chop A Culinary Playground

Clam and Corn Chowder

Even here in Hawaii we get a chilly day, this chowder is sure to warm you up.

Serves 4 -6

3    pounds manila clams, cleaned

1    cup sherry (not cooking the real stuff)

4    slices uncured bacon, cut in to 1 inch pieces

2    tablespoons butter

3    celery ribs, diced

1    medium white onion chopped (about 1 cup)

3    cups Yukon gold potatoes, diced

2    cups corn, freshly shucked or frozen

2    cups half and half

1    teaspoon thyme

Place clams and sherry in a pan over high heat, steam until clams just pop open. Strain clams reserving cooking liquor. Remove clams from shell.  Strain liquor through cheese cloth.

Saute bacon until crisp, add butter, celery, onion.  Cook until translucent. Add potatoes, corn,  half and half, cooking liquor, salt, pepper and thyme.  Cook for about ten minutes until potatoes are fork tender.  Add clams.  Serve warm.

Calamari Salad - A great way to start off the New Year

I served this salad for Christmas dinner but it is a great way to start the New Year because it is so light.

 

Serves 4

1 Pound calamari, rings and tentacles, cleaned

1/2 Yellow bell pepper, sliced

1/2 Red bell pepper, sliced

1/2 Orange bell pepper, sliced

1/2 Red Onion, sliced

1/4 Cup Italian parsley, chopped

2    Cloves garlic, minced

1/2 Cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 Cup red wine vinegar

1   Lemon, juiced

Salt and pepper

Quickly cook calamari in salted boiling water.  It should only cook for one minute.

Refresh in a ice bath and drain.

Toss with the rest of the ingredients.

Served chilled.

Fried Poke

I know it sounds absurd but wonder if you had some left over poke from your poke bar party? What could you make with the leftovers?  Fried Poke!

 
Fried Poke was made popular by Hawaii chef Sam Choy.  It is simple to make and tastes great.  Sam serves it several ways in his restaurant, as a salad, in a wrap, on rice.

Fried Poke

2    Cups poke, residual soy sauce drained off

2    Teaspoons peanut oil (can substitute any oil with

  high burn point)

1    Tablespoon furikaki (sesame seed and seaweed

      seasoning)

Heat a wok to high, add oil, and sear poke at the high heat for just a few seconds until it gets a little color.  You want the fish to remain very rare on the inside.  Remove from eat and sprinkle with furikake.

Gravlox

 

Gravlox seems a little intimidating but is a fairly easy way to prepare salmon with impressive results.

For 2 sides is salmon

2              Fillet sides of Salmon

1              cups fresh dill, chopped

1              cups sugar

1              cups kosher salt

4              tablespoons vodka

1              very clean glass of ceramic container

                Heavy weight such as a brick wrapped in plastic wrap, or

                a heavy can

Coat the fish fillets with dill.  Mix the sugar and salt together and pat all over salmon.   Make sure that the salmon is coated with salt and sugar mixture. Place in container, sprinkle with vodka, cover with plastic wrap.  Place weight on top.  Refrigerate for at least 3 days.  After three days liquid should have released.  The salmon’s texture will have changed and become firm.  Pat all excess liquid off and slice on against the grain.  Serve with flat bread or bagels.

  

Salmon and Watercress Salad

Here is another easy salad recipe. 

We bought a whole king salmon to make gravlox.  The fishmonger cleaned the fish and filleted it, we asked him to give us the kamas (collar), head and bones.  With the Kama I made No Recipes Salmon Miso Soup.  The head and bones will go in to a fish fume.  Out of the two large fillets we took the center cuts to make two fillets for gravlox. Then we portioned out eight smaller fillets which we froze for later use.  Fatty belly portion  is on the bottom of the fillet.   We marinated the belly and were going to BBQ it and use it for salmon sushi rolls but it was a hectic day and wanted to make something simpler.  So instead, I broiled it and made Asian style pasta and topped it with the salmon belly.  So, why am I writing about a salad?  Well the pasta got gobbled up by my hungery family and they did not leave me a portion to photograph.  I did however have a small portion of the belly left and I made this salad  the next day.

2              Ounces broiled salmon belly

1              Handful watercress

½             Turnip, julienne

                Few slices of Red Onion

                Drizzle of Sesame Oil

½             Blood orange, juiced

                Salt and Pepper

Toss together and enjoy, makes one portion

Hawaii has a unique watercress farm in the middle of a busy city and shopping area, The owners stood their ground as urban sprawl grew around them. Here is a great video about Sumida Farm. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfzAE1kTAVM

 

 

Seafood with Fregola

My refrigerator went out this week.  I was able to salvage some things.  One thing that I had in the freezer was 3 quarts of shrimp stock.  So I decided to make Paella.  It was a good time to make it since my son who is allergic to shellfish is off to Santa Barbara for a sailing regatta (lucky).

So I set off to Whole Foods to get the seafood and to buy some rice.   While the seafood selection was great, especially some really nice farmed raised Kauai shrimp, I could not find any suitiable rice. Thinking that I still had some Callaspara rice at home I did not pursue looking for rice.  When I got home I discovered that I did not have any rice but what I did have was a product that I had never used or had before Fregola, a small round baked pasta from Sardinia.  I had picked it up a few weeks ago from a speciality food store but was a little hesitant to use it.   In my research it was often compared to Isreali Cous Cous and I am not a big fan of Israeli Cous Cous.  So I decided to experiment and made a Paella with it.  The final dish was heavan, probably the best thing that I have made in a long time.  The Fregola added a wonderful toasted element, I am not sure that I will ever go back to rice.  I did not measure anything when making this so I don’t feel comfortable giving measurements but I will give a list of ingrediants.

 

Seafood Fregola

Fregola

Sardinian Extra Virgin Olive Oil (ok it doesn’t need to be Sardinian, but I had some so what the heck)

Dried Chorizo

Onion

Garlic

Kauai Shrimp

Calamari

Scallops

Little neck Calms

Marrianted Mussels

Saffron

Shrimp Stock

Tomato

Chicken wings which I dusted with Smoked Paprika and roasted first

Fresh Meyer Lemon juice

What is the best Paella you have ever had, mine was at Romero’s in Tangier.