Spiced Tomato and Plum Jam

Getting back into the groove at work after a great vacation is always tough, and the day before getting back to work in my books is the most horrible day of the year. I dread the last day of vacation when I have to think about the thousands of emails that are waiting in my inbox, all the work that built up while I was gone, and all the changes that happened in that short time I was away. It almost feels like the moment when you wake up after a dream that filled you with happiness and positivity only to realize that you're not laying in the sand, on a nice beach, waiting for a cocktail in a giant exotic fruit and some nice seafood to be served, but rather you're in bed with your alarm forcing you to get up and ready to do what you've been doing for the last few years of your adult life- work.  

Whoever says he or she enjoys going to work on a Monday, especially if it's right after vacation, is either crazy or the luckiest person alive. It may seem like I dislike work, but I actually don't. I've worked very hard my entire life to get where I'm at right now. Coming from a small Romanian town from a working class family, never allowed me the luxury of not working, or working without giving 100%.

Seeing new places, having the freedom of waking up whenever you please, your mom or grandma cooking your favorite dishes just like they did when you were a kid is something so special that no job in this world can offer. Hanging out with the parents you haven't seen in so long, catching up with old friends that you haven't talked to in years, sharing your best memories and experiences with loved ones are all essential in my life. They are priceless. No money in this world is able to buy those emotions, that happiness. This vacation was just like that and it fed my soul.

Fall is slowly creeping up on us. The cold nights are about to arrive when all you want to do is sit on the couch wrapped up in a fluffy blanket and watch Netflix with a delicious bowl of hearty comfort food while also sipping on a big ol' mug of mulled wine. Fall is beautiful.

In Romania, fall is the season when everyone prepares for the winter. People stock their pantry with preserves, jams, compotes and pickles. My parents were very proud to show me and Roni their freezer stacked with vegetables that my dad grew in my grandma's garden. Ziplocks full with eggplant, peppers, green beans, peas and fruits like cherries and plums are arranged in order in their freezer. The pantry is also at capacity with jars of pickled beans, cabbage, cucumbers, zacusca, peach compote, strawberry and raspberry preserves and bottles of tomato juice. Roni asked me to take a picture of their pantry but unfortunately I forgot to.

If you're a fan of seasonal vegetables you may be interested in preserving some that are easy to preserve like green beans, eggplant and tomatoes. Preserving is a lot easier than it sounds. I was fortunate to see my parents and grandparents doing it ever since I was a kid. Every year in fall the freezer would get packed. This year they harvested over 400 pounds of tomatoes, 100 pounds of peppers, 150 pounds of green beans and lot of eggplant from their garden. They had to give away more than half of the tomatoes, yet still ended up with over 60 liters of tomato juice (called bullion in Romanian), jars of pickled green tomatoes (called gogonele) and a couple of shelves of eggplant and peppers.

The idea for this tomato jam came to mind when I was trying to find a good condiment for the venison burgers I made for Roni's brother and dad. I wanted something sweet and fruity to go well with the game meat. I decided to combine the tomatoes with some plums I found on sale. The result was fantastic with a good balance between the sweetness of the tomatoes and the tartness of the plums. I also had the jam as part of a charcuterie plate served with crackers and a few smoked cheeses. It was absolutely delightful. Give it a shot!

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Spiced Tomato and Plum Jam

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Yields about 2-3 cups
Prep time: 20 minutes
Inactive time: 1 hour and 45 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 dried guajillo pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs Roma tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 lb red plums, pitted and roughly chopped
• 1 serrano pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped 
• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
• 1/2 inch ginger, crushed and finely chopped
• 1 stick cinnamon 
• 1 bay leaf
• 2-3 whole cloves
• 2 cardamom pods
• 5-6 basil leaves, chopped
• 1/4 tsp red chili flakes
• 2 TBS fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon juiced)
• 4 TBS sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

1. Fill a small sauce pan half way through with water. Add the guajillo peppers and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Remove from heat, cover and set aside. Let the peppers soak for 10-15 minutes, or until you finish preparing the other ingredients. 
3. In a large sauce pan add the rest of the ingredients and the guajillo peppers and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring often to keep it away from burning.
4. When it starts boiling, reduce the heat to low and let the mixture simmer for about an hour and a half or so, or until it reaches a thick, sticky and jam like consistency*. Stir occasionally. 
5. Cool and refrigerate until ready to use. Serve as an appetizer with crackers and cheese or as a condiment for burgers and sandwiches. 

Notes

• * Make sure the heat is low enough so you avoid burning the jam.
• The consistency is going to be a bit on the chunky side. If you like ketchup like consistency put the jam in a food processor and pulse until it becomes smooth.
• If you'd like to preserve the jam, don't let it cool down. As soon as the jam is ready, remove from heat and using a big spoon or ladle transfer the jam into hot sterilized jars, leaving about 1/4-inch headspace. Stir the jam in the jar with a spatula to get rid of any air pockets that built up. Clean the rims of the jars, cover with lids, and screw bands on. Place jars in a pot filled with about 2-3 inches of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover the pot with a lid or a couple of wet towels and boil for about 15 minutes. Next, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes. 

Creamy Tomato Sauce with Prawns

I tried to stay way from writing on my blog during our trip to Europe, but as it turns out, I just can’t do it. I miss it too much. Developing, testing, tweaking and writing recipes are now part of my everyday life ever since gourmetcubicle launched back in April. It does, however, feel refreshing not to do the cooking for a while, but instead just enjoying that of others. It’s great being on a food journey where I don’t have to care about shopping for ingredients, cooking, taking photos, and documenting recipes, but instead just relaxing, finding inspiration, discovering new flavors and thinking about how to integrate them into my dishes.

Roni and I are on a vacation around Eastern Europe and even though we’ve been here for less than a week, it has been very eventful. The trip started not so great when we found out that our flight from Austin to Chicago was delayed to the point that there was no way we would catch our connection to Berlin, where we had planned a full day layover to explore the city. I was already dreaming of the delicious Turkish doner kebabs that you can buy from street vendors and the crispy pork knuckles they serve with sauerkraut and potatoes in the traditional beer gardens. Both of us were pretty disappointed to say the least, but we did a great job at not letting that ruin the start of the trip

The good news about this whole re-routing was that we arrived to Budapest a half day earlier than planned. That meant more time to introduce Roni to the great city of Budapest. Budapest is amazing- beautiful architecture, great food, lots of friendly people and of course old friends. We stayed at the home of Erika and Pista along with their three daughters. They are Roni’s childhood friends, or rather her Hungarian family, as she likes to call them. They did everything in their power to give us the famous Hungarian hospitality and abundance. Erika cooked traditional Hungarian dishes every day and baked amazing cakes, which made Roni very happy. Every morning she prepared platters of cheeses, cured meats and homemade jams. We had bowls of fresh grapes, pears, apples and plums for snacks. We all dined together every night sharing our travel stories and childhood memories. Hearing the girls talk about how they used to break the child lock on the cable box to watch Tales from the Crypt, shave their arms to their parents’ horror, and play games involving eating disgusting concoctions of toothpaste, salsa, mustard and any other condiment they could find was very entertaining. The image that Roni had always painted of her young self was that of a shy and innocent little girl so these stories added a new insight into her childhood. Great times filled with laughter and joy!

Budapest is a must-see in Europe. The city, the people and the food are all top notch. A few years ago the Hungarian food scene had a revival and the fine dining culture has since blossomed. Good food always existed in Hungary, but it was mainly based on hearty Hungarian staples like pörkölt, paprikás, roasts, goulash and creamy soups. Beer, wine and the national spirit, pálinka, were the preferred drinks, with whiskey coke being considered a cocktail. The pride that Hungarians have in their food significantly slowed down the development of quality and affordable ethnic restaurants. But things have started to change, and I think this has to do with all the foreigners who have moved to Budapest and brought new interesting ingredients and flavors with them. Budapest has become a bit of a melting pot where Mexican, Asian, Indian, and Russian dishes have made their way into the otherwise very conservative cuisine here.

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As far as Italian cuisine is concerned, I think it’s the most widespread of all cuisines around the globe. I haven’t been to a country that didn’t have at least one Italian restaurant. It doesn’t matter if you’re in Hungary, Singapore, Peru or Japan, you’ll most likely find a pasta Bolognese or Carbonara to eat. i think that the main reason for that is that Italian dishes are filling and easy to make, not to mention how delicious they are. You don’t have to be a kitchen-guru to be able to prepare a simple Cacio e pepe or Spaghetti Pomorodo.

As for today’s recipe, this Creamy Tomato Sauce with Prawns is one of those easy to make Italian dishes that will leave your dinner guests impressed.  In half an hour you can fix an easy, healthy and flavorful sauce that is infinitely better than that canned salty artificially flavored junk that you find in stores. Some of them may taste good, but once you take a look at the list of ingredients you’ll be shocked by the amount of sugar (or rather, corn syrup) and salt they contain. By making your own pasta you are in control of the ingredients. You know exactly how much of each ingredient goes into it and you can adjust them to your own taste. Enjoy!

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Creamy Tomato Sauce with Prawns

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Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 35-40 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 lb prawns, peeled and deveined
• 1 tsp black pepper freshly ground
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 TBS oil (sunflower, canola or peanut oil)
• 1 TBS unsalted butter
• 1 tsp hot sauce (Cholula or Tobasco)
• 1 leek, finely chopped
• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 can (15 oz) diced tomato (preferably San Marzano)
• 2 cups stock (chicken or vegetarian)
• 2 anchovy fillets, optional
• 2 TBS tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
• 8-10 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 TBS sugar
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice, optional (or lime)

Instructions

1. Place clean shrimp in a bowl and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Toss to make sure the shrimp are evenly coated.
2. In a large skillet heat the butter and 1 tablespoon oil over medium high heat. When the butter starts foaming add shrimp and hot sauce. Cook for 3 minutes stirring occasionally to make sure the shrimp cook evenly on each side. 
3. Transfer shrimp to a plate and set aside. 
4. Add the rest of the oil to the pan and heat until the it easily slides across the pan. Add leeks and shallots and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook for another minute or so.
5. Pour in white wine and cook for 3-5 minutes until the wine starts to evaporate.
6. Add diced tomato and stock and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Add anchovies, tomato paste, chili flakes, basil and the rest of the salt and pepper to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover with a lid and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. 
8. Add sugar and parmesan cheese and stir well.
9. Pour in heavy cream and stir. Crank up the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil (about 1-2 minutes) then immediately remove from the heat. Taste to adjust seasoning.
10. Mix in the shrimp, sprinkle with lemon juice and give it a final stir. Serve with capellini, spaghetti or linguini.

Notes

• Use only the white part of the leek. For instruction on how to clean leek check out my Creamy Leeks with Pan Roasted Chicken recipe.

Spicy Coleslaw

Let me preface this post by saying that this recipe is part of a bigger project that I've been working on with one of my colleagues. Coleslaw is the quintessential side dish of southern cuisine. It comes in different varieties from creamy and made with mayonnaise, to simple and made with vinegar, and with a variety of ingredients like shredded cabbage, carrots, vinegar, salt and pepper and sometimes onions, jalapeños, apples, mustard or even ketchup. 

Even though I never tried coleslaw until I was in my twenties, I consider myself a big fan. I often times find myself judging barbecue joints based on the coleslaw they serve. I know that the main focus of a barbecue place should obviously be the meat they smoke, yet still I can't help but take the coleslaw into consideration when rating them. For me coleslaw was love at first sight. I remember eating it on the first day I moved to Austin four years ago. My hotel was really close by Rudy's BBQ so I decided to eat my first lunch there in the sizzling heat of the legendary summer of 2011.

In my book a good coleslaw has to be crispy but not raw, tangy but not sour, spicy but not too hot, and with just the right about of mayo to give it a subtle hint of creaminess. A coleslaw also should never be a soggy soup-like concoction with the mayonnaise overwhelming all the freshness of the cabbage and carrots. So how do you do all of that? First, use a mandolin to shred the cabbage really thin. Then purge it. Purging essentially is the process of brining the cabbage in salt, to get some of the water and that raw bitter flavor out of the cabbage. 

I used kewpie mayo because I find it less heavy with a nice piquant aftertaste. I also choose to add leeks for a subtle hint of onion-like flavor. If finding leeks is challenging where you live, just use scallions or chives. Experiment with the flavors and ratios until you reach the combination that makes you happy. Enjoy!

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Spicy Coleslaw

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Yields about 1-2 quarts
Prep time: 20 minutes
Inactive time: 90 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1/2 lb red cabbage, shredded
• 1 lb white cabbage, shredded
• 1 cup leek, thinly sliced (about 1/2 large leek)
• 1 TBS table salt
• 2 large carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 large jalapeño, halved, deseeded and finely sliced (about 1/4 cup)
• 2 tsp dried chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 cup kewpie mayonnaise 
• 2 TBS white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
• salt, to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine red cabbage, white cabbage and leeks. Sprinkle with salt and toss well. Set bowl aside and let the mixture rest for 10-15 minutes. This process is called purging the cabbage and it's essential for the texture of the coleslaw. 
2. After the cabbage has been rested, you'll see a lot of juice in the bowl. Dispose it and transfer the cabbage to a colander. Run it under cold tap water to get rid of the excess salt. 
3. Rinse the big mixing bowl and transfer the cabbage from the colander back into the bowl. Squeeze, handful by handful, the salty juice out of the mixture. 
4. Add carrots, jalapeño, white pepper and chili flakes. Mix to combine and add the mayonnaise and vinegar. Stir until the coleslaw is evenly coated. Taste and adjust seasoning.
5. Cover with a plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for an hour before serving.

Notes

• Use the white part of the leek. For instruction on how to clean leek check out my Creamy Leeks with Pan Roasted Chicken recipe
• The green part of the leeks can be used for making stock.

Blistered Green Beans and Shishito Peppers with Crispy Bacon

This past week has been the most rewarding one to date in the short history of gourmetcubicle. If you've been following me on Instagram or Facebook, or you subscribe to the Austin American-Statesman, you saw that my Savarin Cake recipe was featured in this week's Austin360Cooks section. It is the first time my work has ever been published. When I launched this blog back in April I would have never guessed that I would be featured in a newspaper. The Statesman's food editor, Addie Broyles, found my picture on Instagram via the hashtag #austin360eats and reached out to me asking for permission to feature my recipe, pictures and story in the newspaper.

The timing of the event couldn't have been more perfect either. I was losing steam and got a bit overwhelmed by the constant juggling between my demanding day job as an engineer and my passion for cooking and sharing recipes with you. It felt reassuring to have my work validated in that way—it was definitely a milestone moment for me and my blog. When I saw Addie’s comment on Instagram I admittedly got a bit giddy. Initially I didn’t know how legit it was, but soon after she also reached out to me via email. "Holy paprikash, this is real! It's happening. I'm going to be the most famous Romanian in Austin for a day!", I said to myself. 

I instantly texted Roni, telling her about what was happening. First she told me how happy and proud she was, followed by "Send me your reply email first so I can review it". It took a few attempts to get a draft done, but I made sure to first send it to my favorite editor per her demand. She told me it was the cutest email she had ever read, but we needed to take the excitement down a notch and sound a bit more professional. Eventually I replied, exchanged a few emails with Addie, and then counted the days until Wednesday. On Tuesday I went to sleep filled with the same excitement of Christmas Eve.

I woke up early and went to the nearest grocery store where I bought all the copies of the Statesman that they had on the newspaper stand. The timing was perfect since next week I'm going home to Romania and I will bring my parents, my grandma, and a few of my best friends a copy of my first published recipe. If only my grandpa Bunu could see this, I would be the happiest person on Earth. He'd probably make up a story about me becoming a famous chef in America.

The idea for this recipe came a few weeks ago at a happy hour organized by the Austin Food Bloggers Alliance at The Highball. It was only my second time meeting with this fun and likeminded group of people, but I instantly felt welcomed (I also rented a karaoke room for myself where Roni later discovered me singing Oasis on my own for an hour, but that’s a whole other story…). Anyway, The Highball treated us like kings serving us at least 8 appetizers. All of them were delicious, but what got my attention was their Fried Brussels Sprouts and Shishito Peppers with White BBQ dipping sauce and candied bacon. It was everything a man can dream of while sipping on a cold beer. As soon as I saw green beans in my CSA box delivery that week, I knew I would have to make something similar. I tossed in some smoked pork bits from the pulled pork I made with my friend Guy (his personal recipe will soon be on the blog soon). It adds a nice smokey flavor, but if you don't have any that's fine, just make sure you used smoked bacon. Enjoy! 

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Blistered Green Beans and Shishito Peppers with Crispy Bacon

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Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1/4 lb shishito peppers (about 10-12 peppers)
• 1 TBS oil (peanut or sunflower seed)
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 8-10 slices smoked bacon
• 1/2 cup smoked pork bits, optional (I had some leftovers from my smoked pork shoulder)
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 lb green beans
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp chili flakes, optional
• 1/2 TBS butter
• 1 lemon, juiced (about 2-3 TBS)
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Instructions

1. In a small bowl combine shishito peppers, oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toss until the peppers are evenly coated.
2. Heat a stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, after about 2 minutes, add the shishito peppers and cook them until the skin gets blistered and charred, about 3-4 minutes. Toss every now and then to avoid burning them. Transfer to a plate and set them aside. 
3. To fry the bacon, start with a different cold skillet, preferably cast iron. Lay bacon strips in the skillet without overlapping them. Make sure the skillet is at room temperature when you start. You can crowd the skillet a bit as the bacon will shrink when cooked.*
4. Turn the burner to medium-low and slowly cook the bacon. When it starts curling flip it over to the other side. Cook bacon for about 3-4 minutes on each side. When it is done, transfer bacon to a wire rack or a paper towel lined plate and let the excess grease drain. Do not dispose the bacon fat from the skillet.**
5. Up the heat to medium-high under the skillet you used for frying the bacon. Dispose some of the bacon fat, but make sure you leave at least two tablespoons worth of grease.
6. If using smoked pork bits, toss them in the skillet and cook them for 2-3 minutes. If you're not using any proceed to the next step.
7. Add crushed garlic and green beans. Stir and toss until the green beans are well coated in oil. Cook for 4-5 minutes tossing occasionally. 
8. Season with more black pepper and chili flakes if you want to add a nice kick. Add the shishito peppers. Cook for 2 more minutes tossing every now and then.
9. In the meantime, cut the bacon into bite size pieces and add it to the skillet.
10. Add butter, let it melt then toss one more time. Remove from the heat.
11. Transfer to a bowl, sprinkle with fresh lemon juice and smoked paprika. Serve warm. 

Notes

*  To achieve a crispy and evenly cooked bacon on the stovetop, lay the strips in a cold skillet and slowly raise the temperature. The secret is to cook it over medium-low heat. This method will also help the bacon not to curl up.  
** If you like your bacon extra crispy cook a bit longer flipping them over every now and then. The time it takes to cook bacon depends on the level of crispiness you want to achieve.