Months ago I attended a fantastic multicourse dinner by Decatur Wine and Food Dude, and though all the dishes were impressive, I was blown away by the French Laundry salad of haricots verts, tomato tartare, and chive oil. The concentrated flavor of the tomato is explosive while remaining natural. The cool whipped beans, the glowing chive oil, and the impressive presentation send it over the top. I knew I was going to make this dish someday, and Dude was kind enough to send me the recipe last week.
The tomato confit recipe is readily available online, and you can pretty much follow the complete salad creation process on the French Laundry at Home blog. I didn’t bother with the tomato powder as I didn’t have enough time to experiment with the notoriously finicky process.
This post really only follow the process of creating the tomato confit, which is some incredible stuff that you should try, whether or not you want to make this salad. I used the extra confit as a soup garnish, spread it on toast, and I ate spoonfuls of it by itself. It’s that good. Though tomatoes aren’t in season, the slow roast extracts puckering sweetness from even the blandest of grocery store tomatoes.
Step 1: Beer (name on glass optional)
Step 2: core the stem end, score the opposite end
Step 3: Pour boiling water on the tomatoes
Step 4: Quickly drain and allow them to cool until you can peel them
Step 5: Cut the naked tomatoes into quarters, length wise, and scrape out the seeds and loose flesh
Step 6: Lay tomato “petals” on a line baking sheet, drizzle olive oil, dust with salt and fresh chopped thyme for 2-3 hours at 250 degrees
Step 7: Store the tomatoes in a bowl, pouring the oil from the pan over them – refrigerate for up to 1 week
I used this biscuit cutter to plate the salad, which begins with the chopped tomatoes, shallot, and balsamic vinegar
The beans are blanched and folded into the red wine vinegar laced, lightly whipped cream. The beans are stacked on the tartare, followed by a handful of salad. The plate is finalized with the chive oil, which is simple to make and looks gorgeous.
EatBufordHighway recently sent out a message on Twitter – “Thinking H+F after work tomorrow. It’s not passé yet, it is?”
I met up for some post work drinks (which turned into dinner, which turned into drinks and snacks at Eugene). And nope, it is not passé. Great food and drinks is still what they do.
Above – playing with the new camera
marrow
fennel sausage
sweet, sweet Old Fashioned
mushrooms
beef cheek – could be more tender, but good flavor
My first taste of the famous hot dog. Whoa. It’s as good as everyone says. Possibly as crave-worthy as the burger.
My post on the pork belly confit from the Ad Hoc at Home cookbook is far and away my most viewed post of the last four months, having almost three thousand page views. I think most of it has to do with the excellent photography by Broderick, but I think part of it is because it just sounds obnoxiously good – pork belly cooked in fat.
The best part is that the dish is as good as it sounds. So of course I made it again, this time using a larger slab of belly, courtesy of my friend Liz who is a great chef in Greenville. As there was so much pork belly, we couldn’t eat it all right away, so I cleaned the fat, then submerged the belly and kept it in the fridge for a month, pulling out a piece on occasion. Pork belly confit goes well with fried eggs, I’ve discovered.
David of Eat Buford Highway told me that he had made a similar dish, then fried it and made a sandwich out of it, and ever since I knew I wanted to deep fry a piece and try something similar. Tacos.
Of course, a unique protein calls for interesting taco garnishes. I started by quick pickling thin slices of beets. I used my mandolin to get the slices super thin, then soaked the beets in olive oil, cider vinegar, and added a tablespoon of both sugar and salt. Twenty minutes was enough time, but they were even better a few hours later.
For another accompaniment I tried to recreate the kimchi from Top Flr. I swear the kimchi they serve with their roasted chicken tastes like there is Frank’s Hot Sauce in it, so that’s what I used. I sautéed salt seasoned cabbage in a small amount of olive oil until it had a little color on it. Then I added two tablespoons of water and covered it and steamed it for a few minutes. Finally, I added 1/4 cup of Frank’s, took it off the heat, and mixed it all up. I really think mine tasted similar, but am 94% sure they don’t use Frank’s, just something reminiscent of it.
Here’s the pork belly, ready to fry.
3 minutes at 350. Awww yeah.
Plated on a white corn tortilla, with a small amount of cheese and salsa. The salsa isn’t necessary, later that day when I made another taco I didn’t use it.
One of the best “original” dishes I’ve made. The cabbage was spicy and creamy, the beets add texture and a welcome additional layer of flavor, and the pleasantly crunchy pork belly exterior hid the softest, most delicious pork fat I’ve ever tasted.
Photo from later that night:
