Currant Pine Nut Relish Recipes

CURRANT-AND-PINE-NUT RELISH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Toast pine nuts on a rimmed baking sheet just until pale golden and fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine currants, saffron, and hot water, adding more water as needed to just cover currants; let stand 10 minutes. Strain, reserving saffron water.
• Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low. Add celery, onion, chile, and fennel seeds; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is soft and sticky but not taking on any color, about 15 minutes. Remove and discard chile. Transfer onion mixture to a bowl.
• Pulse currants in a food processor 3 to 4 times, just until coarsely chopped. Add pine nuts and pulse 2 more times (mixture should be chunky and sticky). Stir currant mixture into onion mixture. Stir in saffron water, a little at a time, until relish has desired consistency; season to taste.

CEDAR PLANK SALMON WITH CELERY SALAD AND CURRANT PINE NUT RELISH

Steps:

• For the salmon: Preheat a smoker for cooking to 225 degrees F and preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove the cedar planks from the water and pat the surfaces dry. Put the cedar planks on a baking sheet. Place the salmon portions skin-side down on the cedar planks. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Evenly top the salmon with the parsley and lemon zest. Place the baking sheet in the smoker and allow the salmon to smoke just until it has been slightly infused with smoke flavor, about 15 minutes. Remove from the smoker and immediately transfer to the oven to finish cooking, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit until room temperature, or refrigerate and serve the next day.
• For the currant and pine nut relish: Combine the vinegar, currants, honey, shallots and mustard seeds in a small pot. Heat the pot over medium-high heat until bubbles begin to form, then lower the heat to maintain a slow simmer. Continue to cook until the currants have plumped and the liquid has reduced and become slightly viscous, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and fold in the pine nuts. Season the relish with salt.
• For the salad: Dress the celery, celery leaves and cilantro in a medium bowl with the olive oil, Meyer lemon juice, flaked salt and pepper. Top the salmon with the celery salad and a spoonful of the currant and pine nut relish and serve.

CURRANT AND PINE NUT RELISH

Steps:

• Warm the olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat, add the onion, chile, and rosemary, and season with the salt. Sauté, stirring often to prevent the onion from browning, for about 5 minutes, until the onion is tender and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent it browning.
• Meanwhile, place the currants in a small saucepan. Add the vinegar, making sure there is enough to cover. Bring the vinegar to a simmer over high heat, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes, until they are soft and plump. Add the currants and vinegar to the sauté pan with the onion. If there is so much vinegar that the relish is runny, bring the vinegar to a boil over medium-high heat and boil it until there is just enough liquid to bind the currants. Turn off the heat and allow the currants to cool to room temperature. Remove and discard the chile and rosemary and stir in the pine nuts just before serving. Note: In order to ensure that they keep their crunchy texture, you want to add pine nuts only to the amount of relish you will be using at the time. Transfer the remaining relish to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to one week.

CURRANT-PINE NUT RELISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Toast the pine nuts for about 8 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they're golden brown and smell nutty.
• Heat a small sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Turn down the heat to medium, and add the olive oil, rosemary, and chile. When the rosemary and chile start to sizzle, add the onion and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Turn the heat down to low, and let the onions stew gently for about 10 minutes, until tender. Transfer to a small bowl to cool and discard the rosemary sprig and chile.
• While the onion is cooking, place the currants in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Let the currants soak for 10 minutes, and then drain well.
• Add the balsamic vinegar to the pan the onions were in, and reduce it over medium-high heat to a scant 1 tablespoon. Stir the reduced vinegar into the onion mixture.
• Add the toasted pine nuts, currants, and parsley to the onion mixture, and stir to combine. Taste for balance and seasoning.

TORCHIO WITH CAULIFLOWER, CAVOLO NERO, CURRANTS, AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Put two large pots of heavily salted water on to boil.
• Blanch the cavolo nero in rapidly boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain, and cool the greens on a baking sheet. When they have cooled, squeeze out the excess water with your hands.
• Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat for 2 minutes. Pour in 1/4 cup olive oil. Add the rosemary sprig and 1 crumbled chile, and let them sizzle in the oil about a minute. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the sliced onion. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grindings of black pepper. Cook a couple of minutes, then stir in half the sliced garlic. Continue cooking gently until the onion is soft and starting to color slightly, another 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add the cavolo nero and 2 more tablespoons olive oil, stirring with a wooden spoon to coat the greens with the oil. Season with a heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cook the cavolo nero slowly, over low heat, about 30 minutes, stirring often, until the greens turn a dark, almost black color and get slightly crispy around the edges. (I usually alternate turning the heat up a little bit, so the cavolo sizzles, and then turning it back down to low, so it stews.) Turn off the heat and set aside. When it's cooled, remove the rosemary and chile.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• While the greens are cooking, toss the breadcrumbs with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Spread them on a baking sheet and toast 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until golden brown and crispy.
• Blanch the cauliflower in rapidly boiling water for 4 to 5 minutes, until just tender and not too crunchy. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a baking sheet to cool. Bring the water back to a boil and drop in the pasta.
• Heat a large sauté pan or Dutch oven over high heat for 2 minutes. Pour in 1/4 cup olive oil and wait a minute. Add the diced onion, the remaining crumbled chile, and the thyme. Sauté over medium heat 2 minutes, and then add the anchovy. Stir well with a wooden spoon to break up the anchovy and dissolve it into the onion. Turn the heat up to high and add the cauliflower. Stir well, to coat the cauliflower with the oil. Add the remaining sliced garlic, and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grindings of black pepper. Add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, and sauté the cauliflower 8 to 10 minutes, until it's caramelized, scraping the pan continuously with a wooden spoon, and smashing the cauliflower a little to make small pieces. Add the cavolo nero to the pot, and stir well to combine.
• When the pasta is al dente, set aside 1 cup of the cooking water.
• Drain the pasta and add it to the vegetables, stirring and tossing well to combine and coat the noodles. The pasta will fry a little in the oil and stick to the pan; this is good, so keep scraping and tossing with the wooden spoon.
• After a few minutes, when the pasta is well coated and has a little color on it, add 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water to the pan. Stir to combine, and add more water if necessary. Taste for seasoning. Add the currant-pine nut relish and stir to combine. Transfer the pasta to a large warm platter and shower the toasted breadcrumbs over the entire dish.
• If you can't find torchio, choose a pasta with lots of nooks and crannies to capture all those delicious ingredients. You can stew the cavolo, blanch the cauliflower, and toast the breadcrumbs in advance.