Articles of Mastication

Pancetta Rustica

Pancetta, if you didn’t know, is quite simply Italian bacon. Pork belly is cured with garlic, herbs and aromatic spices such as nutmeg, clove and cinnamon, then hung to dry. Often the belly is rolled and tied before drying for an attractive spiral effect when sliced, but not always. Most commercial pancetta you’ll find in the United States comes as thin slices of the rolled variety. My decidedly un-commercial pancetta (pictured above) is not rolled.

Pancetta is excellent as a foundational flavor for sauces, sauteed with vegetables for frittata (such as this one I made a while back), or simply sliced and fried for breakfast or sandwiches.

My most recent batch of country pancetta was finished yesterday. It’s officially gone, but I’ll start another batch in a day or two. If you’re in Portland and you’d like to get hold of some of my pancetta, simply contact me to inquire about becoming a client.

Tags: cooking, food, food and drink, italian food, Meat, mediterranean, Portland, portland food, portland food and drink, Recipes

Posted in Herbs, Meat | No Comments »

Fried Smelts, Tasted

What delightfully mild little fish the smelts are, and how terrific that their smallness and abundance lends to my eating more of them. I estimate that I put away twenty-five of them last night at supper time. Their preparation was delightfully simple. Since there is a negligible amount of innards in the tiny body cavity, no gutting is required. Simply rinse and dust the whole fish in well-seasoned flour, then fry in about 3/4 inch of  nearly smoking vegetable oil until browned to your liking.  I like to add an ounce or two of olive oil to my fish-frying oil for body.

Drain them on a paper towel, sprinkling a little sea salt on while they’re still hot. A dash of lemon juice and a drizzling with olive oil are all that are really necessary, but as with calamari, a variety of dipping sauces and aiolis can complement the fish nicely. Smelts are just mild enough to act as a canvas for dipping sauces, and generally cheap enough to regard as you would a gang of chicken wings. Sauce ‘em up. They won’t be insulted.

For those of you who didn’t catch it, here’s my write-up of Mimice, the oldest fish cafe in Zagreb, where they serve lots of fried smelts, sprats and other wee fishies. I bought my fresh smelts at Newman’s Seafood in City Market, just up the street (735 NW 21st Ave, 503.221.3007), and Liz Crain has this nice little bit about Newman’s at Food Lover’s Guide to Portland.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Indian Pickles

If I haven’t mentioned achar before in another post, I’ll take this opportunity to proclaim Achar Pachranga from Pachranga Foods as one of the best spicy oil pickles on the market. I’m especially fond of the lotus root and Indian gooseberries in their signature blend. You can put the stuff on just about anything, or merely eat it straight from a fork.

Tags: cooking, food, food blog, india, indian, indian food, indian pickle, media, photographs, photography, photos, pickle, Portland, portland food, portland food and drink, Recipes, Vegetables

Posted in Fruits, Oils and Fats, Spices and Seasonings, Vegetables | 1 Comment »

Oh, My Sole

When you have beautiful fish such as these exquisite filets of Dover sole, please don’t tamper with it so much. In this case I sea-salted and peppered each filet, heated the cast iron skillet to wicked-hot and then removed it from the stove. I gently placed each filet into the pan and let them cook on the residual heat for about ten seconds on each side. Onto a plate they went, where they received enough olive oil and lemon juice to mingle with the juices of the fish and give me something to soak up with a crust of bread.

Tags: blog, chef, cooking, fish, food, food and drink, mediterranean, pdx, Portland, portland food and drink, Recipes, Seafood

Posted in Fish and Seafood | No Comments »

If I Were a Vegan…

… I’d probably enjoy this simple miracle of ingredient cross-utilization on a fairly regular basis. It is, quite obviously, an uncomplicated salad of carrot julienne, cremini mushrooms and basil chiffonade with an impromptu strawberry walnut dijon vinaigrette and cracked pepper.

Tags: blog, cooking, food, mushrooms, pdx, photographs, photography, photos, Portland, portland food and drink, Recipes, Vegetables

Posted in Fungi, Herbs, Salads, Vegetables, Vegetarian | 2 Comments »