In This Installment
Tinned Garfish in Spicy Olive Oil from Iberian Peninsula
Sustainability has been at the forefront of many food movements in recent years, with an aim of promoting and eating those foods that don’t impact the environment in a negative way. Tinned fish has been very trendy lately (even though it has a long history) and there’s concern that its popularity might lead to high demand, which in turn leads to over production/over fishing in order to reach that demand.
One way we can all help prevent such a thing from happening and an overall depletion of certain fish populations is to A) eat less fish—which no one should deny, but if you’re going to eat fish then B) eat fish that are more sustainable and have less effect on the ecosystem. These fish have shorter lifecycles, reaching maturity quickly so they’re able to breed before being harvested. Historically, some of these fish have been seen as less desireable or better as bait for larger fish. But attitudes are changing. Turns out if you cook and package things well with good ingredients, you can bring out the flavor in lots of things…and that’s the story with garfish.
There are many species of garfish, but they all share a common needlelike appearence. They’re long, almost eel or snake like, but with fish faces and pointed mouths. They have a firm texture and a rather mild flavor with hints of umami which makes it able to take on the flavors of other ingredients as well. Personally, I’ve settled into some “old man” habits when it comes to tinned fish (or at least what I always imagined were old man habits). I’ll make some toast, lay down some tinned garfish (in this case), give it all a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt and pepper and chow down. Simple snack. Delicious lunch.
But you could get fancier. If you had some Drake’s or simple batter you use for frying, you could lightly fry them in a pan or deep fryer and serve like they’re smelt (a very Michigan thing to do). That would be delicious, too. Still, I’m all for simplicity, so try this tinned fish straight from the tin, either on a salad or plated with crusty bread, some vegetables, and olive oil.
Dried Delta Lemongrass from Vietnam
If you’re like me, you’ve noticed lemongrass popping up in all sorts of sauces and pastes and drinks and every place else people put “exotic” flavors. We’ve been selling a lemongrass paste inspired by Cambodian recipes for a couple of years now and it’s spicy, citrusy, bright, fun. But very concentrated and made with lots of other ingredients. Finding and using pure lemongrass seemed like a bridge too far in many instances, so we made do with other options (and the results have been fantastic). But straight up lemongrass alluded us, until we came across this Vietnamese version from the Mekong delta and brought to the states by immigrant owned and woman led Vân Vân.
The dried delta lemongrass has a citrusy character for sure, but it has a little sweetness to it as well. Unlike the concentrated pastes that I’ve used in the past, this flavor is elegant and bright. It livens up all sorts of dishes. You can use it in place of fresh lemongrass in recipes, you can reconstitute it in oil or water for a couple of minutes before adding to a dish. Try out this syrup recipe…it might not be peach season anytime soon, but substituting any fruit would work and then you’ll have this amazing fruity, floral, citrusy syrup that you can use to brighten up all sorts of dishes while we suffer through these winter doldrums!
Peach Lemongrass Syrup Recipe
Ingredients:
480 grams (1 lb) or 3 peaches (use crunchy ones, avoid soft peaches)
6 grams (1.5 tablespoons) Delta Lemongrass
243 grams (1 ¼ cup) rock sugar or granulated sugar
250 grams (1 cup) water
Pinch of salt and lime juice
Method:
- Clean the peaches thoroughly. Fill a pot with cold water, add some salt and lime juice. Cut the peaches in half or quarter, remove the seed, and add them to the pot of water to avoid browning. Peel the peaches with a small knife, then drain the peach pieces.
- Optional step: Add peach peels to a small pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Doing this will give the syrup a beautiful natural pink hue.
- In a pot, dissolve the sugar in water over medium-low heat.
- Add the lemongrass and a pinch of lime juice (tip: use a tea bag to keep the lemongrass together for easier removal). Add the peach slices to the pot and cook for 7-10 minutes, until the peaches become slightly translucent.
- Prepare an ice bath in a mixing bowl. Remove the peach slices from the pot and immediately add them to the ice bath for about 5 minutes. Drain the peach slices and transfer them to a container. Freeze for about an hour.
- In the meantime, let the syrup cool down completely. Remove the lemongrass or continue steeping for stronger flavor.
- After an hour, transfer the peaches to a clean container. Pour the cooled syrup over.
- Let the mixture sit at room temperature for two hours, then move it to the refrigerator.
- This syrup will last up to 10 days in the refrigerator. Use this as sweetener with seltzer, tea, or cocktails.