Ridiculous III

Thanks to all of your votes, I made it to the next round of the Marx Foods Ridiculously Delicious Challenge!!  The next task?  Remake one of the 15 advancing entries using different ingredients than the two from your first entry.  Ok, that's probably a little confusing...  but really you're just here to see what I came up with, right?

I chose to recreate Joanne's chicken and waffles, or rather her Fried Tepin Chile Chicken and Waffles with Juniper-Pomegranate Maple Syrup.    I've never had chicken and waffles before, and I'm not a huge fan of fried chicken...  but I ran with it and created a dish that featured dill pollen,  Szechuan peppercorns and Juniper Berries.

juniper berries

My chicken:  Juniper Berry Poached Salmon.  After deciding to play with dill pollen, salmon was my choice for the protein in this dish.  I thought about adding a seed/spice crust to mimic the crispy chicken, but decided there was already enough going on.

Szechuan peppercorns

My waffles:  Szechuan Potato Waffles.  A perfect partner to dill and salmon, mashed potatoes, brightened with notes of Szechuan peppercorns take center stage in these waffles.

dill pollen

My syrup: Lemon-Dill Sauce.   A hummus-based sauce inspired by Cara's Latke Benny, this sauce was absolutely delicious!

Szechuan Potato Waffles w/Juniper Poached Salmon and Lemon-Dill Sauce

While it looks like alot of components, it wasn't too complicated and you could definitely use shortcuts (store bough hummus, pre-cooked salmon, etc).  The mashed potatoes and hummus can definitely be prepared  ahead of time.  For dinner I started by making the waffles, as they could be kept warm in the oven after the salmon was done.  The poached salmon came next, closer to serving time as I didn't want it to overcook (although I still overcooked it).  The sauce came while I was waiting for the salmon, it was easy to throw together!

To serve, top waffles with salmon and smother in the lemon-dill sauce :)

Szechuan Potato Waffles
Recipe by Shannon
Yield 5 waffles, but it will depend on your waffle iron

3/4c white whole wheat flour
1 1/2t baking powder
1/2t baking soda
1/8t kosher salt
1/2t Szechuan peppercorns, ground
1 egg, separated
1/2c mashed potatoes*
1T neutral flavored oil
1/2c milk (nondairy is fine)
1/3c 2% greek yogurt

Preheat your waffle iron.

Combine dry ingredients (flour through pepper) in a medium bowl.

In a separate small bowl, combine egg yolk (reserve the white!), mashed potatoes, oil, milk and yogurt.  Whisk until the potatoes have broken up and are well combined.  Add to dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Whisk egg white to firm peaks, and carefully fold into waffle batter.  Be careful not to overmix and deflate the batter, it's ok if there are some small white streaks left.  Cook waffles according to manufacturer's directions (I spray mine with cooking spray and add a heaping 1/4c batter for each waffle).  Keep warm in a single layer on a cookie sheet in the oven until ready to serve.


Juniper Berry Poached Salmon
method from RecipeGirl
 Serves 2

2 3-4oz wild alaskan salmon fillets (or more)
salt and freshly ground pepper
3c stock (chicken, vegetable, or water or some white wine if you prefer)
2t juniper berries, crushed

Preheat oven to 350deg.

In an ovenproof saute pan (12"), add stock and juniper berries and heat over medium heat until it just reaches a simmer.  Meanwhile, season salmon with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Once liquid has come to a simmer, add the salmon and place the pan in the oven.

Poach the salmon until the flesh is opaque, but medium rare, ~10-12min (might be a little longer if your fillet is particularly thick).  Remove from the oven and set aside until you're ready to serve.  If your fillets came with the skin on, it's easy to peel off once the fish is cooked- just be careful if it's still hot ;)


Lemon Dill Sauce
adapted from Cara's Cravings
enough for ~3 waffles/salmon

1/2c lemon hummus (store-bought or homemade**)
2t dijon mustard
1/4c water
1/2-3/4t dill pollen

Add ingredients to a blender and puree until well mixed and smooth.  Alternatively, just whisk well until combined.


*Mashed Potatoes
Recipe by Shannon

1 lg potato
1T butter
salt and freshly ground pepper
milk (I probably used 1/4-1/2c)

Dice potato into equal sized pieces and place in a medium pot.  Cover with cold water and place over medium high heat.  Cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.  Drain cooked potatoes and return to the pot.  Add butter, salt and pepper, and enough milk so the potatoes aren't dry.  I was aiming for the consistency of mashed sweet potatoes or butternut squash.  Can be made ahead and refrigerated until preparing the waffles.


**Lemon Hummus
Recipe by Shannon

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 lemon, zest and juice
salt (I actually used a bit of ginger salt)
freshly ground (Szechuan) pepper
2T tahini
1 garlic clove, minced
extra virgin olive oil (maybe 1/4-1/2c)

Combine all ingredients except oil in a food processor and mix until well combined.  Drizzle in olive oil until mixture comes together (you may need to scrape the bowl a bit), then keep running until it reaches your desired consistency.  Can be made ahead.


I wasn't sure it would work, but everything turned out fantastic!  Those potato waffles and lemon-dill sauce might find themselves in other dishes soon, too.  *Fingers crossed* this helps me advance to the next round!  Thank you for all of your support, you are awesome :)

The other dish I thought about recreating (my second choice) was Big Apple Nosh's Spicey Cherry Truffles, I could see the chocolate-tart cherry-Szechuan peppercorn combo extending to many delicious desserts...  brownies anyone?