Dad's Scotch Gravlax by Alison Roman

There was this bagel shop near my high school that served a freshly baked, toasted sesame seed bagel with cream cheese for $5.50. Besides going to Panera for a cup of their tomato soup, this was my ideal lunch, which I ate often. 

One day in line at the bagel shop, I heard the person in front of me order a toasted bagel with lox and cream cheese. I hadn’t the faintest idea what lox was. Since these were the olden days, and I didn’t have a smartphone to look up quick definitions or Google Image search for clues, I had to use my good old fashioned virtues of paying really close attention. As we all stood by the counter, waiting for our order number to be called, I kept my eye on the lox-orderer. Of course, the last thing I expected to see was cured salmon. When I saw that plate of bagel and cheese topped in fish, I couldn’t help but say “gross!” out loud. To this day, I don’t know if the lox-orderer heard me. 

Also, to this day, I’ve never ordered a bagel with lox and cream cheese. I have absolutely no desire for it, mostly due to texture (can you say slimy?). So when I saw this gravlax recipe, I had two reactions: 1) “what is gravlax?” and 2) “oh no.” 

Answer key: 

1. Gravlax is Nordic salmon dish that consists of salmon cured (never smoked) in salt, sugar, and dill. Alison’s definition adds scotch, lemon zest, and aleppo pepper. 

   1. There are two main steps to making Alison’s Dad’s gravlax. First, you must make the ingredients become intimately acquainted with one another. Start by pouring a tablespoon of scotch over the fish. Then, after massaging the other ingredients listed above into what feels like “wet sand,” rub them on top of the salmon. Second, you must prepare it for curing. This involves tightly wrapping the fish and cure in many layers of saran wrap. Then poking a few holes in the wrapping on the bottom. And finally, placing the salmon on a rack inside of a baking sheet with a plate and heavy skillet on top to press the cure into the salmon. Over the next 3-5 days (I decided on 4), water creeps out of the salmon and it becomes cured. 

2. My worst fears didn’t come true. Yes, the salmon is somewhat slimy, and yes, it was a mental battle for me to get over that fact. But the flavor is so complex and interesting and in your face, that it overrode any focus on texture. Seriously -- the flavors of scotch, pepper, and lemon are so strong, that I couldn’t think of anything else. If I were to make this again, which, who knows, I might some day, I would stop the curing at 3 days for a slightly fresher taste. But I can’t stress enough how much the flavor distracted me from what I was most wary of. 

   1. It helped that I served the fish with other delicious things: gluten-free bagel, almond milk cream cheese, cucumber slices, and lemon. 

To answer your ever-burning question, will I now become a lox-orderer after making Mr. Roman’s gravlax? The answer is, likely not. 

148 recipes cooked, 77 to go.

Hibiscus-Roasted Peaches with Brown Sugar Bread Crumbs by Alison Roman

I have a confession to make. I dropped the ball on finding hibiscus flowers. I know it’s a defining feature of the recipe, but I was unable to find it in stores, and I just didn’t plan far enough in advance to order it online. Alison advises that we should be able to find dried hibiscus flowers in our local Caribbean or Jamaican grocery store… just me or do you also not have a Caribbean grocery store nearby? It must be nice to live in Brooklyn. ;)

I imagine that hibiscus flowers would add a pleasant, and for lack of a better word, floral note to the dish. But the peaches were just as delicious on their own. Paired with lemon juice, sugar, and a bit of water, these peaches spend about 30 minutes in the oven, until they start bubbling on the edges and the liquid turns slightly syrupy. The lemon juice is rather prominent in flavor which necessitated the brown sugar bread crumbs to balance the sourness. 

One of the key food lessons from this project entails the power of fresh bread crumbs. Alison loves her fried bread crumbs with various seasonings. They add texture and depth to her dishes, and now I love them too. Whether sauteed in butter or olive oil, seasoned with garlic and pepper flakes, sumac and anchovies, or brown sugar, bread crumbs take a dish to the next level. Bread crumbs fried in butter and brown sugar, and sprinkled with flaky sea salt elevated these peaches, balancing the sourness of lemon juice and giving a rich texture to the softened fruit. 

All that to say, this dessert didn’t take my breath away like some of Alison’s other desserts. But I’m not sure “breath-taking” is what she’s going for. Alison gives us her spin on a classic summer dessert, and I think she just wants to give us a good time. Well, a good time was had. 

113 recipes cooked, 112 to go.

Fennel-Rubbed Pork Chops for Two by Alison Roman

I just received a text from Jordan, my husband, that reads: 

“The pork tastes just as good today! I’d say this recipe should go into the rotation :)” 

In other words, well, in my words, this dish is freaking fantastic and we will eat it often. 

Look at that caramelized brown sugar crust!

Undoubtedly, these pork chops rank in my top 10 Alison recipes, for several reasons. 

1. Flavor: The key here is subtlety. Though I’m usually one to favor in-your-face food (more salt, more lemon, more tang!), these chops seemed to hold back ever so slightly. Perhaps it was the perfectly balanced ratio of brown sugar to salt with the occasionally present fennel seed bursting with anise-like notes. Or maybe it’s the way that the fennel bulb softened and tempered as it heated through with the pork juices. 

2. Ease: Talk about a simple preparation! The chops are rubbed with a toasted fennel seed and brown sugar mixture, anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours before cooking. I prepped my chops right after breakfast so they spent plenty of time with the rub. I can only imagine how those hours of marination helped to tenderize the meat. The cooking method is a pan sear (cast iron preferred) until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees, which only took about 15 minutes. Part way through, a thinly sliced fennel bulb is added to the pan. It becomes golden and limp as it soaks up the pork fat and liquified brown sugar. Top the plate with herbs and lemon zest. Voilá! 

3. Satisfaction: Bone-in pork chops are substantial, especially when you follow Alison’s instructions and buy ones that are 1½ inches thick. With the fennel on the side, Jordan and I were full after splitting one chop! 

4. Leftovers: Apparently, they’re “just as good” as the stuff that’s hot-off-the-pan. 

67 recipes cooked, 158 to go.