THE FRUGAL GOURMET

] AM) a child of the Pacific
Northwest, born and raised
in Seattle.

The idea of living wathout fish
has never occurred to me. ner do
Texpeet such a thounha wiih occ
tome in the future.

The following collection of
seafood recipes should delight all
members of sour clan. Teach yeur
children to taste all fish dishes so
they realize there is a great dil-
ference between the flaver of
canned salmon (ugh!) and fresh,
HOW DO LT KNOW THE
SEAFOOD IS FRESH?

1. It should smell tresh like the
sea, not like an old fishing dock.
As a matter of fact, the snop
should not smell fishy.

2. The fish should be bright in
color, with clear eyes and bright
red gills. Don’t be reluctant to
pull back the gill and see Uiat the
inside is brightly colored.

3. Poke the fish. The flesh
should be firm. Your finger in-
dentation should not remain more
than a few seconds, If a dent does
remain it means the fish is
deteriorating.

4, Check the inside of the belly
and be sure it is fresh and bright
in color.

5. Keep your fish very cold, in
the coldest part of your
‘refrigerator.

STEAMED MUSSELS WITH
CARAMELIZED ONIONS
(Serves 4 to 6 as an appetizer)

When | began dating my wife
Patty we would go into Greenwich
Village in New York and eat
mussels in red sauce at a great
Italian restaurant.

Now miussels are very ‘in’ in
Seattle and J think it is largely due

‘Food resting’ takes credit for specia

Inquisitive |

ANNE
GARDINER

ES SESS op

ednesday, September 2, 1992 ~ North Shore News ~ 49

tr gt we

ie freshest seafood

¥

NEWS photo Mike Wakefield

KEEP FISH in the coldest part of your refrigerator prior to cooking.

WHILE CAT-NAPPING
between the obligations of a
particularly hectic day,
fragments of ideas about
“resting” bump together.

Resting is important not only
for people, but also, somctimes,
for food. Though it never looks
like much is going on — resting is
deceiving,

Take, for instance, ratatouille
— robust, urematic. incredible
when mids with plump tomatoes,

fant, and green pepper, all at
their best in late Augiant.

As each of these ingredients has
a strong penonaliiy, simmering
evaporates seme al othe harsh
SVOTLONGS.

Restng, dora few hours or even
ovenmeht, gives Che ssreeiness of a
tate supnmier (oMmaAto Lime to settle
tts differences With a slightly bitter

eggplant. Miaed with an onion
that’s now fess likely to impose
for having simmered and rested, a
rich, heady favor emerges — yet
one in which no particular ingre-
dient dominates.

During the last ten minutes of
cooking, add capers and a healthy
handful of Parmesan — cheese,
You've created a dish you'll
remember for the rest of the year.

The credit for the special fla-
sors of many dishes such as
ratatouille gous to resting.

ht takes time for flavor essences
and aromatic oils te leisurely
mellow and blend.

Resting benefits other feods,
tao. A whole chicken or roast of
beef should stand between
roasting und serving for fifteen to
mwenty-five minutes.

tt is always rarer and more
moist near the center af the cut.

Juices on the outside, closer to the
source of heat, evaporate quickly.
While an outer covering of fat
helps hold soine of meat’s surface
moisture, the outside is afiways
drier.

But resting allows the juices to
redistribute through the muscle
tissues. Then’ roasted) meat
becomes more evenly mi » and
carves easily into thin slices rather
than shredding. Try it, acd you'll
notice the difference.

Give pastry aorest and if rotis
ever so chediently to a Mat, even
disk.

In dis case, resting lets the
sah amount oof liquid evenly
moisten ali the particles of flour,
Resting ehminates uneven dry or
moist patches in the pastry.

Refrigerate the dough for about
twenty minutes before rohing so
is chilled, but net so cold it

to the blessed Lialian influence.
3 tablespoons buvier
2 medium yellow
and thinly sliced

2 pounds mussels

2 tablespoons olive oif

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chop-
ped
Freshly
taste
hs cupdrs white wine

i's tablespoons balsamic sinegar
hy cup heavy cream

GARNISH:

Chopped parsley

Heat a large frying pan and add
the butter and onion. Saute over
mediuns hear for = miisutes,

Cover und stsweat"’ the onion
down aver fow heat Cook untril
the onion becomes golden brown
and caramelized. abeut 26
minutes. Be sure to stir the onion
often, Set aside.

Trim the lugey beards of f the
niussels and wash and drei
a 6- to S-quart pot and
oil, garlic and black pepper to
tiste. Saute for LS minutes and
add the drained mussels and wine,
and bring to a boil.

Stir the mussels, cover and
reduce the heat to a simmer.
Steam the mussels open, sdrring
onee, about § to 7 minutes. Drain
the iussels into a colander, reser-
ving the broth or ‘nectar.’

Heat the frying pan with the
onion again and strain in the
reserved nectar. Add the balsamic
vinegar and cream and simmer a
few minutes to reduce the thicker
slightly. .

Add the opened mussels in their
sheils and toss until all is hot ane
coated with the onion sauce. Serve
immediately with parsley garnish.

SICHLIAN TUNA
(Serves 4)

This dish is easy 10 prepare and
simply delicious. But the tuna
must be fresin.

Need | tel! you not to overcook
tuna? The centre should be soft
and moist, not dry and firm.
4 6-ounce fresh tuna steaks
Y. cup all-purpose flour
dredging
V2 cup olive oil fo. pan-trying
1 medium red onion, peeled
thinty sticed
Ys cup fresh chicken stock, or use
canned
14: tablespoons
vinegar
Freshly ground black pzpper io
taste
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

See Only page $1

flavors

crumbles.

Of course, not atl foods rest
well. Salads and fresh fruits are
best served quickly affer they’re
prepared. As resting is a scothing
kind of activity, foods with crisp
textures don't hold for lengthy
periods,

Be wary of where you let foods
rest. For a lengthy rest to nicilow «
flavors, resting should often take
place in the refrigerator as
micro-organisms grow less quickly
at cool temperatures.

fn our lives, snatching a few
minutes of quiet from the general
hurry of fife allows time to
pleasurably patch the pieces of a
day together,

And in some foods,  resiing
melds the ingredients into a more
complete whole. So it seems, used
with discretion, there's a lot to be
said for resting.

onions, peeled

ground black pepper fo

for

white wine

we