Piment d'Espelette

Ace gave me this can of this intriguing spice on Valentines Day. It was part of a red-themed cooking gift, nestled in a beautiful lipstick red Creuset gratin dish, and it stood out with its bold graphics. It’s yet another example of the pepper’s amazing complexity and variety.

Espelette is the name of a village—technically a commune—in the French Pyrennees, and piment d’espelette is the pepper raised in villages in and around the region, then hung out to dry in the sun in late summer. The Basque use it in place of black pepper, lending its piquant character to Piperade and using it in the curing of local Bayonne hams.

Pimenton d’espelette has a dusky, lively aroma. There’s a bit of heat, about the same as paprika, and a bit of smoke. It’s zesty, but with a lovely darkness that adds an interesting depth to its flavor. Perhaps it’s that ancient Iberian sun.

Lately we’ve been using it to flavor gazpacho. We make a simple, breadless gazpacho: start with three pounds or so of ripe tomatoes, plus a cucumber (peeled and seeded), a green or red pepper, an onion, a few cloves of garlic, few tablespoons of olive oil, 1-2 tsp sherry vinegar, a tsp of piment d’espelette, and salt to taste. Also a pinch of cayenne if you want the heat. Chop coarsely, blend it all, taste, adjust seasonings, and allow to chill. If it’s too thick you can thin with water or tomato juice. It gets increasingly garlicky with each hour.

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Chowderhead

post no. 244

29 August 2010 0 comments

Clam Chowder It was one of those mornings that was threatening to turn into one of those days: grey, cool, the air filled with a soft middling rain. A day perfect for chowder. We scoured a few of the many cookbooks in the Pease House library and cobbled together what sounded like a simple, pure path to chowderness. Clam Chowder Step one: gather ye clams. We gathered ours at Hatch’s in Wellfleet, seven pounds split between Littlenecks (the perceptibly smaller) and Cherrystones (the bigger ones).

Clam Chowder Step two: scrub clams to remove grit. Enlisted daughter to do this. Seven pounds of clams took her so long, she said, it gave “her hands a headache.” But kudos to her: our chowder had almost no grit in it.

Clam Chowder Step three: steam open the clams in simmering water, pulling each out as it opens. Once all the clams are finished, reserve liquid which is now a delicious broth. (When pouring off into a container, hold back the last tablespoon or two in the ongoing interest of grit control.)

Step four: bacon. Then onions.
Clam Chowder Clam Chowder Clam ChowderStep five: Meanwhile, you’ve diced a cup or so of boiling potatoes like red bliss, and have herbs ready—a bay leaf, fresh thyme from the garden (well, if you’re lucky), and, for later, fresh parsley. So after your bacon and onions are cooked, add potatoes, thyme and bay leaf, reserved broth—bolster with additional clam broth or water to make five cups—and cook until potatoes are soft.

Step six: add the cooked shucked clams after giving them a course chop. I prefer meaty pieces, but there was some grumbling that the clams were too large.Clam Chowder

Clam Chowder

Use your judgment. Step seven: add a cup of heavy cream and cook over a medium-low flame until the soup is warmed through. Garnish with minced parsley, freshly ground pepper, and oyster crackers. Take advantage of the day’s rain to have a nice nap afterward, assured that when you wake up the day will have improved and it’s time for the beach.

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Mache, aka Corn Salad, aka Lambs’ Tongues, aka…

August 29, 2010

We eat salads 365 days a year, though too often of the hardy, supermarket lettuce variety. This winter, poring over The Cook’s Garden seed catalog, I was seduced by its description of “buttery, deep-green, velvet-leaved” Bistro Corn Salad listed among the Reader’s Favorites section.  Corn salad is called mâche in Europe and on most restaurant [...]

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A Lesson in Peas

August 29, 2010

Peas are one of those foods that, it is strongly advised, must spend as little time as possible between harvesting and eating. Which means growing them yourself if at all possible—there’s no shorter distance to the kitchen then from your own garden. Last year the rabbits wreaked havoc on our pea plants, but this year [...]

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“The Four Subjects of Poetry”

April 13, 2010

It is said that there are seven basic plots. Here, from the late poet, William Matthews, is a poem on the four basic subjects of poetry: 1. I went out in the woods today, and it made me feel, you know, sort of religious. 2. We’re not getting any younger. 3. It sure is cold [...]

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Fishing, cont.

April 8, 2010

There is the work, and then there is how the work is made. Poetry in Person, recently published by Knopf, is a marvelous collection of interviews with poets discussing how particular poems are brought into the world. This quote by Denis Donoghue, used as the book’s epigraph, sums up something very vital—perhaps not for a [...]

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“No Participles”

March 16, 2010

From Theodore Roethke’s classroom, ways to shake up your poem —and see how interesting and firm its foundation. Insightful strategies from a man who spent his life writing, reading, teaching, and talking about poetry: Think of poem as three-act play Every line of poem should be a poem Active verbs, no participles Take out all [...]

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The Importance of Fishing

February 28, 2010

One of the big rules about writing is “write every day.” It makes sense. And everyone says it. It’s also daunting. What happens if you have to skip a day? What happens when you draw a blank? It’s painful to sit in front of the computer or with a notebook on your lap and stare [...]

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Be the Sieve

February 15, 2010

On seeing and words, from American poet Theodore Roethke: Your words are you. You are them and not much more. The Description: the fieldness of fields, the weediness of weeds….When is description mere? Never. A freshness in the seeing, an innocency in the vision, the angle of perception, the bringing together of details, not necessarily [...]

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Catching Snowflakes

February 8, 2010

Walking home on New Year’s Eve. A few miles away, tens of thousands wait for the ball to drop. Snowflakes are more exciting, especially when you’re nine. And they taste good too.

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