When I’m cooking multiple dishes to be served as part of one meal, I like being able to oversee all them at once. It saves a lot of frantic energy to not have to run from stovetop to oven to grill, etc. So tonight, I felt like doing all three elements of dinner (protein, vegetable and starch) on the grill. Not only was it easy to supervise everything at once, but the common cooking method meant that each element had that similar smoky, grilled flavor, so everything complemented everything else.
On the menu: shrimp marinated in fish sauce and turmeric, grilled and served with a raw dipping sauce of lime, cilantro, garlic, ginger, chiles (typical Southeast Asian flavors, basically). It was bright, just spicy enough and complemented the lightly charred shrimp perfectly. To go with, kale that had been blanched, tossed with a garlic-chile oil, then grilled and tossed with lemon vinaigrette and, to ensure the dish’s success, crispy bacon lardons! Lastly, I made some thin cuts of sourdough batard, brushed them with olive oil, salt and pepper, and threw them on the grill with everything else, till they were nicely crispy and grill-marked, but still a little chewy in the middle. Healthy, tasty and ready in about an hour. What’s not to like?
Grilled Shrimp with Southeast Asian Dipping Sauce
Adapted from a recipe by Bon Appetit
Total Time: 50 min. (20 min. active)
Yields: 3 servings
Ingredients
- 18 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 6 tablespoons fish sauce (such as nuoc nam or nam pla), divided
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 30 cilantro sprigs, chopped
- 4 Fresno chiles (or other fresh red chile), stemmed
- 8 garlic cloves
- 2 1″ pieces ginger, peeled
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar
Method
- Combine shrimp, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 2 tablespoons oil, and turmeric in a large bowl; toss to coat. Let stand for 30 minutes, then thread shrimp onto skewers
- Purée 4 tablespoons fish sauce, 2 tablespoons oil, cilantro, and remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor until a coarse mixture forms; transfer dipping sauce to a small bowl and set aside
- Build a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to high. Shake excess liquid from shrimp and place shrimp on grill. Cook, turning once, until shrimp are charred and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Serve immediately with sauce
Grilled Kale with Garlic, Chiles and Bacon
Recipe from Food & Wine
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yields: 3 servings
Ingredients
- 1 bunch kale, thick stems cut out
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced
- 1 Fresno chile (or other fresh red chile), thinly sliced
- Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 thick slices of bacon, cut into lardons
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Method
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, blanch the kale until it is just tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and lightly squeeze out the excess water. Blot the kale dry and transfer to a bowl. Add the vegetable oil, garlic and chile, season with salt and pepper and toss well to coat
- In a small skillet, cook the bacon over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp, 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels
- Light a grill on high heat. Grill the kale on a perforated grill pan, tossing occasionally, for about 6 minutes
- Transfer the kale to a bowl and immediately toss with the bacon, olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice; season with salt and serve immediately
Noodle Therapy 