Comments on: Remembering September

By: Bite Marks #38

Bite Marks #38 — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 13:23:37 +0000

[…] rather walk a couple of blocks over to the neighborhood Taco Box, albeit more […]

By: Kinga

Kinga — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 18:50:18 +0000

Thanks for explaining!

By: dan

dan — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 18:43:16 +0000

In reply to Kinga.

There’s no particular reason to boil a brine except to dissolve the salt faster – but given that you’re leaving it sit for weeks before using it, the salt will dissolve anyway. I use kosher salt because it doesn’t have iodine, and iodine kills lactobacteria, which are what make the fermentation of vegetables and fruits work, as it’s the most prevalent form of “good” bacteria naturally found on them. So what tends to happen, especially if the brine is strong (I use a fairly weak one as I like to keep the salt level down), is the only bacteria that get a start are the particularly hearty ones from the air, which aren’t always the ones you want, or, at the very least, it takes longer to get the fermentation going.

(You could always put both “retiro” and “lunch” into the search box and look for posts that include both words!)

By: Kinga

Kinga — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 15:55:56 +0000

Thanks a lot x2. Interesting that you use an un-boiled brine, I guess boiling it might be one of those kitchen superstitions that fly around.
Is kosher salt important, or a habit? Sal parrillera sí/no?
I agree it’s probably not important to release pressure. I/we always ferment cucumbers directly in their jars, hermetically closed. The pressure finds it way out anyway and some brine too, so I always have them stand on plates.
Tried the Retiro search of course, but was specifically after good lunches – not always the same as good dinners. I have preferred drinking to eating at Dada, but good to know that they also do lunch.

By: The Untamed Tongue

The Untamed Tongue — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 14:20:27 +0000

[…] vinegar, garlic, tomato, bay leaf, ginger, salt, peppercorns), sliced and lightly brushed with our spicy beet stem ají, accompanied by fermented brussels sprouts, black olive tapenade, boiled quail egg, roasted cherry tomatoes, julienne of rocoto peppers, […]

By: dan

dan — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 20:40:18 +0000

In reply to Kinga.

Kinga – There are two ways to search. First, in the right hand column, there’s a search box, you could plug in “retiro” and go from there, but, also in the middle column, there’s a review index that takes you to a page where you could just pick out the spots in Retiro with a quick text search on the page. Off-hand favorites for lunch in that area are El Federal, Dada, and Filo.

The Brussels Sprout ferment was pretty basic, and I plan to play with it a bit, but:

1 kg brussels sprouts, cored and quartered
1 rocoto chili, slivered
1 red onion, sliced thin
1/3 c coarse kosher salt
1 Tb yellow and 1 Tb black mustard seeds
Water to just barely cover

I left it for a week in a warm spot in the kitchen, covered, and just opened it once a day to make sure any buildup of pressure was released – though I don’t think in the end it was likely necessary. Then I put it in the refrigerator for another week before using them – fermentation continues, but slower.

As a first change, I think on the next run through I’m going to separate the sprouts into their leaves (core them and then pull them apart) – I’ve been finding that some of the middle layers of leaves haven’t fermented as thoroughly and are a little bit to crunchy still. I think I’d also toast the mustard seeds on the next go-round to help bring out their essential oils a little more, the mustard was just a bare hint in the background and I was hoping it would be more prominent.