The Simple Joys of Mirepoix

I'm teaching my husband how to cook. He helps me with my mise en place on big recipes, stirs and flips, and keeps an eye on slow braises and stews. It's a great thing to have an extra set of hands in the kitchen.


In teaching him, I've tried to follow the guidelines I learned in cooking school so long ago. We've started with knife skills and are moving on to stocks and soups. He's a slow prep cook and I give him a hard time about it. I don't know if it's just that I'm quick or if he truly is as slow as the culinary sloth I think he is.


I haven't really been strict about teaching the fundamental cuts for vegetables (brunoise, baton, small, medium, and large dice). It's now become a priority. If I don't specify right up front the exact size I want the vegetables, they are likely to become very small dice. He really likes to cut things small, he thinks it takes more skill and he's anxious to please. But most of the time these little bits are too small. I can sometimes turn them into a good thing, pureeing them into a sauce as a final step. But, most of the time, they turn to mush before the dish has finished cooking.


One of Bruce's most favorite lessons in cooking has been the basic mirepoix (onion, carrots and celery). The novice cook may not appreciate these three basic ingredients. But the knowledgeable chef knows the value of this first step in most any classic dish. Mirepoix is the first set of ingredients for almost all stocks, soups, stews, braises, and roasts in French cooking. Whether vegetarian or meat filled, all dishes are enhanced by starting with these three vegetables cooked slowly (sweated) in a little olive oil or butter. These simple ingredients become magically fragrant and add an amazing richness to home cooked foods. They fill the kitchen and the house with the warm savory fragrance of ... home, of food lovingly prepared, of something good, simmering slowly.


We love garlic and often add a few cloves in after the vegetables has been sweating over a nice low heat to add a distinct piquant richness that only garlic can. There are a few different varieties of mirepoix with other such additions or subtractions. Here are a few I find useful:



Cajun or Southern Mirepoix: Onions, Celery and Green Peppers

Southwest or Mexican Mirepoix: White Onion, Garlic, Chile Peppers

Indian Basic Aromatics: Onion, Chiles, Garlic, Ginger cooked in Ghee (clarified butter)

Italian: add a few cloves of garlic; use olive oil instead of butter or a combination of both

White Mirepoix: Onions, Celery and Parsnips (leeks and mushrooms often added)

Bruce's Chile and Spice Rub

Last summer when grilling season was in full swing I pulled out my Bobbie Flay cookbooks and used them as inspiration for quite a few meals. I was impressed by the bold flavors and spice combinations. We used his recipes as a starting point for our own creations.
Yes, I said, OUR. As always when grilling is involved, the man of the house becomes quickly interested in dinner preparation, as he is the expret on the proper execution of a barbecued meal.
When the holidays rolled around I was looking for a simple but fabulous food gift for friends and family. A spice rub came to mind and I began my research to create something tasty and inspired. I pulled out an article from 1995 that I had clipped from Bon Appetit. It had a few different spice mixtures I thought were interesting 13 years ago. But now they seemed tired and had no WOW factor.
So Bobby Flay's books came out again and we revisited his Ancho chile and coffee rubbed steaks recipe. I went to Penzey's spice store and bought a whole bunch of corriander seed, cumin seeds, ancho chile powder, chipotle chile powder and a few other interesting bits.
I came home with my treasures and Bruce and I went to work mixing up a huge batch of spice mix. We toasted all the spices that were whole seeds, which quickly filled the house with a
pungent, acrid spice smell and put us in the mood to create. We ground them finely using my old coffee grinder that had been sacrificed to the exotic aromas of spices years ago.
I found some whole cane sugar which had a wonderful earthiness to it. We pulled out my Illy ground espresso beans. Now we were ready to mix.
The ingredients are listed below from most to least used, but the amounts should be adjusted according to your own taste.
Like it spicy? Add more ancho chile powder.
Love garlic? Pour the garlic powder freely!
Need some smokiness? Use a little more ground chipotle chile.
If sweet is your thing, be heavy handed with the sugar.

The intensity of the flavors as well as the smoky / coffee flavor lend themselves to beef, but pork could handle it too! Just be sure to rub a crushed clove of garlic all over your meat before liberally coating it with the rub.

Enjoy!

Bruce's Chile and Spice Rub

Ingredients:
Coriander Seed
Cumin Seed
Whole Cane Sugar
Espresso Beans
Ground Chipotle Chile
Ancho Chile Powder
Sea Salt
Granulated Garlic
Ground Black Pepper

The Persimmon Salad

This salad recipe comes from a long time friend, Becky who has hosted the annual holiday party for our women's group for the past few years. I had never eaten a persimmon salad before. I had eaten persimmons fresh, in cakes and baked goods, jams and preserves, but never in a salad. This salad has a lot going on with really very few ingredients and none too exotic. I don't know it's origins, ethnicity or from which culture it came. I believe Becky said it came from a Sunset magazine article. During last year's party she served it using walnuts instead of pecans and walnut oil in the dressing. It maters not where it came. It's a great salad.

Fuyu persimmons are available from fall through most of the winter. Pick pale orange ones that are firm to the touch, the dark more red ones are more mushy and not as good in a salad.
Enjoy!

Persimmon Salad

(as served at Yolanda's holiday party for the Latin Va girls)

Ingredients

7 Fuyu persimmons
1 Bunch cilantro
1/2 Pomegranate
2 Limes
3 Tablespoons Avocado oil (or Olive oil)
1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Roasted Pecans (toast in a hot dry skillet until fragrant)
1 Head of Romaine lettuce

Method

Peel and cut the tops off the persimmons. Cut into bite size pieces. Put into a large bowl.

Wash and dry the cilantro. Remove the leaves and chop fine. Sprinkle it over the persimmons in the bowl.

In a bowl of water, cut the pomegranate in half and gently pull it apart and remove the seeds from one half. Remove any white membrane from between the seeds. Collect the seeds, place on a paper towel to drain a bit and then put them in the bowl as well.

Squeeze the lime juice into a small bowl and then add the cumin, Cayenne, salt and oil. Whisk with a fork.

Pour the dressing over the persimmons and gently mix well with a large spoon. Taste for salt and add more if necessary.

Core the head of Romaine lettuce and cut into bite size pieces. Chop the toasted pecans into small bits.

Serving

Line a serving bowl with the Romaine lettuce, spoon the salad over the greens, garnish with the chopped pecans.