Baked cod with barlotto

Had a hankering for fish. Went to the market and found some nice fresh cod filets. Then this:

Baked cod
2 cod filets, about 6 oz. each
salt and pepper
all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
¾ cup parmesan cheese
breadcrumbs, homemade or panko

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with a baking sheet inside.

Lightly salt and pepper the cod on both sides. Dredge in flour, shaking off excess. Coat with egg, shaking off excess. Press into bread crumbs (mixed with the parmesan) on both sides.

Put the filets on a wire rack coated with cooking spray. Lay the wire rack on the baking sheet in the oven. Bake 16 minutes.

Wednesday’s NY Times “Dining” section had some interesting recipes including two for using watercress and one for sorrel, a green I’ve never had that I can remember. Last night I made barlotto, a risotto made with barley and watercress.

The ramps of course are available for such a limited time, but, having had them – used them. The original recipe called for 1 shallot minced.

If I make this again someday I will pre-cook the barley for 30 minutes. At our altitude it took 45 minutes to cook the barlotto and even then the barley was significantly (but acceptably) al dente.

Barlotto (for 4)
4 oz. watercress, heavy stems removed
1 oz. spinach (about 1 cup)
½ cup flat parsley leaves
5 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 ramps, white and green parts finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
6 oz. pearl barley (1 ½ cups)
¼ cup white wine
2 oz. parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Have a large bowl of ice and water ready. Blanch the watercress, spinach and parsley for 1 minute and transfer to the ice water. When cool, squeeze out excess moisture and puree in food processor with ½ cup of the stock until smooth.

Place remaining stock in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a wide sauté pan. Add shallots and garlic and sauté on medium heat until barely starting to brown. Add the barley, stirring until coated with butter. Add wine and boil away until evaporated. Start adding warm stock, about 2/3 cup at a time, stirring frequently and adding more as it is absorbed, until barley has plumped but is still al dente, about 30 minutes (maybe longer).

Fold in remaining butter, the watercress puree and half the cheese. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with remaining cheese, and serve with remaining cheese and a garnish of watercress sprigs on top.

Soup's the thing

Consider this posting a guide to the concept of soup making. Off the top of my head I can’t think what cannot go into a soup. In 1966 I went to L. A. to rehearse for my first professional recordings and concert tour. I stayed for several days with a guy named Jay Reilly. His real name was Jay Kapfer and I don’t know how I remember that. After every lunch and dinner Jay put any leftovers into a pot in the fridge. On the weekend he would turn all of that into a soup. I only had one of his concoctions and remember that it was quite good.

Jay's healthy attitude toward nutrition and thrift didn't provide him with a long healthy life. A few years after I knew him, he was murdered in an alley behind a bar.

Another of my finds in the supermarket sale bin was something labeled “beef soup bone.” It’s just over a pound and has quite a bit of meat on it. Beef and barley soup sounded like a good idea yesterday. The weather was cold and quite rainy, although for Denver that is such a rare occurrence that we rejoiced in it.

As is often my wont, I wanted to make up a soup. I started by foraging in the fridge for whatever I could use. There were more than enough odds and ends.

Obviously, you can’t replicate this at home. You can, however, use what you have and have a luscious soup for a cold and rainy day. When I cut the meat up, I was astounded to find that the bone was tiny. It probably weighed 1/10 lb. So we had plenty of beef.

This doesn’t have to be a beef soup. It could just as easily be chicken noodle or ham and bean depending on what ingredients you find. If I had had it, I would have added celery. Since you don’t have the sauce, which is the prime flavoring and seasoning, you should use canned broth – low salt, of course.

The addition of ramen noodles was Peter’s idea. As a result, we should probably have borrowed Rachel Ray’s word and called it a “stoup,” not exactly a stew, not exactly a soup. But I’m not going there.

Beef and barley soup

1 soup bone, just over 1 lb.
3 bay leaves
fresh or dried tarragon
½ onion, left intact
olive oil, for browning
salt and pepper
4 cups water
1 carrot, thinly sliced
“barbeque” sauce, leftover
pearl barley
1 package ramen noodles

Preheat the oven to 275°.

Liberally salt and pepper the beef on all sides and brown in 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a heavy pot. Add the bay, tarragon, onion, and the water and bring to a boil.

Put the pot in the oven for 3 hours, turning the piece of beef every 1 hour.

Remove the beef and allow to cool completely. Shred or dice the meat in 1/2” pieces or so. Sprinkle it with a tsp of salt and a tsp of pepper. Toss to coat. Remove the bay leaves from the liquid and discard.

Add more water if necessary and bring back to a boil. Add the carrot and ¾ cup barley and cook until tender over low heat. It will probably take close to 45 min.

Boil the ramen noodles in 2 cups of water for 2 ½ minutes. Drain, toss with a splash of olive oil and a couple of pinches of the flavor packet.

Stir in the sauce and the meat. Add the ramen noodles. Bring the heat up until everything is hot. Enjoy. Oh, you can garnish this with parsley. We didn’t have any.