Dinner at El Barzon

So we had dinner at El Barzon the other night, and my lingering thought is this place is Detroit's best-kept secret.


El Barzon, on Junction, just south of Michigan Ave., is owned by Norberto and Silvia Garita. Norberto spent eight years at Il Posto in Southfield, perfecting pastas and other Italian specialties. Silvia focuses on the traditional recipes of their native Puebla, Mexico. The couple has been in the States for 30 years, much of that time working at restaurants in New York.


The secret to El Barzon is everything is made from scratch, and the Garitas' source many ingredients locally. The simple, unassuming atmosphere is casual and comforting. Come as you are, feel free to bring the family, and relax.

On our menu:

-Housemade tortilla chips with spicy, fire-roasted red and creamy, cilantro infused green salsa. Best chips and salsa in town. Pair with a Mexican beer.

-Perfectly cooked crisp calamari with zucchini strips and tomato sauce. The zucchini strips are a thoughtful touch, and the sauce is spiked with herbs, olive oil and a touch of garlic. So flavorful.

-Veal chop stuffed with prosciutto and cheese, topped with a truffle sauce; potato gratin and sauteed spinach. A decadent, gorgeous dish. Truly memorable.

-Squid ink linguine with shrimp, crab and red sauce. Sweet and savory all at once.

The veal and linguine were specials, but the regular menu is vast and tempting. The portions are generous -- we ate half of everything and brought the rest home -- and the prices modest. For more on El Barzon, see Nicole Ray's piece in the fall issue of edibleWOW (the story's not online, sorry).

If you haven't been to El Barzon yet, I encourage you to go. Soon. Let's not keep this secret to ourselves any longer.

Short Ribs over Pappardelle

If you're looking for a special, decadent meal, look no further than these short ribs over pappardelle. We welcomed 2010 with this meal on New Year's Day, and found it the perfect way to mark a new decade.

Beef short ribs are a tender, succulent cut that lend themselves to long, slow cooking. They are versatile and adaptable -- you can infuse them with all manner of flavors, including French, Korean and Italian.

We went Italian this time, adapting Giada De Laurentiis' recipe. It combines rich, savory flavors like pancetta, rosemary and red wine with onion, garlic, carrot, beef broth and more.

This recipe calls for braising, a simple technique that coaxes maximum flavor and tenderness out of any cut. You brown the meat in a big pot, add your aromatics, herbs and braising liquid -- usually wine and/or stock) and then leave it alone for a few hours to work its magic. The result is meltingly soft and silky.

I started by crisping up some chopped pancetta, then removing it from the pot. Next, I seasoned the short ribs with salt and pepper, dredged them lightly in flour and browned over medium heat on all sides.

Meantime, I pulsed onion, carrot, garlic, tomato paste and tomatoes in a food processor until finely minced. I love this technique -- it made the sauce smooth and intensely flavorful. Once the short ribs are browned, you add the vegetable mixture back into the pot, add the pancetta, season with salt, pepper and various herbs, beef broth and wine. Cover the pot and go do other things for 75 minutes.

Then, remove the lid and stir occasionally for another 90 minutes. Remove the short ribs, shred the meat and return back to the pot. Cook up your pasta al dente and you're done. You can also let the shredded meat chill overnight and reheat the next day for even more flavor. We were supposed to grate a bit of dark chocolate over the finished dish -- chocolate intensifies the flavor of beef -- but we forgot. Next time.

This is rustic comfort food at its best, suitable for entertaining and great for a family Sunday supper. It was also one of the best things to come out of my kitchen in a long time -- this recipe really works.

Pasta with Lamb Sauce

When it comes to lamb, I've arrived to the party fashionably late. I've really only grown to appreciate it in the last 10 years. But today, I adore lamb chops, roast lamb, lamb ragu, and my latest concoction: pasta with lamb sauce.

Pasta with lamb sauce is really a simpler, cleaner tasting ragu -- I omit the tomatoes, celery and carrots. The end result is essentially pasta with ground meat, but it's so much more than that.

Lamb's rustic assertiveness, combined with the sweet shallot and earthy rosemary, makes this a flavorful dish I crave regularly. Its simplicity is its beauty; as much as I love a ragu, I find the tomatoes can mute the aromatics, herbs and the lamb, and lend a certain heaviness. With this version, every flavor bursts through brightly. Give it a try.

Pasta with Lamb Sauce

2 T olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced shallots
4 cloves minced garlic

Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and crushed red pepper to taste

2 T minced fresh rosemary

1.25 pounds ground lamb

1/2 cup dry white wine

Pasta cooking water, if needed

Freshly grated parmesan

3/4 pounds short-cut pasta, such as penne or fusilli (plain, whole wheat or brown rice)

Boil pasta in salted water to al dente. Drain and save up to 1 cup pasta water. Meantime, heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium. Add shallots, cook for several minutes until soft, then add garlic. Continue to saute a few more minutes until shallots are lightly browned; add rosemary and stir well to combine.

Add ground lamb and break up to combine. Turn up flame to medium high. When the lamb is slightly pink, deglaze with white wine and allow to reduce for a few minutes. If pan seems dry, add a little pasta water. Add cooked pasta to lamb and combine well. Serve with freshly grated parmesan, a glass of red and a vegetable such as broccoli or asparagus.

Pasta with White Clam Sauce and Tapenade

I'm always on the lookout for great pasta dishes, and what I like about this meal is you can make the quick version when you're rushed, or you can use fresh clams in the shell and make your own tapenade when you have the luxury of time. If you go the quick route, just make sure to buy the best quality ingredients you can find. This dish finds its way on our Sunday family dinner rotation every few months. Whatever route you choose, you'll enjoy a lovely meal.

Pasta with Clams and Olive Sauce
Serves 4-6
Adapted from the Barilla box

1 pound pasta, cooked al dente (save 1/2-1 cup of pasta water)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 shallots, sliced thinly
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 generous tablespoon of anchovy paste or 2 tinned anchovies
pinch crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Generous splash of white wine (1/4-1/2 cup)
2 cans or jars good quality whole clams (about 30 ounces clams), liquid from one can reserved
1 can minced clams, with liquid
1/4 cup good quality olive tapenade
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Method:
Cook pasta, reserving 1 c. pasta water. Heat oil, and saute shallots. Add garlic, anchovy paste, red pepper flakes and black pepper and combine. Add clams with liquid and bring to boil for 3 minutes. Add wine, reduce for a few minutes, and then stir in tapenade. Cook 1 minute, add cooked pasta, lemon zest, and reserved pasta water, if the pasta seems dry. Combine and serve.

Pasta All'matriciana

Pasta All'matriciana is a sumptuous, simple dish. It's rich and hearty, with a spicy, salty bite. Traditionally made with spaghetti or bucatini, I subbed farfalle because that's what I had. I added garlic, also untraditional, and used a local bottled tomato sauce to make this a weeknight-friendly dish. This recipe generously serves two, or allows for a small lunch portion the following day.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound farfalle, cooked al dente

1 tablespoon olive oil

Half an onion, sliced thinly

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt, pepper and crushed red pepper to taste

1/3 pound pancetta, cubed

Half a bottle of good quality chunky tomato sauce, or homemade sauce

Pecorino cheese, to taste

Directions:

Saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat until soft and lightly browned in a large skillet. Add garlic and stir to combine. Add salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Meantime, in a small skillet, saute pancetta until crispy and brown. Remove with slotted spoon and add to onion mixture, along with about a tablespoon of the fat. Add al dente pasta to the pancetta and onion mixture and combine. Pour in tomato sauce and heat until warmed. Serve with pecorino, a crispy green salad and a glass of good red wine.

Leftovers: Party of One

Every so often, you throw together a dish with the bits and pieces pulled from your fridge and you create something dinner-party worthy.

Last night was one of those nights. And, go figure, I was all alone.  

I peered in the fridge, with no plan or preconceived notions, and pulled out all the leftovers: a bit of leftover farfalle, some prosciutto, a small chunk of seared filet mignon and mixed wild mushrooms with shallot and garlic. Not a bad start.

First, I thinly sliced another shallot and sauteed it in olive oil a large skillet with a clove of minced garlic until lightly browned. Next, I added the cold pasta and cooked it for a few minutes. Tossed in a slice of chopped prosciutto, then the wild mushroom and shallot mixture and cooked for a few minutes. Finally, I cubed the filet, tossed it in and heated it until barely warm. Then, I deglazed with a bit of chicken stock (or wine if you like) to bring up all of the lovely browned bits, and serve. Fifteen minutes later, I sat to a satisfying, savory meal.

The salty prosciutto mingles with the succulent beef morsels, the woodsy, earthy mushrooms and the sweet shallot to create a luscious, comforting fall dish. Yet, it's fleeting... a meal I could attempt to recreate over and over, yet never duplicate. Such is the paradox of leftovers - much maligned, yet full of flavor waiting to be unleashed.

Pasta with Filet Mignon

My husband Wes' birthday is tomorrow, but since we found ourselves with no plans this evening, we decided to start the party early with a lovely home cooked meal: pasta with filet mignon. A true celebration meal.

First, we seasoned a single beautiful filet with salt and pepper and let it come to room temperature -- very important when searing meat. Four minutes per side in our trusty Le Creuset cast iron grill pan, then let it rest for at least 10 minutes. Some seasoned cooks will sneer at our choice of filet, but we deliberately chose the milder flavor and wanted to keep the calorie/fat content somewhat in check.

Meantime, we sauteed a huge shallot and two cloves of garlic in olive oil until lightly caramelized in a big skillet while the pasta cooked in salted boiling water. We drained the pasta and added it to the pan so it could mingle with the shallot mixture. Then we added a big splash of good red wine, another big splash of beef stock and a few spoonfuls of the pasta water (an excellent technique for pastas). 

We sliced the filet thinly while the wine reduced, and added it to the pan. Threw in a knob of butter to melt (hey, it's a celebration meal). A few fresh basil leaves from the garden. Done.

We shared this meal outside in a cool summer night with an gorgeous bottle of Brunello di Montalcino. Amazing meal, amazing wine, amazing husband. What could be better?