Fun with Shrubs
This is the third month of the food preservation Mastery Challenge hosted by Marisa McClellan at Food in Jars. March’s challenge is a choice of Jellies and/or Shrubs. Always one to try something new, I decided to explore shrubs.
What’s a shrub, you might ask? At least, what is it when we’re not talking about the woody plants growing around the foundation of your house? Shrub is sometimes known as drinking vinegar. It’s a sweet and tart syrup made with fruit, sugar, and vinegar. Other herbs, spices or aromatics can also be added. Typically, a shrub is added to seltzer water for a refreshing drink or, with some added alcohol, a cocktail.
I like getting familiar with a new way to preserve fruit that’s an alternative to jellies and jams.
The first shrub I made was Pomegranate Shrub. I had half a bottle of Pom pomegranate juice in the fridge, so I tried one-third of a batch of this recipe from Punch Drunk. It was super simple. All you need to do is combine juice, sugar, and vinegar. I heated the vinegar first to accelerate the dissolving of the sugar, then added the juice. Pomegranate is tart to begin with, so the vinegar enhanced the tartness, which was toned down by the sugar.
My second attempt was a bit more experimental. I started with strawberries I had frozen after a summer berry picking outing. After reading about the different processes, I opted to start with the hot method, where the fruit is infused in simple syrup to extract its juice. I added slightly thawed berries along with some crushed peppercorns to a warm simple syrup and simmered it. Then, I strained out the fruit and added vinegar and some vanilla extract for good measure. This Strawberry-Vanilla-Peppercorn Shrub reminded me of summer. The berry flavor was pronounced, the vinegar added some tang, and the other flavors gave it some mystique.
Shrubs are a worthwhile discovery! Both shrubs were delicious added to seltzer. I still have to try adding this to cocktails.
After I’ve gone overboard picking fruit this summer, I’m also interested in trying the cold method for making shrubs where fruit is simply tossed with sugar to draw out its juice before adding the vinegar.
Strawberry-Vanilla-Peppercorn Shrub
Makes a little more than a cup
½ pound strawberries (unsweetened frozen OK)
½ cup water
½ cup granulated sugar
½ tsp black peppercorns, crushed
6 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Heat the water in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve completely. (If you already have simple syrup on hand, gently heat ¾ cup simple syrup in the medium saucepan instead of dissolving sugar in water.) Add the strawberries and crushed peppercorns, and bring to a light simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the syrup is a rich color and the strawberries are soft. Let the fruit cool in the syrup until lukewarm.
Strain the berries from the syrup. (No need to discard the strained berries. Stir it into yogurt for breakfast or a snack.) Stir the vinegar and vanilla into the syrup. Transfer to a bottle. Store in the refrigerator.
Triple Play {CtBF}
I’m woefully behind on posts for Cook the Book Fridays, so in addition to this week’s Caramel Pork Ribs, I’ll catch you up on two other recipes I made from David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen.
First the ribs… After a seemingly early spring thaw, winter came back with a vengeance bringing super cold temperatures and another load of snow. Ribs at our house are typically slow-cooked outside in a wood-fueled smoker, but not during the winter. When I checked out at the grocery store with my rack of spareribs, the cashier commented that only a devoted “super-griller” would be willing to stand outside that day and cook ribs. I was happy to respond that I’d be making ribs in the oven!
These ribs cook in a savory caramel sauce that starts by melting sugar, a step that used to terrify me, but I am slowly becoming more comfortable with. The sauce is rounded out with some beer (I used stout) and bourbon along with other savory ingredients.
The ribs, cut into 3- or 4-rib portions, are coated in the sauce and then baked in the pot for a couple of hours, turning occasionally. The pork became meltingly tender, practically falling of the bone.
My helper!
I opted to serve these “French-Style” with plain white rice, though when Howard read the open page of the cookbook, he wished I’d chosen the suggested Mashed Potatoes. Even though mashed potatoes probably would have been tasty, I thought the rice was the perfect platform for spooning some the sticky sauce.
We both enjoyed the ribs. It’s exciting have new winter option to cook when the smoker is buried under a pile of snow.
Two weeks ago, I made the Wheatberry Salad with Radicchio and Root Vegetables. We had just returned from a week in Florida, and though I made this dish on time, I couldn’t get it together to write about it.
I love roasted root vegetables. Fall and winter, a steady supply of them fill the refrigerator and a “make shift” root cellar. I’m getting to the end of my stockpile, but I roasted a combination of watermelon radish, celery root, parsnips, and carrots, a colorful medley. Radicchio is something I’ve only eaten in salad, so throwing chopped radicchio on top of the root vegetables in the oven for a few minutes to wilt was a new trick.
My salad was based on farro because I’m enamored with Trader Joe’s 10-Minute Farro. The farro is parboiled so it really does cook in just 10 minutes, though I forgot to add a bay leaf when I cooked it for this recipe.
The farro and vegetables are tossed together with a dressing made tangy by the addition of pomegranate molasses. You’ll notice that I didn’t add the pomegranate seeds. Pomegranate seeds in this salad would have violated Howard’s rule prohibiting the mixing of fruit with savory. Also, pomegranates just went out of season here, so I couldn’t find any anyway.
I served this salad as a side with roasted chicken thighs. Another hit that will be repeated.
Finally, there’s the Merveilleux, on the schedule back in February. This was a dessert that just didn’t want to get made. David Lebovitz challenges anyone who doesn’t like meringues because they’ve never tried a merveilleux. I like meringues. The problem is that I’m not a big fan of whipped cream. I really dragged my feet on this one. When I first set out to made these last month, I was out of confectioners’ sugar. Earlier this week, I restocked and made the meringues. When I got ready to make the whipped cream filling/coating, I found that the whipping cream was spoiled. Off to the store again.
I whipped up the cream with a tinge of espresso powder, making it reminiscent of tiramisu. To construct the merveilleux, I sandwiched the cream filling between two meringues, slathered the outsides with more cream, and rolled them in chocolate, before chilling them for a couple of hours. This is one recipe where I wish the book had included a picture. I still have no idea what merveilleux are supposed to look like.
Howard renamed these “Merv Griffins” because it’s easier to say. Neither of us were fans, obviously because we don’t care for whipped cream. I made a half batch of five, so hopefully I can find three friends to share the remainder with before they get soggy.
If you don’t have My Paris Kitchen in your cookbook collection yet, you should add it. So many of these recipes are winners. If you want to try any of these recipes yourself, you can find Pork Caramel Ribs on page 187, the Wheatberry Salad on page 240, and Merveilleux on page 281.
To see what my friends thought of these recipes, check out their posts from Cook the Book Fridays.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Erin go bragh!
A Plateful of Happiness 