I behave with certain recipes the way I do with certain songs — on repeat, obsessively, filling and refilling my kitchen with the same riffs and patterns of flavors and aromas, an ongoing loop of practice on the palate.
I get hooked on a concept or a flavor profile or a cooking method and then BAM — it’s literally all I want to do. A sensory recurrence on which my mind fixates, each iteration of the experience revealed as a new layer of personal understanding.
This happened to me last summer with the prospect of making Vietnamese summer rolls with our spot prawns, until I somehow managed to track down the rice paper and then made no less than one hundred rolls in the course of a week. This past fall it happened again with the soufflé-a-thon that transpired when I one day remembered that I had in my possession a ramekin. Well, I’m pleased to report that this week there have been two such obsessions:
The Ritz Cracker Crust
I learned of this buttery brilliance from Ina Gartnen’s renowned Baked Cod with Garlic & Herb Ritz Crumbs. And from the first bite — no, from the moment I got a whiff of the sauce making magic at the bottom of the casserole dish — I understood that this was indeed the incarnation of a perfect trifecta of texture, flavor and brightness. A savory symphony. A gift for the tongue.
Because there’s nothing like the classic combo of dry white wine, lemon zest, fresh garlic and parmesan cheese to wake up the senses — but it truly is the detail of the Ritz crackers crumbs that transforms this cod-coction into a cravable delight. I’d even call it a secret weapon. P.s. I also made it with halibut and it was just as divine.
Large Form Pasta
I’m terrible at math, but I recently learned a new formula: ricotta cheese + bechamel sauce + lots of mozzarella + large funky pasta shapes like manicotti, lasagna sheets and shells + seafood = BIG GIANT YES PLEASE. It all started with this sudden hankering I had to make a seafood lasagna. And since I had wild Alaska pollock and spot prawns on hand, that's what I used loosely following this recipe, rolled up in lasagna sheets and dripping with cheesy sauce. And let me tell you, the revelation of large pasta as a (cheesy!) vehicle for wild-caught seafood, is one that I am thrilled to now have in my rotation.
Live wild!... and trust your hankerings!
Monica
Pictured Above: The aforementioned buttery brilliance of a Ritz cracker crust on cod, seen here with steamed rice (not seen here is how happy I was to gobble it all up).
