Poach

This grilled pork confit evolved one night when I was making a staff meal at Lucques. I salvaged the leftover ends and trimmings from the day’s pork confit, crisped them in my favorite cast-iron pan, and ran to the walk-in to see what produce I could find to add to the dish. When I got back to the stove, I noticed half the meat was missing. Looking around, I saw that all the cooks had their heads down, suspiciously quiet. Half of my staff meal had disappeared, but I couldn’t be angry. Who can resist succulent pork, hot and crispy, out of the pan? Something so irresistible deserved to be shared with the outside world, so I put this staff meal on the menu!

I love to present this in martini glasses like an old-school shrimp cocktail. The sauce has the horseradish bite of the classic, but with a juicy, sweet freshness from the peach. Traditionally, the shrimp would be chilled first, but I serve them warm for a hit of hot and cold at the same time in each bite.

We don’t do much poachin’ at the restaurant, but at home it’s another story. This is how I like to fix salmon. It has a light, almost brothy BBQ sauce flavored with a bit of dill.

This gussied-up version of a BLT boasts a poached egg whose runny yolk acts as a lusty sauce for the sandwich. Lightly dressed bitter greens stand in for the traditional lettuce; their bite provides a nice counterpoint to the richness of the egg. They’re dressed just as you would a salad, so if you have extra, just serve them on the side.

Alexis and Eric Koefoed operate Soul Food Farm (see page 173) in a rural area of Solano County, Napa’s neighbor. The eggs from their pasture-raised chickens are so superior to conventional eggs that they inspired a cooking class at the winery. For the class dessert, Brian created this variation on floating island, a retro French dessert that deserves to come back into fashion. The “islands” are poached meringues that, in the original version, float on vanilla custard—a superb way to showcase first-rate eggs. The unusual caramel sauce flavored with Cakebread Cellars rosé is Brian’s addition.

All you need to have on hand to make this delightfully simple and relatively wholesome dessert are two ingredients—pears and sugar (plus water). A melon baller makes quick work of coring pears, but a small spoon can be used instead.

You can poach the eggs a few hours before composing the salad. Immediately place them in an ice-water bath to stop the cooking, then keep in a bowl of cool water (it should just reach the tops of the eggs). Reheat briefly in a pan of barely simmering water.

THIS RECIPE IS ESSENTIALLY A RIFF OFF Eggs Benedict using cheese sauce instead of hollandaise. The cheese sauce is richer, more flavorful, and easier to make ahead. It’s also a great way to use up any remaining bits of cheese from a cheese plate. The base is usually an English muffin, but you could use any kind of toasted bread. If you’re serving a crowd, offer eight or twelve small bowls of toppings that guests can choose from to customize their own egg creations, including leftovers from the night before.

THE DELICATE FLAVORS OF COD shine when the fish is cooked in a light and flavorful broth. Served chilled, it is perfect for a warm summer evening. When the cod is served with a grain or plain steamed rice, the vinaigrette becomes the sauce.

POACHING SEAFOOD IN OIL locks in its moisture and produces tender, juicy results. Here, adding fresh red snapper along with the prawns adds a textural contrast, but you could use either one, doubling the quantity. The oil from the poached seafood makes a flavorful sauce when studded with basil, tomatoes, and lemon zest. Delicate capellini, also known as angel hair pasta, rounds out an easy summer lunch or light supper.

GOOD TO KNOW Made by beating egg whites—no yolks—with sugar until stiff peaks form, meringue provides a versatile, fat-free base for all kinds of desserts. Here, scoops of meringue are poached until just firm, then chilled and served with raspberry purée.

GOOD TO KNOW Rotisserie chicken is a good shortcut (use only the breast meat) if you don’t have time to poach your own. Corn tortillas—crisped in the oven instead of fried—rovide a crunchy base for a filling salad packed with Mexican flavors. We’ve started with tomato, avocado, red onion, and cilantro, but you can add other favorite ingredients such as sliced radishes or corn—and perhaps a little reduced-fat sour cream in place of Mexican crema.

SMART SUBSTITUTION Mayonnaise—and the fat and calories that it imparts to chicken salads—is replaced by a vinaigrette in this slimmed-down version; using only poached breast meat also helps.

This is Jean-Pierre’s simple and adaptable fish soup, which is a satisfying and economical way to cook and enjoy a whole fish. First fillet the fish, and then make a stock with the bones, vegetables, and herbs. Strain the stock and gently poach the fillets in it, then serve with croutons and pungent garlicky mayonnaise.

I usually poach more kumquats than I need for a particular dessert; they keep well in their poaching liquid in the refrigerator for 2 weeks or more. They are lovely combined with sliced fresh blood oranges or with other poached fruits, especially prunes (poach the kumquats, lift them out when they’re done, and poach the prunes in the same syrup, combining them when the prunes are done and the syrup has cooled a bit).

Simply poaching fruit—submerging it in a light syrup and gently simmering until just done—preserves its integrity: it retains its shape and its flavor is enhanced. The poaching liquid can be infused with spices and citrus peel, and wine can be added for flavor. Pears, peaches, plums, apricots, quince, cherries, kumquats, and dried fruit such as apricots, raisins, currants, prunes, and cherries can all be poached. A plain piece of poached fruit is a perfect dessert on its own, but dressed up with vanilla ice cream, a plate of cookies, and raspberry or chocolate sauce, it makes a fancy dish for a special occasion. Simple compotes made of a combination of poached fruits served in their sweet poaching liquid are delightful seasonal desserts. Poached fruit also makes a superb garnish for simple cakes and can be baked into delicious tarts. Fruit for poaching should not be soft, as you want it to hold its shape after cooking. In fact, fruit that is a bit underripe or otherwise imperfect is improved by poaching. And, conveniently, poaching preserves fruit for a few days, which is a boon when you have an overabundance of fruit that needs to be used. Before poaching, some fruits need preparation. Pears should be peeled: I leave them whole with their stems intact for decoration, but they can be cored and cut in half or into quarters. Bosc, Bartlett, and Anjou are good varieties to poach. Peaches and apricots can be poached whole or cut in half and peeled after cooking. Small flat white peaches are exquisite poached whole. (Crack open a few of the pits, remove the kernels, and add them to the poaching liquid; they add a flavor of almond essence.) Cherries can be pitted or not. Apples should be cored and can be peeled or not, as desired. Some good varieties to poach are: Golden Delicious, Pippin, Sierra Beauty, and Granny Smith. Quinces need to be peeled and cored before going into the syrup and they require much longer cooking. Dried fruit can go directly into the poaching liquid. Poaching liquid is usually a light sugar syrup. Start with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 cup water, adjusting the syrup to your taste and the needs of the fruit. Tart fruit will require a sweeter syrup. You need enough poaching liquid to fully submerge the fruit. Choose a heavy nonreactive pan large enough to hold the poaching liquid and the fruit comfortably. Bring the water and sugar to a boil, stir to dissolve the sugar, and reduce to a simmer. At this point add any flavorings you might be using. I like to add lemon juice and strips of lemon zest, regardless of what fruit I am poaching. A piece of vanilla bean cut in half lengthwise, a cinnamon stick, peppercorns, cloves, or other spices are all possibilities, as are herbs such as rosemary, basil, or thyme. Add more delicate herbs like mint or lemon verbena at the end of cooking to preserve their flavor. Ginger, orange zest, and tea leaves can make tasty infusions. Wine—sweet or dry, red or white—adds fruit and acid. Try a ratio of 2 parts wine to 1 part water. When using a sweet wine such as port or Sauternes, cut back on the sugar in the poaching liquid. If sweetened with honey, brown sugar, or maple sugar, the poaching liquid will be darker and stronger. Another way to flavor the poaching liquid is to add a fruit purée from berries such as raspberries or black currants. When the liquid is ready, add the prepared fruit. Some fruits brown quickly once they are exposed to the air (pears and quinces, for example). Add them to the poaching liquid one by one as you peel them. Before poaching, cover the fruit with a circle of parchment paper that has been pierced with a few holes. This will help to keep the fruit submerged while it is cooking. Any fruit sticking up above the liquid may discolor or cook unevenly. Press the paper down on the fruit now and then throughout the cooking. Cook the fruit at a bare simmer until tender but not mushy. Test with a sharp paring knife or toothpick at th...