The Houndstooth Gourmet

Verdant. That’s what comes to mind with chimichurri sauce. Well, that and Rachel Ray because she says “verdant” all the time. Damn. Anyway, chimichurri is a sauce that is said to have originated in Argentina. It’s used on steak and chorizo, but would be great on chicken too. The greens in chimichurri lend an earthy note, while the acid gives sharp notes that enhance the flavor of the meat in a manner similar to a gremolata.

Did I mention garlic? Yes, you will want to be sure that you and your significant other both eat the sauce because you will have garlic coming out of your pores when you eat chimichurri! You’ll be a one-person vampire repellent, and on a brighter note, you’ll be reaping the many purported health benefits from these amazing stinky cloves.Chimichurri is very easy to make in mere minutes, but your best bet is to make it at least an hour before serving to allow the flavors to mingle. Now, there are many variations on chimichurri sauce-some are made with parsley, some with cilantro. I think it depends on your taste and what you have on hand. For example, this version include cilantro, but you could omit it and just use parsley. You can add paprika, or fresh bay leaves too.

My method goes like this: into a food processor, throw in a bunch of parsley and a bunch of cilantro (go ahead and throw the stems in too), juice of one lemon, 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, about a teaspoon of dried oregano, a pinch of red pepper flakes, 2 cloves garlic (if you want more, go for it!), 1/4 red onion,  salt and pepper. Turn the food processor on and slowly drizzle in about 1/3-1/2 cup of olive oil until you get a thick soup consistency. Adjust seasoning to taste. Cover tightly and refrigerate for an hour if you have the time.

Tags: herbs, Recipe, sauce, steak by Ramona
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Plums had been showing up at my local farmers markets and their aubergine beauty drew me to them.

I dabbled in a plum upside down cake yet still had a handful leftover. They were beginning to look a little sad and shriveled so “what to do with them?”, I thought. It’s fall and I begin to think about roasts and turkey married with delicious fruits. “Ah, a sauce!”.
Here’s a recipe for a sauce using plums and savory herbs. The flavors compliment meats such as pork, chicken, turkey and veal.

Enjoy.

What you’ll need:

For the sauce.

Ingredients:

8 prune plums or 2 black plums halved, pitted and sliced
3 Tbsp. raspberry jam
1 Tbsp. butter
1 shallot diced fine
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary chopped fine (or 2 tsp. dry)
1 Tbsp. fresh sage chopped fine (or 1 tsp. dry)
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add herbs and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken stock and plums. Simmer in covered pan for 10 minutes, until plums are completely softened. Add jam and balsamic vinegar. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add butter, salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate.

This sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead, or frozen and gently reheated when ready to use.

For the pork.

Turn on broiler and place rack 6-8 inches below broiler.
Pat 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick boneless pork chops dry. Salt and pepper each side. Place pork chops in a pan lined with heavy duty aluminum foil.
Place pan on rack under broiler and broil on each side for 5 minutes. Turn off broiler and set oven to 425 degrees. Allow pork chops to continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 145-150 degrees. Allow pork chops to rest for 8-10 minutes before serving with plum sauce.

For cleaning.

Ingredients:

1 dishwasher

1 Bichon Frise

* Weekend Herb Blogging is a weekly event sponsored by Kalyn’s Kitchen and hosted by Ulrike at Küchenlatein this week.

Tags: fruit, pork, Recipe, sauce by Ramona
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OK. So I got a little silly when making tomato sauce. What’s food for if not to play with once in a while?

If you follow along with me here at The Houndstooth Gourmet, you know that I’m a big fan of farmers markets and seasonal cooking. Last week, part of my market harvest was tomato seconds which I bought to make fresh tomato sauce using Marcella Hazan’s basic recipe. It’s more like a method than an recipe with exact measurements.

First, I cored the tomatoes and sliced them in half. Using a heavy pan, I cooked them covered, over medium heat for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally. When the tomatoes were softened, I ran them through a food mill and returned the strained tomatoes to the pan.

Next, I added a peeled onion, cut in half, and about 5 tablespoons of butter (see Mr. Tomato Head above). This was cooked at a low simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Discard the onion before refrigerating or freezing.

I salted the tomato sauce throughout the reduction process, being careful not to load all the salt at the beginning because the sauce concentrates as it simmers away.

Nine tomatoes yielded almost 2 quarts of simple, delicious sauce.

Note: You can use canned tomatoes for this recipe, but avoid using tomatoes packed in puree. Puree tomatoes are cooked and this detracts from the fresh brightness of this tomato sauce.

Serving ideas: This sauce is great for gnocchi and pastas such as spaghetti or linguine. How about serving it with my meatballs? (good idea!) Serve with fresh shredded basil and grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese.

Tags: Recipe, sauce, tomatoes by Ramona
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