Pesto without the nuts? It can be done
Spirits columnist M. Carrie Allan recently joined The Washington Post Food staff in answering questions about all things edible. Here are edited excerpts from that chat.
Q: My husband recently had what we think was an allergic reaction to pistachios, and we’ve been told he’s likely developed an allergy to tree nuts, which include pine nuts. Any suggestions on a good substitute for these in pesto? I was thinking sesame seeds.
A: How about pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds? They’re bigger and might give you a bit more of that crunch/texture that you would get from nuts.
— Becky Krystal Q: I love the idea of sweet potato slabs instead of veggie burgers that are dry, crumbly and often more work than the end product. I love the drying effect the salt gives the potato. Would this technique work for other vegetables? I could easily see a sandwich being created with layers of beets, sweet potatoes and carrots. Any more recommendations for going beyond the flavorless bean patty?
A: Yes, I loved the idea, too! I think salt-roasting works best when the vegetable in question has a lot of moisture, like a sweet potato. A beet, for instance, already has a great, firm texture when cooked (as long as it’s not overcooked), so you could just slice that into big slabs, perhaps marinate them after cooking for awhile, before putting on the sandwich. Carrots,
similarly, hold up better — and of course, are smaller, so you could exactly get that slab effect. Author Martin Nordin has some recipes that call for smaller vegetables to be twirled/arranged in interesting ways that lend themselves to bun placement. One uses sliced eggplant that you fry, then layered/rolled with tomato puree, mozzarella and Parm and baked before you form the burgers. That one looks good, too!
— Joe Yonan Q: I made babas au rhum this weekend for a friend with a craving and am left with extra rum syrup flavored with orange, cinnamon, clove, ginger and allspice. What are some good uses of this either in cocktails or in cooking?
A: I’d try using it in an OldFashioned, whiskey- or aged rum-based, and maybe as a daiquiri flavoring, as well.
— M. Carrie Allan Q: When a recipe calls for cooking something (on top of the stove) at, for example, medium-high heat or medium-low heat, how do you know you’re using the correct setting? My stove has five burners — one is a power burner, one is a simmer burner, and the other two seem to fall in the middle. I’m often switching between burners and settings to get what I think is called for in the recipe.
A: With so many different stoves and settings out there, this strikes me as something that’s getting more and more subjective, which is why good recipes will give you lots of ways to judge when something’s done (or ready to move to the next step), beyond just the time. In general, though, let’s think about just your two regular burners: Turn one on to the lowest possible setting, look at the flame, and then turn it all the way up, and look at the flame. That’s your low and high settings. In the middle is your medium. Split the differences, and you’ll have medium-low and medium-high.
We use an induction stove here at the Post, and have found that its settings seem to result in higher heat than on other stoves. It’s digital, but the highest setting is VERY HIGH. So on that I tend to use 1 for low, ⅔ for medium-low,
¾ for medium, 5⁄6 for medium high, and 6⁄7 for high. Anything above I reserve for BOIL THIS NOW.
On your stove, I’d reserve that power burner for BOIL THIS NOW, and for, say, wok cooking or major searing that you want to happen at the highest heat. The simmer burner would be for things you want to make sure are very low, like a pot of covered beans, or maybe melting chocolate.
— J.Y. Q: What happened to chimichurri? It seemed to be all the rage at one point, but I don’t see it mentioned (or served, for that matter) any more. In the meantime, pesto survives untouched. And actually they are not all that different, plus or minus some pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Just saying.
A: Now, I would argue that the flavor of pesto vs. that of chimichurri is substantially different. It’s the difference between the sweet, minty flavor of basil (pesto) and the grassy, slightly peppery flavor of flat-leaf parsley (the main herb in chimichurri).
Regardless, I think chimichurri had a moment in 1990s and early 2000s as Argentine steakhouses were flourishing in America.
— Tim Carman Q: I just got a leave-in thermometer that will let me know when food has either dropped down to a certain temperature or risen to a certain temperature. Other than large slabs of meat — what should I make now?!
A: Is there a clip or something you could use to attach to a pot? I could see candy and caramel in your future. Or something fried ... doughnuts?
— B.K. Q: I tried to clarify chicken stock with egg whites following Julia Child instructions. The result was still not clear, and tasted sort of toasty, definitely different from usual. Thoughts or suggestions for next time?
A: Next time you start from scratch, don’t bring the liquids to a full boil. If you use a whole chicken, go ahead and remove all the skin and fat that’s easy to pull off. I would also rinse the bird inside and out, carefully and under a small stream of running water in the sink, before putting it in the pot.