Edible San Francisco Winter 2012 : Page 12

edible RECIPE edible AMUSE WARM SEA URCHIN WITH CRAB AND VERJUS BUTTER SAUCE Serves 6 S ea urchin is scary. For most Americans, it is familiar as the uni they ﬁnd on the menu at a Japanese restaurant or the round, spiky thing in the tide pool at the aquarium. Here it shares a bowl with crab and pureed potato, all slathered in a rich butter sauce, making for a taste and approachable introduction to eating urchin and allowing its distinctive ﬂavor to come through. This dish, which is served in a hollowed-out sea urchin shell at Anchor & Hope, has got-ten more positive press than anything we’ve ever served. POTATO PUREE 3 large or 5 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch cubes 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 4 or 5 pieces 1 cup heavy cream, warmed Salt and freshly ground pepper BUTTER SAUCE 1/4 cup verjus 1/4 cup dry white wine 1/4 cup champagne vinegar 1 shallot, sliced 10 ounces unsalted butter, cut into pieces 3 ounces freshly cooked lump crabmeat, picked over for shell and cartilage bits 4 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and very ﬁnely diced 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chervil 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ﬂat-leaf parsley 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon 2 tablespoons thinly sliced shal-lot 6 ounces sea urchin, about “tongues,” each tongue halved crosswise To make the potato puree, in a large pot, combine the potatoes with salted water to cover, place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender. Drain the potatoes, then return them to the pot and mash with a potato masher or pass them through a ricer or food mill back into the pot. Add the butter and cream and whisk or stir until well blended. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm. To make the butter sauce, in a saucepan, combine the verjus, wine, vinegar, and shallot and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat slightly and cook until reduced to about 1 table-spoon. Turn the heat to low and whisk in the butter, a few pieces at a time, making sure each addi-tion is completely incorporated before adding more. When all of the butter has been added, strain the mixture through a ﬁne-mesh strainer into a clean saucepan. Place over low heat and stir in the crabmeat, tomatoes, all of the herbs, and the shallot, mixing well. Cook for about 1 minute, then remove from the heat. Fold in the sea urchin to warm. Divide the potato puree among individual plates, and spoon the urchin mixture on top. Serve right away. Reprinted with permission from Cook-ing My Way Back Home: Recipes from San Francisco’s Town Hall, Anchor & Hope, and Salt House by Mitchell Rosenthal, copyright © 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Ran-dom House, Inc. 12 | EDIBLE SAN FRANCISCO WINTER 2012

Edible Recipe

Sea urchin is scary. For most Americans, it is familiar as the uni they find on the menu at a Japanese restaurant or the round, spiky thing in the tide pool at the aquarium. Here it shares a bowl with crab and pureed potato, all slathered in a rich butter sauce, making for a taste and approachable introduction to eating urchin and allowing its distinctive flavor to come through. This dish, which is served in a hollowed-out sea urchin shell at Anchor & Hope, has gotten more positive press than anything we've ever served. WARM SEA URCHIN WITH CRAB AND VERJUS BUTTER SAUCE Serves 6 POTATO PUREE 3 large or 5 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch cubes 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 4 or 5 pieces 1 cup heavy cream, warmed Salt and freshly ground pepper BUTTER SAUCE 1/4 cup verjus 1/4 cup dry white wine 1/4 cup champagne vinegar 1 shallot, sliced 10 ounces unsalted butter, cut into pieces 3 ounces freshly cooked lump crabmeat, picked over for shell and cartilage bits 4 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and very finely diced 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chervil 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon 2 tablespoons thinly sliced shallot 6 ounces sea urchin, about "tongues," each tongue halved crosswise To make the potato puree, in a large pot, combine the potatoes with salted water to cover, place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender. Drain the potatoes, then return them to the pot and mash with a potato masher or pass them through a ricer or food mill back into the pot. Add the butter and cream and whisk or stir until well blended. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm. To make the butter sauce, in a saucepan, combine the verjus, wine, vinegar, and shallot and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat slightly and cook until reduced to about 1 tablespoon. Turn the heat to low and whisk in the butter, a few pieces at a time, making sure each addition is completely incorporated before adding more. When all of the butter has been added, strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean saucepan. Place over low heat and stir in the crabmeat, tomatoes, all of the herbs, and the shallot, mixing well. Cook for about 1 minute, then remove from the heat. Fold in the sea urchin to warm. Divide the potato puree among individual plates, and spoon the urchin mixture on top. Serve right away. Reprinted with permission from Cooking My Way Back Home: Recipes from San Francisco's Town Hall, Anchor & Hope, and Salt House by Mitchell Rosenthal, copyright © 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.

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