Get the Recipes from Our Delicious Lunch at SF’s Cookhouse!
Author:Lindsey ShookA day at San Francisco’s Cookhouse with a group of digitally savvy design and food tastemakers turns out deliciously. Now, get the recipes!
Pan-Seared Halibut Cheeks over Smoked Corn, English Pea and Pancetta Risotto with Salsa Verde
Serves 8
Smoked Corn
2 Tbsps apple-wood chips
2 Tbsps cherrywood chips
3 ears corn, shucked
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Risotto
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock—such as Rapunzel vegetable bouillon
1 lb pancetta, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cups arborio rice
1 cup white wine
1 lemon, juiced and grated zest
2 lbs English peas, shucked and blanched
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Salsa Verde
2 tsps fresh oregano leaves
¼ cup fresh tarragon leaves
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 cup fresh basil leaves, plus extra for garnish 1 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 anchovy in oil
2 Tbsps capers
½ cup chopped scallions—white and green parts
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ tsp red chili flakes
1 tsp pepper
Halibut Cheeks
20 halibut cheeks, rinsed and patted dry
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp pepper
½ cup olive oil
Smoked Corn
1. Prepare a stovetop smoker with the wood chips.
2. Drizzle the corn with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt, then place ears inside smoker and close the lid.
3. Smoke the ears for 10 to 12 minutes, or until corn is lightly smoky and still crunchy. Cool and slice off the cob.
Risotto
1. In a pot over medium heat, warm the vegetable stock until steaming. Reduce heat to low and keep hot.
2. In a heavy pot over medium heat, sauté the pancetta until very crispy, 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a paper towel–lined plate.
4. Add the onions to the pancetta drippings and cook until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. 5. Add the rice and sauté until well coated and translucent around the edges, 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Add the white wine and simmer, stirring constantly, until the rice has absorbed the wine.
7. Add the vegetable stock to the rice, one ladleful at a time. Wait until the rice has absorbed the stock before adding more. Keep adding stock until the rice is al dente, about 20 minutes.
8. Add the peas, corn, pancetta, lemon juice and zest, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes to blend the flavors.
9. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, season with salt and pepper to taste, and turn off the heat.
Salsa Verde
Put all of the ingredients into a blender, and pulse on medium until mixture is well incorporated but still a little chunky.
Halibut Cheeks
1. Season the fish generously with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add the olive oil and sear cheeks until very crispy at the edges and just cooked through, about 1 minute on each side.
To Serve Divide the risotto between 8 plates. Top with 2 or 3 halibut cheeks and a drizzle of salsa verde. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.
Almond-Mascarpone Tartlets with Bing Cherries in Red Wine Syrup
Serves 8
Tartlet Dough
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
½ tsp salt
14 Tbsps (1¾ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 egg yolks
2 Tbsps ice water
½ tsp white wine vinegar
8 4-inch fluted tartlet pans with removable bottoms
Almond-Mascarpone Cream
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
½ cup packed almond paste
6 egg yolks
¾ cup sugar
2 Tbsps cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups mascarpone cheese
Bing Cherries in Red Wine Syrup
2 cups + 1 Tbsp medium-bodied red wine
½ cup sugar
1 vanilla bean pod, cut in half lengthwise, seeds scraped out
¼ tsp salt
2 Tbsps cornstarch
2 tsps pink peppercorns (optional)
1 lb Bing cherries, pitted and halved
8 springs of fresh mint, for garnish
Tartlet Dough
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and pulse until the dough looks like coarse crumbs.
3. In a small bowl, mix the egg yolks with the ice water and vinegar.
4. Add the liquid to the flour mixture, and pulse until the dough begins to come together.
5. Scoop the dough onto the countertop, and knead a few times before flattening into a disk and wrapping in plastic.
6. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
7. On a cool surface, roll out the dough.
8. Using a 5-inch-round cookie cutter, cut rounds out of the dough. Place one round in the bottom of each pan, pressing the dough around the edges and up the sides.
9. Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of each tartlet shell, and fill with pastry weights.
10. Chill for the tartlet shells 5 minutes.
11. Bake the tartlet shells until the edges are golden, about 15 minutes.
12. Remove pastry weights, and bake until the bottoms are golden brown, another 5 minutes.
Almond-Marscarpon Cream
1. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk the milk, heavy cream and almond paste until the almond paste dissolves and the mixture is steaming.
2. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt together until pale.
3. Once the milk mixture is steaming, slowly add half of it to the bowl with the eggs, whisking constantly.
4. Pour the egg mixture back into the pan and bring the cream to a boil, whisking constantly until it thickens to a pudding-like consistency.
5. Add the almond and vanilla extracts and strain the cream through a sieve into a bowl.
6. Let cool slightly before folding in the mascarpone.
7. Divide the pastry cream between the tartlet shells and cool in the refrigerator until the cream has set.
Bing Cherries in Red Wine Syrup
1. In a saucepan over high heat, warm the 2 cups red wine, sugar, vanilla bean pod and seeds and salt.
2. Turn the heat down to medium-high and cook, whisking occasionally, until the wine is reduced by one-third and is becoming syrupy.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining tablespoon of red wine with the cornstarch until smooth.
4. Add the mixture to the red wine syrup and bring to a boil, whisking constantly.
5. Turn off the heat and add the pink peppercorns, if using.
6. In a heatproof bowl, pour the syrup over the cherries and allow to rest until room temperature.
To Serve Top each tartlet with a spoonful of cherries in syrup. Garnish with a sprig of mint.
