The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
It’s a recipe swap
Mediterranean Bistro shares lobster salad; West Haven woman, 93, offers up War Cake
FOUND: Romi Kaminskas of Guilford wrote: “I’m the guy who wrote to you about the green grape gazpacho soup at the Mediterranean Bistro (383 Main St., East Haven, bistromediterraneanandtapasbar.com) last year. Well, we had tapas last night that blew my Converse sneakers off. No. 1, Brussels sprout salad, always great. No. 2, it is back, the green grape gazpacho. No. 3, lobster salad. No. 4 and the kicker, squid on a white rice base. Of course, Claudio won’t tell us the recipes, but you have connections. The last two, we couldn’t believe. It might be worth a trip — hopefully they have it when you get there.”
Romi, I guess you are right when you said I have connections. Chef Mario Gonzalez was happy to share the recipe for the lobster salad.
This location opened in 2011 and quickly attracted a loyal customer base. Their Westbrook location followed in 2013, and Norwalk in 2014. You can savor the same dishes at all three locations.
The Carreno brothers are now quite busy overseeing the three restaurants. One of the most popular dishes, and my favorite, is the Brussels sprout salad (shaved Brussels sprouts dressed with white truffle oil, black truffles, Parmesan cheese and lemon juice, served over a fried fontina cheese risotto cake). This was a reader recipe request a few years ago (bit.ly/2ecwpjN).
Other popular dishes include paella Mediterranea (calamari, clams, bay scallops, shrimp, mussels and fish of the day in a lobster saffron broth topped with a half lobster); steak tartare (tartare of filet mignon with truffle oil, Parmesan cheese, shallots, black truffles, served with quail egg and Parmesan crostini); and grilled jumbo shrimp, served over chickpea purée, drizzled with olive oil, garnished with chopped scallions. And you must try one of the artfully presented decadent desserts. My favorite... the caramelized bananas.
Inquire about the chef’s five-course tasting with wine pairings, available Sunday through Thursday, and check out the Monday night three-course prix fixe menu and happy hour Tuesday through Friday from 4-6 p.m. These offerings are available at all three locations.
LOBSTER SALAD
2 1½-pound lobsters, broken up 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 small jalapeños, seeded, deveined and chopped Handful cilantro, chopped 1 medium shallot, finely chopped ¼ cup black truffles, chopped Juice of 2 lemons ¼ cup mayonnaise or aioli (they use homemade) Salt and pepper Garnish 1 cup arugula 1 cup endive, julienned (long thin strips) 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon lemon juice 7 grape tomatoes, quartered Salt and pepper 2 handfuls potato chips (they make their own)
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add lobster pieces and cook for 5 minutes. Prepare an ice water bath and place lobster in ice water. Pull out claw and tail meat from lobster and rinse well to remove shells. Cut meat into small chunks.
In a bowl, combine olive oil, jalapeños, cilantro, shallots, black truffles, lemon juice and aioli or mayonnaise and mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
To prepare garnish, place arugula, endive, olive oil, lemon juice, tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste in a bowl and mix well. Toss in potato chips and gently mix in. Serve with the lobster salad immediately to avoid chips from becoming soggy. Makes 2 servings.
FOUND: A couple of weeks ago, I shared 1943 War Time Cake recipes that readers might be interested in baking and entering in the North Haven Fair’s competition using King Arthur Flour. Florence Palermo of West Haven sent a few recipe clippings of some other recipes.
Her note said: “Just some more War Cake recipes. I sure went through the war. I am 93.” Thanks, Florence for sharing! Here is one of those recipes.
WAR CAKE
1 pound raisins 2 cups packed light brown sugar 2 cups water 4 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground cloves 3 cups unsifted all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda
Combine raisins, brown sugar, water, lard or shortening, salt, cinnamon and cloves in a 2-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Cool to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10-inch tube pan. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and baking soda. Fold dry ingredients into cooled raisin mixture. Spoon into greased pan and bake 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For those who might not know, a tube pan is a deep baking pan with a hollow tube in the center. Some call it an angel food cake pan.
Desperately seeking
Susan Smey of Derby wrote: “I’m hoping you can obtain the recipe for my husband’s favorite chili from The Wharf Pub & Restaurant in Martha’s Vineyard. I’d love to be able to make it for him.”
Susan, I will check and see if the chef will share the recipe.
Send us your requests
Which restaurant recipes or other recipes would you like to have? Which food products are you having difficulty finding? Do you have cooking questions? Send them to me.
Contact Stephen Fries, professor and coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Gateway Community College, at gw-stephen. fries@gwcc.commnet.edu or Dept. FC, Gateway Community College, 20 Church St., New Haven 06510. Include your full name, address and phone number. Due to volume, I might not be able to publish every request. For more, go to stephenfries. com.