playing with fire and water

lamb beans cypress

lamb tenderloin

5-bean pave: cannellini, flageolet, borlotto, cranberry, garbanzo

cypriot spice

peppadew gel

golden and mexican oregano

"Beans, beans, the magical fruit..."

You know the rest.

While there is nothing magical about flatulence, there are some that believe beans possess supernatural powers...

Jack certainly did when he traded in his cow.

So too did the Egyptians, who dedicated temples to beans and buried them in tombs.
Pythagoras believed beans contained souls in transit and banned their consumption.
Many cultures eat beans on New Years Day to bring good fortune in the coming year.

Magic, folklore, and superstition aside, beans do have an undeniable power. Nutritionists have long hailed legumes as a complete "superfood". High-fiber, low-fat, cholesterol-free, and the only food that fits into two food groups: vegetable and protein.

Besides, when well cooked and seasoned, they're just plain tasty.

 

 Cypress (Thuja) is a member of Cupressaceae and is commonly known as arbor vitae (tree of life) and Whitecedar or Redcedar, although they are not true cedars. They have been immortalized in European landscape paintings. 

Although cypress is used in herbal medicine to stimulate the immune system, it contains the terpene thujone, a potentially harmful substance in large doses that is regulated in food and drink. The levels of thujone in absinthe--provided by Artemisia--was once believed to cause psychotic behavior and led to its ban in the early twentieth century. The levels of thujone in Thuja is similar or less than those found in Artemesia, sage, juniper, and tansy.


 

Recommended reading:

"Beans: A History" by Ken Albala is an amusing and informative biography of the humble beans journey across continents and cultures.

montenebro

Montenebro is a cheese that is made from pasteurized goats milk. It is also known as Queso de Tietar, as it is only made in Valle de Tietar in the province of Avila in Castilla y Leon, Spain.

It is distinct from other goat cheese made in the region and is distinguished by its flattened log shape (said to be modeled after a Castilian mule's foot) and its soft, dark rind. Within the rind is a pale, creamy paste that is gloriously dense and creamy.

Montenebro is not a cheese for the meek--it is assertive and pungent with characteristic barnyard flavor, mellowed by notes of hazelnut and pine (enebro, in Spanish, is juniper). It demands to be enjoyed with bold flavors and wines with weight and intensity.

montenebro

eggplant roasted with ras el hanout

crispy lamb pancetta

date puree

quail egg

escarole

oloroso sherry

kimchi brown butter

Winter is kimchi-making time. In the past, I've made batches with cabbage, bok choy, and thinly sliced cauliflower. This year, I'm back to the traditional Chinese cabbage variety. 

Although kimchi is not in my culinary heritage, it holds an inextricable position in my family of deliciousness. Another esteemed member, brown butter--though seemingly disparate, has an affinity for kimchi. Linked by dimethyl sulfide, their symbiotic relationship feels like a toasty warm blanket on a cold winters night.

romanesco steak. buckwheat. lamb bacon. kimchi. brown butter.

serves 4

kimchi stock

If your kimchi has plenty of liquid, you can decrease the amount of vegetable stock. Adjust the finished stock with salt and additional spice and acid to make it vibrant.

500g (18 oz) kimchi

125g (4.5 oz) vegetable stock

Puree the kimchi with the stock in a blender. Strain through a chinoise. Reduce the stock by half.

romanesco steak

Cooking a thick cut of romanesco cauliflower in brown butter and kimchi infuses it with a nutty, meaty flavor with a kick of fiery spice.

2 1" thick crosscut slices of romanesco cauliflower, each cut in half

40g brown butter

100g kimchi stock

salt

Season the cauliflower with salt and place in sous vide bag with the brown butter and stock. Vacuum and seal bag. Sous vide at 85C for 20 minutes. keep warm.

lamb bacon

At the restaurant, we get saddles of lamb from Colorado. After they're broken down, we're left with sheets of creamy fat, striated with meat, from the backs. Because the sheets are thin, I glue 2-3 layers together and cure them to make bacon.

4 1/4" thick slices lamb bacon

Bake in a 300F oven until golden and crisp. Chop finely.

 buckwheat groats

Buckwheat groats, also known as kasha, are a psuedocereal as they do not grow from a grass. The cooked seeds have a nutty, mild mushroom flavor.

1 1/2 cups buckwheat groats

3 cups vegetable stock

1 tsp salt

In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add buckwheat and salt. Stir well, cover, and turn heat down to low. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Reserve half of the cooked groats to make puffed buckwheat. 

 

puffed buckwheat

reserved cooked buckwheat

2 cups canola oil

Drain buckwheat well and spread out in a single layer on dehydrator tray or on a baking sheet. Dehydrate or bake in a 150F oven until groats are hard, dry, and shriveled. Place the oil in a deep pan and heat to 375F. Drop dehydrated groats into hot oil in small batches. They will puff immediately. Scoop out with a fine mesh spoon and transfer to paper towels to dry. Repeat with remaining groats.

kimchi and brown butter emulsion

Glycerine flakes are a fatty acid ester that is soluble in fat. It has the ability to thicken oils and form  emulsions from fat and water-based mediums.

70g (2.5 oz) brown butter

11g (.40 oz) glycerine flakes

60g (2.10 oz) kimchi stock

salt

Place brown butter and glycerine flakes in a saucepan and heat over medium heat just until flakes melt. Place the stock in a bowl and gently heat over simmering water until lukewarm. Very slowly drizzle the oil into the stock while whisking vigorously. When all of the oil is incorporated, the mixture may look as if it is separating. Set the bowl into a larger bowl of cold water and whisk vigorously until mixture is smooth and stable. Season with salt. The emulsion can now be gently warmed by whisking over warm water.

to finish

Blackened garlic is made by roasting whole, unpeeled garlic cloves in a 325F oven until they are hard, dry  and black. Grated over a finished dish, they act as an earthy and mildly bitter seasoning. Store fragrant tubers such as ginger root, galangal, and tumeric in the freezer and microplane over a dish just before serving to brighten its aroma and flavor.

blackened garlic

frozen galangal

finely chopped kimchi

Arrange a half-slice of cauliflower on a plate. Next to the cauliflower, place a small mound of chopped kimchi. Cover the kimchi with the cooked buckwheat. Sprinkle with the puffed buckwheat. Make another mound of chopped lamb bacon next to the buckwheat. Place a dollop of warmed emulsion on the plate. Microplane the frozen galangal over the buckwheat. Microplane the blackened garlic over the cauliflower and emulsion.