Seattle Press on Line - Summer Cooking

Good Food

Cooking with Viggo

Summer Cooking

By Chef Viggo Anderson

Chef Viggo Anderson

Jul 27, 2000 -- The pleasure of summer cooking is its casual simplicity and lightness, the company of friends on the deck, around the picnic table or by the barbecue grill in the backyard.

Time stands still in the summer in the Pacific Northwest, and autumn's cold snaps seem to come too quickly. Yet there remain those days when the salmon are plentiful, steaming Dungeness crabs are piled and consumed at the picnic table, and peaches, nectarines and berries fill kitchens with heavenly fragrance.

"To dine with a glacier on a summer day is a glorious thing and makes common feasts of meat and wine ridiculous. The glacier eats hills and drinks sunbeams." -John Muir

The thought of summer in the Northwest brings smiles to natives and newcomers alike, and the cook is overwhelmed with the variety and quality of superb vegetables and fruits.

Summer samplers of poultry, meats, fruits and berries capture the love of summer in all of us. Pies and tarts cooked with richness of fresh ice cream will be remembered long after the sun-washed days have past.

Grilled Coho Salmon with Sugar Snap Peas and Corn
Serves 4

1 ear sweet corn
1 cup sugar snap peas, (or 3/4 cup shelled peas)
Four 6 oz Coho fillets
Peanut oil for brushing
Salt and pepper to taste
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon minced fresh chives
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley

Prepare your charcoal grill. Shuck the corn and scrape the kernels off the cob with a sharp knife.

Shell half of the peas. When the coals are hot and ready, brush the Coho fillets with the oil, season, and grill for three minutes over the hottest part of your grill. Turn, brush with oil again and grill for three more minutes. Then move the fillet to the side where it is not so hot or turn down the grill, and cook until the fillets are barely opaque in the center.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small skillet until it is foamy, then add the peapods, shelled peas, and corn.

Season and toss until tender, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the minced herbs. Slowly add the remaining butter and, stirring gently with a wooden spoon, adjust with seasoning.

Spoon the sauce equally onto 4 plates. Lay a fillet on each and garnish with the sauteed vegetables. Serve immediately.

Peach and Nectarine Gratin with Raspberry Coulis
serves 4
(if there is a paradise, this must be a glimpse of it)

2 ripe peaches
2 ripe nectarines
2 cups raspberries
2 tablespoons sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon dry white wine
powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat the broiler. Peel and remove the pits from the peaches and nectarines and slice them evenly into thin, delicate slices. Puree half of the raspberries in a blender with one tablespoon of the sugar and a few drops of water until smooth, strain out the seeds, and set aside. Arrange the peach and nectarine slices neatly in four gratin dishes or soup bowls.

Combine egg yolks, the other tablespoon of sugar and the white wine in a heatproof mixing bowl. With the bowl immersed in boiling water over low heat, whip vigorously until thick and foamy.

Spoon the egg yolk mixture over the fruits , covering them lightly. Place the dishes under the broiler for one to two minutes or until the glaze is lightly browned.

Garnish with the remaining raspberries , spoon a small amount of raspberry puree on each dish, dust with the powdered sugar and serve immediately.

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