Arzak Eggs with Mushrooms and Polenta

This is a bit fancier than I usually get at breakfast time, but this is a pretty easy dish if you have leftover polenta you’re looking for a use for. The egg technique comes from Juan Mari Arzak, head chef of Spain’s famous Arzak restaurant.

Polenta and Mushrooms:

1 cup uncooked polenta

3 cups water

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons butter, divided

Crimini mushrooms, chopped

Salt

Bring the water to a simmer in a pot and slowly add the polenta, stirring to incorporate. Add in the salt and rosemary. Turn the heat to low and cook for half an hour, stirring frequently, until the polenta is very thick. Place the polenta into an 8”x8” baking dish lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

Cut the polenta into 4 pieces. Heat a frying pan over medium and add the butter. Add the polenta and cook for about 3 minutes per side.

In a separate pan, melt some butter and add the chopped mushrooms. Mine were in smaller pieces so they only took about 5 minutes total to cook. Salt the mushrooms while they’re cooking to help release their water.

Eggs:

4 eggs

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Pepper

1.5 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

Line 4 ramekins with plastic wrap so that there is some overhang. Add a little olive oil, then crack an egg into each piece of plastic. Add a little salt, pepper, and thyme to each egg. Bring the ends of the plastic together to create a bundle. Tie a piece of kitchen twine around each bundle. Tie the other end of the twine to a wooden spoon.

Bring a large pot of water up to a simmer. Add the egg bundles, balancing the wooden spoon on the top of the pot. Let simmer for 4 minutes – you can remove the bundles from water and poke the plastic to check if they’re cooked through.

Serve the mushrooms and eggs on top of the polenta, and grate some parmesan cheese on there for good measure.

Shrimp with Cuban Polenta and Guajillo Salsa

This is my take on shrimp and grits, using a Cuban style polenta recipe from Gran Cocina Latina and a salsa from Rick Bayless's Mexican Everyday. 

Guajillo Salsa (makes ~3/4 cup):

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 guajillo chilis, stems removed

4-6 (1/2 lb.) tomatillos, husked, washed and halved

3 cloves garlic, peeled

Salt

Remove the stems from the chilis and remove the seeds if you wish. I left some of them in for additional spice. Heat a pan over medium, add the oil and the chilis. Cook the chilis for about 30 seconds per side. Remove, cut into a few pieces and add to a blender jar.

Add the tomatillos and garlic to the pan and cook for a few minutes, until the tomatillos and garlic get some color on them, then flip and repeat. Add to the blender jar.

Blend the mixture into a liquid. Season with salt and refrigerate to store.

Sofrito:

3 tbsp olive oil

2 large tomatoes (12 oz.), peeled, seeded and diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, mashed with a mortar and pestle, or finely chopped and mashed

1 teaspoon salt

For our purposes, this will make a bunch of extra sofrito, but you can use the leftovers in all sorts of dishes, so just make the full recipe.

Heat the oil in a 12” pan until it shimmers. Add the garlic, sautee for 20 seconds, then add the onions and cook until golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes and salt and cook for 10 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and the fat is separated from the solids and starts to shimmer again.

Polenta (for 2):

¾ cup coarse yellow cornmeal (polenta)

2 ¼ cup water

Salt

Bring the water to a boil in a medium pan, add some salt, then slowly add the cornmeal. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Ladle in 1 cup of sofrito and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Add salt if needed.

Shrimp (for 2):

12 to 16 medium shrimp, deveined, shelled (tails on)

1 ½ sticks of butter (may need more depending on pan)

Salt (if using unsalted butter)

1 tbsp water

Cilantro

Heat 1 tbsp of water to a boil in a medium pot, whisk in the butter in a few additions to emulsify.  Add salt if using unsalted butter. Bring to a simmer, add the shrimp (make sure you have enough butter to cover the shrimp) and cover, simmering for 3 minutes.

Remove shrimp from butter and serve on top of polenta. Spoon some salsa on top and garnish with cilantro.

Roasted Corn Soup

I’ve never been big on soup, but for some reason I keep coming back to these chilled, summer-y soups. Adapted from: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fresh-Corn-Soup-Topped-with-Roasted-Corn-Guacamole-352975

Ingredients:

6 ears of corn

2 small (4 inch) cucumbers

1 yellow bell pepper

2 jalapenos

½ white onion

3 cloves of garlic

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

1 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon ancho chili powder

Garnish:

Avocado

Tomato

Shallot

Cilantro

Jalapeno

Croutons
Black Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Use a knife to remove the kernels from the cobs. I find it’s easiest to place a small bowl upside down inside a very large bowl, and place the corn on top of the small bowl. This way you can cut downward on the corncobs, and the kernels all fall into the bigger bowl.  Reserve the cobs. Pour some olive oil on the kernels, and season with salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and roast for 20 minutes. 

While that’s going on, take 3 of the reserved cobs, place in a pot, and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and let it go for about 20 minutes.

Seed and chop the bell pepper as well as the jalapenos, and roughly chop the onion, garlic, and cucumbers. When the corn is finished, reserve about 1/2 cup of kernels for garnishing, and place the rest in a blender along with the other veggies. Blend until pureed.

Take the corn broth, and pass it through a strainer. Add one cup of the broth to a pot along with the chicken stock and pureed corn mixture. Stir, and season with ancho chili powder and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let reduce for 20 minutes to half an hour, until you have a somewhat thick consistency that you’re happy with. Pass through a strainer into a bowl, and chill until ready to serve.