BEEF TARTARE WITH GARLIC MAYONNAISE

Ingrid and I were were walking the streets of Paris one recent afternoon and quickly decided on having an evening at home with beef tartare, artisanal potato chips and champagne for dinner. Ingrid Pankonin, a private chef visiting from Berkeley, California, has been popping up in Paris over the last 5 years. We have enjoyed many beautifully crafted meals together.  From road trips to Piedmont, Italy and city escapes to the french countryside, when Ingrid is in town, so is laughter, grub and champagne.

We spent the afternoon collecting ingredients around my neighborhood, while ducking out of the rain and filling our market bags bit by bit. We hit rue de Bretagne and went to my local market to get organic veggies, Le Marché des Enfants Rouges, the oldest covered market in Paris. Next to the market, and along the food shops of rue de Bretange, we went to Fromagerie Jouannault, one of my favorite cheese shops, and lastly stopped at the Boucherie du Marais to pick up our beef to hand cut at home for the tartare.

This type of apron on a butcher my quality default check for Parisian butchers, it is the old Les Halles style of wrapping 2 waist aprons with a specific knot used to tie the shoulder stap. This style of apron shows a prideful butcher.

GARLIC MAYONNAISE RECIPE

by Ingrid Pankonin

Equipment you will need:

2-quartish bowl

Whisk 

Optional: A saucepan that will cradle the bowl, plus a towel - line the saucepan with the towel, then cradle the bowl in it for a non-slipping bowl. Also optional: a microplane, or mortar and pestle

Ingredients:

1 egg yolk + 1 extra egg in case the mayo breaks (curdles)
2/3 - 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil - this is not the time for a super-green, spicy olive oil. Use a mild extra virgin or even start with 1/4 cup of neutral vegetable oil and finish with EVO.
1 plump clove of garlic - minced, pounded in a mortar and pestle, or *shortcut* microplaned
salt to taste - 1/2 - 1 tsp
lemon juice to taste

First, make sure the egg is at room temperature!  This is my number one mayo breaker.  If you need to make mayo straight from a cold egg, fear not!  Warm the egg up in a bowl of hot tap water for a few minutes, keeping in mind that the warmth needs to make it all the way into the yolk, so it may take a couple of water changes.  I think the egg should feel ever so slightly warm to the touch on the outside.

Now, let's make the mayo!  I'm calling it mayonnaise because some people would argue that aïoli has no acid (and has a TON of garlic!), but I like garlicky mayo to have some lemon in it, and it goes well with the tartare.

Whisk the egg yolk to break it up.  Start by dribbling a few drops of oil in, whisking all the while.  Add a few more drops when the first ones are fully incorporated.  How hard or fast you whisk is much less important than just making sure the olive oil is fully absorbed before adding more.  Continue drizzling and whisking… as the mayonnaise starts to grow in volume, it may become a little too thick - just add a few drops of water or lemon juice.  Now is a good time to add a first pinch of salt, too.  Also, you can start to increase the amount of oil you add each time - moving up to a teaspoon or so for a few additions, then on to a tablespoon or so for the next while.  Again - just make sure it's fully incorporated before adding more!  Taste along the way for seasoning. Keep on like this until you've added all the oil.  Add the garlic, and lemon juice and salt to taste - since the mayo is mostly oil, it'll take a few minutes for the salt to dissolve.  The garlic will also get stronger as it sits, so just taste it again and adjust if necessary.

*If at any time the mayo gets loose and looks curdled, it has "broken".  You have to just start over with a fresh, room temp egg yolk.  Then add the broken mayo in the same manner as the olive oil on the first go-around: a few drops at a time, whisking.  And so on. Store leftover mayo in the fridge for one day.  As mentioned above, cold is the enemy of a stable mayonnaise - so if you want to use it as such, let it warm up a bit.  Or, use it as a base for a little vinaigrette!  Add a little mustard, some more lemon juice or red wine vinegar, and more oil to taste, plus S+P.  Yay!

For the mayo, delicately separate the yolk from your perfect egg and begin the emulsification process.

 

For the tartare, finely chop up some cornichon pickles, shallots and capers and lay them out on each individual plate or on a platter, family style. Other things you can add to the fixins on the tartare table are things like homemade thousand island, ketchup, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper.  For ours, we seasoned the beef and simply used our freshly made garlic mayo along with the pickles, shallots and capers. It was delicious. You can mix up your own personal fave combo.

L'Etivaz, a french alp cheese...and Paris' only local cheese, Brie de Meaux

Valencay, a goat's milk cheese... and Fleur de Maquis, a sheep's milk cheese from Corsica

COCHINITA PIBIL | SLOW-ROASTED YUCATECAN PORK

During a recent trip to Mexico, our good friend and chef prepared this incredible pork recipe. Ingrid Pankonin of Miel Cooking, put together this dish in her bikini during a day of surfing at our beach house. It all happened so effortlessly and turned into a beautiful dinner under the palapa with the sound of waves as our soundtrack. Our dinner table was also joined by Linda Aldredge, of Lulu Organics. It was true tropical magic with good folks and constant laughs.

 

COCHINITA PIBIL 

This traditional Mexican style pork recipe is from the Yucatan peninsula with Mayan origin. Ingrid improvised this recipe which was based on Diane Kennedy's version from her book, The Cuisines of Mexico.

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds pork shoulder
• 4 tbsp salt ( you can use rock salt for marinade if using molcajete)
• 2 cups Seville orange juice ( plus 2 TB of juice for marinade)*
• 2 tbsp achiote paste (or seeds)
• 12 peppercorns
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp Coriander seeds
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 6-8 arbol chilis, roasted
• fresh banana leaves to wrap pork pieces 
• 6 Cebollitas, green spring onions cut in half ( or one sliced large white onion )

Instructions: 

Pierce the pork all over and rub in 2 tablespoons of salt. Set aside while you prepare the marinade paste.

Using a Molcajete or mortar and pestle, you will grind all the marinade ingredients together in several stages. First grind 2 tablespoons of salt (you can use rock sea salt), oregano, peppercorns and arbol chilis together to a fine paste. Add a few drops of orange juice to help break down the chilis into a paste. Add the cumin and coriander and continue grinding until smooth and incorporated. Then add the garlic and after, the achiote paste and 3 tbsp of orange juice. 

The mixture should be a thick paste. Coat the pork well with the paste, wrap in the banana leaves and place in a dutch oven style pot (or in our case, a glass casserole dish). Tuck the cebollitas ( or white onion) around the wrapped bundles and pour 2 cups of orange juice over the top. Cover and chill overnight.

Preheat oven to 325°. Place a rack at the bottom of the oven, make sure the pork is covered with a tight fitting lid or foil ( if not using a dutch oven type pot). Roast for 2 1/2 hours. Turn the meat over and baste it well with the juices from the bottom of the pot. Cook for another 2 1/2 hours, or until the meat is soft and falling apart.

After cooking, shred the meat roughly, then pour the fat and juices from the pan over it. Serve hot, with fresh hot corn tortillas and all your favorites. We served ours with traditional black beans with cotija cheese on top, sauteed zucchini in coconut oil, and a slaw with lime vinaigrette. You can also use the pork in tortas, mexican roll sandwiches, or any way you desire really. It's so good.

* If you cannot find seville oranges, you can use regular sweet oranges and substitute 1/3 of the juice with juice from 4 limes and a lemon. The juice should be tart and sour.
 

 Serves 6.

 

garlic, cumin, coriander and arbol chilis / tart oranges gettin squeezed

it only takes about 5 seconds to roast arbol chilis over a gas flame 

 

 Achiote paste is added to the marinade mixture in the Molcajete

 

 

The final marinade paste is thick and a vibrant red... the smell is intoxicating 

the pork shoulder is completely covered in the marinade and then wrapped snuggly in banana leaves 

Cebollita onions get tucked around the pork and then the tart citrus juice is poured on top 

 The Cochinita Pibil after it's long roasting period

 

 Remove the banana leaves and start shredding. The pork will be extremely tender.

Sauteed zucchini and traditional black beans with cojita cheese sprinkled on top

our dinner table under the palapa with the lovely Linda and Barbara snuggling our baby Anton

Ingrid opens up the freshly warmed tortillas to begin the feast

A NOD TO FALL

Post by guest author Leela Cyd / She was living in India during last year's Fall season and wrote this article from there...

The stew and our striped rug

This is my haul from the market today -- everything comes wrapped in newspaper and twine, like a present-- no plastic! The buns with the 'x' on them have coconut inside and are delicious for breakfast or tea time. The bananas are ripe, they just come green here... and those are cherimoyas there by the tomatoes -- they call them 'custard apples' here and they are so sweet!

Although we are far far away from jumping in leaves, pink noses and pumpkins, I absolutely have the season on my mind… It’s my favorite time of year – probably the best season ever invented! The climate here calls for fresh fruits and refreshing spice, not exactly hearty and warming meals, but I found myself whizzing about the market buying vegetables for a stew – sunny swimming weather be darned. We can eat it with the fan on, I figured.


My morning bus ride to the market has quickly become one of my favorite daily routines – I love knowing how much the ride costs (5 rupees), feeling the breeze on my face, listening to the abstract sounds/whistles/calls of the bus conductor, staring into the blue of the Mondovi River, sitting with the fish-basket-on-the-head-ladies – and then, poof – we’re at the market. The place is a complete ruckus, even on a Sunday, when the rest of the town is closed or at Mass.  At this point, I’ve got certain vendors for each item – Santosh, the jolliest of all, is my spice man – NO English toothless lady for bananas and sweet potatoes, another guy in the corner for vegetables, young and efficient lime boy, right around the corner from the custard apple brothers… Then, I buy a random thing I’m not sure of from a new person – this is how I found the greens for today’s stew. It’s so awesome to feel familiar with a place like this – our town, our market, our lunch.

Fall Veg Stew

Ingredients:

1 heaping cup chickpeas, cooked
6 mini eggplants (or one large, as we get at home), chopped in ½ inch pieces
3 small red onions, chopped
6 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small nub of ginger (barely 1 inch in diameter), minced
4 tbsp vegetable oil
juice of one lime
salt to taste
1 tsp or small cube veg bullion powder
¼ c water
1 bunch bitter greens (such as kale or chard), chopped roughly
1 bunch chopped mint leaves
sesame seeds (for garnish)

spices:
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
4 cardamom pods, smashed open
1 cinnamon stick, broken into 3 or 4 pieces
1 tsp coriander powder
¼ tsp chili powder

Method:
Sautee eggplant pieces in a few tablespoons oil, until almost totally cooked and brown – set aside.

Put 2 tbsp oil in pan on medium heat. Put mustard seeds and cumin seeds into hot pan, fry for 30 seconds, until popping. Add rest of spices, stir continuously for 1 minute. Add onions to spices, along with remaining oil. Sautee onions and spices for about 5-7 minutes, until reduced slightly and beginning to go translucent.

Add eggplant and tomatoes to onion mixture. Stir for approximately 2 minutes. Next add water and veg bullion cube. Continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Finally, add greens, cooked chickpeas, limejuice and ginger and garlic and salt to taste to the stew. Finish with a lot of mint leaves on each portion of stew. The mint really takes the dish to a Middle Eastern flavor area.

So tasty. Garnish with sesame seeds or whatever nuts you may have on hand. Serve with rice, potatoes or a nice piece of bread.

This is a dish that will improve with a day, to really get the flavors melding – sort of like tomato sauce or chili. Enjoy and keep warm with the stew!