So it's officially time for something. Not sure what. What am I saying? I will be hosting Martha Stewart's Radio Show Cooking Today on Sirius XM next Monday, Wednesday and Friday -- June 11th, 13th and 15th. Lining up my guests now. Hot topics, chefs of the moment, genius recipes, the book du jour, food trucks in Paris, American chefs in Paris, Chipotles in Paris. And mangoes in India. Great article in The New York Times about it. Mangoes and monsoons. Reminds me to mention the captivating, charming movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel which takes place in India; Jaipur to be exact. I've been there. It's not as clean as it is in the movie but it is actually more magical. It's known as the pink city. I grew up eating mangoes. My grandparents had a big ol' mango tree in their backyard on Linda Lane in West Palm Beach, Florida. Feeling nostalgic as I can remember sliding my teeth along the resin-y skin of the voluptuous orange flesh with the juices trickling down my arm. I was six at the time.
In my very first cookbook, Little Meals: A Great New Way to Eat & Cook, I created a recipe as an homage to my mumma and grampy -- Louise and Joe Gold. They were both from Hungary and loved to eat. My grandfather and his mother actually had a restaurant for awhile in Astoria, Queens on the second floor... somewhere. My grandfather, known for his extreme generosity, gave most of the food away. It's hard to stay viable with "free food" as your business model. He was known as an angel by those who came into his orbit. Both my grandparents died early and I miss them. My grandmother was 10 years older than my grandfather. My mother kept it a secret (it was her promise to her mother), all their lives; right up to, and including on, their tombstones. Quite a love story, right? Maybe I'll write a story about it someday.
But in the meantime, here is that recipe from Little Meals that is quite nice for the summer months. It was always summer on Linda Lane.
Shrimp, Mango & Hearts of Palm
Juicy, ripe mangoes trigger vivid images of my grandparents' mango tree. Up the street was a lime tree. And so this dish is dedicated to fond childhood taste memories.
1 pounds very large cooked shrimp, peeled
2 ripe mangoes
1 can hearts of palm, rinsed and dried
1/2 cup fresh lime mixed with 1 teaspoon ketchup
1 tablespoon finely minced jalapeno
3 tablespoons olive oil
pinches of salt, pepper and sugar
4 packed cups of spring greens, mesclun or soft lettuces
Cut the shrimp into large pieces and place in a bowl. Peel mangoes and cut into cubes the same size as the shrimp. Add to the bowl. Slice hearts of palm 1/3-inch thick and add to the bowl. Toss with lime juice, jalapeno and oil. Balance the flavors with sea salt, pepper and sugar. Toss and refrigerate 30 minutes. Arrange lettuce on a platter or on 4 plates. Mound salad on top. Garnish with thin slices of lime. Serves 4.
I should really start making more of my own food. I understand it's quite good. Someone I haven't heard from in a decade called me out of the blue last week to tell me she made one of my recipes recently and just had to tell me how much she loved it. Then she told me she makes it all the time. But last week she threw the prune-and-bay leaf stuffed pork tenderloin on the grill. She has a new boyfriend. Maybe that's why it tasted so good. Not sure really. That's a very easy thing to mess up on a grill; a tenderloin is so narrow and easily overcooked. But when you're in love, magical things happen and we imbue our food with qualities it might not really have. Here's the recipe anyway. Barbara Biondo (who is one of the most talented calligraphers on the planet -- her company is called American Art Studio) also makes another recipe -- and this one is from Little Meals. It's called Chicken Soup Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee. I made it for one of my appearances a long, long time ago. Someday I will share that recipe, too.
Roast Pork Tenderloin with Prune & Bay Leaves ( from Recipes 1-2-3)
In France, where the mention of prunes never causes a snicker, this dish would have a distinct bistro feel. Try with Hubbard squash and orange puree and crack open a bottle of white Burgundy. For a different style, serve it with caramelized endive and bacon and enjoy a glass of Beaujolais.
8 California bay leaves
15 large pitted prunes
1-1/2 pound pork tenderloin
Place the bay leaves and prunes in a bowl. Pour 1-1/2 cups boiling water over the top and let sit 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make a 1-inch-deep slit along the length of the tenderloin, leaving 1 inch uncut on each end. Remove the bay leaves and prunes from the water and pat very dry. Place the prunes in the bottom of the slit in a tight row. Crumble 1 bay leaf finely and sprinkle it over the prunes. Roll the meat and tie it tightly at 1-inch intervals. Season liberally with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove the remaining bay leaves in a row, under the strings. Oil the bottom of a rimmed baking sheet. Roast 30 to 35 minutes (or throw it on the grill as Barbara does!). Let it rest 5 minutes before slicing. Remove the bay leaves. Serves 4.
Upcoming events: Pastry Chef Awards; a dinner in honor of fresh figs at abckitchen; a dinner in honor of Chilean olive oil at Olives at the W; lunch at Gramercy Tavern, recipe testing for Cooking Light, pork chops for dinner tomorrow.
Rozanne Gold is an award-winning chef and author of 'Eat Fresh Food: Awesome Recipes for Teen Chefs;' 'Healthy 1-2-3,' and 'Radically Simple'
Rozanne can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RozanneGold.