Anchovy Potatoes, Chimichurri, and a Spritz

The season of cooking and eating outside has begun

Finally, it is time to light up the grill. Once the weather was predicting to be in the mid 70s last Saturday I began wondering what I could grill to break in my Weber for the season. My last venison sirloin loaf was a natural, and free, choice. I had half a tin of Cento anchovies in my fridge after using some for a weeknight pasta and was curious about an anchovy-herby potato concoction. A quick search turned up an NYT Cooking recipe for anchovy-caper-brown butter with lots of herbs poured over boiled, then roasted potatoes. Sounded like a perfect side for a seared and slow roasted chunk of protein.

A link to the formal recipe here. You may be able to access it but it may be blocked by a paywall. I omitted the tuna and used half the amount of anchovies, and it still turned out fantastic.

Start with a 1.5 pound bag of baby potatoes. Put them in cold, salted water, about an inch over the potatoes, and bring to a simmer for 25 minutes or until they yield no resistance to being poked with a knife. Simmering the potatoes before roasting ensures a creamy interior and then subjecting them to high, dry heat creates a crackling outer crust. Drain the potatoes and let cool, dose in olive oil, transfer to a sheet pan, or cast iron skillet onto the grill, and bake for 40 minutes at 400 degrees.

While the potatoes roast put a stick of butter in a sauce pan over medium low heat. Or in my case half a stick, and the remaining oil from a tin of Cantabrian anchovies reserved after eating them with slightly sparkling white wine and chunks of parmesan. As a quick aside, if you think you don’t like anchovies I encourage you to try any you can find from Cantabrian. I ordered mine from Fish Wife, along with their smoked rainbow trout, and both are incredible. The anchovies are buttery, with the faintest hint of salt, and the perfect afternoon snack. Best smoked rainbow trout I’ve ever had, too.

Add 5 - 10 anchovies, your preference, and a tablespoon of capers to the butter, and allow the butter to brown. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and remove from heat. When the potatoes are finished roasting, pour the brown anchovy-caper butter over them and cover with a good cup of herbs (I used fennel fronds and parsley, but dill, thyme, or only parsley would all be great).

The texture of the potatoes is phenomenal; pork-skin crisp on the outside, pillowy creamy on the inside and the capers, anchovies, and herbs make it seem luxurious.

Trust in these potatoes

A Bastardized Chimichurri

I was going to make anchovy butter instead of anchovy potatoes after watching recent Jacques Pepin and Alison Roman videos on doing such a thing, but was swayed to riff on a chimichurri sauce for the grilled venison instead. Something about a shit load of herbs, garlic, vinegar, and olive oil all mixed together seemed more fitting for my first grilled meat of the year. To be clear, this is not by any means an authentic chimichurri recipe (if you have a go-to chimichurri you like to repeat, please leave it as a comment below. I'm going to be dialing mine in in the coming months) but a mishmash of different sources.

Mishmash Chimichurri:

• 1 cup of parsley leaves and stems, finely chopped

• 1 cup of cilantro leaves and stems, finely chopped

• 1/4 cup of red onion, finely diced

• About a quarter of a jalapeno, finely diced

• 4 large garlic cloves, minced

• 1/2 cup of olive oil

• 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar (I used Acid Leagues Port Cabernet vinegar. Great stuff)

• A squeeze of lemon juice

• A dash of sweet paprika

• A dash of cumin

• Salt to taste

Mix well in a large bowl and transfer to an air-tight container. It is advised to make this a day ahead if you have time, as everything will get a chance to meld together.

Spooned over grilled venison this stuff sings.

Vermouth Spritz

In the ever-evolving practice of trying to adopt better habits I've started making vermouth spritzes when I feel the urge for a cocktail.

I currently use sweet vermouth but as Spring tumbles into early Summer I'm going to make the switch to vermouth bianco. Pour 2 oz of vermouth into your glass, top with at least 2 oz of a club soda, or flavored sparkling water, and garnish with a lemon twist. You get the sensation and satisfaction of sipping on a cocktail while puttering around the kitchen, or reading, or watching NHL playoffs, without the punch of a proper cocktail. Even after three you've had equivalent of two adult sized glasses of wine.