i can finally detect a nip in the air. sadly, at any moment it might go back to 90 degrees in mid-october in southern california. don't get me wrong, i relish the heat, even if it makes me half-sluggish and encourages even lazier forms of distraction. it takes but an utterance of fall to give me culinary brainstorm, though. i want to roast, stew, and braise my way through pumpkin patches and stockpiles of salt. i want to tame bottles of big red wine into seductive pools on a white plate and massage kale down a size. for months i've practically sworn off cooking, eating honeysuckle-sweet corn freshly cut from the cob and tomatoes cooked in nothing but the warmth and weight of their juices. now i've started to think in smoke and flame. pots that sing like nina simone.
the days are getting shorter, quieter. despite any lingering heat, there is less light, but more room to think in recipes. a rip rap of things pile up to inspire supper. a dog-eared recipe for raw kale in a downright addictive dressing of anchovies and dates. some egg-shaped, eggplant-colored italian plums at the market. a gift of smoked duck. a note, dear reader, on the italian plums: if ever you cross paths with those oval-shaped beauties, buy a stash. bring them home. enlist some little hands to help if need be. consult this recipe. it is the most requested recipe in the history of the new york times. you can trust it.
behold, the purple plum cake. what it lacks in looks it makes up for in sunken pockets of plum, still tart against a butter-rich cake. it has caramelized, crisped up spots, and soft spots where the plums got heavy and the cake gave up. a slice of it, along with this song trailing through the house, is the perfect thing to follow all that dark, pungent kale and earlier nightfall. it might even be half-warm enough to eat under the stars.
kale salad with anchovy-date dressing
(serves 4)
6 large dates, pitted and roughly chopped
6 anchovy fillets, preferably in olive oil, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange or lemon juice
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar), plus more to taste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large bunches tuscan kale, tough stalks and ribs removed, thinly sliced crosswise
sea salt and pepper, if needed
place the dates, anchovies, garlic, and lemon zest in the bowl of food processor fitted with a blade. pulse several times to mince the ingredients. add the orange or lemon juice and sherry vinegar and continue to pulse until you have a coarse paste. add the olive oil and process until combined. taste and adjust seasonings.
place the kale in a large bowl. pour half of the dressing over the kale and, using your hands, massage the dressing into the kale, scrunching handfuls of kale until the kale has shrunken. you might need to do this longer if you started with larger, more mature leaves. continue to add more dressing until the kale is well-coated. at this point, you can serve the kale but it will also hold up well for several hours (days even!) in the fridge.
notes
* the kale salad was adapted from melissa clark's in the book cook this now: 120 easy and delectable dishes you can't wait to make.
* i served the kale with slivers of smoked duck breast and toasted pine nuts
* the song in this post is posters by youth lagoon from the album the year of hibernation