Mark Bittman’s Squid with Cilantro, Garlic, and Lime

Mark Bittman is one of the most popular cookbook authors of our time. On the tenth anniversary of his wildly popular cookbook How to Cook Everything, he’s published an anniversary edition with 2,000 simple recipes.  It’s a cookbook I go to all of the time for recipes as well as Mark’s good advice.

He’s also written another fresh and inspiring new cookbook that has become one of my current favorites - Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Express, 404 Inspired Seasonal Dishes You Can Make in 20 Minutes or Less. 

In Kitchen Express Mark has taken a whole new approach from some of his other best selling cookbooks, which have formally written recipes. This book has one paragraph instructions and Mark talks you through the recipe, allowing you to do what you mother did - add a pinch here and there, and taste as you go. Don’t have an ingredient? Substitute what’s in your pantry or throw in some fresh herbs if you have them.

A perfect example of substituting ingredients is this recipe. In the cookbook it’s titled Shrimp with cilantro, garlic, and lime. Mark suggested squid as a substitute for the shrimp and that’s what I’ve done here. Don’t be afraid of using squid. It can be bought ready-prepared from your fishmonger, so you no longer have to clean it yourself.  Simply cut the white body of the squid into thin rings and, if you like, use the cute little tentacles as well. They are my favorite part of the squid. Be sure to dry the squid well before using and take care not to overcook it or it will taste like tough rubber bands.

Squid with Cilantro, Garlic, and Lime
From Kitchen Express by Mark Bittman

In a large bowl, combine a handful or so of chopped cilantro, some minced garlic, the zest and juice of a lime, a tablespoon of fish sauce, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. In vegetable oil, cook a pound of cut up squid (dry squid well first) until they are done, about  two to three minutes, taking care not to overcook. (Or use shrimp and cook for three to four minutes until pink and no longer translucent). Toss the squid with the cilantro mixture. Serve on angel hair pasta, over noodles or rice, alone, or even as part of a salad.

I’m thrilled that more bloggers are becoming interested in Mark Bittman and his brilliant cookbooks. A group of five fabulous ladies are now celebrating Mark with a monthly Bittman Blog Hop called Tackling Bittman. It’s on the first Thursday of each month and I’m submitting this recipe to the February blog hop. Please visit Alex at A Moderate Life (the lovely and talented creator of the blog hop), Christy at Frugality and Crunchiness with Christy, Dr Laura at Who is Laura?, Sue at Couscous and Conciousness, and Pam at Sidewalk Shoes to see the other wonderful Bittman recipes featured this month on Tackling Bittman.

What’s your favorite Mark Bittman recipe?

A recipe for rabbit - Lapin a la Chasseur and the beautiful village of L’Isle Sur la Sorgue

Lapin a la Chasseur

Every time I think about rabbit, or lapin as it’s called in France, I think of a charming story I read about an American family from South Carolina that moved to France. The father worked for the Michelin Tire Company and was transferred, so he took his wife and family with him. They had two small children and the little girl was having difficulties learning French, so the mother asked the neighbor, a grandmotherly type, if she would help her daughter. The neighbor took the girl under her wing and one day they were on a walk and saw a rabbit in the garden. The grandmother told the little girl that it was called lapin. The little girl said, “He’s so cute.” “Non,” the grandmother replied, “delicieux.”

If you don’t like rabbit, don’t worry. The French Impressionist Claude Monet didn’t eat rabbit either. Who would dare to say the famous Monet didn’t have good taste. Just enjoy the photos for today. They are from L’Isle Sur la Sorgue, a charming French village with river canals of crystal blue water from the Sorgue River running between its ancient streets. There are several large old waterwheels that still turn. Sunday is the most popular day of the week in L’Isle Sur la Sorgue, because they hold a huge antique and flea market in conjunction with their farmers market. The village is a “do not miss” in travel guides. I hope you’ll enjoy them.

Because, as the grandmother said, the French think rabbit is delicious, we wanted to try to make it at home. We’d heard that rabbit was difficult to prepare because it’s often dry in texture. We’d made difficult dishes before, so as you can imagine, that didn’t’ stop us. One day while shopping at a butcher shop in a nearby town, we saw a package, so we snapped it up. As soon as we returned home we looked through all of our cookbooks for recipes for rabbit and found Lapin a la Mourtarde, meaning with mustard. In the past we’d used a similar recipe for chicken with mustard, carrots and onions that had been a success and decided to give it a try. We made every effort not to overcook it, but it turned out dry and we didn’t like it, although the sauce was delicious.

When we were in France, we asked Claude and Dana, owners of Bistro Decoverte, one of our favorite bistros in Saint-Remy, “Do you ever have lapin as your plat du jour?

“Not often,” Claude replied. “Why?” we asked. “Because it doesn’t sell well? “No,” he said, “actually it sells quite well, but it’s difficult to prepare.” Whew, even a Frenchman thinks it’s hard to prepare. It’s not just us. We told him to call us if he ever happened to have it on the menu and left it at that.

The next week I was walking along the boulevard when I heard someone call my name. Surprised that I might know someone in Saint-Remy, I looked around. It was Dana, Claude’s wife. We’re having lapin this Sunday she said. Would you like to make a reservation? Needless to say I said, “Oui Dana, s’il vous plait.” The lapin was delicious and was prepared a la Moutarde, with a mustard sauce. Claude quickly sold out of it and, much to our good fortune, featured it several more times during our stay.

When we returned home I was flipping through Mark Bittman and Jean- Georges Vongerichten’s cookbook, Simple to Spectacular, and ran across a recipe for Lapin a la Chasseur and decided to give rabbit a second change in my kitchen. Thanks to their excellent instructions, it turned out great and, as the French grandmother would say, delicieux. Because of their reputation and the fact that we’d failed before, I didn’t make many changes. I mean, who would have the audacity to think they could improve on a recipe from Jean-Georges? Not moi for certain. However, I took two shortcuts and used frozen little pearl onions and bought pre-sliced mushrooms. Rice or buttered noodles and a green salad make a nice accompaniment.

Lapin a la Chasseur

Adapted from Simple to Spectacular – serves 4

One 2 – 3 lb rabbit, cut into 10 pieces

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

8 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed

4 sprigs fresh thyme

15 small pearl onions, peeled (thawed and patted dry if using frozen)

8 ounces sliced white button mushrooms

½ cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon sweet butter

¼ cup minced fresh chives or parsley for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Season the rabbit with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large ovenproof Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add rabbit pieces (do not crowd the pan; may have to do more than one batch) and turn the heat to high. When the rabbit begins to brown, turn heat down to medium and add garlic and thyme. When it’s nicely browned, stir in the pearl onions and mushrooms and put the pot in the oven for 15 minutes.

Remove all but the legs from the pot to a platter, cover and keep warm. Add wine, stir and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Remove pot from oven and return to stove top. Remove legs and set aside on platter with remaining pieces. Add butter to cooking liquid in the pot and stir until butter melts. Taste and add salt and pepper if desired. Spoon sauce over the rabbit and serve, garnished with chives or parsley.

Falling in love with Mark Bittman's latest cookbook - Kitchen Express

Award winning cookbook author Mark Bittman has done it again. He’s written another fresh and inspiring new cookbook - Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Express, 404 Inspired Seasonal Dishes You Can Make in 20 Minutes or Less, that has already become one of my current favorites

He’s taken a whole new approach from some of his other best selling cookbooks, such as How To Cook Everything, which has formally written recipes. He writes one paragraph instructions and talks you through the recipe, allowing you to do what you Mother did: add a pinch here and there and taste as you go. Don’t have an ingredient? Substitute what’s in your pantry or throw in some fresh herbs in you have them.

I can hear Mark’s friendly voice talking to me all the way through the book, like a big brother looking over my shoulder, offering suggestions but never in a pushy or bossy way. Perhaps it’s because his voice is so accessible to us on television and the internet. If you’ve ever once heard him talk to Al Roker on the Today Show about how easy it is to stuff a chicken breast, in the New York Times Food Section video when he first introduced his readers to Jim Lehay’s no-knead bread from the Sullivan Street Bakery in Manhattan in 2006, or trekking around with Mario Batali and Gwyneth Paltrow in the PBS series Spain – On the Road, you’ll know what I mean.

Heather of Girlichef first brought this new cookbook to my attention when she introduced it in her post, Souper Simple Tuna Bean Salad. She prepared the salad and served it, as Mark suggested, over chilled asparagus, but added her own touches including amazing black truffle sea salt. I thought to myself - I’ve made a tuna and bean salad very similar to this for years, but I’ve never thought of serving it on asparagus – what a clever and refreshing twist to an old favorite. And there my love affair began with this cookbook. Thanks Heather. I owe you one.

Here are two of my current favorite recipes, but I assure you my list of recipes to try is already long, starting with sophisticated sounding Seared Pork Paillards with Prunes and Olives and a yummy Tomato, Goat Cheese and Basil Strata. I’ve adapted the following two recipes to suit my taste and pantry.

Cajun-Style Salmon with Mixed Baby Greens

Adapted from Kitchen Express by Mark Bittman

Mix together the following blend of Cajun-style spices (or use a store bought Cajun spice mix): one teaspoon each paprika, coriander, cumin and dried oregano; one-quarter teaspoon each cayenne pepper and cinnamon. Add kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Rub the spice mixture on the top of salmon fillets. Broil, spice side up, skin side down, or until desired doneness. If spice mixture begins to burn, turn the oven to 400 and bake until done. Serve the salmon on a bed of mixed organic baby greens that have been tossed with one part freshly squeezed lemon juice to three parts extra-virgin olive oil and seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Tuna and Bean Salad on Fresh Asparagus

Adapted from Kitchen Express by Mark Bittman

Whisk together 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and 1 finely chopped garlic clove in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (depending on the season), one 15-ounce can cannellini or great northern beans, drained and rinsed, 2 plum tomatoes, seeds removed, 3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley and toss together. Gently add one 6-ounce can of solid white tuna in water, drained and flaked or packed in olive oil if you prefer. Serve over freshly cooked asparagus spears.