Twice-Fried Plantains with Gingered Tuna Tartar and Guacamole Recipe

A great entertaining recipe featuring Virginia grown ginger.

I'm excited to share with everyone this easy and fun cocktail nibble recipe and video featuring Virginia grown ginger. It's a recipe for Twice-Fried Plantains with Gingered Tuna Tartar and Guacamole, and it's my latest for The Virginia Farm Bureau's "Heart of the Home" cooking segment, which I am happy to report has now doubled in production, which means more recipes and more shows featuring Virginia everything.

You can catch these shows in their entirety here as well as here on various statewide cable and satellite stations. However, for a play by play on how to make this creative nibble that's best described as being a little Cuban and a little Asian all wrapped into one tasty bite, check out the above video. Savory plantains are double fried until they're super crispy and then topped with a fresh tuna tartar blended with sesame oil, green onions, and of course, a healthy dose of freshly grated Virginia ginger before receiving a dollop of creamy guacamole. You'll have to trust me on this one, it is an amazingly addictive combination.

Enjoy!

Twice-Fried Plantains topped with Gingered Tuna Tartar and Guacamole

Serves approximately 20 as a cocktail nibble

For the Tartar:

1 pound sushi-grade tuna, cut into ¼-inch cubes
3 tablespoons soy sauce or Japanese shoyu sauce
3 tablespoons green onions, minced
3 tablespoons sweet onion, diced
1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
Dash of garlic chili sauce or Sriracha sauce, optional
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (either white or black)

Mix all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.

For the Guacamole:

2 ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
Juice of ½ a small lime
1 teaspoon garlic, finely minced or grated
1/2 teaspoon jalapeno, finely minced (or to taste)
1 tablespoon cilantro, minced, plus extra for garnish
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium-sized bowl , mash your avocados coarsely (leaving a few chunks here and there). Add the rest of your ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with additional fresh lime juice and cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the Plantains:

3 to 4 large unripe (green) or barely ripe (slightly yellow) plantains
2 cups (approximately) peanut or canola oil, for frying

With a sharp, small knife, cut the ends from each plantain and cut a lengthwise slit through the skin. Peel away the skin and discard. Cut plantains crosswise into 1 ½-inch thick pieces.

In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat a ½ inch of oil over moderate heat. It should be just hot enough to sizzle when a plantain piece is added. Fry plantains in batches, without crowding, until tender and just golden, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. With tongs, transfer plantains to paper towels to drain. Repeat until you've cooked all of the plantains.

Remove skillet from heat and reserve the oil. With the bottom of a heavy saucepan or a wide solid metal spatula, flatten plantains to ¼ inch thick and about 3 inches in diameter. Heat the reserved oil over moderate heat until hot, but not smoking. Fry the flattened plantains again in batches, without crowding, until golden, about 2-3 minutes. With tongs, transfer plantains onto paper towels to drain. Season lightly with salt, if desired.  Keep plantains warm in the oven until ready to top with the tuna and guacamole.

To serve: Top each plantain with a spoonful of the tuna tartar and then a dollop of guacamole. Repeat until you’ve used up all of your ingredients. Serve immediately on a platter garnished with cilantro and lime slices.

©2012 Fatback and Foie Gras. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Cloth Bologna: What the Heck is It?

My dear husband, who often works long hours on the road in rural parts of Virginia (he is in sales) snapped this gem of a photo while touring the back roads of Grottoes, Virginia, which is not far from Weyers Cave (pronounced Weeerz not Wirez FYI), and is home to the fabulous Grand Caverns a.k.a. "America's Oldest Show Cave" (who knew?) and I just had to share it. You see...this sign spoke to me, and not just because it has a whole mess of hammy goodness drawn all over it (and cabbage for .44 cents a pound), but because they sell cloth bologna.

Image credit: Northern VA Daily

So, what the heck is cloth bologna? Basically, cloth bologna it bologna (a.k.a. various pieces parts, and let me emphasis the word "parts" here) all smushed up together and stored in a cloth bag instead of a more traditional casing (as in the red plastic stuff) with the argument being that the cloth bag lets in more air so all the pieces parts can "breathe" (this, and the fact that cloth bologna is homemade all the way).

Personally, I never grew up eating the stuff, mainly because it wasn't readily available where I lived, but I am seeing it offered more and more at produce stands throughout Virginia, so it has piqued my interest. I dig nothing more than a bologna sandwich on soft white bread (with just a squeeze of yellow mustard) and I figure a slice of the homemade stuff will make the perfect addition. Total, awesome kid food.

With a little assistance from the interwebs, I did find this article from Northern Virginia Daily featuring Crabill's Meats out of Toms Brook, Virginia, who apparently make a pretty fine version of cloth bologna that they boast isn't "junk bologna" (slaughter room floor goodies). Instead, they've "upped the quality" by using the same meats they use for making homemade sausages. I'm curious to check this place out, and the next time my husband passes through Grottoes, I'm gonna send him with a $20 bill to pick me up some of the good stuff

Have you tried cloth bologna? I'd love to know what you think and where you found it.

©2012 Fatback and Foie Gras. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Kitchen Sink Tomato Sandwich Recipe

Virginia grown tomatoes are finally in, and even with the threat of a nation-wide drought that is sadly affecting crop production for many farmers across the country, Virginia tomatoes have managed to survive, and man, are they good this year. My father-in-law who lives in Nelson County, Virginia stopped by yesterday with a big bag of tomatoes and corn. Oh happy day! These local vegetables came from Stuart's Draft, Virginia and were grown by Dave and Miriam Miller, proprietors of a true gem of a spot, Miller's Bake Shoppe, a Mennonite Bakery located about two hours from Richmond that's totally worth the drive. For starters, you haven't lived until you've eaten this carrot cake....

But wait, there's more, like old fashioned molasses crinkle cookies, fresh blackberry pie, mincemeat pie, Hummingbird cake, homemade soft pretzels, whoopie pies, even salt rising bread. The list literally goes on and on, and everything this family run business creates is made from scratch with all natural ingredients (no preservatives) and is out of this world good.

This morning we dove into the cinnamon buns. Drizzly decadence indeed, and totally worth the extra love handle.

But, back to those tomatoes. I can think of no better way to eat these sweet, drippy Virginia gems than to sprinkle thick, juicy slices with a little sea salt and some coarsely ground black pepper (that is, unless you add in a couple of slices of soft white bread and a generous slathering of mayonnaise).

Behold the Kitchen Sink Tomato Sandwich (as originally penned by Ernie Mickler in his cookbook, "White Trash Cooking" I'm on board with all parts of this recipe, minus the Miracle Whip (too tangy for me) and my mayonnaise has got to be Duke's.

Kitchen Sink Tomato Sandwich 

From "White Trash Cooking" by Ernest Matthew Mickler (Ten Speed Press, 1986).

2 very large fresh picked vine ripened tomatoes
2 slices of bread
Salt and pepper, to taste
Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip

In the peak of the tomato season, chill 1 very large or 2 medium tomatoes that have been vine-ripened and have a good acidity taste.

Take 2 slices of bread. Coat them with 1/4 inch of good mayonnaise. On one piece of bread, slice the tomato 1/4 inch thick. Salt and pepper that layer.

Add another layer of sliced tomato, and again salt and pepper. Place the other piece of bread on top of this.

Roll up your sleeves, and commence to eat over the kitchen sink while the juice runs down your elbows.

So, how do you like to enjoy your summer tomatoes?

©2012 Fatback and Foie Gras. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Video and Recipe: Grilled Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce

So, here's my latest "Heart of the Home" video segment for the Virginia Farm Bureau's "Real Virginia" featuring a super-easy, perfect-for-summer grilling recipe. Check it out here:

Grilled New York Strips with Spicy Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce
Serves 4
 

For the sauce:

1 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
½ cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
½ cup packed fresh oregano leaves
3 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 small shallot, chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (use more peppers if you crave the heat)
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

4 boneless New York strip steaks, cut at least 1¼" thick
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

In a food processor, add all the sauce ingredients except the olive oil, and pulse well until blended. While the processor is still running, add the olive oil in a stream. Remove sauce to a bowl, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. You can make this a day or two ahead.

Preheat a grill to medium-high.

Rub olive oil generously over the steaks, and season well on both sides with salt and pepper. Grill steaks to desired doneness (medium-rare to rare recommended). Serve steaks with sauce spooned on top.

©2012 Fatback and Foie Gras. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Renowned Southern Chefs Hit RVA to Celebrate Virginia Food and Drink

Photo: Christopher Shane

If you haven't heard about this amazing experience (and I mean experience, not just dinner) happening at Pasture on June 2, you just might be living under a rock, a house, or perhaps a small mountain. Dubbed Off-Broad Appétit, as it is serving as a kick-off party of sorts for Richmond's annual block-off-the-streets-and-eat-yourself-silly-all-day festival Broad Appétit, this is going to be one very special evening.

Hosted by Richmond's own Chef Jason Alley, a.k.a. Star Chef Rising Star, a.k.a. Bon Appetit cover boy (his fried chicken and pot likker noodles, anyway) a.k.a. general lover of slaw dogs, Orange Julius and steamed Virginia blue crabs...

 

...this night of noshing and sipping is about celebrating what makes Virginia such an amazing dining destination. To assist in this endeavor, Alley has assembled a few of his closest friends, who just also happen to be some of the most groundbreaking and respected chefs in the industry, as in an Iron Chef contender who dares to go up against Bobby Flay to tackle chum salmon (Note: she didn't win, and I personally blame this on Mr. Cranky Pants food critic, Jeffrey Steingarten, but that's another story), a James Beard Award winner (Best Chef Southeast) as well as fiesty Top Chef All-Star competitors, a Top Chef finalist, and a 2012 Best New Pastry Chef according to Food and Wine magazine.

So, what happens when each of these chefs creates their own special dish featuring locally sourced Virginia ingredients such as Rappahannock River Oysters, Border Springs Farm lamb, Leaping Water Farm chicken, Autumn Olives Farm pork, and Bearer Farms honey? Freaking magic, that's what. Toss in glasses of Barboursville wine, plenty of local brews, ciders and Cirrus vodka, and you've got yourself one heck of a party with the icing on the cake being that this entire hoo-ha benefits FeedMore Richmond, an umbrella organization made up of the Central Virginia Food Bank, Meals on Wheels and The Community Kitchen.

Not only will attendees have the opportunity to get up close and personal with certain chefs whose restaurants often book out a month or more in advance, but guests can walk away full and happy knowing that their hard-earned dollars (tickets are $150 per person all-inclusive) are helping support Virginia's local farms, producers, wineries, breweries as well as an organization dedicated to eliminating hunger in our area.

Here's the official line-up and where to purchase. FYI, last I heard there were less than 20 tickets left and time is running out to buy, so I suggest you move quickly. Buy your tickets here.

Saturday June 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Pasture

416 E Grace St
Richmond, VA 23219

©2012 Fatback and Foie Gras. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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