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Paper Chef #5: Stuffed Squid, Savory Cheesecake, and Proscuitto "Candy"
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April 03, 2005
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When I first read the ingredient list for this month's Paper Chef, I was a little worried. Prosciutto, sherry vinegar, and goat cheese are all fairly common items around here, but I've never really noticed green garlic in any of the stores that I frequent. I called four or five nearby grocery stores just in case. Sure enough, no one carried it. Most of the produce managers had never even heard of it. It looked as though we'd have to substitute regular garlic, which annoyed me.
Our last hope was the Irvine Farmer's Market, which just happens to be across the street from us. Rebecca went there to investigate while I did some final kitchen cleanup. I was expecting her to come home empty-handed, so I was quite surprised to see her bearing green garlic from three different vendors! As a side note, they called it "young garlic" or "fresh garlic" instead of "green garlic"; if you're calling around for it, you might try these terms when the produce manager says "no, we only have the white kind".
First, a note on prosciutto. I don't know why it's so often served in paper-thin slices, wrapped around other food items. I can only assume that cutting it thinly is a way to stretch it, since it is so expensive. I think it's usually too chewy to be enjoyed this way. I prefer to get a few thickly cut slices , dice them small, and then saute them to get some caramelization (well, okay, technically it's a maillard reaction, but who is picking nits?). This is the procedure that I used in the main dishes.
In this savory "cheesecake", green garlic bulbs are minced and sauteed until they are mildly sweet. They are then mixed in with goat cheese, mascarpone, and eggs and poured on top of a shortbread crust in a springform pan and baked in a water bath. While the cheesecake is in the oven, a maple/sherry vinegar gastrique is prepared (caramelize some brown sugar, add a bit of maple syrup, then dissolve the result in an equal volume of sherry vinegar), diced prosciutto is sauteed, and the two are combined for the topping.
The result is served warm and as a result has a texture more like a heavy souffle or a light quiche than a dessert cheesecake. It wasn't nearly as good cold; I suspect it would need some sugar in order to succeed as a more traditional cheesecake, if not enough to make it actually sweet. I haven't provided an explicit recipe because I feel it could do with some tweaking, but I thought it was a promising direction, and the guests seemed to agree.
Squid Stuffed with Seafood and Green Garlic Risotto
The risotto is straightforward:
- Saute 2 cups chopped green garlic and the 1/2 cups diced prosciutto in olive oil.
- Add 3 cups uncooked Arborio rice and stir, cooking until translucent.
- Add 1 1/2 cups white wine and a shot of Pernod. Stir until it is mostly absorbed.
- Add a cup of hot seafood stock. Stir until it is absorbed. Repeat ad infinitum.
- When the rice has about three minutes left, add two cups or more of mixed seafood chopped into bite-sized pieces. Shrimp, mussels, lobster, crab, and scallops all work well, but feel free to use whatever is available.
- At the very end, crumble in 6 oz of goat cheese, diced fresh herbs (I used tarragon and the green ends of the garlic) and stir through.
This risotto is good enough to stand on its own, but of course this is Paper Chef -- we had to take it one step further.
- Take your washed and cleaned squid bodies. Stuff them 1/3 full of the risotto. You read that right! The squid bodies will shrink quite substantially, so if you don't want them to split during cooking, be careful!
- Bake in a covered, lightly greased casserole for about an hour.
- In the meantime, add 1 cup of seafood stock and 1/2 cup of white wine. Reduce by half. Add a tablespoon or two of sherry vinegar and 1/2 cup of heavy cream.
- Plate the squid bodies atop a small mound of risotto, and ladle a tablespoon or two of the sauce on top.
We didn't have enough squid bodies to go around, so the other servings were topped with seared fresh ono fillet. That is one tasty fish. It is no accident that "ono" means "good to eat" in Hawaiian.
Prosciutto and Goat Cheese "Candy"
The purest expression of the ingredients was prepared by Rebecca. A green garlic and goat cheese puree, a dab of the sherry vinegar gastrique, and a piece of a date are wrapped in proscuitto -- thin slices this time. The ends are pinched like little candy wrappers. The little packages are then sauteed briefly to crisp the prosciutto. The result is a tasty little morsel that's greater than the sum of its parts.
In Summary
This was a fun menu to work with. Despite the fact that all three of the dishes featured all four of the Paper Chef ingredients, none of them tasted alike. In each, the key ingredients are experienced in different ways. Green garlic, for instance, is suffused throughout the fluffy goat cheese mixture in the first; in the second the coarsely chopped pieces can be eaten individually, and the minced green tops lend an herbaceous note to the finished product. While it's the textural elements of the goat cheese that's strongly experienced in the cheesecake, they are completely absent in the risotto, where the cheese's primary contribution is a perfect tangy-sour backdrop to the seafood flavors.
What will enter my permanent repertoire? The prosciutto candies are good appetizers (though we served them as dessert). I'll continue to work on the savory cheesecake -- it has the potential to be quite good. I'll buy ono when I see it, despite the general consensus that mahimahi is better. The goat cheese - seafood risotto is an excellent combination that I've never had before and was, in my opinion, the catch of the day. I may try to develop this into a signature dish.
April 3, 2005 in appetizers, blog_events, main_dishes | Permalink
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Comments
Fantastic, I especially love your prosciutto candies.
Posted by: Carpal Fish at Apr 5, 2005 5:57:37 AM
Wow - three great dishes! I thought the squid and risotto sounded best myself and I'm looking forward to trying to make all three.
Posted by: Owen at Apr 5, 2005 11:09:21 PM
oh, I never got to see those green garlic before it was cooked. The cheesecake was awesome, and as it was served warm it brought in the special blending of the taste. I think garlic was the king of the day..
Posted by: shoeseal at May 1, 2005 2:28:51 AM
Hello,
I am a green garlic or spring garlic or young garlic grower in Houston Texas. I grow this jewel Hydroponically year round. Yes you are correct its a hidden healthiest form of garlic. I am trying to make it known to people in Houston but may not make it. Its available in Central Market in Houston.
Posted by: Dilip Naik at Nov 2, 2005 9:11:00 AM
