It was a quiet January, Casa SaltShaker-wise. As previously mentioned, Henry’s away in Peru for his annual family visit, plus I spent a week in São Paulo, so we only offered up three dinners all month. Singled out, one dish per meal, for your virtual gustatory pleasure.

This one has been in the works for awhile and I’m really happy with the way it turned out. Plump, juicy, raw prawns, deveined, then marinated for about twelve hours in our homemade apple ponzu sauce (slow cooked emulsification of soy sauce, apple juice, lemon juice, mirin, chili oil, and salt). Brunoise of pickled green apple, dots of guacamole puree, red onion, chives, chili powder dusted fried corn.

You’ve already seen this one in my “White Supremacy” writeup – a white lasagna, or, more correctly, a lasagne ai funghi, with homemade Italian fennel sausage, king oyster mushrooms, bechamel and three cheeses. As George Takei would say, “Oh myyyy”.

I feel like since I already went into detail on that lasagna I should offer up another dish from the same meal. A green gazpacho – tomatillos, green bell pepper, cucumber, scallions, jalapeños, garlic, lime juice and zest, all pureed with a bit of yogurt, white wine vinegar, olive oil, and bread to thicken. Garnished with croutons, salted yogurt, and sprouts. Very happy with how this one turned out!

And, another new dish that’s been in the works for awhile. Chicken thighs marinated in yogurt, mango, sweetened peanut powder, cilantro, green chili, and lemon juice overnight, then cooked sous vide for four hours at 64.4C. That needs a slight adjustment, as, while cooked through, it leaves the core of the thighs looking pink, which can be a little off-putting. Still, it comes out butter-tender this way. Maybe just a slight increase in that temperature. Served over quinua that’s flavored with toasted yellow and black mustard seeds, ginger, chili, fried onions, and just a pinch of curry. The cooking juices, after removing the chicken from the sous vide bags, is thickened with a roux to make the sauce. Roasted cherry tomatoes with basil. Garnished with the chicken skin, dusted with salt, pepper, chili flakes, and dried basil and then broiled.