Wolf WGCW132S Cookbook
MASTERING YOUR KITCHEN
Cookware and Cutlery
Techniques, Recipes, and More
MASTERING YOUR KITCHEN
Cookware and Cutlery
4 Welcome to Wolf Gourmet
6 Start Here: Cook Smart
Contents
MAKING THE CUT 8
8 GETTING TO KNOW YOUR KNIVES
12 A FEW WORDS ON KNIFE SAFETY
16 THE DETAILS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
23 Julienned Zucchini Salad
25 Master Stir-Fry
27 Glazed Carrots with Garlic and Ginger
29 Napa Cabbage Salad
30 Yellow Rice with Sofrito
32 Basic Chicken Stock
COOKING LIKE A PRO 34
34 WHAT’S IN YOUR COOKWARE SET
36 FAST-MOVING AND FLAVORFUL: SAUTÉING
38 Shrimp Scampi
41 Green Beans with Lemon, Garlic, and Pine Nuts
42 GOLDEN-BROWN DELICIOUS: PAN SEARING AND PAN ROASTING
45 Scallops with Garlic-Parsley Butter
46 Pan-Roasted Steak with Gorgonzola-Shallot Butter
50 Chicken and Prosciutto Roulade
52 Pan-Seared Grouper with Tomato-Caper Sauce
54 MAKE IT CRISPY: HOW TO PAN FRY
58 Fried Fish Tacos with Pickled Radishes and Carrots
60 Zucchini Fritters with Smoked Chile–Lime Dipping Sauce
63 Pan-Fried Chicken
64 SO TENDER, SO DELICIOUS: BRAISING AND STEWING
67 Boeuf Bourguignon
69 Dutch Oven Beans
71 Black Bean Soup with Roasted Tomatoes
72 Pasta e Fagioli
74 Chicken and Andouille Gumbo
76 CREATING SPOON SWEETS AND CLASSIC SAUCES
77 Pastry Cream
78 Lemon Curd
81 Béarnaise
WELCOME
TO
WOLF
Since joining Sub-Zero, a third-generation
family-owned company, in 2000, Wolf has
brought its professional-quality ranges to people
like you: passionate home cooks. We know that
you can think of no better way to spend a day
than preparing a meal for your friends and family.
With Wolf Gourmet, we’re thrilled to bring our
trademark level of workmanship, attention to
detail, and sleek design to other parts of your
kitchen. Through relentless testing and tweaking
by designers and engineers who love to cook as
much as you do, we have created a line of knives,
cookware, and countertop appliances that will
help you cook better and more joyfully than you
ever thought possible.
7
START HERE
Better tools allow you to put your concentration
where it belongs: on the food.
High-quality knives and cookware make cooking easier and more fun. Now that you have these tools,
we want to help you use them to their full potential. That’s where this book comes in. Our goal is to give
you the knowledge to put your new knives and cookware to work with even more condence than you
had before.
COOK SMART
Mise en place means to chop and measure. This helps streamline your prep and maximizes the
pleasure of making a meal.
The rst step to mise en place is an easy one: read the recipe prior to cooking it. Recipes are road maps,
designed to help you go from a set of disparate ingredients to a stellar, perfectly prepared dish. A great
way to learn how ingredients and the cooking method work together is to follow the recipe to the letter
the rst time you make it. The second time you make the recipe, you can veer from the instructions,
making ingredient substitutions and other changes that reect your preferences and tastes. Since you
have already made the recipe once, you’ll be able to anticipate how the changes you make will inuence
the overall dish.
Here are a few more tips that can help you cook smarter,
more confidently, and more efficiently.
1. Before you begin, read the recipe all the way
through. (It actually doesn’t hurt to read it through
twice!)
2. Mise en place everything you can before you
start cooking. Have your ingredients sliced, diced,
and portioned before you start cooking to ensure
that everything is where you need it, when you
need it.
3. Work cleanly. If you have multiple cutting
boards, use each of them for a dierent type of
food—for example, cut meats on a dishwashersafe plastic board, bread and fruit on a wood
or cork board, and vegetables on another wood or
plastic board. (And if using one cutting board for
all your chopping needs, start with the vegetables
and end with raw meats so you don’t have to wash
the board between ingredients.) Always wipe down
your cutting board and wash your hands between
prep tasks, and wash your board in hot soapy water
when you’re nished. To remove the toughest
odors, give the board a scrub with a lemon half
or some distilled white vinegar, then rinse with hot
soapy water. Stand the board on its edge and allow
it to air-dry between uses. Never return cooked
food to a dirty cutting board. When doing dishes,
wash your cutting board in an empty sink so you
don’t contaminate other dishes or dishwater.
4. Work neatly. If your workspace is cluttered, so
is your mind. Stop every once in a while to clear the
onion skins, carrot peels, and beef trimmings from
your cutting board. (To make this super easy, you
can place a bowl just for trimmings at the top of
the cutting board.) Wipe down the countertops and
clean up any spills as you go. The minute or so it
takes to clear the board and reset your workspace
will reset your brain as well. If you can wash a
couple of dishes while the roast is in the oven and
one or two more while the sauce reduces, even
better. When you clean as you go, you’ll nd you
have little to do at the end of the meal but wash a
COOK SMART | 9
MAKING
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR KNIVES
With a chef’s knife, a paring knife, and a bread knife,
you can own the kitchen. There are few tasks you can’t do
if you have these three tools.
The Chef’s Knife
For many cooks, the chef’s knife is not only the primary knife but also the most essential cooking tool.
If you’ve used one for any amount of time, you know that it’s hard to imagine preparing a meal without
it. Your chef’s knife is suitable for everything, from portioning large cuts of meat to chopping the nest
chionade of basil.
Tip
Spine
Cutting Edge Heel
TIP You’ll use the tip to make vertical cuts on
an onion and for precision work. It also serves
as an anchor, staying on the board when using
the rocking cut (see page 17 for technique) and
when mincing.
CUTTING EDGE The edge works best when
kept as sharp as possible.
HEEL The heel of our knife is weighted to allow
better leverage when the tip rests on the cutting
board. Because it’s balanced, you can chop longer
and without your wrist tiring.
BOLSTER The bolster is the junction of the knife
where the metal blade transitions to the handle and
is where you grip the knife.
Handle
Bolster
Tang
SPINE Use the spine to bruise lemongrass,
Rivet
Butt
crack lobster claws, or scrape food into piles
on your cutting board. (Never scrape food with
your blade’s sharp edge as this will damage your
cutting edge.)
TANG The tang is the section of the blade that’s
covered by the handle. It gives the knife weight
and balance. The blade on these “full tang” knives
goes up the length of the handle, making them
more durable.
RIVET The rivets hold the handle securely in
place.
HANDLE The moisture-resistant pakkawood
handle is functional, beautiful, and comfortable
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR KNIVES | 11
Paring Knife
A paring knife has a shorter blade than the chef’s
knife and it’s also much narrower. It’s best for
precise tasks, like hulling strawberries, deveining
shrimp, and scoring tomatoes.
Santoku
This wide-bladed Japanese utility knife is usually shorter than a chef’s knife. The edge is also
straighter than the chef’s knife, making it good for
precise vegetable cuts.
Bread Knife
Bread knives are serrated, with sharp, toothy
points separated by crescents of sharpened steel.
The points provide the bite that keeps the edge
from slipping on a crusty loaf of bread while the
crescents do most of the cutting. Bread knives are
designed to easily slice through the crustiest of
loaves. They also do a superb job of slicing melons,
salami, and pineapples.
Slicer/Carving Knife
Like the bread knife, the slicing knife is long and
slender, making it an especially eective tool for
slicing cooked meat. The narrowness of the blade
keeps moist food from sticking to it, the length
allows a smooth, one-stroke cut, and the sharp tip
enables you to sever joints cleanly and easily.
Utility Knife
The utility knife is longer than a paring knife and narrower than a chef’s knife. It is the go-to tool for those
jobs in the middle, like halving a sandwich or slicing
pepperoni. It can also be a more comfortable option
than a chef’s knife for cooks with small hands.
Boning Knife
This is the knife for anyone who wants serious
control when working with uncooked meat. The
long, slim blade can separate meat right o the
bone and eortlessly trims o fat and silver skin
(the sinewy, tough membranes attached to many
roasts). The sharp, tapered point is ideal for cutting
through tendons and joints.
Shears
Kitchen scissors are innitely useful and not just
for opening plastic packages. Our shears can do
delicate work, like snipping herbs, or tougher jobs,
like removing the backbones from chickens. The
grippers on the inner handles are excellent for
cracking nuts or lobsters and crab shells. Best of
all, after all of this dirty work, they come apart for
easy cleaning.
DID YOU KNOW?
Besides holding your knives, steel, and kitchen
shears, the Wolf Gourmet knife block also has a
resting spot for tablets or magazines so you can
easily view your recipes as you cook.
12 | COOKWARE AND CUTLERY
Put Your Honing Steel to Work for You
Pulling the knife blade across a honing steel once a week (or more often if you’re a heavy-duty cook)
will keep the knife edge at peak performance for up to a year between sharpening. As you chop, slice,
and dice, the edge of your knife will start to curl (it’s not visible to the naked eye—this happens on a
microscopic level). The curl is what dulls the blade. To realign the edge, simply follow these steps.
1. KEEP THE STEEL STEADY Place a kitchen
towel on your cutting board or countertop to prevent the steel from slipping.
2. HOLD THE STEEL Grasp the steel with your
guide hand (see The Guide Hand page 14) and set
the tip of the steel on the kitchen towel.
3. FIND THE ANGLE Place the edge of the
knife against the honing steel at the manufacturer’s
recommended angle (12.5 degrees for Wolf
Gourmet knives—about the angle at the tip of a
large carrot). Touch the steel with the knife’s edge
as though cutting a very thin slice. Adjust the
angle of the knife until you barely feel the edge
bite rather than slip down the steel.
4. HONE THE KNIFE Using little more pressure
than the weight of the knife itself, glide the knife
from the heel to the tip while moving the blade down
the steel; keep your wrist locked to maintain the
proper angle. Do this ve or six times on both sides
of the blade, alternating sides each time.
5. REPEAT Do once every week or so for
regular maintenance. As your edges wear, you
might need to hone more often. When honing
stops being eective, it’s time to get your knives
professionally sharpened.
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR KNIVES | 13
A FEW WORDS ON KNIFE SAFETY
Our knives are seriously sharp, and that’s a good thing.
Sharper knives are safer knives because they glide
so easily through food.
Knife safety is mostly common sense. Here are a few tips to
keep in mind.
1. STORE KNIVES AWAY Whether you put
your knives in our countertop block, hang them
on a wall-mounted knife magnet, or hide them in a
drawer block, keep knives that are not in use in a
safe place, ensuring they’re out of reach of curious
little hands and paws.
2. WHEN IN USE, KEEP YOUR ATTENTION
ON THE KNIVES AND KEEP THE KNIVES
ON THE CUTTING BOARD
stop midway through chopping to stir a sauce or
grab something from the fridge, swivel your knife
so that the sharp edge points away from you and
the entire knife rests on the cutting board. Or place
the knife o the board entirely, with the sharp edge
tucked under the back of the cutting board.
3. CARRY A KNIFE TIP DOWN In restaurant
kitchens, you’ll sometimes hear chefs say, “Knife
behind!” to alert other chefs that they’re carrying
their blades. Ideally, you won’t have to ever walk
far with your knives, but even for just a few steps,
When you need to
carry the knife tip down and at your side, right next
to your leg, so that the blade doesn’t catch on the
corner of a table or countertop.
4. HAND SOMEONE A KNIFE SAFELY Place
the knife on the cutting board or countertop so he or
she can then safely pick up the knife by the handle.
5. LET FALLING KNIVES FALL It’s a natural
impulse to try to catch something when it falls. In
this case, it’s best to step back and let it happen,
then pick the knife up after it lands.
6. STABILIZE YOUR CUTTING BOARD
Set a wet paper towel or a bit of nonslip shelf liner
under your board to keep it in place.
7. REGULARLY CLEAN YOUR CUTTING
BOARD
surface helps you stay focused and safe. Have a
couple of bowls or containers near the board for
your chopped food and any trimmings.
Working on a clean, well-organized
14 | COOKWARE AND CUTLERY
8. KEEP KNIVES OUT OF THE SINK Always
hand wash knives because the heat from the
dishwasher will damage the handles, and the
edges can be damaged if other objects bang up
against them. Keep the knives to the side of the
sink until you can wash them individually; as you
can imagine, a sink full of soapy water is a dangerous place for a knife to hide.
9. KEEP KNIVES SHARP Hone knives
regularly to maintain the edges (see Put Your
Honing Steel to Work for You on page 11 to learn
more), then have them professionally sharpened
about once a year.
10. COVER YOUR KNIVES’ EDGES If
you’re moving or taking your knives with you on
vacation, cover the blades with plastic sheaths and
pack them so that they won’t budge. Better yet,
Try it!
1. Grasp your knife blade just above the heel so
it’s pinched between your forenger and thumb.
2. Lay your rst nger at against the blade just
ahead of the bolster.
3. Put your thumb so it’s on the opposite side of
the blade, directly across from the second joint of
your index nger.
4. Curl your index nger back slightly to clear the
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR KNIVES | 15
heel of the knife.
The Guide Hand
If you watch chefs on TV, you’ll see that they’re often slicing and dicing while looking at the camera. If
you look closer, you’ll notice that they’re almost always chopping with the knife blade up against the
knuckles of their other hand. That other hand—known as the guide hand—is actually just as important
as the one holding the knife.
Using your guide hand will help you cut food more quickly and safely. When you keep the at of the knife
blade in constant contact with the knuckles of your guide hand’s ngers, you know where the edge is
and where your ngers are at all times. To get a feel for the motion, practice on the cutting board without
trying to cut anything.
Try it!
1. Place the tips of the ngers of your guide hand
on the food to be cut. Press down lightly and
curl your ngertips under. Make it so the front of
your ngers between the rst and second joints
are straight up and down. Depending on the
size of the item you’re cutting, you may need to
bunch your ngers together or spread them out
to hold the food securely.
2. Slide your thumb around behind the wall of
your ngers and use it to anchor the food. The
at side of your knife glides up and down on
the middle joint of your ngers. At rst it will be
tempting to let your thumb drift out from behind
the safety of your ngers, especially when gripping larger pieces. Take care to keep it in place.
3. As you cut, move your guide hand ngers
back along the surface of the food toward
your thumb. This motion will let you control the
thickness of the slice.
4. When your ngers reach your thumb, pause for
a moment to relocate your thumb farther back
and start slicing again.
PRO TIP
We designed our knife’s bolster so it doesn’t
uncomfortably rub against your ngers or
create calluses.
16 | COOKWARE AND CUTLERY
Cutting Board Know-How
If you’re just slicing up a few strawberries for a snack, you don’t really need a strategy, but if you’re
chopping a lot of vegetables for a batch of soup, having a consistent workow will make the prep go
much faster.
Stand in front of your cutting board, holding your knife with your guide hand in place. The blade should
point to one far corner of the board while the guide hand is facing the other, forming an imaginary X
directly in front of you. Place your guide hand on the food, with your ngertips curled under and the knife
blade resting on the ats of your knuckles.
When you look straight down, ideally you should see the food that has just been sliced in front of the
knife, where the cutting action is happening. If, instead, you are looking at the spine of the knife and the
food that has not yet been cut, move your hands over just a little or adjust your stance slightly (without
twisting yourself uncomfortably), so you can see your ngers and the work you’re doing.
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR KNIVES | 17
The best direction to work is toward your knife hand. So, if you’re right-handed, place uncut food at the
top left of the board. Set the bowl for trimmings at the top of the board in the twelve o’clock position and
a container (or several) for your beautifully portioned food on the right. Have a clean kitchen or paper
towel available for wiping down the board as needed.
To keep your knives in tip-top shape, use a wooden or plastic cutting board. Cutting on surfaces that are
even harder than the knives, like granite, ceramic, or glass, will damage the cutting edges and should
never be done. If you use your knives almost daily, a large wooden cutting board (at least 16 inches
wide) is a great investment.
THE DETAILS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
Properly cut meats and vegetables
not only look better, but uniform cuts cook more evenly.
As you probably already know, there is more than one way to chop a carrot. A large
dice is great for roasting, tiny cubes cut in brunoise style form the foundation for sauces,
while julienned matchsticks work beautifully in slaws and quick-cooking sautés. Properly cut meats and vegetables not only look better, but uniform cuts cook more evenly,
meaning that all your chopped carrots or julienned zucchini nish cooking at the same
time. In this section you’ll nd lots of tips and insights on slicing and dicing like a pro.
18 | COOKWARE AND CUTLERY
The Rocking Cut and Push Cut
There are two basic techniques to know for cutting food on a cutting board: the rocking cut for atter or
softer items and the push cut for tall or hard items. Eventually, you’ll start switching up the techniques
intuitively as you work on a single vegetable. For example, you’ll use the push cut to break down the
head of cabbage and the rocking cut as you shred it. Here are both ways, broken down step by step.
The Rocking Cut
The rocking cut, in which the tip of your knife never
leaves the board, is the one you’ll use for soft or
short items, like scallions, herbs, and vegetables
you’ve already broken down into smaller pieces. With
practice, it’s an extremely fast technique because
the knife never stops moving. In the beginning, your
slices may not be entirely uniform, but you’ll soon be
knocking out mounds of perfect julienne.
1. Set up the knife and guide hand: Place the tip
of the knife on the cutting board and the at of the
blade against your guide hand’s knuckles.
2. Arrange the food: Have the food on the board,
just in front of your knife, with the heel of the knife
just a little higher than the food.
3. Make the cut: Rock the knife forward and
down to make a slice. Move your guide hand back
across the food and rock your knife backward and
up. Reset the knife against your guide hand for the
next stroke, never letting the tip of the knife leave
the board.
The Push Cut
For larger, rmer items like cabbage, squash, or
beets, it’s best to use the push cut technique. Push
cutting is a little slower than rocking because you
stop to reposition the knife each time, but you have
more control and can produce more even cuts.
1. Arrange the knife on the food: Start with the
front part of the edge of the knife on the vegetable
rather than on the board, positioning the cutting
edge so it’s nearly perpendicular to the board. (The
heel of the knife should be raised slightly.)
2. Make the rst cut: Slice forward and down.
The stroke is similar to the rocking cut but the edge
of the knife should stay nearly perpendicular to the
board. Even after your knife reaches the cutting
board, glide it completely forward to make sure that
you have cut all the way through the food.
3. Reset the knife: Move your guide hand back
along the food, then reset the knife into the starting
position and make another slice.
Planks, Sticks, and Cubes
Most recipes call for fruits and vegetables to be cut into uniform shapes and sizes, say, “chopped into
1
⁄2-inch dice” or “sliced 1⁄4 inch thick.” Food that’s cut evenly cooks more evenly. (Plus, let’s be honest—
it looks better!) More formal dishes or classic French recipes might call for specic cuts like julienne,
bâtonnet, medium dice, small dice, or brunoise. Each cut has a specic denition and size (see page 19).
The great thing about these cuts is they all start the same way: square o the item you’re cutting, create
THE DETAILS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE | 19
HOW TO MAKE FRENCH CUTS
Our knives are designed to be as sharp
as Japanese knives and as durable as
German ones so you can make clean,
eortless cuts.
1. Square o the ingredient: Cut the vegetable into as precise a rectangle as you can.
This may seem wasteful, but it doesn’t have
to be. Just do what restaurants do and save
your trimmings, including vegetable peels and
herb stems, for stocks or salads. (If you’re not
chopping a lot at once, just freeze the trimmings in a large resealable plastic bag. When
the bag is full, it’s time to make stock.)
When you’re working with vegetables that
taper from thick to thin, like carrots or parsnips, cut them into manageable 2- to 3-inch
lengths, stand the segments on the wider, at
end, and cut downward, perpendicular to the
cutting board, to remove the curved sections.
2. Cut planks: After you have your rectangular pieces, slice them into planks. The
size of the nal cut you want to make will
determine the thickness of the plank. For example, slice thin 1⁄8 inch planks for brunoise
and julienne and medium-thick ¼ inch
planks for bâtonnets.
20 | COOKWARE AND CUTLERY
3. Cut sticks: After slicing the planks, the
next step is to stack the planks two or three
high, then slice them lengthwise into sticks
that are the same width as the plank.
4. Cut cubes: Finally, if you want to cut cubes,
cut across the sticks—again at the same width
Classic French Cuts
JULIENNE (joo-lee-EHN): Slice
1
⁄8-inch-thick sticks that are each 2 to 3 inches long
BRUNOISE (broon-WAHZ):
Slice julienned strips crosswise
into 1⁄8-inch cubes
BÂTONNET (bah-tow-NAY): Slice
¼-inch-thick planks into 1⁄4-inch-thick
sticks that are 2 to 3 inches long
SMALL DICE: Slice bâtonnets
crosswise into 1⁄4-inch cubes
MEDIUM DICE:
1
⁄2-inch cubes,
cut from 1⁄2-inch-thick sticks (that were
sliced from 1⁄2-inch-thick planks)
LARGE DICE:
3
⁄4-inch-thick sticks (that were sliced from
3
⁄4-inch-thick planks)
RONDELLES (rahn-DELLZ):
3
⁄4-inch cubes cut from
Coin-shaped slices of any thickness
from any round vegetable. Angle the
knife diagonally across the fruit or
vegetable (usually about
45 degrees) and cut on
the bias to make rondelles.
1
⁄8-inch planks into
Medium Dice
Large Dice
Bâtonnet
Small Dice
Rondelles
Julienne
Brunoise
THE DETAILS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE | 21
Cutting Tomatoes and Other Fruits
To serve summer’s perfect tomatoes, you only need to slice them and sprinkle with salt. When you
cook sauces or stews with out-of-season tomatoes, however, the tough skins and watery seeds are
usually best removed. The prep takes longer, but the payo is worth it.
To core
This technique also works for hulling strawberries
and removing blemishes from potatoes.
1. Grip the blade of the paring knife near the tip,
pinching it between thumb and forenger. The length
of knife you allow to protrude is the depth of your cut.
2. Rotate the tomato around the tip of the knife to
remove the core.
To peel
If you are just dicing a single tomato, peel it with
your paring knife or a peeler. Use the following
technique to peel a larger quantity of tomatoes.
You can also use this technique to peel peaches
and plums.
1. Fill a large bowl with ice water and bring a large
saucepan of water to a boil.
2. Use the tip of your paring knife to score a small
X in the skin at the bottom of each tomato.
3. Use tongs to gently drop two or three tomatoes
into the boiling water for about 30 seconds or until
the skin splits. Remove the tomatoes from the
water with tongs and set aside.
4. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle,
trap the split skin between your thumb and the
blade of the paring knife and it should slip
right o.
To dice
To seed
Cut globe tomatoes across the equator; slice plum
or Roma-style tomatoes lengthwise. Gently squeeze
the tomato halves over a bowl and remove the seeds
and liquid with your ngers.
22 | COOKWARE AND CUTLERY
Lay the cut side of the tomato on the cutting
board and cut into strips. Cut across the strips
to produce a rough dice called concassé. For
ner dice, make three or four horizontal cuts,
then cut strips and dice them.
How to Prepare Onions, Garlic, and Other Alliums
Alliums, including onions, garlic, leeks, scallions, shallots, and chives, add an incomparable depth of
avor to food and are the starting point for many dishes in many dierent cuisines. They do have some
unusual characteristics to consider when cutting them.
Here are some points to keep in mind.
1. START WITH THE STEM END Onions and
shallots have a stem end, where the leaves come
together at the top, and a root end, the beard-like
area at the bottom. When prepping either, you
almost always want to start by cutting o the stem
end to make it easier to peel. With onions, you’ll
then usually stand the onion up on the newly at
HOW TO PREPARE LEEKS
Leeks grow in sandy soil and can have dirt
between the layers. To clean and prepare:
1. Trim and halve: Trim o the root end.
Remove the dark green tops and reserve for
stock. (You can also thinly slice these to use
in sautés but they do have a bit of a chew.)
Halve the rest of the leek lengthwise.
2. Remove the grit: Put the halved leek
under cold water and clean well, fanning out
the leaves so the grit can easily wash away.
Alternatively, you can ll a bowl with water and
swish the leeks until the leaves are cleaned.
3. Chop. Or not. For a soup or other preparation in which you want the leeks to get very
soft, thinly slice the leeks crosswise. You can
also leave the halved leeks as is to steam,
braise, or grill and serve as a side dish.
side and slice it in half through the root before
peeling. (In addition to removing the peel, take o
any papery or leathery outer layers.)
2. CUT CROSSWISE FOR THIN SLICES
If a recipe calls for either of these vegetables thinly
sliced, halve the onion or shallot (or leave whole for
rings) and cut crosswise so you have thin slices.
3. CHOP LIKE A PRO If you’re going for a ner
dice on an onion or large shallot, set the palm of
your guide hand on top of the halved and peeled
onion with your ngers ared. This will keep the
onion steady and your ngers out of the way. Make
three to ve horizontal cuts, drawing the knife
smoothly from the at stem end to the root; stop
just before you actually reach the root (so it doesn’t
fall apart). (If you’re working on a small shallot or
going for a rougher chop on an onion, you can skip
this step.)
Move your hand so it’s holding the root end, and
using the tip of your knife, make a series of parallel
cuts that reach from the root end to the stem end;
the wider the space between your slices, the larger
your dice will be.
Still holding the root, cut across the onion or shallot
to produce a uniform dice. If you need to mince,
run the heel of your knife back and forth through
the diced onion, leaving the tip on the board, until
very nely chopped.
THE DETAILS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE | 23
JULIENNED ZUCCHINI SALAD
Serves 4
Equipment: Chef’s knife or santoku; large skillet or sauté pan
This salad is a spectacular way to showcase the summer abundance of zucchini.
It is also a lesson in the power of salt to transform a vegetable. Zucchini,
like cucumbers and eggplant, is a very wet vegetable. Since raw zucchini can weep moisture,
throwing off the balance of the dressing, it’s usually best to salt it in advance.
1
⁄4 cup chopped walnuts or whole pine nuts
2 medium zucchini (or 1 medium zucchini
and 1 medium yellow summer squash),
julienned
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons nely grated lemon zest plus
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese,
for sprinkling
1. Heat a large dry skillet over medium-high
heat, add the walnuts, and toast them,
shaking the pan often, until they are lightly
browned and fragrant. Transfer the nuts to a
small plate to cool.
2. Place the zucchini in a colander, sprinkle with
1 teaspoon salt, and toss to combine. Set the
colander over the sink to let the zucchini drain
for 30 minutes.
3. Put the zucchini under cold running water to
wash o the excess salt, then turn it out onto a
kitchen towel and pat it dry.
4. Whisk together the lemon zest and juice, shallot,
mustard, and garlic in a small bowl. Whisking
constantly, slowly drizzle in the oil and whisk until
the vinaigrette is thick and emulsied. Season to
taste with salt and pepper.
5. Place the zucchini in a large bowl and toss
with vinaigrette. Sprinkle the toasted nuts and
some Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over the
top and serve.
VARIATION: ZUCCHINI, TOMATO,
•
AND BASIL SALAD
Add 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes and ¼ cup
fresh basil chionade (page 57) and toss with
the zucchini and vinaigrette. Replace the
Parmigiano-Reggiano with 1⁄3 cup crumbled
feta cheese.
PRO TIP
A vegetable peeler can be used to shave thin
ribbons of zucchini for the salad.
THE DETAILS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE | 25
MASTER STIR-FRY
Serves 4
Equipment: Chef’s knife or santoku; large skillet, sauté pan or wok
Stir-fries give you a lot of knife practice because most of the work happens at the
cutting board rather than the stovetop. Have everything prepped before you heat the oil
and set out your ingredients in the order that you’re going to use them so you won’t
have to hunt around for the minced garlic when it’s time to add it to the pan.
STIR-FRY
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, sirloin
steak tips, peeled and deveined shrimp,
or extra-rm tofu, cut into bite-sized
pieces
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
2 large carrots, cut ¼-inch thick on the bias
1 small head broccoli, orets cut into
bite-sized pieces, stems peeled and
thinly sliced
4 baby bok choy, ribs thinly sliced, leaves
roughly chopped
1 small yellow onion, quartered and sliced
¼ pound snow peas, ends and strings
removed
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
Cooked rice, for serving
¼ pound bean sprouts
1. Marinate the protein: Toss the chicken (or beef,
shrimp, or tofu) with the mirin and soy sauce in
a medium bowl.
STIR-FRY SAUCE
3 tablespoons mirin or dry sherry
3 tablespoons store-bought or homemade
chicken stock (see Basic Chicken Stock
page 32) or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Asian chile paste or
Sriracha sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
½ teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon sugar
2 Make the stir-fry sauce: Meanwhile, whisk
together the mirin, chicken stock, oyster sauce,
soy sauce, chile paste, sesame oil, garlic, cornstarch, and sugar in another medium bowl.
continued...
THE DETAILS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE | 27
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