If you love cooking then you probably love cookware; checking out new tools, and gadgets along with buying them and using them to make new and interesting dishes. I’m not a big shopper but walk me past a cooking store and I simply have to go in. And even though I'm a foodie, I often see things that I just don’t know how or why to use. Or I only know of one use and buying something for just one recipe is a bit too much of a luxury. That’s why the new Sur La Table cookbook, Things Cooks Love, with recipes by Marie Simmons is so great. It presents a whole slew of neat cooking tools, pans, and other foodie equipment along with great recipes that use them. For example, below is an overview of a Cazuela pan popular in Spanish cooking along with a recipe for Sea Bass Fillets with Tomatoes and Roasted Red Pepper and Almond Sauce. The recipes also present alternative equipment in case you don’t have all of cookware mentioned in the book but still want to try out the recipes.
Cazuela
From Things Cooks Love: Implements, Ingredients, Recipes
by Sur La Table and Marie Simmons, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2008
The rustic earthenware cazuela—in Portugal, the same vessel is known as a tacho de barro—is found in the kitchen of every Spanish cook, though Catalonian cooks are especially renowned for their large repertoire of slow-cooked cazuela dishes. Glazed on the inside and unglazed on the outside, the versatile vessel is kiln-fired at a high temperature so that it can tolerate both the direct heat of a stove top and the radiant heat of an oven.
Cazuelas are usually only about 3 inches deep but come in a wide range of shapes—round, square, rectangular, oval—and sizes, including casseroles just large enough for a single serving. All of them are attractive and hold heat—and cold—well, which means they can travel from the stove to the table.
Sea Bass Fillets with Tomatoes and Roasted Red Pepper and Almond Sauce
From Things Cooks Love: Implements, Ingredients, Recipes
by Sur La Table and Marie Simmons, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2008
Prep 45 min
Cook time 55 min
Serves 4
This recipe starts with the cazuela on the stove top for sautéing, and then, once the fish fillets are added, you slip the cazuela into the oven. The fish is served with a red pepper and almond sauce, a loose adaptation of the Spanish romesco. Any firm white fish fillets can be substituted for the sea bass.
Implements: 12-inch Cazuela or 12-inch Skillet and 2-Quart Shallow Baking Dish, Strainer, Small Skillet, Blender
For the Sea Bass Fillets
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion, cut into ¹⁄8-inch wedges
- 1 clove garlic, sliced paper-thin
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 (28-ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes
- Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 (6-ounce) skinless sea bass fillets
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley or mint, or 1 tablespoon of each
For the Pepper and Almond Sauce
- ½ cup whole natural (skin-on) almonds, coarsely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
- 8 jarred piquillo peppers, or 2 large roasted and peeled red bell pepper (page 268)
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- 4 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or more as needed
- 1 tablespoon aged sherry vinegar
1. Add the olive oil to a 12-inch cazuela or skillet and heat slowly over medium-low heat. When the oil is hot enough to sizzle a piece of onion, increase the heat to medium, add the onion, and sauté, stirring, for 15 minutes, or until golden. Add the garlic and sauté for 5 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the paprika.
2. Set a strainer over a bowl and empty the can of tomatoes into the strainer. Use your hands to break the tomatoes into chunks, squeezing out and discarding the seeds. (Freeze the tomato juices for soup or another use.)
3. Add the broken, seeded tomatoes to the onion mixture and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until the mixture has cooked down. Add ½ teaspoon of salt and a grinding of pepper and remove from the heat.
4. While the tomato mixture is simmering, preheat the oven to 400°F.
5. If using a cazuela, arrange the fish fillets in a single layer on top of the tomato mixture. Season the fish with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the parsley. Place a spoonful of the tomato mixture on top of each fillet. If using a skillet, transfer the tomato mixture to a 2-quart shallow baking dish and arrange the fish fillets in a single layer on top. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the parsley. Place a spoonful of the tomato mixture on top of each fillet.
6. Place the cazuela or baking dish in the hot oven (it’s fine to put it in a hot oven because it has been preheated on the stove top) and bake the fish for 15 minutes, or until the thickest part of a fillet is opaque, rather than translucent, when tested with the tip of a small knife.
7. While the fish is baking, make the sauce: Put the almonds in a small, dry skillet, place over medium-low heat, and heat, shaking the pan, for 5 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Let the almonds cool slightly and then transfer to a blender. Add the garlic, peppers, salt, and paprika, and process until pureed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender as needed. With the motor running, add 4 tablespoons of the olive oil in a thin, steady stream. Taste and add more olive oil as needed to correct the balance. Add the vinegar and process to combine. Alternatively, make the sauce in a mortar: First crush the garlic and salt with a pestle. Then add the almonds and pound until the mixture forms a paste. Add the peppers and pound until blended. Slowly add the olive oil, pounding until the mixture is light and smooth. Add the vinegar and stir to blend. You should have about 1 cup of sauce. Taste and add more salt as needed. Transfer to a small serving bowl.
To serve, place the cazuela in the center of the table. Pass the sauce.
About Things Cooks Love: Implements. Ingredients. Recipes.
The first in a series books by Sur La Table, speaks to the love that cooks of all levels feel for their tools. Whether you're passionate about the gorgeous copper pot you just received as a gift, a rice cooker you have always wanted to try, or your grandmother's well-aged cast-iron skillet, award-winning author Marie Simmons provides inspiration to make the best use of your cookware along with delectable recipes to enhance the experience.http://www.projectfoodie.com/spotlights/cookbooks/things-cooks-love.html
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