It’s hard to get consensus on the definition of scrod. According to well-known Boston chef Jasper White, most New Englanders would agree that it’s baby cod weighing under two pounds. However, some say that baby haddock and pollack are acceptable. Others contend that the kind of fish isn’t important, but the manner of preparation is: If it’s not broiled with the breadcrumbs, it’s just baby cod. The Parker House hotel in Boston claims to have invented the dish. Here’s our rendition; we serve it with broiled tomatoes.
Serves 4.
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
2 large shallots, minced
2 cups fresh white breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives or green onion tops
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
4 6- to 8-ounce scrod or true cod fillets (1 1/2 inches thick), all
bones removed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
lemon wedges
DIRECTIONS
Melt 1/4 cup butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add minced shallots and cook 1 minute. Add breadcrumbs and stir until butter is absorbed. Remove from heat and add chives, parsley and lemon peel. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before using.)
Preheat oven to 450°F. Butter baking pan and place fish in pan. Brush lemon juice over fish. Cover with breadcrumb mixture, pressing to adhere. Bake until fish is just cooked through, about 20 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.
Cabbage has been a staple vegetable in New England since the colonists sowed the first seeds. In the beginning, English settlers boiled it, just as they had back home. Eventually, other immigrants introduced creative new ways to prepare it. Coleslaw, for example, was brought over by the Dutch. This is our version, with the colorful addition of beets, another popular ingredient in this part of the world.
Serves 4.
INGREDIENTS
2 medium beets, trimmed
4 cups thinly sliced cabbage
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 teaspoon honey
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
shredded fresh basil or chopped fresh parsley
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375°F. Wrap beets in foil. Bake until tender when pierced with knife, about 1 1/2 hours. Cool. Peel beets. Cut into 2 x 1/4 x 1/4-inch strips. Place in medium bowl.
Place cabbage in large bowl. Combine cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, grated orange peel and honey in small bowl. Gradually beat in oil. Add caraway seeds. Pour enough dressing over beets to coat. Pour remaining dressing over cabbage and mix. Season both salads with salt and pepper.
Arrange cabbage around edge of platter. Mound beets in center. Garnish with basil and serve.
Maple syrup is one of New England’s unique gifts to the culinary world. The natural sweetener is a wonderful complement to all kinds of ingredients but is especially good when teamed with pears, which are plentiful in fall. Here they’re partnered in a cobbler, an old-fashioned dessert of fruit baked with a biscuit topping. Make sure to pass whipped cream flavored with the delicate syrup.
Serves 6.
INGREDIENTS
filling
3 pounds ripe barlett pears, peeled, quartered, cored
2/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon (generous) ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
topping
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
9 tablespoons half and half
9 tablespoons pure maple syrup
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
melted butter
sugar
ground nutmeg
1 cup chilled whipping cream
additional pure maple syrup
DIRECTIONS
For Filling: Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut pears crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Combine in large bowl with maple syrup, flour, vanilla extract and ground nutmeg. Divide among six 2/3-cup custard cups of soufflé dishes. Dot tops with butter. Bake filling until hot and bubbling, about 18 minutes.
Meanwhile, Prepare Topping: Mix first 3 ingredients in processor. Add 6 tablespoons chilled butter and cut in until mixture resembles fine meal. Transfer to large bowl. Mix half and half, 6 tablespoons syrup and vanilla in another bowl. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Working quickly, drop batter in three mounds, 1 heaping tablespoon per mound, atop hot filling in each cup. Brush topping with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and nutmeg. Immediately return cups to oven and bake 8 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375°F. and bake until toppings are golden and just firm to touch, about 14 minutes. Let cool at least 15 minutes.
In medium bowl, beat 1 cup chilled cream with 3 tablespoons maple syrup to soft peaks. Serve cobblers warm with whipped cream. Drizzle additional maple syrup over.
New England has a large Portuguese population. Their numbers are most concentrated in Massachusetts fishing centers, such as New Bedford, Glouchester and Providencetown, where they’ve had an important influence on the cuisine. One of their specialties is fried scallops, Portuguese-style–a sauté of bay scallops in butter with garlic and parsley. We’ve elaborated on the basic dish by adding shrimp, mushrooms, green onions and a white wine sauce. Serve it over rice, and offer buttered peas or broccoli on the side.
Serves 6.
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, minced
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 pound bay scallops
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
DIRECTIONS
Melt butter with olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic cloves and sauté 1 minute. Increase heat to high, add sliced mushrooms and sauté until just beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir 30 seconds. Add dry white wine and fresh lemon juice and bring to boil. Add shrimp and sliced green onions and stir 1 minute. Add scallops and stir until shrimp and scallops and stir until shrimp and scallops are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley and serve immediately.
This dessert, long favored by the British at holiday time, originally contained minced meat along with the fruits and spices. This version, more suited to the nineties table, is meatless and brimming with apples, dried fruit and lots of spices.
Serves 8.
INGREDIENTS
3 1/2 pounds small pippin apples (about 7), peeled, cored, chopped
1/2 cup chopped pitted prunes
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dried currants
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsulfured (light) molasses
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
2 buttermilk pie crust dough disks
milk
rum raisin ice cream (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Combine first 17 ingredients in heavy large saucepan or Dutch oven. Cook over low heat until apples are very tender and mixture is thick, stirring occasionally, about 1 1/2 hours. Cool filling completely. (Can be prepared up to 1 week ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out 1 pie crust disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch-diameter round (about 1/8 inch thick). Roll up dough on rolling pin and transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie plate. Gently press into place. Trim edges of crust, leaving 3/4-inch overhang. Fold overhang under crust so that crust is flush with edge of pie pan. Crimp edges with fork to make decorative border. Spoon filling into crustlined pan, gently pressing flat.
Roll out second disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Cut out about 28 three-inch leaves using cookie cutter. Press leaves lightly with tines of fork to form vein pattern. Brush bottom of 1 leaf with milk. Place leaf atop mince, overlapping crust slightly and pressing to adhere to crust. Continue placing leaves atop pie in concentric circles, overlapping edges slightly until top of pie is covered. Brush crust with milk. Bake until crust is golden brown and mince bubbles, about 40 minutes. Cool completely. Serve pie with rum raisin ice cream if desired.
Tart cranberries provide delicious contrast to the rich nut filling.
Serves 8.
INGREDIENTS
1 buttermilk pie crust dough disk
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted, room
temperature
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons unsulfured (light) molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups cranberries (about 6 ounces)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out pie crust disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch-diameter round (about 1/8 inch thick). Roll up dough on rolling pin and transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie plate. Gently press into place. Trim edges of crust, leaving 3/4-inch overhang. Fold overhang under crust so that crust is flush with edge of pie pan. Crimp edges to make decorative border. Freeze crust until firm, about 15 minutes.
Line pie crust with foil, leaving 3-inch overhang. Fill foil with beans or pie weights. Fold extra foil gently over crust edges. Bake until crust is set, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans and continue baking until crust just begins to color, piercing with toothpick if crust bubbles, about 10 minutes. Cool. Maintain oven temperature.
Meanwhile, combine chopped walnuts, pecans and almonds on cookie sheet. Toast nuts until just golden, about 10 minutes. Cool.
Whisk brown sugar, light corn syrup, butter, eggs, molasses, vanilla extract and salt to blend in bowl. Stir in toasted nuts and cranberries. Pour filing into prepared crust. Bake until center of filling is set, about 45 minutes. Cool pie completely.
