When it’s warm outside, all ingredients are called on to enhance food flavor. Familiar foodstuffs used in surprising ways. Or unsuspected ones added in rare abundance. Here are my new favorites: pink peppercorns, lemon zest, flaky sea salt and microgreens.
PINK PEPPERCORNS: My favorite steak place put a tantalizing twist on steak au poivre on the menu. It’s crusted with black and pink peppercorns. Obsessed, I started experimenting with the rose-colored nuggets. I tried them on my own steak recipe with cognac sauce, on roasted green beans, and lately, to ward off the hot weather, in a watermelon salad.
Sound weird? Hear me out. At the Farmers’ Market, I chose a small seedless watermelon. I cubed, chilled and crumbled chunks of feta cheese into the bowl. A short drizzle of olive oil, a few twists of a peppermill filled with pink peppercorns, and I was in heaven. Each ingredient lit up the others. But, oh, those peppercorns created a special brand of fireworks all their own.
LEMON ZEST: There’s no faking fresh lemon zest. There’s no grabbing it ready-to-use at the store. It can only start with fresh lemons. Zest is the thin outer skin of the rind, actually any citrus rind. The pith, the white part directly under it, is bitter. I peel it with a vegetable peeler and then minced, or grate it with a hand grater. I toss this with abandon – two lemons per recipe – into staid recipes to wake them up.
In potato salad, lemon zest replaces unendingly hand-chopped (ugh!) celery, peppers, sweet pickles and hard-cooked eggs. I add a light touch of mayo and a spritz of cider vinegar to boiled tiny white potatoes. Then chopped red onion. I let a torrent of zest rain down before mixing gently with a spatula. A handful of snipped chives over the top looks just right. I spark and sparkle tabouleh, bulgur wheat salad, this way, too. Again, two lemons worth per recipe. Perfection in a heat wave.
FLAKY SEA SALT: French sea salt, fleur de sel and sel gris, and Maldon from the western coast of France, differs from the granular sea salt available on most grocery shelves. The salt is the result of a hands-on process opposed to the quicker version made by boiling down ocean water. The French pride themselves on processes similar such hand-harvesting and toasting flower pistils to make saffron. These salts are naturally more expensive than regular supermarket sea salt.
Triangular shaped Maldon salt crystals, called “flaky sea salt” are especially pretty. Sparingly shower them over sweet and savory foods, like grilled fish, chocolate cookies and fruity summer salads. Flaky salt is available in specialty stores (Shubie’s Marketplace), certain grocery stores and online.
MICROGREENS: Lettuces, broccoli, arugula and other greens, when plucked as they barely peek their tops from the soil, are intense and peppery, crunchier than mature leaves. I toss them with lightly dressed green salads. Or I grab a handful to top anything from fried chicken to avocado toast. (Yes, they are even good for breakfast.) Dishes look like those delivered from a restaurant kitchen. Get the greens at the Farmers’ Market or in the produce section of the grocery store.
ZESTY POTATO SALAD
Makes 8 servings.
2 pounds tiny yellow potatoes, cut into halves.
Grated zest of 2 lemons
1 small red onion, chopped
4 tablespoons real mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
2 tablespoons light olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Bring potatoes and water to cover to a boil in a medium pot of water. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cold water. Toss with lemon zest. Whisk together chopped onion, mayonnaise, mustard, olive oil and cider vinegar. Toss gently with potatoes. Salt and pepper, to taste. Refrigerate, 1 to 2 hours.
Linda Bassett lived in Marblehead for years and has worked as a cook, trained up-and-coming chefs, studied food history and led food tours. Her book, “From Apple Pie to Pad Thai,” is about local cooks and cooking.
Secret ingredients can brighten up meals on hot, muggy days CURRENT PHOTO / LINDA BASSETT
Linda Bassett
Marblehead resident Linda Bassett has worked as a cook, trained up-and-coming chefs, studied food history and led food tours. Her book, “From Apple Pie to Pad Thai,” is about local cooks and cooking.
