For the Love of Chili Crisp
...its hot, it has unami, you want it.
It seems as if this newsletter has evolved, as I write it without a plan but just from what is tumbling out onto my keyboard, into an ode for hot and spicy. Even my cookbook review, at the end of the newsletter, is a love letter to a part of Italy that produces the fantastic Calabrian chilis, which are just slightly milder than jalapeños.
Maybe because it is so cold outside. I tend to cook soups and warming stews in this kind of frosty weather and fill copper lazy susan on my kitchen table with different kinds of red and green hot sauce, jars of chili crisp, Korean Gochuchang, smoked paprika, smoked sea salt, and cayenne. There’s also a breathtaking horseradish mustard there.
This explains why my favorite flavor of the week is Chili Crisp.
Favorite Flavor of the week
Fried chili and fried garlic swirl together in this intoxicating condiment emanating from China. You can easily make it at home, and I do. I also like to always have on hand store-bought versions: Lao Gan Ma Spicy Crispy Chili (my favorite)…….
Others I buy: S&B’s Crunchy Garlic, Momofuku’s Chili Crunch, and if I am in Trader Joe’s I pick up their Chili Onion or Chili Crisp, depending on what is on the shelf.
So what is it that is so addictive? That I want to smear it on everything? To the point, I will make rice just so that I can spoon this over the top. I slather it all over roast chicken. I whisk it into mayonnaise. I even fry eggs in the oil in the morning. Yes I know most of the store-bought versions might have MSG in them, so that’s why I also make my own as well as for the ability to regulate the heat. The biggest chili sauce in China is a big deal in my kitchen.
My friend Cathy Erway wrote a great article about it, “The Cult of Spicy Chile Crisp Is Real” which goes into the history and detail surrounding the sauce.
And here’s a recipe on youtube where you can learn to make your own. It is sooooooo good! Make a double batch. Believe me, you will go through it quickly. That crunch, that spice, the aromatic oil, even the color is what will bring you into the fold of chili crisp lovers.
Good Reads, Good News:
New amazing food hall to open in NYC this spring.
Rockefeller Center is the new venue for lots of good dining choices in NYC.
Time Out Magazine’s Best Food Destination in the World for 2023.
Cool new bank concept in the spirit of Walden will lend and invest only in local New England agriculture.
Enjoy BBC A Good Read podcast of book reviews and interviews.
Cookbook review: (more hot and spicy!)
My Calabria: Rustic Family Cooking from Italy’s Undiscovered South by Rosetta Costantino and Janet Fletcher
How does a girl who lives in the southernmost region of Italy, whose father was a shepherd and winemaker, end up in California as a cooking teacher and author of one of the most satisfying and endearing cookbooks about Italian cuisine?
And where exactly is Calabria?!
I googled images of Calabria and my breath stopped. How have I not visited? How soon can I go?! It looks exquisite, and if the cuisine is as luscious as Rosetta's recipes and prose paint it, then it's my next culinary journey. As soon as I can make it happen.
And then there was the table of contents, normally pretty dry stuff. Reading the contents page of My Calabria made me want to dive right into each and every page. Handmade .....featherlight fritters to accompany the evening's first glass of wine.....an exotic green tomato tart with ricotta ice cream.....
From this very first page my emotions were entwined with the pages before me. Rosetta is an evocative writer. So this, then, is more than a cookbook. It is great reading.
The opening paragraph of My Calabria:
"The home that so many Calabrians once had to abandon is a painfully beautiful place, a remote land of majestic castles and ancient fortresses; snow-covered highlands that resemble Switzerland; markets proffering salt cod, unusual salumi, and fresh ricotta cheese; and miles of beaches and unspoiled coastline, the longest in all Italy."
Wow. Makes you want to go, doesn't it?
This is homey food. Comfort food. No foams, no tricks. It's about homemade jams and pasta and simple meat and fish dishes. Simple to make but complex in flavor, with a punch of spiciness.
Today, I share with you a recipe from this wonderful cookbook, so you too can have a taste of Calabria.
Ricotta Ice Cream with Strega
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups top quality whole milk ricotta
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons Strega liqueur
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 cup heavy cream
2 oz. candied orange peel, chopped (optional)
Method:
1. In a food processor, blend the ricotta, sugar, Strega, vanilla, and lemon zest until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the cream. Pulse to combine, then scrape down the bowl and pulse again until completely blended.
2. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream freezer and process according to the manufacturer's directions. By hand, fold in the candied orange peel, if using. Pack the ice cream in a freezer container and freeze until ready to serve.
Makes 1 1/2 quarts. "Because there is no egg in the ice cream, the texture does not remain velvety for long. If possible, serve the ice cream the same day you make it..."
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