Sauce

May – Carrot and Saffron Socca
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May – Carrot and Saffron Socca

Saffron Socca or chickpea pancake seasoned with saffron and topped with thinly sliced carrots and radishes, garnished with a carrot top pesto

Carrot and Saffron Socca

What is socca? It’s a pancake made with chickpea flour. A more complete explanation comes from Google:

Farinata, socca, torta di ceci, or cecina is a type of thin, unleavened pancake or crêpe made from chickpea flour. It originated in Italy and later became a typical food of the Ligurian Sea coast, from Nice to Sardinia and Elba islands. It is also typical in Gibraltar, where it is called calentita.

Socca is gluten-free and dairy free. In this recipe crumbled feta is added to the salad, leave it out for a dairy-free and vegan meal.

The recipe comes from salad freak by Jess Damuck.

There are a couple of ways I will change this when I make it next time. Suggestion number one has to do with the batter. The socca batter is baked in a 12-inch cast-iron or round griddle pan. The pancake was quite thick and although it was crisp on the outside, it was more like a regular fluffy pancake in the middle. The salad makes enough for two pancakes. And there is enough batter to make two thinner pancakes, which would be crisper.

Suggestion number two is that I would dress the salad with a tablespoon of mild vinegar, two of olive oil, salt, and pepper. The pesto would be dolloped on top, each person could mix it in as desired. I felt it was lost as a dressing for the salad.

I plan to make this again very soon with the changes noted above. Meanwhile, I will post this as it was written in the book, let me know what you think.

Saffron Socca or chickpea pancake seasoned with saffron and topped with thinly sliced carrots and radishes, garnished with a carrot top pesto

Carrot and Saffron Socca

Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch of fresh carrots with their tops. Peel the carrots and reserve the tops
  • 2 lemons
  • 3 radishes
  • 3 scallions
  • Fresh chives with their flowers
  • 1/3 cup of feta cheese, crumbled
  • Big pinch of saffron
  • 1 cup of chickpea flour
  • 1 cup of lukewarm water
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of olive oil

For the pesto and salad:

  • 1/3 cup of olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup of sliced almonds, toasted
  • Crushed red pepper flakes

 

Saffron Socca or chickpea pancake seasoned with saffron and topped with thinly sliced carrots and radishes, garnished with a carrot top pesto

 

Method:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, and place a 12-inch cast-iron skillet or round griddle inside

Prepare the socca batter –

  1. Add a big pinch of saffron to the 1 cup of lukewarm water, and let it seep for 10 minutes.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup of chickpea flour and 1 teaspoon of salt (kosher), add the saffron water and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Whisk until smooth and set aside.

Prepare the pesto –

  1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil.
  2. Put a bowl of water in the sink with some ice cubes, this will be your ice bath.
  3. Remove the tops for the carrots, discarding any tough stems or wilted leaves. Rinse the tops well until clean. Add them to the boiling water and cook for about 30 seconds, until bright green. Transfer the tops to the ice bath with a slotted spoon or spider. Once cool, remove the tops and squeeze out any excess moisture. Spread them on paper towels or a tea towel to dry completely.
  4. Once dry, finely chop them in a small bowl. Stir in 1/3 cup of olive oil, the zest and juice of 1 lemon, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Taste and season with salt. (I used a mini food processor for this step.)

Prepare the salad –

  1. Using a Y-peeler or a mandoline, create thin ribbons from the carrots.
  2. Thinly slice the radishes.
  3. Add both vegetables to the ice bath used for the carrot tops. This will crisp them while you cook the socca.
  4. Slice the scallions and chives (if using)

Make the socca –

  1. Carefully remove the preheated pan from the oven and place it on top of the stove.
  2. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the scallions and cook until softened.
  3. Carefully pour the batter into the pan and return it to the oven.
  4. Bake until golden brown and completely set – 10 to 12 minutes. For additional color, you can broil it for a couple of minutes.

Assemble –

  1. Drain the carrots and radishes, pat them dry, and add them to a bowl. Toss with a few spoonfuls of the pesto, 1/2 cup of toasted almonds, 1/3 cup of crumbled feta, and the chives.
  2. Scatter this mixture on top of the socca and serve with the pepper flakes on the side.
Saffron Socca or chickpea pancake seasoned with saffron and topped with thinly sliced carrots and radishes, garnished with a carrot top pesto

Carrot and Saffron Socca

 

Saffron Socca or chickpea pancake seasoned with saffron and topped with thinly sliced carrots and radishes, garnished with a carrot top pesto

Carrot and Saffron Socca

Everything could be made ahead, baked, and assembled at the last minute. Other recipes I have seen for socca call for letting the batter rest, in the fridge, for several hours. The salad would be more flavorful if it had a chance to soak up some of the dressing. Goat cheese would be a good stand in for the feta.

It’s a wonderful, light, flavorful meal. It could even be a starter, cut into small portions.

 

June – Cilantro and Lime Crema
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June – Cilantro and Lime Crema

Cilantro Lime Crema

Cilantro Lime Crema

 

Use this easy and quick lime crema to add flavor to tacos, tostadas, nachos or drizzle it over a bowl of tortilla or black bean soup. During the warmer months I keep a small jar of it on hand to add a cooling (although you could make it ‘hot’) jolt of flavor. Dairy products will soften the heat of spicy foods.

I only used a tablespoon of finely minced jalapeno but feel free to add more if heat is your thing.

Ingredients:

  • juice and zest of 2 limes
  • 1 cup of sour cream
  • 1/4 cup of finely minced cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon of finely minced jalapeno (or more to taste)
  • pinch of kosher salt

Method:

  1. In a small bowl whisk together all the ingredients, saving a few zests of the lime and cilantro leaves to garnish.
  2. Refrigerate until ready to use.

That’s all there is to it. It will keep a few days in the fridge, thickening slightly.

I bet the folks over at Fiesta Friday would find this useful. It’s Fiesta Friday #438, a virtual (can you believe how many things are still virtual!?) blogging party that predates Covid. Angie hosts the party. Click on the link to find ideas for celebrating the 4th, decorating your home, or keeping the kids busy with crafts now that school is out.

 

January – Marinade
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January – Marinade

MARINADE, that’s the only title on a slip of paper that was clipped to my mother’s refrigerator for many years. The words are now smeared by water droplets but the writing is still legible.

Marinade

Marinade

My mother has been gone for some years but I treasure these glimpses of her thoughts and life. And this is a very useful, simple recipe to keep around.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup of bourbon
  • 2 cloves of crushed garlic
  • 1 tablespoon of grated ginger
  • 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
  • dash of dry mustard

Can be used on all meats…chicken, pork, London broil, fish. Marinate for 2 hours but not longer than 24.

This is quite a strong marinade. I wouldn’t marinate fish for longer than 30 minutes, chicken for 2 hours, thick cuts of beef and pork can take the 24 hours. But I recommend 6 hours for a thinner cut. Longer than that and the meat will turn mushy. This marinade has done wonders for steaks of questionable tenderness. Flank steak is infinitely improved by a 6-8 hour bath. The marinade has a definite Asian slant, you could use sake or brandy instead of the bourbon. My mother usually had bourbon around as my father had a large bourbon and water every night before dinner.

 

 

I marinated this flank steak for about 6 hours, then grilled it on high heat for about 4-5 minutes a side. It was delicious, juicy and tender.

June – Teriyaki Chicken with Coconut Rice
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June – Teriyaki Chicken with Coconut Rice

Teriyaki sauce has four main components: soy sauce, sake (or mirin, if you’re taking it easy on the booze), sugar and ginger. It’s your your basic Asian seasoning/marinade. However, commercial teriyaki sauce often has all kinds of added nasty ingredients, including MSG, as well as the basics. Here’s the good news, it’s easy to make your own. You get to control what goes into it.

Sugar is one of the essential ingredients, but what if you are avoiding cane sugar? I suggest replacing it with dates. It produces a thick sauce which is also delicious as a condiment on any Asian inspired rice bowl. Another version of teriyaki sauce uses maple syrup plus coconut sugar instead of case sugar. It’s a thinner sauce, good for dipping or marinating as well as drizzling. Both are delicious.

I first published the date sugar teriyaki sauce in April of 2015 in Teriyaki Salmon with Spring Vegetables. I had completely forgotten about this sauce until a kind reader commented on it. It’s time to revisit it.

Salmon Steaks in Teriyaki Sauce

Salmon Steaks in Teriyaki Sauce

Medjool Dates

Medjool Dates

Teriyaki Sauce with Medjool dates

Ingredients:

  • 15 Medjool dates, pitted and soaked in 1/2 cup of very warm water for 30 minutes
  • 3/4 cup soy sauce, regular or low sodium
  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar
  • 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced or grated
  • Optional – pinch of red pepper flakes
  • Optional – 1/4 cup sesame oil

Method:

  1. Soak the pitted dates in the hot water
  2. Dump the dates and rest of the ingredients (including the soaking water) into your blender and blend until very smooth.
  3. Pour into a container until ready to use.

This will keep in the fridge for at least a week, we found it got “hotter” and spicier the longer it sat.

It can also be used as a marinade and sauce for teriyaki chicken.

Teriyaki Chicken

Teriyaki Chicken

It’s what I call a non-recipe for teriyaki chicken:

  1. Marinate chicken with the teriyaki sauce for 30 minutes to an hour.
  2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
  3. Bake the chicken for 30 to 45 minutes, until done to your liking.
  4. Serve extra sauce as a garnish

For the coconut rice, I just replace half the water in your regular recipe for cooking rice with coconut milk. Place a couple of slices of ginger on top and cook as usual.

The second option using maple syrup as a sweetener was first published in February of 2015. I must have been on a teriyaki kick that year. It was just titled Teriyaki Sauce, you will find the post here.

Teriyaki sauce with Maple Syrup

Teriyaki sauce with Maple Syrup

Here it is served on the Best Ever Crisp Chicken Wings, another post from 2015 (and also one I had forgotten about). For crispness without frying these use baking powder and a two temperature bake.

Chicken wings with Teriyaki Sauce

Teriyaki Sauce with Maple Syrup and Coconut Sugar

  • 3 cups of sake
  • 1 cup of mirin (try to get one that has only water, rice, koji, and salt as ingredients)
  • 1 cup of organic soy sauce or shoju
  • 2 cups of coconut sugar or succcanat
  • ½ cup of pure grade B maple sugar or honey
  • 10 slices of ginger
  • 2-4 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly (our family likes garlic)
  • 1 tablespoon of arrowroot, dissolved in a bit of water
  1. In a large saucepan, bring all the ingredients (except the arrowroot) to a simmer.
  2. Simmer for 1 hour until slightly thickened.
  3. Stir in the dissolved arrowroot and cook until it thickens.
  4. Strain and let cool until ready to serve.

 

This will keep several weeks in the fridge.

 

 

 

 

May – Slow Baked Salmon with Charred Broccoli Pesto
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May – Slow Baked Salmon with Charred Broccoli Pesto

I must admit that I have been reluctant to try all the various forms and recipes for pesto out there that aren’t ‘traditional’. I have a great love for pesto made with fresh from the garden basil. But, on the www you can find pesto made from almost anything. The greens include basil, mint, spinach, cilantro, seaweed, arugula, chard, kale and Italian parsley. The nuts can include pine nuts, pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and almonds. Whew! The term pesto has stretched to include almost any green and nut whirled to a chunky paste with olive oil (although even that is not used exclusively).

But now is a different time, we are all pushed to use ingredients and our pantry in ways that would have been unimaginable a few months ago. During the past few months I have seen many creative and interesting recipes out there. Waste is not an option when you are trying to make your grocery shopping trip last as long as possible. A forgotten head of broccoli was looking a little sad in the back of the produce drawer. A few months ago I might have thrown it into the worm bin. Not now. The salmon from the back of the freezer also needed cooking. Combining the two together was a delicious surprise. This version of charred broccoli pesto doesn’t contain any nuts or basil. But it tastes delicious and you won’t miss them. The charring adds a lot of umami flavor and makes up for any lack of nuts or basil. There are only 4 ingredients; roast charred broccoli florets, garlic, parmesan and olive oil (plus salt). Whiz them all in your food processor for a few seconds and voila! It certainly perked up the salmon.

Slow Baked Salmon with Charred Broccoli Pesto

Slow Baked Salmon with Charred Broccoli Pesto

Charred Broccoli Pesto

Charred Broccoli Pesto

Charred Broccoli Pesto

Ingredients:

  • 4 large cloves of garlic, peeled but left whole
  • 1 large head of broccoli, florets broken into smaller pieces (save the bigger stems for another dish)
  • 1/2 to 1 cup of parmesan cheese, either grated or broken into chunks
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • salt to taste

Put any unused pesto into a small jar and top with olive oil. It will keep for at least a week.

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Cut and wash the broccoli into small florets, place them on the baking sheet and coat with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Reserve the stems, they are delicious when peeled tough skin and stir fried.
  4. Roast until the edges of the florets begin to crisp and brown, and the broccoli is tender. This will take about 30 minutes.
  5. In a food processor pulse the broccoli, parmesan, and garlic cloves. In a slow stream add the additional 1/4 cup of olive oil.
  6. Taste and add salt if necessary.
Charred Broccoli Pesto

Charred Broccoli Pesto

The miracle idea of slow roasting is that it is difficult to overcook the fish. The end result is velvety soft, moist and cooked all the way through. This method has become my preferred way of cooking salmon. Although the salmon had been in my freezer for a few months, you would have thought it was caught that morning.

This was a smaller piece of salmon, just right for 3. If you have a larger piece you will need to either increase the cooking time, or cut it into individual portions before cooking.

The slow cooked salmon was one of the methods reviewed in an exhaustive testing by Food 52 where they did a comparison of salmon cooked 12 ways.

It was one of their favorites.

Slow Roasted Salmon

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 lb salmon filet
  • 1/2 cup of charred broccoli pesto

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil
  3. Place the salmon, skin side down, on the baking sheet and coat with the pesto
  4. Bake for 30 minutes.
Slow Baked Salmon with Charred Broccoli Pesto

Slow Baked Salmon with Charred Broccoli Pesto

 

The inspiration for the charred broccoli pesto came from the blog The Modern Proper. They added basil but alas it was not to be had by me. I didn’t miss it and don’t think it is necessary.

 

Slow Baked Salmon with Charred Broccoli Pesto

Slow Baked Salmon with Charred Broccoli Pesto

Served with a stir fry of red Chinese cabbage, onion, and broccoli stems.

I am taking this dish to share with the folks at Fiesta Friday, this week it’s #329. I am a cohost along with Diann @ Of Goats and Greens

Make your way over to Angie’s, the host of Fiesta Friday, to read all the amazing posts about food and crafts. It’s a amazing variety of bloggers. And, thank you for visiting me. I would love to hear from you.