March 20, 2002 Ask the Chef Article

March 20, 2002 ... Ask the Chef ... John Pisto

Q: John, how about your (meatball) sauce recipe? I have received at least a dozen calls and countless e-mails. Everybody’s meatballs are the best in the world. Want to have a contest? Paul Lucido - Carmel Valley

A: Last week, Paul asked about my recipe for meatballs. Well, mine are the best (mother’s recipe) simply because they’re not like cannon balls. Paul wants to have a contest. Don’t laugh folks, we Italians take our balls very seriously. This might be fun - let’s see, we can have a meatball festival, with prizes for the best tasting, the biggest, the ugliest and a special prize for the best meatless meatball (what would you call that?). If this interests any of you, send me your meatball recipe and let me think about it some more.

Hot tip on cakes: Layers Bakery (655-1544) is the place to go when you need an unusual cake. Artists and bakers, Tony and Hazel Nuovo can do it for you. For me they have done a Blue Dog white coconut, a giant porcini mushroom that everyone thought was real, and a meadow scene featuring different sized mushrooms. Great job kids!

Readers: Mrs. Warren Thompson of Monterey dared me to relate a recipe she sent me that I find very interesting. When her nine-year-old granddaughter was living in Hawaii, her Japanese teacher took several students to his parent’s taro patch to swim in the irrigation ditches, where there were tiny eels. The teacher said his family used to gather the eels, put them in a pan with a block of tofu and gently warm the pan until the eels burrowed into the tofu. Then they would heat the tofu enough to bake the eels, and serve. Around the world, there is such fascinating diversity in dining. Take for example a dish I encountered in Kunming, China. I’m sure you’ll be wondering why they call it "Three squeaks mice." First you need very small, hairless mice that have yet to open their eyes. I’m talking small - the size of the end of your little finger. The first squeak is when you pick it up with your chopsticks; the second squeak is when you dip it in the chili-soy sauce and the third and final squeak is when you pop it in your mouth. Let met know if you want the recipe for the chili-soy sauce.

Readers: Parking update We will not rest until something is done. Kevin Phillips, of the Fisherman's Wharf Association, presented a large stack of your letters last week at the City of Monterey's fifth annual Community Forum. He told them how you have said parking is too costly and inconvenient. There are simply too many other places to go where parking is free. City staff reps called to remind us that the City of Monterey does, in fact, have a free parking program. Monterey City residents can, for $10 and proof of residency, get a pass that provides two hours free parking in any one of four city-owned lots (646-3953 for more info.). While this is a pretty good deal, it doesn’t go far enough. I consider locals to be anyone living in Monterey County, where I am sending several hundred free cookbooks this week. I'll say it again, let's have free parking for all local area residents who want to visit the wharf.

Q: Dear Chef. Please share your recipe for the eggplant dish you serve with seabass at the Whaling Station. Millie Compagno - Monterey

A: Well, Mil, the dish you refer to is called "caponata" and is also served as one of the four ways that salmon is prepared for my three-course lunch and dinner promotion currently available Sunday through Thursday at Abalonetti, Domenico's and Paradiso for just $15.95. I love cooking with eggplant - it's so versatile. One of the best ways is combining it with tomatoes to make caponata. Fry pieces of eggplant, celery, onion (cut into 1-inch cubes) and a bit of garlic - in olive oil, of course. Drain in a colander or on paper towels. Place in a bowl and add a small amount of warmed tomato puree - just enough to make it bind. Add a small amount of drained capers, chopped black olives, hot pepper flakes, a bit of vinegar, a pinch of sugar and salt & pepper to taste.

Also great as an appetizer, served at room temperature - and a great picnic item. Does anyone go on picnics anymore? I mean real picnics - baked pasta, fried chicken, potato salad, salami, olives, wine and bocci balls. Now that's a picnic! Too much work I guess. To bad, they were fun.

Q: Dear Chef Pisto, I am learning about ancient civilizations in school. Our teacher said that jars called amphorae, found on the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, were most often used for transporting "garum" fish sauce by the ancient Romans. What is garum fish sauce? Jerad M. - Carmel Valley

A: As with modern Romans, sauces and marinades were an important part of ancient Roman cuisine. The most popular was garum, a salty, aromatic fish-based sauce. Like so many other Roman treasures, it was borrowed from the ancient Greeks.

The following recipe is from "A Taste of Ancient Rome." Garum Fish Sauce Recipe. Use fatty fish, such as sardines and a well-sealed container with a 26-35 quart capacity. Add dried, aromatic herbs possessing a strong flavor, such as dill, coriander, fennel, celery, mint, oregano, and others, making a layer on the bottom of the container; then put down a layer of fish (if small, leave them whole, if large, use pieces) and over this, add a layer of salt, two fingers high. Repeat these layers until the container is filled. Let it rest for seven days in the sun. Then mix the sauce daily for 20 days. After that, it becomes liquid. Folks, if you're up for making this sauce, I strongly recommend that you go with the modern recipe: Cook a quart of grape juice, reducing it to one-tenth its original volume. Dilute two tablespoons of anchovy paste in the concentrated juice and mix in a pinch of oregano. And then - let me know how it comes out.

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