We got home from our Portland trip around 6 on Sunday night, so this wasn't the greatest week for cooking. I tried to get the pissaladiere started right away, but soon realized that the egg needed to be at room temperature (seems to be my favorite thing to forget!) so I left it on the counter while I went to the grocery store. I started the pissaladiere when I got home, and finished it just before going to sleep. I tasted it when warm, but then sliced the rest (I also forgot to take the photo before I started slicing!) and saved it in the fridge. We've eaten it for a couple of meals this week. What can I say? I just don't like anchovies very much. I want to learn to like them - they seem to be so trendy right now - but I'm having a hard time. I used to avoid them completely, but then last spring I spent some time tracking down a can of anchovies packed in salt (it was for a Marcella Hazan recipe that I wanted to make for Paul's birthday, and she's very exacting about ingredients) and realized that I actually liked the flavor they gave certain dishes, as long as they were chopped finely enough that I couldn't quite tell they were there.
So anyway, against my better judgement I decided to be brave and follow the recipe exactly (this might also be related to my annoying obsession with following rules). I put anchovies both in the onion mixture, and on the top. The first day I was eating this I wasn't paying enough attention and bit into one of the whole anchovies. Wow! They are really strong. I liked the other components of this dish a lot, though. The crust is nice (I like the richness the egg adds), I love olives, and you just can't go wrong with caramelized onions. Overall it definitely wasn't my favorite dish, but I would consider making it again. If I did, I would cut the anchovies in the onion filling in half and leave them off the top completely.
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| Pissaladiere |
This week was also challenging because when I got home Sunday night I had 3 daikon radishes from my CSA waiting for me! Daikons aren't our favorite, but I always try to find ways to use them up, but this week was just too much.
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| Three daikons |
The largest one weighed in at 4.5 pounds, and was more than a foot long. I used one of the small ones for potato-daikon pancakes, which we actually enjoyed. Anything with fried potatoes is good in my book, and the small amount of added daikon is subtle and adds a nice, peppery flavor. (I used this recipe:
http://www.foodiememoirs.com/index.php/recipes/69-daikon-a-potato-pancakes) But I gave in to Paul's demand and donated the largest daikon to the compost bin (after saving the greens to add to a braise). I already have plenty of pickled daikon in my fridge from previous CSA baskets, and couldn't think of anything else creative to do with it. Does anybody have any good daikon recipes? I've been using - and loving - the site
http://www.eatyourbooks.com/home but even with all of the cookbooks I own I don't seem to have nearly enough recipes for daikon!
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| Paul with the daikon |
Hmmm... interesting. Don't think I've ever tried daikon before.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm Japanese and we put daikon in EVERYTHING. They add a really nice crunch to soups, like the warm weather pot au feu? That was a good one to have with daikon, but if you go the Asian route, you can put them in udon noodles or eat them dipped in soy. We often finely grate it, garnish with soy and put it over rice, fish, meat, lots of things. Maybe check out a few Japanese cookbooks/recipes online. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked this one though! At first I thought you put the daikon IN the passiladerie! LOL!
Oooh, love Daikon!
ReplyDeleteHappy French Friday!
Even with vegetables you love, a CSA box can give you too much of one thing. Especially if you're a small household.
ReplyDeleteYour pissaladière looks lovely and there's no shame in reducing the amount of anchovy, if it's holding you back from loving it.
That's one mother shocking daikon! Your pissaladiere looks great and I'm happy you enjoyed it, despite the saltier bites.
ReplyDeleteThat is one huge daikon. Wow. I usually end up grating daikons into whatever it is I am making with them - so don't have any creative ideas (soups, salads, etc)
ReplyDeleteDefintely try the pissaladiere again with less anchovies. They can be very overpowering.
Nice looking pissaladiere, Jora. As with all recipes, adjusting to your own taste is the way to go. Quick tip, if you need to bring an egg to room temp quickly, put it in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes. I have never seen a daikon that big before.
ReplyDeleteI substitute daikon for potatoes in most stews since we don't eat potatoes. They work quite well in beefy stews (pot roast, beef in wine, braised beef short ribs, etc). I also like them in chunks in clear soups, especially anything with a pork or duck stock, like a pho, but they work well in chicken based soups also. The daikon gets soft and absorbs the flavors from the dish. We use a lot of them, and they last for quite a while in cool storage.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you saw it through and gave it a whirl as written! I ate mine with a toss of aruglula salad on it and it does give the anchovies another avenue to flavor and it cuts it down nicely.
ReplyDeleteBefore your post I had not heard of Daikon and now I know a bunch of different ways to use it ! Although I am not sure I could deal with the 4.5 pound one.... Great pissaladiere. I passed since I was so behind and Nana agreed to knock it out. Plus, I am not an anchovy fan. We agreed to try other variations over the Thanksgiving holiday, since this is a good "wine and nibblies" kind of recipe.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for all of the advice! I'm going to remember the tip about bringing eggs to room temperature - I'm sure I'll be using it often.
ReplyDeleteI REALLY appreciate all of the advice on ways to use daikon. I looked through a couple of Japanese cookbooks and found some good ideas. This week I made daikon kimchi (I found the recipe on the NYTimes website). We really enjoyed it with some bibimbap that I made, and the recipe used up 6 cups of daikon and stays good for a couple of weeks :-)