Saturday, February 23, 2013

Rosie Makes Enoki Soup.

Rosie has just finished making quarts and quarts
of beef and chicken consommés
and I'm ready to take a quart of the beef out for a spin.

I happen to have some enoki mushrooms
I'd bought to use for another dish,
then forgot about them and lost them
 in the refrigerator somewhere,
and then I found them.
Yay.

 
I'm making Enoki Soup.
Thanks again, Glow, for the spoons.
Love 'em.

Rosie's Enoki Soup

1 quart beef consommé
1 celery stalk, sliced thinly on the diagonal
3 TB + chopped onion
1 dried bay leaf
handful of enoki mushrooms
handful of parsley
fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 tsp paprika
freshly ground salt and pepper
1/2 package of tofu (3 1/2 ounces)
1/3 cup dry white wine


I cubed the tofu.
And then I thought,
does anybody really like tofu?

I'm thinking, "NO."

 
Well, everything is better fried, right?
I fried up the tofu in oil and butter -
butter for flavor and oil to raise the smoke point.

 
 Drain on paper towels, salt, and set aside.

And you know what?
I still don't like this tofu crap.

On to the soup:
Add a tablespoon of butter to your pan
and sauté onions and celery 
over moderate heat for a few minutes.

Holding the stem at the tip,
use your other thumb and forefinger
to strip the leaves off the stem, going down.

1/2 teaspoon of hot paprika

About 1/3 cup dry white wine.
I used a Chardonnay.

Add in the beef consommé.
Cover mixture and bare simmer
over low heat for 15-20 minutes.


I'm thinking about where I want to go with this recipe
and I know the tofu ain't gonna carry it.
I need meat!
I foraged around in the freezer downstairs
and found a porterhouse steak 
that had been hiding since October of 2011.
That works.

While the meat is still slightly frozen,
slice it into thin strips.

I used up all the meat.
Take that bone and freeze it.
Think beef stock.
 Rainy Day.
 Beef Consommé.

Have a marinade ready -
2 TB cornstarch
1 TB Tamari sauce
1 TB rice wine
Mix by hand and marinate the meat for 20 minutes or so.

I heated my pan over high heat,
added a tablespoon each butter and oil,
and added in the meat. 
 
Here's a Rosie Tip #391:
Sprinkle about a teaspoon or two of sugar over the meat.
Helps the caramelizing,
ie, browns the meat.

Brown the meat,
add in the rest of the marinade,
and cook a minute.

Add the enokis to the broth and simmer for a minute.


Add in the beef to the broth.

Add in the dreaded tofu.

I prepared my accoutrements:
about 1 TB or so of chives
1 tsp or so of thyme
about 1 TB of parsley

I decided I needed some heat.
Dried cayenne pepper will do the trick.

I needed to look at the vertical components.

Enoki Soup.
Top with fresh herbs and dried red hot pepper.

It's good for what ails you.

This is magnificent.
This is sublime.





 Enoki-dokey.

Tofu is better since it's been in the broth,
soaking up the flavors and goodness,
but tofu can still bite me.

2 comments:

zzzadig said...

Weight your tofu for a while to press out excess moisture, then fry in sesame oil. It's still going to be tofu, but better.

Rosie Hawthorne said...

Yeah, I saw that trick on Food Network after the fact.

Here's a challenge for you, Zzzadig:
Make tofu taste good.