Yesterday was the weekly market, so I went over to poke around- grabbing a couple of huge nappa cabbage for the next batch of kimchi, since ours got either eaten by slugs or are too small- and to pick up some fish. Gerard actually took the week off, but did bring John and me some lovely sardines because John is famous and I am, well, special. So I ran home and put some dinner together.
I steamed half a cauliflower, and when soft I blended it with pimentón, yogurt, salt, and truffle oil. There was some leftover plain quinoa, so I tossed it with olive oil, kimchi juice, and leftover bitter green mash to make a pretty nice pilafy thing. The fish I seared in the iron pan with garlic and thyme, then removed them and made an insta-escabeche by deglazing with sherry vinegar, lemon juice, beer, tomato paste, more herbs, and a little mustard. Normally, of course, one marinates the fish in this overnight, but I just used it as a sauce. It worked decently; the sharp acidity is just what nice oily fish like these cry out for. Marjoram flowers made a pretty and tasty garnish.
Tomorrow will be a busy day of kimchi, stock, and bread-making, plus smoking more bacon if there’s time. At the market yesterday I ordered a big-ass hunk of pork belly for next week to make us a winter’s worth of bacon.
Who's John? Have I heard of him? Probably not. But I HAVE heard of you, which means you're more famous than John. So there.
How much bacon do you think will last a winter for a family of three? I've been considering doing the same, and don't know how much to estimate. Fortunately, our local SuperTarget carries Niman Ranch bacon, for the time being.
Hubba hubba–looks tasty!
That's food. Nice. I've only grilled sardines outdoors; gotta cowboy up and try the cast iron pan.
It looks fantastic, but I haven't had much luck with sardines. Mostly, they never taste as good as they look.
And yes, you are very special.
love sardines. jonny could eat them every day. curious about the truffle oil and the oiliness of the fish. very interesting flavor combo – love that you did the cauliflower puree to go w/ it.
we all know how special you are. you're good enough, smart enough and gosh darnit people like you.
Kristie: I ordered a whole belly- about 11 pounds.
Denise: Yep. I love the oily fish.
CC: It's not so grilly, but it does the job. Grilled is better.
Brooke: Try the grill.
Amy: You like me? You really like me?