Ric Orlando's Pan Blackened String Recipe
A Note (okay, a rant!) about the ingredients.
We all know that the cool rule of the neo-cool chef is Fresh
Herbs All the Time. And if you've ever watched me cook, you know that I am a
huge proponent of using fresh herbs in the kitchenãand lots of 'em! But
there are some times when dried herbs are not just suitable, but maybe even
better than fresh for particular effects and cooking methods. Other times a
balance of the two is needed to achieve a harmony of flavors. Slow cooking and
high amounts of acid will dissipate the flavor of a fresh herb while the dried
herb will have a chance to reconstitute or develop over time in a sauce with,
say, tomatoes or wine.
First let's separate the herbs from the spices. For the most
part, herbs are leaves and flowers, spices are seeds and bark. Are there
exceptions? Sure, there are a few like saffron, which is considered a spice
even though it is a flower tendriläBut, essentially, herb‚leaf,
spice‚seed.
Most importantly, all dried herbs and spices are not the
same! This fact is essential to Clean cooking.
Most commercial dried herbs and spices are dried using sulfur
and other chemicals, and then are treated with preservatives, and are finally,
mostlyãhere's where we get to the word of the dayãirradi-ated. I
certainly don't want anything to do with irradiated food. It is bad business
all around. Keep your radiation off of my food! Besides all the obvious
environmental problems and potential long termhealth effects of irradiation, it
also destroys up to half the nutrients in the food. No Thanks! Write
somebodyãlike your senator or congresspersonãstop that madness
now!
One of the best ways to fight food irradiation is to use your
$$$$. Get on the internet or to your health food store and track down clean
spices. There are many independent spice companies that sell excellent organic
and non-irradiated herbs and spices that are betterãand
cheaperãthan the scary stuff. That's what I use in my cafÈ, the
stuff is perfect for cooking and has no salty aftertaste that sulfured spices
have.
The best bet is to dry some of your own herbs. (The only
herbs I don't recommend drying are cilantro and parsley.) Clip 'em, tie 'em up
and hang 'em someplace safe, crumble what you need and bingo! Dried herbs for
you, year-round! This works well when you buy a pack of herbs and can't use it
all up.
The Story of the Stringbeans
New World's pan-blackened stringbean appetizer is the single
most ordered dish at the cafÈ. I receive requests for the recipe via
e-mail, snail mail, by telephone and in person. I love when a diner walks right
up to our open kitchen on a busy night with his plate of blackened beans and
exclaims that he absolutely must find out how to make them. Happily, with
proper ventilation, this dish is a breeze to prepare. Essentially rooted in a
classic Szechuan recipe, these just-cooked, still-crunchy, nice-and-spicy
stringbeans with an American twist are a hit at any party.
New World's Pan-Blackened Stringbeans
Serves 4 to 6, Ric-ter Scale - 6
Okay folks, here's the real story of those
stringbeansäWhen I was the chef at Justin's in Albany, we did not have a
grill. All of our meats and fish were either broiled in a salamander or seared
on cast iron. On a heavy-volume night, I would have as many as four cast-iron
skillets raging on the back burners of the stove. I tried cooking everything on
hot cast iron in those days. Having limited options sometimes forces
creativity.
One hectic night I came up three orders short of vegetables
while plating up a large table. In a moment of panic, I tossed a handful of
stringbeans in the boiling pasta water to cook them lightly. Well, I re-moved
them from the water a little too soon. In my rush to get them cooked and finish
plating those last three dinners, I dumped the beans into the hottest skillet
on handäa white-hot blackening pan laden with residual blackening
seasoning. I moved them around to finish them and put them on the plate with
the rest of the entrees. Nine people eating dinneränine different dishes
and one topic ofconversationäthose stringbeans! The table ordered three
side orders so everyone could taste them. The server exclaimed that if I didn't
put these on the menu, I was nuts! Well, there's no changing that.
Now, the recipes (Finally!)
2 pounds fresh stringbeans, stems picked off
2
tablespoons safflower, sunflower, or corn oil
1/2 cup Ric's
Cage seasoning
or make some of your own
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne
4 teaspoons ancho chile powder
3 teaspoons
cornmeal
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon dry thyme
3 teaspoons
Kosher salt
3 teaspoons finely ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons
paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder (not flakes)
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic
powder (not granules)
Be sure that your kitchen is properly ventilated before you
attempt to blacken any food indoors. Open the windows and doors and disable the
smoke detectors. (Don't forget to hook them back up again afterwards!) If you
don't want to smoke up the house, you can always prepare this dish outside.
Heat the skillet to white-hot indoors, then, when you are ready to put the
beans into the pan, bring everything outside. Scoot, though; the skillet should
be kept hot enough to blacken the beans for full a minute or two.
Fold all the seasonings together thoroughly. Fill a
medium-sized pot three-quarters full of water. Bring to a rolling boil while
you preheat a cast-iron skillet or heavy wok until very hot, about ten minutes,
over high heat. Plunge the stringbeans into the boiling water and cook them for
30 seconds, until they are bright green, forkable but still a bit crisp. Drain
the beans but do not rinse them, and put them in a work bowl big enough to toss
them around in. Add the oil and toss to coat them evenly. Sprinkle the
seasonings over the beans and toss to coat evenly. When you are ready to
blacken them, dump the beans into the hot skillet. If your skillet is small,
this may need to be done in batches. Don't overload the skillet. Using tongs,
move the beans around to blacken them evenly in the seasoning. The idea here is
to char the spices, not the beans themselves.
Serve the beans mounded on fresh greens, garnished with lemon
wedges, with 1/2 cup of Mustard Remoulade Sauce (see recipe below) for dipping.
Ric's Mustard Remoulade Sauce
This is a killer sauce that we also serve with chilled shrimp
or oysters.
2 tablespoons paprika
3/4 tablespoons Tabasco sauce
1
teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 cup Pommerey
or grainy mustard
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon gumbo filÈ
powder
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon grated or finely minced
onion
1 teaspoon grated or finely minced scallion
1 teaspoon grated or
finely minced celery
1 cup safflower, sunflower or other neutral-flavored
oil
In a food processor, combine all the ingredients except the
oil and process well. Then, with the machine running, add the oil in a steady
stream to emulsify.
