice zucchini, yellow squash, tomato, and eggplant into uniform slices, then layer (alternating the colors) on top of the pepper onion mixture. Season the whole with salt and pepper, drizzle generously with EVOO, and add some chopped fresh thyme. Cover with foil, and bake at 350F for about 20 to 30 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Uncover the foil and bake another 10 minutes or so until they are slightly browned on top.

 

I hope you’ll try these dishes – and if you do, I hope you enjoy them. Comments and feedback are always welcome.

Bon Appetit!

3 Comments

Filed under Fish and Seafood, French Regional Specialties, Roasted Whole Fish

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 18, 2008 · 9:43 pm

Fresh Herb Oils and Tuna Tartare

Fresh Herb Oils can add a professional flourish to many dishes. They are quite different from herb-infused oils. Here, the herbs are pureed with the oil, resulting in a very intense herb flavor and a beautiful emerald green color. I usually use one herb at a time in these recipes to keep the flavors clean. But feel free to try combining different herbs together to create new combinations. Try using herb oil in a vinaigrette or as a marinade, or try drizzling some over grilled fish or chicken breast. Herb oils are handy cold-pantry staples as they keep well in the refirgerator for a few weeks. Chive Oil is my favorite.

I’ll start with the Basic Ratio Formula, then give you a full recipe for Chive Oil, then a recipe for Tuna Tartare.

Basic Ratio by Volume:

2 Parts Fresh herbs such as basil, chives, tarragon, parsley, dill

1 Part Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt to taste

 

Chive Oil:     Yield: 1 cup

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Fresh Chives, lightly packed

1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pinch Salt

 

Method:

Wash Chives and pat dry with a towel. Cut into 1-2″ pieces.

Puree in blender with olive oil and salt. Optional: Strain through fine mesh strainer.

 

Now here’s a recipe using your freshly made Chive Oil. It makes a great dinner appetizer or lunch main course. Of course when serving raw fish you need to buy the best quality sushi-grade tuna you can find. I also love serving this tartare on potato chips as an hors d’oeuvre for a cocktail party. In this recipe the chips are a garnish that your guests can use to pile the tartare onto. Either way – it’s really delicious and easy to make.

Blue-Fin Tuna Tartare     Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. Sushi-grade BlueFin tuna, cut in2 1/4″ cubes or smaller

4T Chive Oil

2T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Shallot, finely chopped

1 T. Chives, finely chopped

1 t Lemon zest, grated

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

32 Potato Chips (best-quality store-bought, or homemade waffle chips)

Optional garnish; Baby salad greens

 

Method:

Mix tuna with half the chive oil, olive oil, shallot, chive, lemon zest, salt and pepper in a small mixing bowl.

Divide evenly onto four appetizer plates in a pleasing shape (I use a 3″ ring mold).

Place 8 potato chips standing upright into the tartare. garnish with a few leaves of baby salad greens if desired, and drizzle the remaining chive oil around inside edge of each plate.

 

ENJOY!!!

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Appetizers, Cold Sauces, Dressings, Condiments, Fish and Seafood, Fresh Herb Oil, Ratio Recipes

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 15, 2007 · 10:21 pm

Linguine with Grilled Shrimp, Part 3

linguine-small.jpg

Linguine with Grilled Shrimp, Part 3

So far, so good, right?   

You have made your Marinara sauce.

You have made your Garlic Herb Butter and rolled it into a log shape to store it.

Now comes the time to put it all together!! So, following along the Italian flag theme, we have our red and our green stripes.  

Now comes The White Stripe:  

That’s just a white sauce that can be made in one of three ways depending on your sensibilities. The first, and simplest, is just to boil some heavy cream (use about ¼ cup per person – and let it reduce by half until slightly thickened).

You will be tossing the cooked linguine into this sauce when plating your dish. (Please scroll down to the end of this post for the other two alternatives). 

Finishing the Garlic Herb Butter Sauce: 

No matter which of the versions of white sauce you will be using to toss the pasta in, you need to finish the garlic herb sauce as follows: Heat up some heavy cream in a saucepan, and then whisk the garlic herb butter into the cream. For 4 servings use about ¼ cup cream plus about ½ cup of the garlic herb butter. 

The Shrimp: Use the biggest and freshest your budget will allow.  Peel and devein them (leaving the tail shell on). Toss them with a marinade of chopped fresh garlic and herbs if you want a little extra flavor (let them sit about an hour, or even just a few minutes). Season them with some salt and pepper. Grill them if you have a grill handy, or just sauté them. Either way, after cooking, keep them warm (but not over direct heat) in the Garlic Herb Butter Sauce.  

Cooking the Pasta: 

Of course while the shrimp are cooking you need to cook your linguine. How much pasta is up to you but the general rule of thumb is 4 servings per pound of pasta. For this dish I would plan on getting 6 servings per pound because it is fairly rich. Remember to use a large pot with plenty of water when cooking pasta. It needs room to move around a little.

Also, be sure to add salt to the water – it should taste slightly salty. And cook it to the doneness that you like, but remember that “al dente” doesn’t mean that it gets stuck in your teeth when you eat it! 

To Assemble the Dish: 

Heat your Marinara sauce and keep warm. Reduce your heavy cream or heat your white sauce if you haven’t already done so). Toss the linguine in the white sauce. At the restaurant we twist the linguine into a tube shape with a large kitchen fork and place it on each plate.

Remove the shrimp from the sauce and place them on top of cooked linguine. Spoon a ribbon of each sauce on the plate as indicated in the photo at the top of the page (click on it for a larger view) using the rest of the garlic herb sauce in the pan for the green stripe. 

 

  Weekday Dinner Alternate Presentation: You could also do a much simpler dish for a weekday dinner by just tossing your pasta with your Marinara sauce then spooning the shrimp over the pasta followed by the remaining garlic herb sauce. You can skip the cream sauce entirely for this presentation.  

 

Either way, it’s a delicious dish, and I hope you will try it and let me know how you liked it. Please also comment if any part of the recipe is unclear.  

 

Remember, The Chef’s Got Your Back.  

* As Promised – White Sauce Alternatives: 

1)   Simple white sauce – I make it using whole milk thickened with a roux (equal parts flour and melted butter – you need about 1T. roux per 2 cups of milk – or until it’s about the consistency of heavy cream).   

2)  Lower Fat White Sauce – use cornstarch (diluted with just enough water to make it pourable) which you whisk into boiling 2% or nonfat milk (use the same ratio as for roux – about 1T. per 2 cups of milk). That will give you the feeling of eating a creamy sauce without the calories.    

Leave a Comment

Filed under Fish and Seafood, Holiday Dishes, Pastas, Ratio Recipes, Sauces, Winter Dishes

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 8, 2007 · 5:19 pm

Linguine with Grilled Shrimp Part 2

linguine-small.jpg

Last week, Dear Reader, I left you hanging by a thin strand of linguine waiting in suspense for the next installment of our recipe.

Well wait no longer! 

You have made your marinara sauce. You have stored it in the refrigerator ready to use. 

Remember that we are making the three colors of the Italian flag for this dish – so now for the green stripe. 

Linguine with Grilled Shrimp in Garlic Herb Butter: Part 2 

This is the real recipe star — garlic herb butter (in the pro kitchens we often call it “escargot butter” because it’s what we use to make those delicious baked Escargots de Bourgogne – the ones swimming in this delicious butter).  

This is another ratio recipe for you: 

Escargot Butter 

1 part Shallots, peeled and chopped

1 part Garlic, peeled and chopped

1 part Parsley, peeled and chopped

For 1 # Unsalted Butter (softened) use 1/3 cup of each item listed above. I do suggest you make this recipe with a pound of butter. You will find that you can use it in many different dishes so it’s great to have it on hand in the freezer.  

Method:

Chop the shallots, garlic, and parsley separately in the food processor, then combine (you don’t have to wash the bowl of the machine in between). Then you add your softened butter, puree until combined well, add salt to taste and you’re done!

It’s best to do this ahead of time then store in the refrigerator or freezer. I usually roll it in a log shape and wrap it in plastic wrap. See you in a few days for the last installment of our recipe, where our fearless hero shows you how to cook the pasta, grill the shrimp, and put it all together for a show-stopping creation! 

Remember, The Chef’s Got Your Back. 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Fish and Seafood, Holiday Dishes, Pastas, Ratio Recipes, Sauces, Winter Dishes

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,