The Catskill Chronicle

By Jude Waterston

What I’m about to say may sound shallow, but no more so than the many 20-something-year-olds I overhear proclaiming, “I love my iphone!” I recently ordered a gizmo on Amazon.com called a Julienne Peeler (Oxo Good Grips, at the reasonable price of $9.99), and it is the new love of my life. A wondrous addition to my time spent in the kitchen. It looks much like your average Y-shaped vegetable peeler with which you effortlessly peel the skins of carrots, potatoes, and the like. The difference is that instead of a straight blade, the Julienne Peeler has sharp metal teeth which, when scraped against the sides of a zucchini or cucumber, result in long, perfectly proportioned  spaghetti-like strands.

Though I do have a kitchen drawer devoted to cooking gadgets, I don’t consider myself obsessed with them,  and there is more than a handful I rarely use. These would include the olive pitter, pizza cutter, tomato corer, strawberry huller, metal citrus juicer, and plastic dumpling press. I do, however, often utilize my small metal funnel, lemon zester, tiny sieve, mushroom brush, micro-plane cheese grater, spatula, and most important, tongs. One utensil I bump into while rummaging around the drawer, I have to admit, I only tried once. It was a gift from my cousin Marylin, and she presented it to me knowing my predilection for  all things pertaining to food. It looks like two flattened wire whisks that share a single plastic handle, if you can imagine that. The accompanying pamphlet, complete with illustrations, indicates that it can be used to strain spaghetti, flip a burger, retrieve a pickle from a jar, whisk egg whites into a froth, or lift a frankfurter off the grill. Sometimes I pick it up and look at it closely for a bewildering moment before plopping it back into the drawer.

Getting back to my new discovery, I would like to ask that you take a moment to contemplate the greatness of the julienne peeler. First of all, peeler is not quite the correct description for this tool. When the teeth are scraped against a potato, for instance, the strands that form fall from the vegetable nearly effortlessly, and drop into a waiting bowl like ultra-thin snakes of great beauty (to a cook, anyway). So, it’s more of a julienne “cutter.”

The first time I used it was on unpeeled small green and yellow squash. I rotated the squash as I worked, stopping short of the center so I wouldn’t have any of the mushy seed portion. I felt a pang of guilt as I dropped the unused seed-laden log into the garbage can, but I promise that if I ever start a compost pile it will certainly end up there instead. After the strands had piled up in a bowl, I lightly salted them and let them exude some of their liquid for about ten minutes. Then I tamped them with paper towel and took out a saute pan. I had some coconut oil from Trader Joe’s that I’ve been using for pan-frying, because it doesn’t burn at high heats and imparts a lovely, delicate, “coconutty” flavor. I  sautéed the zucchini on medium high heat, tossing it and letting it get tender before I added freshly ground black pepper, sea salt, and a sprinkling of the Moroccan spice blend, ras-el-hanout, which is comprised of ground cumin, ginger, cinnamon, coriander, allspice, cloves, cayenne or Syrian Aleppo pepper. Cajun or Creole spice, or an Indian spice blend such as garam masala or curry were other options I contemplated. I tossed the zucchini strands about another minute or so until they were lightly golden and still had some crunch. The resulting dish was the perfect accompaniment to grilled baby lamb chops, and would’ve worked equally well with chicken, pork loin or steaks.

This morning I took two russet potatoes and worked my magic on them with the julienne peeler. I tossed the strands with some very thinly sliced red onions and some finely minced fresh rosemary from the garden. I then melted a couple of tablespoons of sweet butter in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. In went the the potatoes, and as they sputtered, I used a metal spatula to flatten them into a large pancake. After awhile, I lifted an edge of the cake to find the bottom deeply golden and crispy. I slid it onto a large plate and inverted another plate over it and back into the skillet it went. When it was crunchy outside, but still tender inside, I gently lifted it onto a large platter and tossed a few snipped chives over the top as garnish. I served big wedges of the potato cake with sunny-side-up fried eggs from the farmer up the road.

A few minutes ago, my sister, Janet, who was quilting nearby, noticed I was sitting motionless in an armchair with my head tilted to one side. “What are you thinking about?” she asked. “I’m thinking of using my new julienne peeler to make a green mango salad like the one we had last week at the Vietnamese place on MacDougal Street.” “You mean the one with glass cellophane noodles topped with roast duck?” she asked, her voice full of anticipation. “Yeah, I’m trying to think what else was in there?” I responded, then recalled that julienned carrots, thinly sliced romaine lettuce, mint, thai basil, cilantro and a zesty vinaigrette rounding out the refreshing room temperature salad. “Get to it!” Janet said.

“I love my julienne peeler!” I crowed as I headed into the kitchen.

Cucumber and Carrot “Spaghetti” Salad

Serves 2 – 3

This salad is made using a julienne peeler, which can be purchased in cookware stores or on line at Amazon.com. When scraped against a hard vegetable, the peeler produces long spaghetti-like strands. I bought the Oxo Good Grip version, but they are also made by MIU France, Zyliss, and Kuhn Rikon. The salad can be made by hand, as well, but it will take some dexterity slicing the vegetables into long, very thin strands.

 

¾ English hot house cucumber, with skin

1 large carrot, peeled

2 tablespoons Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar (from Trader Joe’s) or 2 tablespoons Champagne or white wine vinegar plus 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint

Julienne the cucumber with the peeler, rotating it as you go and stopping short of the seedy mid-section. Discard the unused piece. Julienne the carrot in the same manner, using as much of it as you can until it becomes too thin to hold. Discard (or eat) the leftover core. Place the vegetables in a colander, salt lightly, and toss with tongs to distribute salt. Let stand for about 10 minutes, then press dry in paper toweling to remove as much excess liquid as possible. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk the vinegar, lime juice, and olive oil until combined. Stir in the herbs. Place the carrot and cucumber in a shallow bowl and add the vinaigrette. Toss well to combine. Refrigerate for fifteen minutes or so, taste for seasoning, and serve.

Potato Pancake

Serves 4 as a side dish

2 large russet (baking) potatoes (with or without peel, as you prefer)

½ medium red onion, sliced very thinly

½ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives (optional)

Grate the potatoes in a food processor or use a julienne peeler (available on-line at Amazon.com or in a cookware shop. I use one by Oxo Good Grip). Wrap the potatoes in paper toweling or a kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Transfer to a bowl and add onion and rosemary. Toss to combine. Heat 3 tablespoons butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides. Toss potato mixture with salt and pepper. Spread potatoes in skillet and press down with a spatula. Lower the heat to medium. Cook the potato cake about 10 – 12 minutes, until underside is crisp and golden brown. Slide cake onto a large plate. Invert another large plate over it. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons butter in skillet. Slide cake back into skillet, browned side up, and cook until underside is golden brown, about 10 minutes more. Slide cake onto a cutting board or large plate and sprinkle with chives, if using. Cut into four wedges and serve.