The Cook’s Corner
Recipe by Chef Alex Sze of Juniper as it appears in Julia Sexton’s new book, Hudson Valley Chef’s Table
(Serves four as a starter)
For the shrimp sausage:
1 cup of chopped shrimp (1/2 lb)
1 tsp ginger grated ginger
3 1/2 Tbsp sliced green onion
½ tsp salt
¼ cup cream
Pinch white pepper
To make shrimp sausage: Beat all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Roll out the sausage in plastic wrap to form a 1 ½”-thick sausage log. Bring water to a boil. Drop in the plastic-wrapped sausage, and turn off heat. Poach in hot water for 8 to 10 minutes until cooked through.
For the rye croutons:
2 slices of rye bread
olive oil
To make the rye croutons: Preheat oven to 325°. Brush the bread with olive oil, and cut into squares. Bake for 10-12 minutes on oven rack until golden brown.
For the horseradish mousse:
½ cup creme fraiche
1 tsp
Salt to taste
To make horseradish mousse: Whip creme fraiche until it holds stiff peaks. Fold in horseradish. Season with salt and reserve.
For the pickled beets:
1 lb golden beets
¾ cup sugar
2/3 cup white wine vinegar
2/3 cup water
1 1/3 Tbsp mustard seeds
½ tsp salt
To pickle the beets: Toss beets with olive oil. Wrap in foil. Roast in 350° oven for 35 min. Cool and peel off skin. Bring all other ingredients to a boil. Add beets, and pickle in refrigerator for 24 hours.
To make red beet gazpacho:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 sliced shallots
2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1 lb peeled chopped beets
4 cups vegetable stock
2 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1/2 cups yogurt
3 ½ tsp salt
Pepper to taste
4 sprigs of fresh dill, for garnish
2 Tsps trout roe (or 2 oz)
To make the red beet gazpacho:
Sweat shallots, thyme, bay leaf, and salt in olive oil over medium low heat for 5-10 minutes or until they’re soft and translucent. Add chopped beets and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil over high heat then turn down to low and simmer for 30 minutes until fork tender. Add yogurt and white balsamic vinegar and place everything in blender and blend for 5 minutes until smooth. Chill.
To serve:
pour gazpacho into four bowls and garnish with sausage, rye croutons, horseradish, pickled beets, dill, and trout roe
