Seamus Mullen’s Hero Food

How Cooking with Delicious Things Can Make Us Feel Better

by Seamus Mullen

Price: $35.00
ISBN-13: 9781449407582
ISBN-10: 1449407587
Format: Hardcover
Size: 8 1/2 x 10 1/4 in.
Page Count: 320 pages

Serves 4

Most people think of crêpes as breakfast food, but I prefer a savory breakfast. The tart yogurt filling and the buttermilk in the batter balance really well with the sweet raspberries.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons clarified butter
Zest of 3 lemons
1 1/2 cups plain unsweetened yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fresh raspberries
Sprinkle of confectioners’ sugar

Mix together the flour, granulated sugar, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, buttermilk, 3 tablespoons of the clarified butter, and the zest of 1 lemon. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk into a nice, thin batter. If the batter seems too thick, add a bit more buttermilk.

Heat a crêpe pan or 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Brush the pan with butter. Add about 2 tablespoons batter, lift the pan and roll the batter around to create a thin, even layer. Once the crêpe starts to form little holes, bubble a bit, and begins to turn golden brown, it’s ready to turn. With a spatula, carefully flip the crêpe over and cook another 30 seconds. Remove the crêpe to a large plate and repeat until you’ve used all the batter, making about 10 crêpes.

In a small bowl mix together the remaining zest, yogurt, honey, and pepper. Place one crêpe on a large plate, smear on a thin layer of yogurt, and top with another crêpe. Repeat until you’ve layered all the crêpes into a beautiful cake. Top with raspberries and confectioners’ sugar.

Serves 4

As soon as sugar snaps show up at the farmers market, I’m instantly happy. Sweet, crisp, snappy, and sugary! This salad is all about the sugar snaps, with a pinch of Aleppo pepper for heat, some fresh ricotta cheese for richness and texture, and edible flowers for color. It comes together easily, looks gorgeous, and is oh so easy to love.

1 pound fresh sugar snap peas
1 bunch radishes
1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
A few leaves fresh peppermint
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil to taste
Pinch Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes
Handful of edible flowers, such as pea blossoms or nasturtiums

With a sharp knife, trim the tips of the sugar snap peas on both ends, remove the strings if they bother you, and cut some in half lengthwise. Blanch the sugar snaps quickly, just about 30 seconds and shock in ice water. Slice the radishes thinly into coin shapes or half-moons. Combine the peas, radishes, cheese, and peppermint in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss with the lemon juice and olive oil. Serve with a sprinkle of Aleppo pepper and garnish of edible flowers.

Serves 4

Traditionally we poach duck legs in duck fat then store them in the fat to make confit. But here I poach the breasts in oil. This is a rather unorthodox way cooking duck breast, but I’ve discovered it’s the best way. Duck breast is so juicy and rosy because (and this is admittedly my theory!) ducks use those muscles to control their wings. Chickens are flightless, hence the light color of the meat in their breasts, whereas ducks fly and so have much more developed breast muscles. Duck meat has a lot of myoglobin, a protein loaded with iron. I believe that when it’s overcooked, duck meat can take on that nasty, metallic flavor I associate with awful diner plates of liver and onions.

It occurred to me that if I cook the breast gently, controlling the temperature, I can maintain that rosy color, keep the breast juicy and delectable, and make sure it’s properly cooked. To do this, it’s important that the flesh side of the breast never directly touch the hot pan. I transfer the duck from the skin side in the hot pan directly into the infused olive oil.

For the Farro:
2 cups farro
1 carrot, peeled and cut into large pieces
1 onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
2 guindilla peppers, or 2 pieces ancho chile
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt
1/2 cup fontina cheese cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon butter
1 head radicchio, cut into small bits
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For the Duck:
2 duck breasts, each cut in half lengthwise
2 1/2 cups olive oil
Peel of 1 orange
2 guindilla peppers, or 2 pieces ancho chile
2 branches fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For the farro, thoroughly rinse it in a large colander under running water. Transfer to a large heavy-bottomed pot and add the carrots, onions, garlic, peppers, bay leaf, and 4 cups of water.

Add enough kosher salt so the water tastes like sea water. Cover, place over high heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20–25 minutes, until the grain is soft and cooked through. Once the farro is fully cooked, drain, and discard the aromatics.

Fold the fontina cheese, butter, and radicchio into the cooked farro. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

For the duck, in a skillet large enough to fit all four pieces of the duck breasts, combine the olive oil, orange peel, peppers, thyme, and garlic clove. Place the skillet on the burner on the lowest heat you can manage and gently heat the oil until it registers 150° on a meat thermometer. If you have trouble setting your stove low enough, use a cast iron trivet or heat diffuser. I like to leave the thermometer in the oil so I can regulate the heat as necessary and maintain 150°. When you add the duck, the temperature will drop a bit, so you may need to increase the heat slightly.

Score the skin of the duck breasts and season thoroughly with salt and pepper. Heat up another skillet (roughly the same size) over medium-low heat and sear the duck breasts, skin-side down, without moving them at all, until they are crispy and golden brown, 5–7 minutes. Once the skin is golden brown, remove from the pan and now place skin-side up in the 150° olive oil. Poach the duck breasts in the olive oil for 7–10 minutes, until the breasts are firm, medium rare, and just cooked through. Remove from the heat, slice, and serve with the farro.

At his restaurant Tertulia, Seamus is known for seasonal Spanish cooking with an emphasis on the finest ingredients. With Hero Food, he hopes to extend his philosophy that eating well can improve one’s overall health and wellness. “I know there’s no silver bullet, but I have discovered that some foods can make dramatic differences. These foods—all 18 of them—have become my Heroes,” Seamus writes. “And here’s the good news—that what I like turns out to be good for me!”

In the book, Seamus devotes one chapter to each of these “Heroes,” giving readers thoughtfully annotated recipes that put the spotlight on the ingredient and make for vibrant, delectable dishes. Seamus sheds light on these ingredients—their nutritional value and restorative properties, and how to ensure they’re of the highest quality—all the while arming readers with the tools they need to cook confidently and healthfully. Readers can look forward to recipes for flavorful dishes such as Salt Cod with Garbanzo Beans, Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder, and Autumn Squash Salad, along with tips for how to master practical techniques such as steaming greens, pickling, or preserving tuna.

Hero Food demonstrates how to turn key ingredients into dishes that Seamus hopes readers will prepare on a regular basis not only because of their healing properties, but simply because they are delicious.