and curiously

 

I’m a sucker for unexpected ice cream flavors (exhibit a). And, I don’t know about you guys, but whenever we had Neapolitan ice cream at various summer camp type events as a kid, we always went straight for vanilla or chocolate. Strawberry got left behind. I always felt bad for it and its weirdly pink hue, like it was blushing. It’s cool, strawberry. I know what it’s like to be picked last in sports.

Sorry, that got surprisingly real surprisingly quickly. Anyways, with a glut of strawberries from our CSA that were past their prime and David Lebovitz’ talk about how miso in ice cream would give me a “rich butterscotch flavor,” I was sold. So, into the oven went my strawberries, with a hint of vinegar, while I dug around my fridge for the mildest miso paste I could find.

Roasting the strawberries intensifies their flavor and reduces their water content, so you end up with ice cream that tastes like actual strawberries that’s minimally icy. And the miso? It’s definitely noticeable, but it’s this slightly salty, funky, rich sense you get eating the ice cream. But it’s good. I brought a bunch to a BBQ hosted by a friend, and unexpectedly, the kids went wild for this flavor. Maybe kids just like ice cream?

Strawberry Miso Ice Cream
From David Lebovitz

1 pound strawberries
3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
pinch of black pepper

1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
5 large egg yolks
2 Tablespoons white or otherwise mild miso (reduce to 1 Tablespoon if using regular miso)
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preferably one day before ice cream churning, 2 days before serving:

First, roast the strawberries. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Remove tops of strawberries and quarter them. Scatter the berries onto a baking dish and toss with sweetener, vinegar, and pepper.

Roast in the oven, leaving mostly undisturbed (you can turn them once or twice) until the juice has released and thickened, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, scrape into a bowl, and let cool. Once they’re cool, you can cut the berries up using a knife or scissors (straight in the bowl works).

Then, make the ice cream custard. Heat the milk and sugar in a saucepan over low heat.

While the milk is warming, place a medium bowl in a large bowl filled with ice and water. Pour the cream into the medium bowl. (This is to keep the cream quite cold and cool the custard once you’re finished with it.)

In another, whisk together the egg yolks and miso. Temper the eggs by pouring a bit of the warm milk into the yolks, whisking constantly. Repeat until the yolks are close in temperature to the milk. Then, pour the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with silicon spatula or wooden utensil. Heat until you the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon and you can draw a line through the coating. (If you have a thermometer, this is around 165˚ to 170˚ F. Pour the custard into the bowl of heavy cream. Stir (still in the ice bath) until cool. Let the mixture chill completely in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.

To finish the ice cream, mix in the roasted strawberries into the custard. Churn in your ice cream maker, and then let the finished ice cream harden up in the freezer, preferably overnight.

The temperature outdoors and my desire to cook anything are inversely related. So, with the temperature creeping up, I’ve been leaning heavily on the “double salad” meal, epitomized by the above. One is the usual affair of dressed fresh greens. But don’t worry, I still strongly subscribe to the idea that vinegary lettuce doe snot a meal make. This is where the other salad comes into play. This salad is usually a bit more filling, with legumes, or hearty vegetables, or grains. It’s required that this salad keeps well, so I can sneak bites straight out of the Tupperware, after dinner, or coming home from a bike ride, or even as I’m packing it up.

Double salad meal, you guys. It’s not as grim as it sounds. In fact, it’s sort of delightful, especially when you’ve got power players like Ottolenghi on your side. Many of you know that I’m, like, really into Ottolenghi recipes. What can I say? The man knows how to celebrate a vegetable. Or legume, as it were. I love a good mung bean, but I’m used to having them as dessert (more on being seriously Asian and eating sweet beans as dessert later). I think this recipe would convert those on the fence, though, with the tangy dressing, sweet carrots, hearty mung beans, and salty pockets of feta.

Carrot and Mung Bean Salad
Adapted from Plenty More, but also online on The Guardian

2/3 cup dried mung beans (green)
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
3 large carrots
a pinch of sugar
1 1/2 cups cilantro
lemon juice / lemon zest
small handful of feta cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 425˚F.

Bring a saucepan of water to boil. While you are waiting for water to boil, mince the garlic, wash the carrots, and cut the carrots into carrot sticks that are roughly pinky-sized.

When water’s boiled, add the mung beans and simmer until they are just barely done, about 20 minutes.

While the beans are cooking, add the carrots, 1/3 cup water, 2 tablespoons of oil, and a pinch of sugar to a roasting pan. Toss to coat, and roast in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until the water has evaporated and the carrots are slightly caramelized. This makes pretty soft carrots, which I eventually came around to, but if you prefer a firmer texture, skip the water and sugar and just roast the carrots, maybe finishing with a touch of honey.

When the beans are done cooking, drain and add to a serving bowl. Immediately drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil, minced garlic, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, and vinegar, while the beans are still hot. Mix gently.

Add roasted carrots, mix, and finish with cilantro, feta chunks, and salt and pepper to taste.

Sorry I went and mucked up something as beloved as the burrito bowl. Nothing is sacred; nothing will be spared and left un-quick-pickled in my reign of terror.

And, ironically, I write to you today hungrily from in an airplane, and all I want is an enormous Chipotle burrito bowl for some reason. I mean, I want this gussied-up burrito bowl, but perhaps my memories of my kitchen and the quick pickle have faded so that the closest thing I can visualize is Chipotle. Or, maybe I just want a damn burrito bowl. I’ve had a long day of trying to make it across the country with little success, so please bear with me.

But I remember this bowl fondly! It was hearty but fresh, smokey from the vegetables and tofu but piquant from the pickles, and rich from the avocado and yogurt. This one’s another remix / non-recipe post, since each component was simply prepared or a small tweak on something I’ve already posted.

From the top, clockwise we have:

• Black beans (from a can but warmed with a bit of liquid, a clove of garlic, a bay leaf, and a shake of hot sauce)
• Zucchini roasted with chili powder (Cube, toss with olive oil, chile powder, salt, and pepper, roast at 375˚ until slightly charred)
• Caramelized onions
• Cooked brown rice
• Shredded romaine lettuce
• Baked tofu with chile powder and cumin
• Sliced avocado, Greek yogurt, cilantro, scallions, and salsa
• Quick-pickled fennel and radishes (submerge sliced radishes and fennel in lemon juice)

I like traveling, but can I go home, yet? I haven’t had a vegetable in days. Miss u, veggies.