I learned to cook from two women: my mother, and Julia Child.  The latter was from a book, but nothing beat looking over my mother’s shoulder and pestering her with questions.  This occurred shortly after I graduated from college, moved to Austin, and quickly realized that the only way I could afford decent food was to make it myself. It did not take many canned soup evenings to tenderize my brain into an eager state to learn.

When we traveled down to Washington D.C. this past weekend, I had a chance to cook in my mother’s kitchen and tried to make the most of it as time permitted.  The dinner was not complex, but the results were successful: this salad followed by a ramp and mushroom risotto (posting next).  This post is about the salad: simmering dried turkish figs with thyme, wrapping them with prosciutto, and serving on a bed of arugula, walnuts and goat cheese with a lemon/olive oil dressing. At the bottom of the post, I’ve also included some photographs taken while walking around Georgetown.

Prosciutto-wrapped figs, arugula and goat cheese salad
Serves 4

Baby arugula
8 dried turkish figs
1/3 lb of prosciutto
Handful of walnuts, broken up or roughly chopped
Good goat cheese
1 lemon
Fresh thyme
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Figs are not in season right now, but we can still get dried figs. For the salad, I simmered the figs for about 15 t0 20 minutes, just covered with water and with some sprigs of thyme. The figs were then removed from the water and patted dry.

Measure out enough baby arugula (rocket) for 4 small plates.  Wash and dry by gently rolling in a kitchen towel.  Create your dressing to taste by combining the juice of 1 lemon with olive oil (add the olive oil slowly, whisking with a fork, and taste as you go), salt, pepper and a bunch of thyme leaves.  Place the arugula and walnuts in a bowl and toss with the dressing. Let sit for a few minutes while you finish the rest of the salad.

Cut the prosciutto slices into long strips about 1.5 inches thick.  Halve the figs with a sharp knife and roll each half in a length of prosciutto (1/3 of a pound, thinly sliced, should provide enough).

Lisl did the plating and I liked her approach: plate the salad by mounding the arugula, accumulate some walnuts on the top, crumble some thinly sliced goat cheese around (we used a Boucheron), and place the wrapped figs.  Take the lemon dressing that has accumulated on the bottom of the bowl and, with a small spoon, drip on each of the wrapped figs.  Top with some fresh pepper.

This was paired with a full-bodied Verdicchio white from Italy.

- – -

While walking the dog, I had a chance to stroll around Georgetown on a perfect spring day — the kind we are dying for up north (as I write this, back home in NY, it is cold and pouring rain outside).  Like many, I love to take pictures of doors.  What is it about portals that captivates our imaginations?  A door combines color, geometric line, and ornamentation.  It spells passage, curiosity, and stories. In any case, here are a few snaps that caught my eye.

The asparagus rolls were the result of mind-bending repetition. I had to watch a silent Mark Bittman make them about 700-odd times. Yes, I flew Jet Blue to and from San Francisco last week and Bittman was dancing all over the screens. I never actually listened to the audio, but it’s really not necessary for such a simple and clever appetizer. Here is the Bittman video for those who haven’t flown Jet Blue recently!

I boiled the asparagus for 5 minutes, then quickly placed under cold water; seasoned the arugula with the juice of a lemon, a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper; rolled it all up in prosciutto; and sliced into “rolls”. I’ve wrapped asparagus in prosciutto and grilled it before, but really liked the addition of arugula here. Very good.

Mushroom Crostini w Truffle Salt
Serves 4

4 thin slices of ciabatta-like bread, toasted
2 handfuls cremini (young portobello) mushrooms, thickly sliced
3 tbsp butter
olive oil
thyme leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
salt and pepper
truffle salt

This is a simple nibble that just takes a bit of patience with the saute pan. Melt the butter and a splash of olive oil in a pan on low heat, and saute the mushrooms for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the parsley, thyme, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of freshly ground pepper about 5 minutes into the cooking process. If they start to dry out, add a splash of dry vermouth or white wine.

Before serving, toast the thin slices of bread (note: if you are a garlic fan, you might rub a smashed clove of garlic on the top of the slice first). Spoon some mushrooms on top, drizzle some of the melted butter from the pan, and finish off with a small pinch of truffle salt.

Truffle salt? Well, after lunch with the Foodbuzz crew last week, they walked me over to the Ferry building and so raved about this salt that I had to get some. I had been doing SO well resisting the truffle craze, but you know, and I’ll say this very quietly, it really is quite yummy.

…as for the rest…

The main course was nothing fancy; I have been experimenting with different methods for making bolognese sauce. I happened upon the Food Network chef Anne Burrel because of a twitter post by Deb of Smitten Kitchen, and the first thing I saw on Burrel’s webpage was a video of her making meat sauce. Her technique was very different from mine. She purees her mirepoix in a food processor, browns the heck out of absolutely everything, and uses tomato paste rather than whole or crushed tomatoes.

I did not follow her recipe exactly, but experimented with many of her ideas, finishing off the sauce with balsamic vinegar to add a spin of my own. I rather liked the results, served with freshly chopped parsley and a heaping of grated parmesan. I still like my personal method, but Burrel’s ideas make for a richer sauce for the right weather and mood.