Executive Chef Leah Caplan

Recipes

Chef Leah Caplan’s Fall Recipes

Leah’s Local Whitefish Boil (with flavor!)
While a traditional Door County Fish Boil is big on tradition and excitement it does lack a little in the flavor and texture departments. If you’re looking for both, give this recipe a try!

Court Bouillon (can be made up to 3 days ahead)

4 qts water
1 cup dry white wine
¼ cup white vinegar
1 ½ cups thinly sliced onion
¾ cup thinly sliced carrot
1 cup coarsely chopped, well washed leeks
1 cup coarsely chopped celery
8 whole black peppercorns
4 thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
2 peeled garlic cloves
1/8 t cayenne pepper
6 parsley sprigs plus any additional parsley stems
2 T sea salt
(optional: heads and tales from fish)

Combine all.  Cover and boil for 15 minutes.  Let cool, then strain, reserving liquid.

Local Whitefish boil  (serves 4)
Court Bouillon
2-4 pounds whole gutted trap net-caught Great Lakes whitefish, cut crosswise into 1-2 inch pieces
1 pound red potatoes,
1/2 pound carrots, sliced into coins
1/2 pound onions, sliced in wedges

Sauce: tartar, cucumber dill mayonnaise, mustard sauce, lemon wedges or herb vinaigrette

Add potatoes  and onions to boiling court bouillon, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are almost done.  Add carrots.  Return to boil and immediately and carefully slide fish into pot.  Cover and immediately turn heat way down and gently poach 10 minutes (liquid should be hot, but not bubbling or moving at all). Turn off heat and let the fish stand in the cooking water 10 minutes more before serving. Either remove fish and vegetables with a slotted spoon or ladle some broth with the fish and vegetables into a bowl. Serve with one or many sauces and some good rye bread.

Penne alla Zucca (Roman Pasta with Pumpkin Sauce)

3 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 ea Onion, finely chopped
1ea Garlic Clove
4 C Local Squash or Pumpkin (Butternut, eg.), peeled, seeded and roughly chopped

1 C Water
¼ t Crushed Red Chile Pepper
½ t Sea Salt
¼ t Freshly Grated Nutmeg
2 T Fresh Sage
1/3 C Grated Parmesan Sarvecchio

1 # Penne Pasta (or gnocchi)
1 gallon Boiling Water, well salted

In a large sauté pan, over medium heat, cook onion in olive oil until very soft and translucent.  Meanwhile, in a food processor fitted with a knife blade, pulse the squash and garlic together in two batches  until very fine.  Add to onions with water, chile, salt and  nutmeg.  Cover and simmer about ten minutes until squash is very soft and of a sauce-like consistency.  Stir in sage.

Cook pasta until just tender.  Strain reserving 1 cup of pasta cooking liquid.  Add pasta to hot sauce in pan, stir and cook over high heat, adding cooking liquid if necessary, until pasta is coated.  Stir in Parmesan Sarvecchio and serve.