Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Fried Rice

When I first saw this recipe on Bitten, I knew I had to make it the very next time I received leeks in my Boston Organics delivery. Finally, my patience paid off. This fried rice recipe is familiar in some ways--using day old rice and eggs--but quite novel in others. There are no vegetables other than the leeks or any chopped, leftover meat. Instead, minced fresh garlic and ginger are fried until crisp and then sprinkled on top to dress the rice along with a drizzling of sesame oil and soy sauce.

In the article, Mark Bittman writes that Jean-Georges uses rendered chicken fat; since I had duck fat leftover from making the duck fat fries, I used that instead. Also, instead of using day-old cooked rice, I used rice that had been cooked a month ago and frozen in the freezer. Whenever I have leftover cooked rice, I always divide it into first-sized portions and wrap them in plastic wrap and stick them in the freezer when they're still warm. That way I can just heat it up in the microwave for a minute to thaw, and none of the moisture is lost. Of course, after sitting in the freezer for a whole month, some of the moisture is lost, which makes it perfect to use for fried rice.

Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Fried Rice (from Bitten)
makes 2 servings

1/4 cup duck fat
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
Kosher salt
1 cup thinly sliced leeks, white and light green parts only, rinsed and dried
2 cups day-old cooked rice, preferably jasmine, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons duck fat over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp and brown. With a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels and salt lightly.

Reduce heat under skillet to medium-low and add 1 tablespoon duck fat and leeks. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very tender but not browned. Season lightly with salt.

Raise heat to medium and add rice. Cook, stirring well, until heated through. Season to taste with salt.

In a nonstick skillet, fry eggs in remaining tablespoon of duck fat, sunny-side-up, until edges are set but yolk is still runny.

Divide rice among two dishes. Top each with an egg and drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Sprinkle crisped garlic and ginger over everything and serve.

I added a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and chopped scallions on top as well just for a little more texture and color. I was a little scared that the ginger might be too strong for my liking, but it was a lot more mild after frying, and the crunch it delivers is a real highlight to the dish.

This recipe is truly inspired. There are very few ingredients, but because each is an aromatic, and you keep using the same fat to cook the ginger, garlic, and leeks, you end up building a lot of flavor in the final dish. At the same time, I finally know what they mean on Top Chef when they talk about simple, clean food. Thank you, Jean-Georges and Mark, for sharing this recipe. Now I really want to go to one of Vongerichten's restaurants. Luckily, he's opened one in Boston, and it's also participating in Taste of the Nation Boston tomorrow!

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Potato Leek Soup with Bacon

When I was a college student living in a apartment with 3 other girls and a tiny kitchen and a small, small budget, I loved going to Costco and getting a big tin of Bear Creek Creamy Potato Soup. It was delicious by itself, but once you added some cheese, broccoli, corn, or bacon, it became awesome. And because it came in powder form, you didn't have to worry about it going bad if you didn't end up cooking for a while.

Now that I'm grown up and getting potatoes from Boston Organics, I figure it was time to learn how to make a potato soup from scratch, especially after reading the ingredients of the powdered soup: Dehydrated Potatoes, Food Starch-modified Corn Starch Solids, Sweet Whey, Partially Hydrogenated Canola, Cottonseed, and Soybean Oil, Onions, Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Sodium Caseinate (Milk Protein), Titanium Dioxide Color, Maltodextrin, Disodium Inosinate and Sodium Guanylate, Dipotassium Phosphate, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Spices, Parsley, Dry Sherry Wine, Garlic Natural and Artificial Flavoring, Chicken Broth Arabic Gum, Rendered Chicken Fat, Casein (Milk Protein), Citric Acid, Silicon Dioxide, Yellow No. 5, Mono and Diglycerides, Annatto Color.

Scary.

This recipe from The Kitchn, on the other hand, only has 2 ingredients. Well, 4, if you add bacon and substitute homemade chicken stock for water. And 5, if you count salt. (I don't like pepper, so it doesn't count.) Take that, Bear Creek!

Potato Leek Soup with Bacon (based on this recipe)
makes 4 servings

5 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
2 1/2 cups sliced leeks
3-4 slices bacon
1 quart homemade chicken stock (or water)

Wash the leeks very, very well. Leeks are notorious for having a lot of dirt and sand in between layers. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan, brown bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and let drain on some paper towels.

Saute the leeks in the hot bacon fat left in the pan until wilted. Add potatoes and toss to coat. Add chicken broth to cover, about 1 quart. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer until potatoes are soft and cooked through, about 30 minutes.

With an immersion blender, or very carefully in batches in a food processor, or even with a potato masher and your own brute strength, blend until the mixture reaches the consistency you prefer.

Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with crumbled bacon, grated cheese, and chopped scallions on top, if you prefer.

Other variations: Add chopped broccoli stems at the same time you add the potatoes. Add fresh or frozen corn kernels after blending the soup and heat through. Top with sour cream or creme fraiche.

I found that the soup needed a lot more salt than I thought it would, but otherwise I was very pleased with the result, especially since I was able to get a nice, creamy consistency without needing any dairy products. Adding the fresh, chopped scallions also brings out an unexpected vibrancy to the soup.