Accounting for Taste

NYTimes Cooking writes “A good dip transcends time — especially one with fresh herbs, which makes this 1959 recipe from Craig Claiborne stand out amid other recipes from the convenience food era of the 1940s and ’50s. Studded with capers, garlic and anchovies, the dip comes together quickly, then sits in the refrigerator, ready to buy you time when your guests arrive.”

Although the title is a bit of a misnomer in the fact that Florentine recipes usually include spinach as an ingredient. But I won’t quibble over the title because it was a fabulous dip! And if you are squeamish about anchovies, they are mashed up and assist the other ingredients in bringing out a true depth of flavor.

However if you’re adamantly opposed to anchovies, try fish sauce. Don’t be put off by the name. It does not taste fishy. As a fellow anchovy hater however, I have come around to using them mashed up in small amounts as here, where they give an indefinable flavor boost.

BTW, America’s Test Kitchen has a great recipe for an anchovy substitute involving miso and nori. It works beautifully in most recipes that call for anchovies or anchovy paste.

Florentine Dip

Servings: Yields 1 1⁄2 cups
Time: 10 min, + chilling
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

3 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
2 Tbsp. mashed or finely chopped anchovies
1 cup sour cream
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 Tbsp. chopped chives
2 tsp. chopped capers
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
½ garlic clove, minced
Salt and black pepper to taste
Sliced vegetables and/or sturdy potato chips, for serving

Directions

Using a wooden spoon, blend the cream cheese and anchovy paste together in a medium bowl.
Add the sour cream, parsley, chives, capers, lemon juice and garlic, season with salt and pepper, then stir until well blended.
Place in the refrigerator for several hours to season.
Spoon the dip into a bowl and serve with sliced vegetables or chips, or both.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Adapted from a recipe by Craig Clairborn for NYTimes Cooking

So elegant, yet so simple, this roasted leg of lamb is truly company-worthy. It originally calls for a 4-pound roast, but we had a 2 1⁄2 pounder on hand, so we used that—though we did not cut back on the anchovy-garlic-herbs mixture which lends it so much umami goodness. Even if you are not an anchovy fan, you’d never know they were in the dish because their flavor just melds so perfectly with the other ingredients. DON’T leave them out.

And the icing on the cake so to speak? The bacon slices overlap each other across the top of the roast which create a beautiful crusty and golden exterior. And because our lamb was smaller in size, it took less strips of bacon to cover it.

Paired with baked sweet potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts, all of which cook at the same 425°F temperature as the lamb—just different lengths of time—everything can be done in just one oven at the same time. Dinner done!

Bacon-Wrapped Roast Lamb with Anchovy and Garlic

Servings: 8-10
Time: 1 hr, 30 min
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

4 anchovy fillets
2 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp. herbes de Provence
4 Tbsp. olive oil
4 lbs. leg of lamb, rolled and boneless
12 slices bacon
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place anchovy fillets, garlic and herbs in food processor, and process until finely chopped. With machine running, add olive oil in a thin stream, and process until mixture forms an oily paste. Transfer paste to a small bowl and set aside.
Dry the lamb well with paper towels and open flat on work surface. Sprinkle inside of lamb with salt and pepper and spread paste evenly over it. Roll lamb up tightly. Arrange bacon in overlapping slices on top of lamb, and tie roast as snugly as possible with butcher’s twine.
Heat an oven-proof, 10-12 inch wide skillet over high heat 5 minutes. Sear lamb, bacon side down, until brown, about 4 minutes. Turn lamb with tongs and continue searing until all sides are browned, about 12 minutes total.
Transfer skillet to oven and roast until lamb registers 130 degrees on instant-read meat thermometer, about 40 to 45 minutes. Remove lamb from oven and let rest, covered loosely with foil, at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Make a pan sauce if desired.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe from NY Times Cooking