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The Solo Cook creates the Shiso Cucumber Martini

Posted on August 29, 2012 by The Solo Cook

Shiso, also known as perilla, is a great herb to use in cocktails. This martini combines shiso and cucumber.

Try shiso leaves with a cocktail, fish or salad

This bold and herbaceous cocktail I created will quench your thirst. And exactly how I concocted it is just as interesting as the history of the main ingredient – shiso. Plus, discover how one of Seattle’s famous chefs, Thierry Rautureau, uses shiso in his kitchen.

After a brief, but much-needed vacation, The Solo Cook is back, filing you in on the best recipes and hot spots to visit. Don’t think for a second that while I was taking time off I wasn’t thinking of you.  While I may have been entertaining my dad and friend Jane, I was still thinking of ideas for gardening, cooking and enjoying food for all the single people out there. If anything, my time away, stimulated even more ideas.

Shiso seeds can be bought at any nursery or garden store.

Given my need for things that involve risk, I was committed to planting something other than traditional herbs and plants in my garden this year. In mid-June I bought shiso seeds and planted them in a little container on my deck. Weeks later, to my surprise, little red and green plants sprouted and my shiso, also known as perilla, appeared. This annual flourished in the small pot, but it never emerged from the relatively dry ground near my dahlias. So I recommend you plant the seeds directly in a container in early June, and once the plant is a few inches tall, start to harvest the leaves.

If you lack a green thumb, don’t worry about growing shiso. The fresh leaves can be purchased at most Asian grocery stores.

Plant red and green shiso in June. It also can be purchased in Asian markets and grocery stores.

Shiso is a rich source of calcium and iron, and imparts subtle hints of clove, cinnamon and cumin. I decided to plant shiso, also known as Japanese basil, because I enjoy it with one of my favorite types of food – sushi. But don’t relegate this herb to just chopsticks.

For some expert advice on shiso, I turned to James Beard Award-winning chef Thierry Rautureau, who owns Rover’s and Luc restaurants in Seattle.

Rautureau, who competed on “Top Chef Masters” on Bravo TV, has been growing shiso for years, and has developed quite a liking for it.

“I love steaming my cod with a dash of olive oil, a sprinkle of sea salt and take a couple big leaves of purple shiso and wrap the fish in it,” Rautureau says. “Shiso is a great addition to a steamed dish as it releases its pungent perfume.”

For a salad, he recommends combining shiso with watermelon, feta and lemon-olive oil dressing.

In Asian folklore, shiso was a sacred herb that if disrespected or stepped on meant death, according to Botanical Interests, a seed company. Another factoid of interest is that in the U.S., shiso was a key ingredient in sarsaparilla and flavored dental products.

For this blog, I usually create a food recipe perfect for one, but I thought it would be daring to concoct a drink with something from my garden.

Be adventuresome and try this cocktail. At a minimum, I can guarantee it will be intoxicating.

Hot in the Kitchen

Shiso Cucumber Martini

Muddle shiso leaves and cucumber.

Ingredients:

2 shots premium vodka

6 shiso leaves (two for garnish) that can be grown or purchased at Asian market

2 teaspoons simple syrup *

¼ cucumber cut into chunks (thin slice for garnish)

Tear shiso leaves apart and put in cocktail shaker or pint glass. Use the handle of wooden spoon (like mine from Ecuador) or a muddler to mash cucumber and shiso together. Add vodka and simple syrup and continue to muddle. Add ice to glass until half full, and shake or stir.

Garnish martini with cucumber slice and two shiso leaves.

Strain ingredients into a martini glass and garnish with a red and green shiso leaf and a thin cucumber slice.

* Simple syrup is a must-have when making cocktails and other drinks. Just bring to boil equal parts sugar and water together until dissolved. After cooling, syrup can be stored in refrigerator for several months. I usually make one cup.

Cheers

Christine

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Flat-leaf parsley is the best herb to grow and cook

Posted on June 19, 2012 by The Solo Cook

What’s the No. 1 herb you should grow and have readily available as a single person? Pot and pan drum roll please… it’s flat-leaf parsley.

Parsley is the must-have herb to plant for a person with a busy lifestyle for several reasons. It’s my top pick because it’s low maintenance, can be used in multiple dishes and grows almost all year in the ground or a pot.

After chatting with friends about fresh herbs over the weekend I could tell this was a hot topic for cooks and foodies. It was like we were talking about family relatives, quickly spitting out the personality traits and quirks of each herb. Some people thought the best herb to grow and cook should be basil and another friend was adamant that rosemary was the queen of herbs. I had no idea herbs could be so…well controversial. And I love it.

While curly parsley is considered the ugly stepchild herb because of its lowly delegation as a plate garnish, its cousin – flat-leaf parsley – can complement just about any protein dish. Stay away from the meek curly parsley because of the rough mouth feel. But flat-leaf parsley, also known as Italian parsley, adds punch and dimension to a dish with strong, deep flavor.

Parsley can be sprinkling on just about anything – like roasted vegetables, broiled white fish, grilled chicken and more. Gone are the days of buying a parsley bunch at the store and later finding half of it shriveled and rotting in your frig. If you are growing it, you only pick the amount you need from the garden and none of it will go to waste. It’s really an herb that keeps on giving.

In the garden:

The parsley in my garden looks like a small bush

In the Pacific Northwest our climate zone allows parsley to grow nearly all year.  I’ve been able to harvest fresh parsley from my garden to add to cold winter soups and summer salads. It even remained hearty after one or two small snowstorms in Seattle.

Parsley is also a low-maintenance and a high-yielding herb. Just make sure you cut off the inedible flowers/buds. Just think of it as an herb haircut that keeps the energy of the plant focused in the leaves not the buds.

Also when harvesting parsley, use a scissor to cut the leaves from the base of the stem where they originate from the main stalk or the ground. Don’t just cut off leaves as this will prevent it from generating new growth.

Here is a recipe I created for one serving. You won’t regret making this mouth-watering steak.

Hot in the kitchen: Grilled Steak with Chimichurri (vegetarian option below)

4 to 6 oz. filet mignon of other steak

½ cup tightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves from the garden

2 tablespoon fresh oregano

3 garlic cloves

¼ cup olive oil

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

Dash of sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper and hot pepper flakes

Before preparing the chimichurri, turn the grill on to high heat and seasoning steak with salt and pepper.

For the sauce, lightly pulse fresh parsley, oregano and garlic in food processor or let your fingers do the work and finely chop the ingredients. In a small bowl combine the herbs, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and pepper flakes. Taste and add more salt, pepper or red pepper flakes depending on your palate.

Brush the grill with oil, then place filet on super hot grill. Flip steak after 4 minutes. After another 4-5 minutes of cooking, remove the meat from the grill and loosely place aluminum foil over steak on a plate for several minutes for a medium rare steak.

Drizzle chimichurri on the steak of your choice.

Vegetarian option: Gently clean a Portobello mushroom and thickly cut, on a horizontal slant, one zucchini and one eggplant. Brush each with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Grill over medium high heat for five minutes each side or until grill marks appear. Plate vegetables and drizzle chimichurri sauce over the top.

I chose one herb for one person, but don’t limit yourself. Plant a trio of herbs this summer if you have the space. I have several herbs growing in my garden and in pots. My runner-up herb is basil and rounding out my top three is thyme.

It’s fun to snip herbs from your garden and add them to a dish to give it a flavor boost.

Cheers

Christine

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