Best Chef/ Pacific James Beard Award Winner:Healdsburg, CA

Chilled Cucumber-Avocado Soup with Spicy Glazed Shrimp
Recipe by Douglas Keane

© Quentin Bacon

Keane is such a fan of chilled soups that he puts at least one on his menu every season including winter. The combination of cucumber and red wine vinegar in this recipe reminds him of the wonderful Greek salads he had growing up outside of Detroit, Michigan, home to a huge Greek community.


Pairing Suggestion

This luscious soup needs a full-bodied white, but one that has good acidity, too. Sonoma's cool morning fogs help Chardonnay keep its edge, as in the 2004 Taft Street Russian River Valley Chardonnay, with its spicy pear-apple notes, or the leesy, pear-inflected 2003 Iron Horse Corral Vineyard.


Ingredients

1. 1 large European cucumber, seeded and coarsely chopped
2. 2 Hass avocados—pitted, peeled and quartered
3. 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
4. 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
5. 1 teaspoon sugar
6. 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
7. Kosher salt
8. 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
9. 3/4 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined, shells reserved
10. 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
11. 1 shallot, thinly sliced
12. 1 small carrot, thinly sliced crosswise
13. 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
14. 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
15. 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
16. 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
17. 1 teaspoon tomato paste
18. 2 cups water
19. 1 tablespoon honey
20. Freshly ground pepper
21. 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
22. 6 mint leaves, chopped


Directions

1. In a blender, combine the cucumber, avocados, buttermilk, vinegar, sugar, 1/2 tablespoon of the lime juice and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth. Strain the soup through a fine sieve and refrigerate until chilled, about 40 minutes.
2. In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the shrimp shells, garlic, shallot and carrot and cook over moderate heat, stirring until the shells are lightly browned, and the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. Add the peppercorns, coriander seeds, crushed red pepper and cumin seeds and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the water, honey and remaining 1 tablespoon of lime juice and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 15 minutes. Strain the shrimp sauce into a heatproof bowl.
3. In a medium skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil until shimmering. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper and cook over high heat for 1 minute. Turn the shrimp, add the shrimp sauce and simmer just until the shrimp are cooked through, about 2 minutes. Swirl in the butter.
4. Place the shrimp in soup bowls, spoon the cucumber soup all around and drizzle the shrimp sauce on top. Sprinkle with the mint and serve right away.


Make Ahead

The cucumber soup and shrimp sauce can be refrigerated overnight separately. Reheat the shrimp sauce gently before using.

Notes


If you are short on time, the cucumber-avocado soup is delicious on its own. Just follow the recipe through step 1, then serve with a drizzle of olive oil and chopped mint.


Relate Links: Seafood Recipes - USA, Seafood Recipes - UK, Seafood Recipes - Canada

Pork Loin Spiedino with Pine Nut, Garlic, and Currant Soffritto

2009’s James Beard Award winners, California

Pork Loin Spiedino with Pine Nut, Garlic, and Currant Soffritto Recipe from seriouseats.com

In Italian, spiedino means 'little spit' and refers to meat grilled on skewers over an open fire. Today's Cook the Book recipe, excerpted from A16 Food + Wine, is for Pork Loin Spiedino with Pine Nut, Garlic, and Currant Soffritto. A soffritto is a combination of aromatic ingredients simmered in olive oil. It can be used as a simple flavor enhancer; a base for other recipes; or a sauce, as it is here.

For this dish, wine director and co-author Shelley Lindgren recommends Magliocco from Calabria, a "muscular" wine with notes of plum, blackberry, clove, and white pepper. If you can't find it, opt for a spicy Nero d'Avola instead.


Pork Loin Spiedino with Pine Nut, Garlic, and Currant Soffritto

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless pork loin, cut into 1-inch cubes
About 1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 cup dried currants
3/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup garlic cloves, minced
3 ounces arugula

Procedure

1. In a bowl, toss the pork with the salt. Cover and refrigerate for at least overnight or up to 3 days.

2. To make the soffritto, soak the currants in just enough warm water to cover for about 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, add the pine nuts and 1/2 cup of the olive oil to a small, heavy pot and place over low heat. Gradually bring to a low simmer, stirring frequently, and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, or until the pine nuts have started to brown. Stir in the garlic and continue to cook on low heat for about 8 minutes, or until the garlic is a light golden brown. Watch the soffritto carefully; the pine nuts and garlic will burn easily. Drain the currants, add them to the pot, and then remove the pot from the heat. Let the soffritto cool to room temperature. It will keep, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

4. About 30 minutes before cooking, remove the pork from the refrigerator. If using wooden skewers, soak them in water to cover to prevent them from scorching. Prepare a hot fire in a grill, stacking the coals to one side so you have two areas of heat, one with direct heat and one with indirect heat.

5. Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over the pork and toss evenly. Drain the skewers, and thread about 5 pieces of pork onto each skewer.

6. Place the skewers over the coals and grill for about 1 minute on each side, or until well seared. Move the skewers to the cooler side of the grill and continue to cook over indirect heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until cooked medium-well but still juicy.

7. Arrange a bed of arugula on a platter. Place the pork skewers on top. Drizzle some of the soffritto over the top of the pork and the arugula. Pass the remaining sauce at the table. Serve immediately.