Goguma Juk, (sweet potato porridge)

Published : 2012-12-28 19:23
Updated : 2012-12-28 19:23

Goguma Juk (Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Goguma Juk is a long-cooked sweet-potato porridge made with sticky rice powder. It has a sweet and nutty flavor.

Ingredients
● 2 sweet potatoes (yams)

● 3 cups milk

● 4 tbsp sticky rice powder

● 100 g water

● 2 tbsp honey

● 1/2 tsp salt

1. Clean sweet potatoes and rinse well with water.

2. Set up a steamer over high heat. Once it starts to steam (which takes approximately 9 minutes), put sweet potatoes in the steamer and steam them for about 15 minutes. Peel the skins.

3. Blend it with half the amount of portioned milk for about 2 minutes.

4. Add water to sticky rice powder. Simmer it over low heat for about 5 minutes. Whisk continuously until it thickens to porridge consistency.

5. Combine blended sweet potatoes and the remaining half of the milk with the sticky rice porridge. Simmer over medium heat for about 3 minutes, whisking.

6. When the ingredients are well mixed, season with honey. Simmer another minute over low heat and serve immediately in a bowl.

Tips
● Whisk continuously with a wooden spoon while the porridge is simmering, or it may stick into the bottom of the pan.

● The ratio of sweet potato and sticky rice powder can be adjusted to suit one’s preference. 

Gimbap, (Rice rolled in laver)

Published : 2012-12-21 19:52
Updated : 2012-12-21 19:52

Gimbap (Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Gimbap is cooked white rice seasoned with sesame oil and salt, then rolled with other ingredients in a sheet of laver. Gimbap has been popular since the 1960s. It is good to pack for a picnic for lunch or as a snack because it is convenient to eat and contains many different ingredients and flavors.

Ingredients:

● 2 cups non-glutinous rice, 2 1/2 cups water

● Seasoning for rice: 3/4 tsp salt, 1 tbsp sesame oil

● 1/4 carrot, 1/4 tsp salt

● 1/2 cucumber, 1/4 tsp salt

● 70 g pickled radish

● 100 g burdock roots, 1 tbsp edible oil

● Diluted vinegar: 1 tbsp vinegar, 1 cup water

● Seasoning sauce ①: 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp water, 1/2 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp refined rice wine

● 80 g minced beef

● Seasoning sauce ②: 2 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp

● Chopped green onion, 1/4 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp sesame salt, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 0.1 g ground black pepper

● 2 eggs, 1/4 tsp salt

● 4 sheets dried laver

● 2 tbsp edible oil

1. Wash the rice and soak in water for 30 min., drain water in a strainer for 10 min. (440 g).

2. Clean the carrot and peel (40 g). Clean the cucumber by rubbing and cut it into 20-cm-long, 0.7-cm-wide pieces (removing the seeds) (60 g), sprinkle on salt and allow it to marinate for 5 min. Wipe excess water with a cotton cloth.

3. Slice the pickled radish into 20-cm-long, 0.7-cm-wide pieces.

4. Peel burdock roots (86 g), cut into 20 cm-long, 0.7 cm-wide and thick pieces, and soak in diluted vinegar for 2 min.

5. Clean blood off minced beef with cotton cloth and season with seasoning sauce ② (70 g).

6. Beat eggs and salt.

7. Put the rice and water in the pot and boil it on high heat for 4 min. After an additional boiling for 4 min., reduce the heat to medium and boil for 3 more minutes. When the rice become sodden, reduce the heat to low and steam for 10 min. (730 g). Season with salt and sesame oil.

8. Preheat the frying pan and oil, stir-fry the carrot and cucumber on high heat for 30 sec., respectively.

9. Preheat the frying pan and oil, stir-fry the burdock roots on medium heat for 3 min., add seasoning sauce ①, stir-fry on low heat for 10 min.

10. Preheat the frying pan and oil, stir-fry the beef for 2 min. on medium heat.

11. Preheat the frying pan and oil, fry beaten egg on low heat for 3 min. on front side and 2 min. on back side, to be 1 cm thick, then cut it into 20-cm-long and 1-cm-wide pieces.

12. Toast the laver on low heat. Upon the laver, layer steamed rice (150 g) evenly and place the carrot, cucumber, pickled radish, burdock roots, beef and fried egg in the middle. Roll up the laver to create a log with a 3-4 cm diameter. Slice into 1.5 cm-wide individual pieces.

Tips:
● Boiled fish cakes, crab meat, tuna, kimchi and gourd flesh may also be used for filling.

Yaksik, (sweet rice with nuts and jujubes)

Published : 2012-12-14 19:55
Updated : 2012-12-14 19:55

Yaksik (Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Yaksik is a sweet dish made with steamed glutinous rice, honey, soy sauce, jujubes, chestnuts and pine nuts. It may also be called yakbap (medicinal rice). It is said that yaksik was prepared and served to the crows as a reward for saving the king’s life in the Silla Kingdom.

Ingredients:

● 1 1/2 cups glutinous rice, 8 cups rice steaming water

● Salt water: 3 tbsp water, 1/2 salt

● 5 jujubes, 3 chestnuts, 1 tsp pine nuts

● Jujube stone tea: 5 jujube stones, 1 cup water

● Sweet steamed rice seasoning: 2 1/2 tsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp sweet steamed rice sauce, 3 tbsp yellow sugar, 1/4 cinnamon powder, 1/2 tsp jujube stone tea, 2 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

● Sweet steamed rice sauce: 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp edible oil, 1/2 tbsp starch powder, 3 tbsp warm water

1. Wash the glutinous rice and soak in water for about 3 hours, drain water through a strainer for 10 min. (330g).

2. Wipe the jujubes with damp cotton cloth, cut the flesh round and cut it into 6 pieces (16g). Skin the chestnuts and cut into 6 pieces (30g).

3. Remove tops of the pine nuts and wipe the nuts with a dry cotton cloth.

4. Pour water into the steaming pot, heat for 8 min. on high heat. When it gives off steam, layer a damp cotton cloth on the bottom, put in the glutinous rice and steam for 20 min. Sprinkle salt water, mix well, and steam for another 30 min.

5. Put the jujube stones and water in the pot, cover and simmer for 15 min. on medium heat. Then strain (19g).

6. Put the sugar in the pot, heat it for 3 min. on medium heat. When the sugar melts, coat the pan with oil. When the sugar turns to a brownish liquid, add the starch powder and boil while stirring for 1 min. to make the sauce.

7. While the steamed rice is still warm, add soy sauce, sweet steamed rice sauce, yellow sugar, cinnamon powder, jujube stone tea, honey, regular sugar and sesame oil into the steamed rice and mix them well. Mix them well again after adding chestnuts, jujubes and pine nuts.

8. Put the mixture of above steamed glutinous rice into the steaming pot for 10 min. on high heat. Then lower the heat to medium, steam for 20 min. and mix it well. Reduce the heat to low, steam for 20 min. and then mix again and steam for another 10 min.

Tips:

● To cook good-tasting steamed rice, the rice should be steamed to be pretty tender, neither too hard nor too soft or watery.

● Steaming in boiling water will produce a deeper brown color, better taste and sweet smell.

● Two hours is a good timeframe for steaming in boiling water.

● For the sweet steamed rice sauce, caramel sauce may produce a good color and sweet smell.

(Adapted from the Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Patjuk (rice and red bean porridge)

Published : 2012-12-07 19:11
Updated : 2012-12-07 19:11

Patjuk (Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Patjuk is a porridge of non-glutinous rice and sweet red beans that have been boiled and strained. Patjuk is served on the winter solstice (dongji day), which has the longest night of the year. It is traditionally believed that the red color of the beans can expel demons and help cure mild illnesses.

Ingredients

● 1/2 cups non-glutinous rice

● 1 1/3 cups sweet red bean, 4 cups hot water

● 12 cups boiling water

● Rice ball: 1 cup glutinous rice powder, 1/8 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tbsp water

● 1 tsp salt

1. Wash the rice, soak in water for 2 hours, drain water with a strainer for 10 min. (110g).

2. Wash the red beans and clean throughly. Drain water with a strainer for 10 min.

3. Put red beans into a pot of scalding water, heat for 4 min. on high heat. Once it boils, continue to boil for another 3 min. Discard the boiling water, add new boiling water into the pot, and heat it up for 10 min. on high heat. Lower the heat to medium, and boil it for 1 hour and 20 min. for the red bean to be deeply cooked.

4. While the cooked red beans are still hot, and strain the red beans by mashing them in a strainer with a wooden scoop. Let the mashed red beans cool for 30 min.

5. Sprinkle salt on the glutinous rice powder, knead with hot water. Shape the rice balls with a 1.5-cm diameter (5 g each, total 25 balls).

6. Put the red bean water (880 g, 4 cups) and soaked rice into the pot, heat it up for 4 min. on high heat. When it boils, lower the heat to medium, and boil for another 20 min. while stirring.

7. When the rice is well sodden, add the red bean sediments. When it boils again, continue to boil for 10 more min. and add rice balls, wait for 1 min. When the rice balls float, season with salt and bring pot to a boil.

Tips
● If the red-bean boiled water is not enough, add just water to cook the porridge properly.

● The rice balls may be replaced by glutinous rice cake. 

Bibim-naengmyeon, (Mixed cold buckwheat noodles)

Published : 2012-11-30 19:13
Updated : 2012-11-30 19:13

Bibim-naengmyeon (Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Bibim-naengmyeon is a dish of cold buckwheat noodles mixed with a spicy, thick red pepper sauce. It may also be garnished with raw fish. It is also called “hamheung-naengmyeon” because it was a regional food of the Hamheung district in Hamkyeong Province, now North Korea.

Ingredients
● 600 g buckwheat noodles (dried), 15 cups water

● 100 g minced beef

Seasoning sauce 1: 
● 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp minced green onion

● 1/4 tsp minced garlic, 1/8 tsp ground black pepper

● 1/2 tsp sesame salt, 1/2 tsp sesame oil

● 1 cucumber, 1 tbsp water, 1/2 tsp salt

● 100 g radish, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tbsp vinegar

● 1/5 pear, 1/2 cup pear dipping water, 1 tsp sugar

● 2 eggs, 5 cups water, 1 tsp salt

Seasoning sauce 2: 
● 1/2 pear, 1/4 onion, 1 1/2 tbsp salt

● 1 tbsp minced garlic, 3 tbsp sugar, 6 tbsp vinegar

● 4 dried red peppers, 4 tbsp coarse red pepper powder

1. Clean the beef with cotton cloths and then season with seasoning sauce 1 (85 g).

2. Wash the cucumber, cut it into two pieces lengthwise and shred into 4 cm-long and 0.2 cm-thick pieces diagonally. Marinate them with salt water for 20 min. then wipe off the water with cotton cloths (47 g).

3. Wash the radish, shred into 6 cm-long, 1.5 cm-wide and 0.2 cm-thick pieces, then marinate with salt, sugar and vinegar for 20 min (85 g).

4. Peel the pear and cut in half (70 g). Dip in sugar water for 5 minutes.

5. Peel and shred the pear and onion for seasoning sauce 2.

6. Wipe dried red pepper with damp cotton cloths, cut them diagonally and remove the seeds.

7. Grind seasoning sauce 2 without red pepper powder in the mixer first, then add coarse red pepper powder and mix together.

8. Preheat a frying pan, stir-fry beef for 2 minutes on medium heat (66 g).

9. Put water, salt and eggs in a pot, heat it up for 5 minutes on high heat. When it boils, lower the heat to medium, boil it for 12 minutes and then place them in cold water. Peel off the eggshell and halve them.

10. Pour water into a pot, heat it up for 12 minutes on high heat. Boil noodles for 2 minutes and rinse in cold water by rubbing the batch with your hands. Make coils with noodles and drain water on a tray.

11. Place the noodles in a bowl, and top with prepared beef, cucumber, radish, pear, egg and seasoning sauce 2.

Tips
● Fresh wet noodles may be used.

● Pre-mixed noodles with seasoning sauce may be served.

Korean fare from home

Published : 2012-11-23 19:21
Updated : 2012-11-23 19:21

Roh02’s Kitchen is located in Samseong-dong, near Cheongdam Station. (Chung Hee-cho/The Korea Herald)

Food stylist and researcher Roh Young-hee pulls off her trademark combination of good Korean cuisine and artistic plating yet again at her newest restaurant, Roh02’s Kitchen.

Roh first earned her cred as a restaurateur with the modern Korean establishment Poom Seoul several years ago.

When Poom opened in 2008, it created a stir among food critics and chefs with its then-novel interpretation of Korean cuisine as a multi-course affair.

Now, nearly four years later, Roh revisits themes initially showcased at her previous restaurant, but with a more casual slant.

Tuesday’s menu features sticky brown rice, salt-cured mackerel, bossam (boiled pork belly), oyster-and-daikon radish relish, deodeok root, cabbage pancakes, piquant squid, pickles, kimchi and soup. (Chung Hee-cho/The Korea Herald)

At Poom, Roh focused on upscale cuisine traditionally served to the Korean nobility and gave it a modern spin, transforming it into a high-end parade ideal for formal dining.

At Roh02’s Kitchen, Roh tackles good, old-fashioned food from the hearth, i.e. time-tested grub from the average Korean home, and instead of presenting it on plates, she puts it all in a dosirak (lunch box).

“If Poom is appropriate for suit-and-tie dining, then this is a laid-back spot where customers can enjoy home-style fare,” Roh02’s Kitchen manager Kim Dae-hyun said, summing up the primary differences between the two restaurants.

Roh02’s Kitchen opened in Samseong-dong this September, a good distance away from Poom on Namsan.

According to Kim, Roh chose the small street near Cheongdam Station because she also plans to move her atelier, Studio Foodie, there.

“She wants to turn this lane into ‘Roh’s Avenue,’” Kim joked.

Food gurus will also notice that Roh02’s Kitchen is located in a space that once housed the French bistro L’Espoir. When L’Espoir moved to a new spot, Roh took over and made a few minor adjustments.

Modeled after an old-school banchan (side dish) shop, the floor-length windowed storefront opens to a wooden counter with a glass showcase displaying a smattering of take-away goodies.

A long, hallway-shaped space with butter yellow walls sports a total of 16 seats, including a red booth to the left and a row of two person tables to the right.

The solitary, one option only for both lunch and dinner, prix fixe menu changes daily, with only 40 handmade dosirak sold per day.

Prices range from 20,900 won to 29,700 won, which means that though the inspiration comes from banchan, this is not the standard under-10,000 won baekban (rice-side dish-soup meal).

The pricing might come as a surprise to people expecting a quick lunchtime bite, and, indeed, on a weekday afternoon, a group of visitors decide to go elsewhere after learning how much it costs to eat at Roh02’s Kitchen.

“We don’t use artificial seasonings,” Kim said in justifying the prices. “We only season our food with basic condiments, so we end up using more main ingredients, produce and meat, naturally upping our expenses. Furthermore, we try to use mostly domestically produced ingredients and everything is made by hand, without shortcuts.”

When the Tuesday menu ― the lowest priced of the five ― arrives with lots of delicacies neatly and strategically tucked into a minimal, oblong dosirak container and a bowl of soup, any disgruntled reservations about having to shell out 20,900 won for a boxed meal vanish.

The sticky brown rice, glossy and chewy, is cooked to perfection, as is the bossam (boiled pork belly). A spicy daikon radish relish studded with small, plump, fresh oysters begs to be paired with those juicy, rich slices of pork, and it would be a sin not to.

The hunk of salt-cured mackerel is soft and flaky and the thin strips of piquant squid, pickles and cabbage pancakes are all equally toothsome.

This is Korean home cuisine done right: Thoughtful, painstakingly made fare that includes the necessary grains, meats and vegetables for a well-rounded meal.


Roh02’s Kitchen
● Address:

65 Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul/ (02) 543-5177

● Hours:

Open noon to 2 p.m., 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays, closed Sundays. Reservations recommended for groups of three or more.

By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldcorp.com)

Ogokbap (Five-grain rice)

Published : 2012-11-23 19:22
Updated : 2012-11-23 19:22

Five-grain rice (Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Ogokbap is made up of glutinous rice, glutinous African millet, sweet red beans and black beans. From olden days, Koreans have regarded the day of the first full moon of the year as important. People cooked five-grain rice on that day and shared it with neighbors in the hope of peace and a good harvest. 

Ingredients
● 2 cups glutinous rice 

● 1/2 cup black beans

● 1/2 cup glutinous African millet 

● 1/2 cup sweet red beans, 1 1/2 cups scalding water, 2 1/2 cups boiling water

● 1/2 cup glutinous millet 

● Rice water: 1/2 cup sweet red bean-boiled water, 2 1/2 cup cups water, 3/4 tbsp salt 

1. Wash the glutinous rice, soak in water for 30 min. and drain for 10 min.

2. Wash the black beans and soak in water for three hours and drain for 10 min.

3. Wash the glutinous African millet by rubbing until the water runs clear, soak for 1 hour, and drain for 10 min. 

4. Wash the sweet red beans and remove foreign elements, drain for 10 min. 

5. Wash the glutinous millet and drain for 10 min.

6. Put sweet red beans and hot water into the pot, heat up for 2 min. on high heat. When it boils, discard the water. Add fresh water to the sweet red beans, heat for 3 min. on high heat. Lower the heat to medium, boil for 20 min. making sure the beans do not crack, drain with a strainer. Prepare rice cooking water with sweet red beans and boiled water after adding water and salt. 

7. Put the rice, black beans, glutinous African millet, sweet red beans and rice water into the pot. Heat up for 2 min. on high heat. Continue to boil for 3 min., lower the heat to medium, add glutinous millet and boil it for 10 min. When the rice begins to soften, lower the heat and steam for 13 min. Turn the heat off, and let it sit for 10 min. 

8. Mix the rice thoroughly before serving in a bowl. 

Tips
● When cooking five-grain rice in a steaming pot or steamer, sprinkle the sweet red beans in boiled water with salt while steaming.

(Adapted from the Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Drinking tea as a way of life

Tea of the 21st century has gone beyond just boiling tea bags and blending herbs. Today, tea is used a basis to create a wide variety of flavor combinations and creations. 

Mixing a blend of fruits, flowers, vanilla or milk to add flavor and texture to one’s drink is not uncommon. However, tea has opened the doors to even more creative blends and has even given rise to the profession of tea sommeliers. 

For example, some of the hot tea recipes being taught at the Korea Tea Sommelier Institute include apple mint cinnamon tea, which is made by boiling water mixed with mint leaves, crushed cinnamon sticks, apple juice and clear cider (a beverage similar to Coca-Cola’s Sprite soft drink). For a new twist to the traditional winter hot cocoa, there’s a drink that blends rooibos tea leaves with boiling water, milk foam and chocolate powder, topped off with a drizzle of chocolate sauce. Then there’s the personal favorite of tea sommelier Shawn Jung: black tea mixed with Irish whiskey and chocolate shavings. 

Tea sommelier Shawn Jung evaluates the taste and aroma of various teas. (Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald)

“Tea is really based on personal taste,” said Jung, who took a serious look into tea as a career path 10 years ago. 

Historically, tea was primarily used for medicinal and healing purposes, according to Jung. 

“It wasn’t until after the eighth century that people starting drinking tea for taste and enjoyment.”

Originating in China, tea has a 5,000-year history. According to Chinese legend, tea was discovered by Chinese Emperor Shan Nong in 2,737 B.C. The Emperor, who often boiled his drinking water, was in his garden when a few tea leaves accidently fell into his cup of boiling water. After drinking the tea water and feeling refreshed, the emperor had tea bushes planted throughout his palace garden, and the beverage was born.

It was not until the eighth century that tea was introduced to Korea and Japan, and it was only introduced into Western society in the 17th century. 

Healing effects

Each country has a different personality in terms of the tea it produces, depending on the season and origin of the tea leaves. 

“Similar to wine, the flavor and the aroma of tea is very important,” said Jung. He claims that good tea should be judged by its color, clarity, texture, aroma, balance and taste.

However, another key factor that he focuses on aside from the taste and pleasure of drinking tea is the effect that tea has on the human body in terms of health and relaxation. Many tea leaves, especially green tea, contain theanine, an amino acid that has chemical properties that help reduce mental and physical stress. 

“Tea is also being used for its calming effect. Tea is good for you during stressful situations,” he said. “I think drinking tea on a daily basis can really help people a lot.”

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)

Bugeo bopuragi, (Seasoned dried pollack flakes)

Bugeo bopuragi (Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Bugeo bopuragi is a dish made of grated dried pollack that is colored and seasoned with soy sauce, ground red pepper and salt. Because bugeo bopuragi is soft, it is often served with porridge, and is good for the elderly and children.

Ingredients
● 1 dried pollack (skinned yellowish dried pollack) 

● Seasoning : 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp sesame salt, 1 tsp sesame oil 

● Red pepper seasoning : 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp fine ground red pepper, 1 tsp sesame salt, 1 tsp sesame oil 

● Soy sauce seasoning : 2/3 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp sesame salt, 1/2 tsp sesame oil

1. Remove the head, tail and fins of the dried pollack, dampen slightly with water and take out the bones. 

2. Grate the dried pollack. 

3. Divide pollack flakes into three parts, season each part with the different seasonings (salt, red pepper, and soy sauce) and gently mix using fingertips. 

Tips
● When making a large volume of pollack flakes, use an electric mixer.

● When using an un-spilt pollack, soak it in water. When it is soft enough, pound with a wooden mallet and remove the bones.

● This is a side dish to go with porridge, do not season it too much.

(Adapted from the Institute of Traditional Korean Food)

Cooking with bones

Neighborhood children may think of trick-or-treat candy and crunchy leaves in the fall. But for neighborhood cooks, osso buco comes to mind. This is a great time of year to cook with bones. Rich, meaty dishes such as braised short ribs and oxtail soup warm up the kitchen on the chilly nights of November and December.

Bones are scary if you’ve never cooked with them, but once you’ve done it, you’ll see that there is nothing to be afraid of after all.

1. Read your recipe carefully and note how the bones need to be cut. Then, head to the butcher. Most oxtail soup recipes call for lengths of 2 to 3 inches. Sometimes, short ribs are cut into shorter or longer lengths. Unless you have a bone saw in a kitchen drawer, you will want your butcher to do the cutting. Ideally, all pieces should be about the same size, so they cook at the same rate. Bones freeze well, so if you only visit the butcher occasionally you might want to pick up some short ribs along with your veal shanks and freeze them for a cold and rainy day.

2. Do take a few minutes before fixing and forgetting your short ribs, osso buco or oxtail soup to brown the meat. The caramelization that occurs during this extra step will add yet another layer of flavor to your dish.

3. When cooking bones, low and slow in a moist environment is the rule. The collagen that holds together the muscle fibers in the meat surrounding bones is extremely tough. Miraculously, when it is cooked to a temperature of 160 degrees it begins to dissolve, rendering the meat tender. But the only way to get the internal temperature of your meat to 160 without drying it out is to simmer gently in liquid. Eventually, the meat will get hot enough to fall apart, but will also stay moist as it bathes in the sauce as well as its own melted collagen and fat.

To test for doneness, gently insert a sharp paring knife into the meat at a few points. If it slides in very easily, it is done. If the meat is still tough in parts, let it cook another 30 minutes and check again.

4. If you’d like to store your cooked bones overnight before serving, separate the meat and sauce into two containers. Skim the solidified fat from the sauce an hour before you want to eat, transfer the meat on the bone to a baking dish and top with the sauce, cover with heavy duty foil, and reheat at 325 degrees until the meat is warmed through and the sauce is gently bubbling, about 45 minutes.

(MCT Information Services)

Oxtail and barley soup

Oxtail and barley soup
● 2 pounds oxtails, cut into 1-inch pieces, rinsed and patted dry

● Salt

● Ground black pepper

● 1 tablespoon olive oil

● 1 onion, finely chopped

● 2 ribs celery, finely chopped

● 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

● 1 tablespoon tomato paste

● 1 cup red wine

● 10 cups water

● 1 cup pearl barley

● 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

● 1 bay leaf

● 3 sprigs thyme

1. Sprinkle oxtails with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven and brown oxtails on all sides, 8 minutes total. Transfer to a plate and discard all but 2 tablespoons fat.

2. Add onion, celery and garlic to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook another minute. Add wine to pot, bring to a boil and scrape up any browned bits.

3. Return oxtails to pan along with water, bring to a simmer and skim off any foam that rises to surface. Add barley, carrots, bay leaf and thyme, cover, reduce heat and simmer until meat and barley are tender, about 1 hour. Remove meat from bones and return to soup. Season with salt and pepper. Makes 8 servings.

Beef marrow crostini is made with with gremolata. (Newsday/MCT)

Beef marrow crostini with gremolata

Roasted beef marrow has been described as “meat butter” and “poor man’s foie gras.” These nicknames will give you an idea of how rich and delicious it is. This recipe is the exception to the slow cooking rule. If you roast marrow bones at a high heat for just 20 minutes, the heat will melt the marrow to a spreadable consistency, perfect for spreading onto toasted slices of baguette.

● 1/2 baguette, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds

● 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

● 2 cloves garlic, peeled, divided

● 4 (3- to 4-inch-long) center-cut beef marrow bones 

● Salt

● Ground black pepper

● 1 teaspoon lemon zest

● 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

● Lemon wedges for serving

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place baguette rounds on a baking sheet, lightly brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and bake until light golden, about 12 minutes. Rub lightly with 1 clove garlic and set aside.

2. Turn heat to 450 degrees. Line another baking sheet with heavy-duty foil. Place bones on sheet, cut sides up. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until marrow is softened but not yet running out of bones, about 20 minutes.

3. While bones are roasting, combine lemon zest, parsley, remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl.

4. Scoop marrow out of bones and spread onto toasts. Sprinkle with parsley mixture and serve immediately with lemon wedges on the side.

Makes 4 appetizer servings.

By Lauren Chattman

(Newsday)