Wednesday, June 21, 2006
A surprising marriage of foods creates delicious dishes.
By WALTER NICHOLLS
WASHINGTON POST
HERE WAS A NOSE-TINGLING AROMA OF BOILING VINEGAR AND heady spices in the kitchen of Zola restaurant in Washington on a recent morning. But there wasn't a canning jar in sight. Grandma never put up pickles like the ones executive chef Frank Morales makes in minutes.
In the classic sense, to pickle is to preserve. And pickling may bring to mind an arduous, perhaps daylong, process of cooking the fruits or vegetables, then putting them in sterilized jars and boiling-water baths.
But at Zola, the pickled melon balls served on a skewer with grilled shrimp are not only quick to make but they are intended to last just one day.
"It's meant to be quick," the chef says as he pours a pungent brine seasoned with cloves, juniper berries and coriander seeds over balls of yellow and red watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew. "And the smaller and more porous the surface area, the quicker the pickling time."
For example, a small dice of melon will need only about 10 minutes in the brine, while a thick-skinned baby bell pepper requires as long as four hours.
As far as the flavor is concerned, the speedy process subdues the sweetness of fruits and vegetables and instills a sour taste while retaining their color and texture. Quick pickles are not side dishes but rather more of a condiment or complement to the main course.
Kicking it up
Morales made his first quick pickles in 1997 while working at Union Pacific restaurant in New York. A tuna tartare dish "needed a note of spice and acidity, so I introduced a little pickled rhubarb," he says. And he has been putting pickled foods, in one form or another, on plates ever since. "I've pickled just about everything under the sun, from raspberries to zucchini blossoms," he says.
For Brian McBride, summer and quick-pickled foods are natural partners.
"They are the perfect accompaniment to grilled meats and fish," says McBride, executive chef of the former Melrose restaurant and its successor, the Blue Duck Tavern, located in the Park Hyatt Washington. "The acid cuts (through) the fat. It's as simple as that."
McBride has been making quick-pickled tomatoes for 15 years, and "regular customers go crazy for them," he says.
Which wines go best with quick-pickled foods? Think light. Avoid tannic red wines. Morales and McBride recommend a Riesling or pinot grigio.