Ruth Reichl's Pasta with Reduced Seafood Cream Sauce -- and Sea Urchins or Scallops

This is based on Ruth Reichl's "Michele's Pasta and Scallops" from her book "Comfort Me With Apples". Concentrating a flavorful fish stock -- then reducing it again with cream -- creates an intense, indulgent sauce. We've served this home made fettuccine and scallops, but the version pictured here is even better, topped with sea urchins and home made angel hair pasta that holds the sauce more gracefully. 

It's easy to make, just make sure you use good ingredients. We've been making it since 2003, it's a treat. Be warned that Sea Urchins are even more expensive than Scallops, a little flat will set you back about $14; they are quite perishable.  Makes a rich dinner for two.

2  cup  Fish Stock (use good stuff, not that junk in a box or can)

1  cup  Heavy Cream

1  flat  Sea Urchins ("tongues"), or 1/2 pound Sea Scallops

         Kosher Salt

1/2 Lb   Pasta, preferably home made angel hair

1  bunch Parsley, chopped fine for a garnish

1  Tbs   Lemon Juice, fresh, optional

1  Tbs   Toasted Bread Crumbs, wildly optional

Get pasta water boiling. Do the rest while it's heating.

Reduce Stock to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. I found a measuring cup to be helpful in judging this reduction and the next.

Add cream, simmer to reduce mixture to 2/3 cup, about 6 minutes. It's fine if the cream bubbles vigorously, it won't burn like milk would. It should start to take on a caramelized color and aroma. When sufficiently reduced, adjust Salt (don't salt earlier, the reduction will make it too intense), and keep warm on a very low flame.

Flat of Sea Urchins, home made Angel Hair pasta

Cook the pasta in salted water. If you use dried pasta you might want to start this step earlier; if using fresh, maybe a little later so it doesn't get ready before the scallops. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain.

If you're using Sea Urchins, you don't need to cook them -- think sushi.

If you're using Scallops, dry them well, sprinkle generously with coarse Salt, and freshly ground Pepper (the black pepper flecks look good against the cooked scallops when served). 

Heat a heavy metal (dude) skillet; I use a cast iron. Film with oil. Grill scallops until just barely cooked, about 1-2 minutes per side. Transfer to plate, cover to keep warm.

Drain and plate the pasta.

Top with Cream Sauce; if it's gotten too thick, thin with a little of the reserved pasta water first.

Top with (uncooked) Sea Urchins, or seared Scallops.

Sea Urchins on intense sauce and pasta

Garnish with Parsley for a color contrast.

Squeeze a little Lemon Juice to brighten, if desired.

I think black pepper distracts from the color, but add if you like.

You can also top with toasted bread crumbs for a crunchy contrast, but that pushes this elegant dish to a more rustic direction.

 

Farmers' Market Tomato Sauce, canned

Spring Valley Farm was selling a 25 pound box of tomatoes for $15, a bargain, especially since these ones were nearly blemish free. We made 10 Quart canning jars of sauce in a 1950's vintage pressure cooker I got long ago. This one is meat-free to give us the most flexibility later. Amounts are approximate and you can adjust the veggies and herbs.

25 pounds Tomatoes, fresh, trimmed of blemishes

 2        Onions, chopped
 2        Carrots, chopped
 2        Celery stalks, sliced

          Olive Oil

          Tomato Paste
          Red Wine
          Chili pepper flakes
 1   head Garlic, peeled, chopped 

 2        Bay Leaves, whole
          Parsley or its stems
          Basil, fresh

Freeze the tomatoes in a single layer, then remove. They develop a beautiful white frozen coating from the humidity.

To peel the skin, soak each tomato in a bowl of water a couple minutes, nick the skin with an X in the bottom, and it should easily peel and slip off; if it resists, give it another minute in the bath to thaw the skin.

Peeled and still quite firm

It's convenient to cut them while they're still a bit firm from the freezer, I cut them in 8 pieces each.

Saute the Onions, Carrots, Celery, Garlic in a generous glug of Oil until soft in a pot large enough to hold everything; we split ours between an 8 and 10 quart stock pot.

Add the Tomatoes, Tomato Paste, a healthy dose Wine, veggies, and herbs, then bring to a strong simmer.
Continue cooking until it's a little thickened.

Blend smooth so you don't have to worry about fishing out the herbs (our VitaPrep does a good job), then strain through a course sieve to remove the seeds.
Return to heat, bring to simmer, cook a bit more if it needs thickening, and finally adjust the Salt.

Fill 10 quart canning jars, add lids and seal. (did you know the Ball Aerospace Company is the same company that made Ball Jars?).
Add 2 quarts water to the pressure cooker, add the bottom rack, then the sealed jars.
Pressure cook at 5 PSI for 10 minutes (per the Mirro Matic instruction booklet), and let cool naturally. I had to run two batches in my 12 quart vessel.

Crispy Pig Ears: 2-ways

At a heritage pig break-down demo we went to, the butchers handed out the cuts at the end: we got the pig ears -- it's not like we had to fight off the others to get them! We've had pig ears once before, at Eola in DC, cooked by adventurous chef Daniel Singhofen. I wanted something crunchy, and found two preparations, so we tried both. All the recipes I saw boiled the ears for 2-3 hours, then finished them to crisp them up.  Serious Eats had a simple finish of searing on a hot grill. Rather than boil, which I thought would leech too much flavor, I cooked them sous vide, as suggested in a Great British Chefs article I found when searching for sous vide.

They both turned out quite well, without a lot of fuss, The seared ear was like a giant Chicharrón, one of my guilty pleasures. The fried slices were like an awesome bar snack.  Both are super rich, the 8 ounce total weight was enough for two of us for dinner.  Irene made a caper and cornichon salsa, but a zingy chimichurri would go well, too.

2 Pig Ears (225 g, 8 ounces)
Kosher Salt
Lard, frozen hard
Flour
Corn Starch
Cayenne Pepper powder
Oil for Frying

Singe the Ears to burn off any hairs; ours were scrupulously clean so this wasn't really necessary.
Put the ears in a zippy bag with about 25g Salt, a splash of water, shake to distirute, and chill 6 hours.
Remoe the ears, rinse and dry.

Place each ear in its own sous vide bag, add a pat of frozen Lard, seal, and cook 24 hours at 85C/185F.
Remove the Ears, press flat and weight down, then cool overnight.

Remove the Ears.
Heat Oil for frying to 190C/375F.
Heat two cast iron pans over high heat.
Mix Flour, Cornstarch, Cayenne in a baggie.

Place one Ear on a pan, and cover with the other pan to sear both sides. 
Cook a few minutes until it starts getting bubbly and crusty, flip the ear, cover, and cook another couple minutes. 

Cut the other Ear into thin strips.
Add the strips to the Flour mixture, shake well, then remove and shake off excess dusting.

 

Boil in Oil for about 3 minutes until crunchy, drain.

Serve with an assertive acidic sauce or salsa.