A take on the classic using 400 million year old slabs of Himalayan salt in place of traditional kosher salt. Use fresh, wild-caught salmon in season if you can find it.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Cover one block with half of the dill sprigs. Mix the dry ingredients. Place the salmon on the dill-covered salt block, skin down. Coat the fleshy parts of the salmon, and cover with the remainder of the dill sprigs. Place the second salt block on top, wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap, and place in a fridge.
Leave in the fridge until the fish becomes resilient but not firm to the touch. The top surface should be dry, the sides moist, and the flesh will be slightly opaque. Allow one to three days. Thinner and wild salmon cure faster, while thicker and farm-raised salmon take longer.
When it is ready, unwrap the gravlax, rinse off the spices, and pat dry. Serve skin side down crackers and top with crème fraîche and dill.
Recipe and photos by Mark Bitterman. To see more, check out Salt Block Cooking
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When the Italian fishermen of San Francisco threw together their combined catches, their respective gardens, and whatever wine they figured they could spare, they didn’t so much as create a masterpiece as procreate one. The heady addition of anise and fennel bitters marries the dish with the vibrancy of New Orleans: nothing short of physical passion in stew form.
Serves 6
Ingredients:
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a Dutch oven or heavy soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the celery and onion and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Try not to brown.
Put in the garlic and pepper flakes and stir until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the wine, salt, and black pepper; boil for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, broth, and anchovy paste. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until the celery is cooked through.
At this point, you can store the broth for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. Bring back to a simmer before proceeding.
Add the clams and mussels to the broth, cover, and cook until the shellfish are open, about 8 minutes. Add the shrimp and salmon, cover, and return to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Stir in the parsley and bitters. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Discard any clams and mussels that don’t open. Serve, drizzled with the remaining olive oil, in big soup bowls with lots of crusty bread.
Recipe from Mark Bitterman's Field Guide to Bitters and Amari - Photo by Clare Barboza
Recipe adapted from Mark Bitterman's new book, Bitterman's Field Guide to Bitters and Amari.
]]>Ingredients:
Recipe from Mark Bitterman's Field Guide to Bitter's and Amari
You shoot a bird. You light a fire. You muster some African spices. You grab some salty-bittertart preserved lemons. Simple things unite, and your encampment is redolent with roasted spice and meat. Douse a bite with cardamom bitters. Now you stare up. The black night sky, buckshot with diamonds.
Serves 8
Ingredients:
For the chicken:
For the preserved lemon relish:
Makes ½ cup
For the chicken, mix all of the spices into a rub; set aside.
Preheat a grill for direct medium heat, 350 to 400°F.
Rub the chicken all over with half the oil and all of the rub, concentrating on the skinless side.
Brush and oil the grill grate and place the chicken skin side down on the grate.
Grill for about 15 minutes and then turn with a spatula or tongs. Grill for another 15 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh registers 170°F.
While the chicken is grilling, mix the remaining 1½ tablespoons oil, the bitters, and lemon juice together; set aside.
Prepare the preserved lemon relish by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl.
Cut the chicken into serving pieces and drizzle with the olive oil–bitters mixture.
Serve with the lemon relish.
Recipe from Mark Bitterman's Field Guide to Bitters and Amari
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Seriously, what's better than salt + butter?
Makes a bunch of caramels
Ingredients:
Line an 8×8 inch square dish with wax paper and then slightly oil the paper. Combine butter and heavy cream in a small saucepan on low heat until it begins to simmer. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large saucepan, melt sugar, water, and corn syrup together on medium-high heat, until mixture dissolves, begins to bubble and turns slightly brown in color (350 degrees F on a candy thermometer). Remove from heat and gently stir in the cream mixture.
Place back on the burner and boil, stirring vigorously, until the mixture reaches 248 degrees F (about 10 minutes). Pour into prepared 8×8 dish, then let sit at room temperature until cooled and slightly firm.
After 1 1/2 hours, invert dish onto cutting board. Peel off wax paper and cut into 1×2 inch rectangles. Sprinkle with fleur de sel and wrap in 4×5 inch wax paper squares.
Find more recipes in Mark Bitterman's James Beard Award winning book, Salted: A Manifesto
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Shrubs! What a miraculous, often overlooked cocktail flavoring. Shrubs! Most excellent during the holidays. Shrubs! Tangy, sweet, sour, bitter. Shrubs!
The sourness of a shrub elevates our sense of taste similarly to salt, which is why this tart cocktail tastes bold yet clean and fresh. A one-two punch of tart bitterness with an aromatic soul. Enjoy with tequila, as shown here, with rye or bourbon -- or as a non-alcoholic mocktail with a touch of soda water in place of the alcohol.
]]>Bitterman's Fleur de Sel sea salt is mineral-rich, delicate sea salt hand harvested using only wooden rakes and wheelbarrow in a stunning mangrove forest, just 3 miles from the Pacific Ocean. To amp up the flavor of your next pie, sprinkle a generous pinch of Bitterman's Fleur de Sel right before baking!
Fleur de sel literally means "Flower of Salt" in French, and many classic fleur de sels are produced in regions of France - Guérande, Camargue, Noirmoutier, and I'ile de Ré. But the label 'fleur de sel' describes the way the salt is made and the qualities it possesses.
Bitterman's Fleur de Sel is a sun evaporated salt with fine, irregular, moist, mineral-rich crystals. This salt is made in Guatemala by raking the crystals that blossom on the surface of a crystallizing pan. Pure and unrefined, this sea salt is hand harvested using only wooden rakes and wheelbarrow in a stunning mangrove forest, just 3 miles from the Pacific Ocean. Try Bitterman's Fleur de Sel or Taha'a Vanilla Salt sprinkled on top of this decadent apple pie!
Ingredients:
Makes 1 pie
For serving:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch pie dish and set aside.
First, make the pie crust. Mix shortening or butter with flour and salt using a fork or pastry blender until it's crumbly. Add as much water as needed to hold it together, and mix continue to mix gently with a fork. Roll out over a floured surface, and cut into half. Cover one half in saran wrap and place in the fridge. Roll out the other half in a 9 inch circle and line your pie dish.
In a large bowl, sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg over the apples and toss to combine. Place the mixture into the pie crust lined pie dish. Place the pie dish in the fridge while you're making the caramel sauce.
Next, make the caramel sauce. In a medium pan, heat butter on medium heat until melted. Then add in the flour to form a paste. Add the water, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, vanilla, brown sugar and white sugar and bring to a boil. Then reduce temperature to low and simmer (keep caramel sauce on simmer until you're using it or else it may harden).
Take out your pie crust and pie dish out of the fridge. Take about 3/4 of your caramel sauce and pour over the apples. Roll out and cut the top pie crust into thin strips, and create a lattice top over the apples. Using a pastry brush, brush the rest of the caramel sauce over your pie. Sprinkle the top with fleur de sel sea salt.
Place pie in the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 35-45 minutes or until the apples are softened. Once baked, allow to cool a bit and serve with vanilla ice cream. Sprinkle generously with Taha'a Vanilla Salt. Enjoy!
Original recipe from Farah Raqib. Follow along on instagram at @findfarah. Visit http://tplusf.tumblr.com/
]]>Black Diamond Flake Salt's pyramid-shaped crystals are very large and provide a nice toothsome crunch that makes for a marvelous counterpoint in texture on this creamy goat cheese appetizer. The raven color of this salt (along with the cacao nibs) also brings delightful visual contrast, sure to elicit an exclamation from your guests!
An instant party classic! Simple to make, elegant, impressive and tasty to boot. If you've ever been to a cocktail class, build your own bitters class, or salt block coking class, you've likely snacked on this dish. Your next happy hour or party snack, below.
Serves 10 to 12
Ingredients:
Spread the cacao nibs in a single layer on a sheet of foil.
Roll the log of goat cheese carefully in the nibs so that the cheese doesn't stick to your fingers. Once the cheese is well coated, roll the rog with a little more pressure to embed the nibs into the cheese. Place on a serving plate.
Sprinkle the cheese with salt, allowing the crystals to tumble across the plate.
Cut the baguette into thin slices and arrange them around the cheese log or place them in a basket to serve alongside.
To show guests how to serve themselves, cut a round of cheese from the log and place it on a slice of baguette; top with a few of the scattered chunks of Black Diamond Flake salt.
Original recipe from Mark Bitterman's Salted: A Manifesto - Follow along on instagram at @selmeler - Visit www.markbitterman.com
]]>A Thanksgiving classic. At least at our table. Make your mashed potatoes a centerpiece, not just a vehicle for gravy. Or better yet, make them the centerpiece of your meal AND a vehicle for gravy...
]]>Another way to experience the power and revel in the versatility of chocolate is to drink it.
The history of drinking chocolate dates back to the deepest shadows of pre-civilization; for hundreds of years, and possibly for thousands, French, Spanish, Aztecs, and Olmecs have consumed it as a drink. When melted down, superbly crafted dark chocolate reaches its fullest expression. It is complex and stimulating; an entire jungle of Theobroma cacao chocolate trees spring up from your taste buds, revealing before you unexpected textural dimensions and infinitely varied flavors.
]]>Dark Chocolate is every bit as complex and satisfying as wine. Each cacao bean reflects the unique genetic heritage, terroir, growing conditions, and horticulture of the Theobroma cacao tree, and every cacao farmer and cacao buyer has a gastronomic perspective and level of skill that hugely influences the resulting chocolate. For this reason, eating a dark chocolate bar is one of the purest, most satisfying ways to experience the unbounded intricacies of chocolate itself.
Another way to experience the power and revel in the versatility of chocolate is to drink it. The history of drinking chocolate dates back to the deepest shadows of pre-civilization; for hundreds of years, and possibly for thousands, French, Spanish, Aztecs, and Olmecs have consumed it as a drink. When melted down, superbly crafted dark chocolate reaches its fullest expression. It is complex and stimulating; an entire jungle of Theobroma cacao chocolate trees spring up from your taste buds, revealing before you unexpected textural dimensions and infinitely varied flavors.
Choosing the bar is your opportunity for adventure. Let your imagination run free and your personal tastes deliver you into the wild. Nothing is off limits here; use your favorite dark or milk chocolate. Melt it down, stir in a finishing salt, like Taha'a Vanilla or Halen Mon Gold, and taste the beautifully deep flavor your favorite chocolate was destined for. It's your turn to explore.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
Heat the water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the water begins to steam (you don't want it to boil), add in the chocolate and stir until melted.
Remove from heat, let thicken for 5 minutes, and then stir in salt. If desired, rim glass or mug with additional salt, then serve.
Recipe adapted from Salted: A Manifesto on the World’s Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes by Mark Bitterman
]]>Our Black Diamond Flake Salt works beautifully on dishes where a little visual and textural pizzazz is desired, such as on top of soups, grilled asparagus, and more. The deep, dark obsidian pyramidal crystals are very large and provide a nice toothsome crunch that makes for a marvelous counterpoint in texture on these enchiladas. Its raven color brings delightful contrast to a dish lighter in color and is sure to elicit an exclamation from your guests. Try it!
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Or try using up your lingering winter carrots and spring into summer with this rooty Carrot Cake recipe!
Back in 2009 I was walking by a movie theater down by Canal Street in the rain. With nothing better to do I walked in, sat down, and watched “I Am Love.” Then there was the love scene amidst wildflowers. And that was that. The scene with Tilda Swinton eating prawns is surely the most remarkable piece of food porn ever put to cellulose. Ever since then I’ve had a fantasy of mixing a drink for Tilda Swinton. This would be the drink I’d make for her.
Serves 2 (you and your love)
Pour everything but the cherries over ice in a chilled mixing glass. Stir steadily until the desired dilution is reached: about 15 seconds if using ice from a bucket or 30 seconds if using ice straight from the freezer. Strain into chilled martini or coupe glasses. Garnish with the cherries.
Cheers!
Mark
Recipe adapted from Bitterman's Field Guide to Bitters & Amari
]]>The martini is the velociraptor of cocktails, effortlessly perfect in its irrefutable, reptilian logic. It cannot be improved, it cannot be perfected, it cannot be mastered. But what is a martini? What are its proportions? Is it gin, vermouth, water, olive, or twist? Or, as the ancient manuscripts tell us, are there bitters in the martini’s DNA? A few dashes of citrus bitters may not answer the question once and for all, but through the palest amber of liquids in your glass you will see, at last, the perfection of the question.
Serves 1 (you)
Pour everything but the olives over ice in a chilled mixing glass. Stir steadily until the desired dilution is reached: about 15 seconds if using ice from a bucket or 30 seconds if using ice straight from the freezer. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with the olives.
Optional bitters embellishment: Instead of mixing the bitters into the cocktail, float the dashes on top of the finished drink to accentuate the aromatics.
Cheers!
Mark
P.s. Enjoy these photos from our 2016 Election Party!
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Looking for a spooky cocktail to celebrate All Hallows' Eve? Here's a ghoulishly sweet and creamy cocktail that will make anyone drop dead.
Serves 1 (you)
Ingredients:
Wet rim of glass and roll in black salt. Mix cream, vodka and soda together in a cocktail shaker. Add drops of vanilla bitters. Serve in a chilled martini glass.
Serves 10 to 12
Ingredients:
For the crust:
For the filling:
Spray with cooking spray or line a tart pan withparchment paper. Finely crush the chocolate cookies with a foodprocessor or blender. Stir crumbs together with 10 tablespoons meltedbutter until well combined. Press into the bottom and sides of a pie pan. Freeze crust for 10 minutes until set.
Combine remaining 8 tablespoons butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to bubble. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, for 1 more minute, then remove from heat. Slowly mix in 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream until smooth. Cool caramel for about 15 minutes at room temperature then pour over the prepared crust. Place in the freezer for about 10 minutes or until the caramel is cooled but not stiff.
Place chocolate chips in a glass bowl. In a saucepan,bring 1 cup heavy whipping cream to a bubble but not boil over mediumhigh heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for 5 minutes.Then whisk until completely smooth. Pour the chocolate over the caramel and refrigerate overnight to set. Sprinkle with Bitterman's Fleur de Sel once completely cool then serve. Enjoy!
Recipe & Photos by Farah Raqib. To see more of Farah's photos and recipes, visit tplusf.tumblr.com. Recipe adapted from kevinandamanda.com
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Sometimes you just want to slump into a chair and sip indolently on a fruity drink. Sometimes you want to throw your body to the mat and sip fervently on a fruity drink that is truly badass. I’m crazy about all the bitters you can put in this cocktail. Go to town—enjoy the tiki abandon of throwing armloads of ingredients into a zombie glass. Take out your aggression on the bitters, tossing in more of them, and more varieties of them. This is definitely a Mai Tai, but it’s a Mai Tai with moves.
Serves 1 (you)
Muddle the lime half and mint sprigs in a shaker. Fill the shaker with the golden rum, curaçao, syrup, and bitters. Short-shake with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass or snifter filled with crushed ice. Float the dark rum on top and garnish with the fruit stick.
Cheers!
Mark
Cocktail photo by Clare Barboza
]]>A delicious and fresh summer drink that serves around 4 people. The perfect way to take advantage of summer watermelon. This drink plays well with vodka, tequila, rum, and more, however it is just as tasty on its own. Have fun and make it your own, there are no rules!
A delicious and fresh summer drink that serves around 4 people. The perfect way to take advantage of summer watermelon. This drink plays well with vodka, tequila, rum, and more, however it is just as tasty on its own. Have fun and make it yours, there are no rules!
Serves 4 people
Ingredients:
Wipe the rim of your favorite glasses with lime wedges and dip into lightly crushed lemon flake salt.
Add all remaining ingredients to a blender, and blend until smooth
Pour into glasses, and enjoy!
Cubanos are usually encased in foil prior to grilling and pressing— it helps to keep the edges from crumbling and falling away. But when you’re grilling between hot salt blocks, wrapping is counterproductive. The bread toasts up beautifully, with the moisture lurking in the butter that’s slathered on picking up just enough salt to push flavor into this sandwich from the outside in. The effect is not unlike an explosion, a Cubano supernova.
Serves 4 hungry people
Ingredients:
Half an hour before you are ready to start grilling, put the salt blocks on an unheated gas grill. Heat the grill to low, cover the grill, and warm the blocks for 10 minutes. Raise the heat to medium and wait another 10 minutes. Raise it to high and wait another 10 minutes. A laser thermometer aimed at the center of a block should register around 450°F.
If using charcoal, bank a chimney of red-hot charcoal briquettes to one side of the firebox. Put the blocks on the grill grate away from the fire and cover the grill. In 20 minutes, using grill gloves, move the blocks so that they are over the coals. In 10 minutes, your blocks will be 450°F and ready for grilling.
Spread 2 tablespoons of the butter on one half of the loaf and the mustard on the other half.
Make layers of ham, pork, cheese, and pickles on the buttered half; top with the mustard-spread half. Use both hands to press down on the sandwich to flatten it slightly. Smear the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter all over the outside.
Using grill gloves, arrange 2 blocks end to end. Put the sandwich on the blocks and top with the other 2 bricks, pressing them down to balance them on top of the sandwich. Cover the grill and grill for about 10 minutes, until the bread is toasted and the cheese has melted. Remove the sandwich to a cutting board and cut on an angle into 8 thick slices.
Serve with mojo for dipping. Enjoy!
Original recipe from Mark Bitterman's Salt Block Grilling - Grab your copy and get grilling!
]]>Some things are hard to improve upon. For the beautifully minimalist gin and tonic, all I can think of is piling on the seriously refreshing mineral flavors of the French maritime Alps. With a touch of Suze, you’ll feel like you’re sitting in the backseat of a huge, obscenely luxurious limousine while watching the city lights flicker off the water as you glide into the night... but in the comfort of your own abode.
Serves 1 (you)
Fill a collins glass with ice. Pour everything but the twist over ice, then stir for a few seconds. Top with tonic water and garnish with the lime. Serve with chips, peanuts or olives and a Zoom happy hour.
Cheers!
Mark
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A great way to strike up conversation with anyone is to say that you invented Italy. Say it earnestly. You were hot and cranky and thirsty, and you knew for a fact that nothing was any fun anymore. But then you had an idea. You pulled over and ordered something tall and fresh and tart and bitingly bitter to slake your thirst. You looked around, and everyone was happy, talking, jumping off rocks and into the sea. You were happy. And that is how you invented Italy.
Serves 1 (you)
Put a handful of ice cubes into a wine glass. Add the Campari, vermouth, and bitters. Stir. Top with Prosecco and garnish with the orange slice. Serve with chips, peanuts or olives and a Zoom happy hour.
Cheers!
Mark
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