Post-holiday Simple

I don't know about y'all, but last week was sort of a post-holiday slump for me in the cooking department. Everything was simple, tried and true, with only a little innovation.  Two dishes stood out from the rest.

Fried Parsnips and Lemon Glazed Salmon

I found a bag of parsnips in the veg drawer of the fridge – uncooked leftovers from Christmas Dinner. So I started looking for something to do with them other than just peeling and roasting That's when I discovered the idea of frying them like French fries! The Chinese might call these Twice-Cooked Parsnips, because first you boil them, then you fry them.

1 lb Parsnips

2-3 Tbsp Masa or AP Flour for dusting

1/2 cup Butter and 1/2 cup Oil for frying

Peel the parsnips and then slice them lengthwise into quarters and then small “sticks”; try to get all the sticks about the same thickness so they cook the same way. Bring a pot of water to a hard boil, and boil the parsnips for 10 minutes on medium-high. Drain and cool and pat dry.

In a bag toss together the parsnips, salt to taste, and the masa or flour, and then the parsnips.  Shake to coat the sticks.   In a large skillet of hot oil (400 F or more), fry the sticks until GB&D (golden, brown and delicious).  Drain, sprinkle with salt again and serve.

Lemon Marmalade Glazed Salmon

Make a batch of lemon marmalade: chop three lemons and put everything in a blender or food processor – meat, juice, skin, seeds, all of it. Take the fruit for a whirrr until it sort looks like marmalade – small bits of skin in the fruit puree.

Measure the fruit into a large microwave safe glass bowl, and add the same measure (cup for cup) of sugar (white, brown turbinado, whatever). Stir to combine; then taste. Too sweet, add another half lemon; too tart, add a quarter cup more sugar; until you get the taste you want. 

Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Stir and taste again, adjusting the flavor if necessary. Microwave another 5 minutes, then spoon into a screw top jar or two. Cool to room temp before refrigerating.

Brush a couple tablespoons of that lemon marmalade on each salmon filet before you bake them on a non-stick surface at 450 F for 12-15 minutes. Serve with fried parsnips or whatever you choose.

Mongetes and Sausage

Mongetes is a Catalonian-Spanish dish of fried white beans, usually served with the regional sausage called butifara.  Our area has bupkis for real Spanish sausage, so I substituted Bratwurt from my German heritage. Beans and flavorful sausage always go well together.

First you cook the beans al dente from dried, then drain and dry them thoroughly. Secondly, you fry them in a splash of EVOO with a couple tablespoons of Spanish Salsa Verde (which is more like a pesto than what American call 'salsa') for flavoring. 

2 cups cooked White Beans

2 Tbsp Spanish Salsa Verde

4 Bratwurst or similar flavorful and not high-fat sausages

For the Salsa Verde:

3/4 cup flat-leaf Parsley

2-3 Tbsp minced Garlic

1/3 cup EVOO

1/4 cup Panko or powdered croutons

Salt to taste - start with just a pinch

Combine the Salsa Verde ingredients in a blender or food processor, and whirrr until well combined. Reserve. Can be stored in the fridge for a week or more, covered.

Cook the beans according to package directions until just tender. Don't bother with any of that nonsense about soaking beans overnight or even short term. It has been proven any number of times that soaking does not shorten the cooking time or alter the flavor of any bean in any way. Drain and dry thoroughly.

Hint: a tablespoon of ground Thyme in the cooking water does add to the flavor of any bean in a very favorable way.

You'll need to multi-task and cook the beans and sausage at the same time. Start by laying down a little EVOO in each skillet, and get the heat to medium-high.

Cook the sausages, turning regularly until they are as done as you like (some folks like lots of crispy-black, the rest of us don't).

Meanwhile fry the beans in a single layer, turning gently to coat them with oil. When they begin to brown, scatter a couple tablespoons of the salsa verde over the pan and stir it into the mix. 

Continue cooking the beans a few minutes more until they are infused with the flavor of the salsa.