Food & Wine USA - (03)March 2019

96 MARCH 2019

Fried Rabbit with Fish Pepper

Hot Honey

PHOTO P. 84

ACTIVE 30 MIN; TOTAL 50 MIN

SERVES 8

At his restaurants, Spike Gjerde uses fish

pepper, a spicy heirloom chile, in all kinds

of dishes. Here, the pepper infuses a hot

honey that’s perfect for drizzling over

breaded and fried rabbit loins. Find rabbit

loins at butcher shops or online at

dartagnan.com, or substitute 2 pounds

boneless, skinless chicken thighs,

trimmed and cut in half lengthwise.

1 / 2 cup clover honey

1 tsp. fish pepper flakes or crushed

red pepper

2 lb. boneless rabbit loin (about 16

pieces) or boneless, skinless

chicken thighs, halved lengthwise

41 / 4 tsp. medium-grind sea salt, divided

11 / 2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6^3 / 8

oz.), divided

(^3) / 4 cup cornstarch
3 / 4 tsp. baking powder
11 / 2 cups cold water
Canola oil, for frying

1. Stir together honey and fish pepper
   flakes in a small saucepan. Cook over
   medium, stirring occasionally, until very
   hot and runny, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove
   from heat, and set aside.


2. Toss rabbit loins with 2 teaspoons salt.
   Let rabbit loins stand at room tempera-
   ture 30 minutes.


3. Meanwhile, stir together^3 / 4 cup flour,
   cornstarch, baking powder, and 1^1 / 2 tea-
   spoons salt in a medium bowl. Add 1^1 / 2
   cups cold water, and whisk until a smooth
   batter forms. Pour oil into a large cast-
   iron skillet to a depth of^3 / 4 inch; heat over
   medium-high to 425°F.


4. Dredge about 5 rabbit loins in remain-
   ing^3 / 4 cup flour, shaking off excess. Dip
   rabbit in batter, allowing excess to drip
   off. Fry rabbit loins, turning occasionally,
   until golden brown and internal tempera-
   ture registers 150°F, about 4 minutes. (If
   using chicken thighs, cook to 165°F.)
   Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels,
   and sprinkle with^1 / 4 teaspoon salt. Repeat
   coating and frying process 2 times with
   remaining rabbit loins, flour, batter, and
   remaining salt. Serve hot, drizzled with
   fish pepper hot honey.

THE RINGLEADER from p. 89

Spicy Merguez Scramble with

Lemon-Harissa Yogurt and

Moroccan M’smen

TOTAL 20 MIN; SERVES 4

Merguez, a spicy Moroccan lamb sausage,

is heavily seasoned and flavors the scram-

ble with its spices, like cumin and corian-

der. Find an excellent version from

D’Artagnan at dartagnan.com. A recipe for

Moroccan M’smen follows, or order from

Hot Bread Kitchen at hotbreadkitchen

.com. In a pinch, substitute crumbly Mexi-

can chorizo for the merguez and serve the

scramble with warmed flour tortillas.

8 large eggs

Pinch of kosher salt

Pinch of black pepper

1 / 2 lb. merguez sausage, casings

removed

1 medium-size red bell pepper,

chopped

1 /^2 medium-size yellow onion, chopped

1 tsp. harissa

4 Moroccan M’smen (recipe follows),

warmed

1 / 2 cup Lemon-Harissa Yogurt (recipe

follows)

Chopped fresh mint

1. Whisk together eggs, salt, and black
   pepper in a medium bowl until frothy. Set
   aside.


2. Cook sausage in a large skillet over
   medium-high, stirring to break up pieces,
   until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer
   sausage to a plate lined with paper towels.
   Reserve 2 teaspoons drippings in skillet.


3. Reduce heat to medium. Add bell
   pepper and onion to skillet; cook, stirring
   often, until softened, about 5 minutes.
   Add harissa; stir to combine. Add eggs
   and cooked sausage; cook, stirring gently,
   until eggs are just set but still creamy,
   1 to 2 minutes.


4. To serve, place 1 warm Moroccan
   M’smen on each of 4 plates. Spoon
   scrambled egg mixture evenly onto
   m’smen; top evenly with Lemon-Harissa
   Yogurt. Garnish with mint.

AT MY TABLE from p. 98

Lemon-Harissa Yogurt

PHOTO P. 98

ACTIVE 10 MIN; MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP

This bright, spicy sauce comes together

quickly and can be made ahead for easy

assembly—just wait until you’re ready to use

it to add the mint.

1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt

1 Tbsp. lemon zest plus 1 Tbsp. fresh

lemon juice (from 2 lemons)

1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped

1 / 2 tsp. harissa

1 / 2 tsp. kosher salt

Pinch of black pepper

1 Tbsp. fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced

Stir together yogurt, lemon zest and juice,

garlic, harissa, salt, and pepper in a small

bowl until combined. Refrigerate, covered,

up to 2 days. Stir in mint just before serving.

Moroccan M’smen

PHOTO P. 98

ACTIVE 35 MIN; TOTAL 1 HR 20 MIN

SERVES 12

These flaky, buttery flatbreads work wonder-

fully as wraps for warm breakfast scrambles

or drizzled with honey and served with a cup

of tea. You can mix and divide the dough up

to 8 hours before shaping, allowing ample

time for the gluten to relax. M’smen also

freeze well once fully cooled—make extra and

keep them around for last-minute dinners.

4 cups all-purpose flour (about 17 oz.)

13 /^4 cups water

11 / 2 tsp. kosher salt

1 / 2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (about 4 oz.) plus^1 / 4

cup semolina flour, divided

6 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. canola oil, divided,

plus more

6 Tbsp. salted butter (3 oz.), melted

1. Place all-purpose flour, 1^3 / 4 cups water,
   salt,^1 / 2 cup plus 2 tablespoons semolina
   flour, and 2 teaspoons oil in a stand mixer fit-
   ted with a dough hook attachment; mix on
   low speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
   Increase speed to medium, and continue
   mixing until dough is smooth, shiny, and
   elastic and pulls away from sides of bowl,
   about 6 minutes.


2. Generously coat a rimmed baking sheet
   with oil. Coat a large smooth work surface
   with oil. (A granite, stainless steel, or For-
   mica countertop is ideal.) Transfer dough to
   oiled surface. Using oiled hands, divide
   dough into 12 (3-ounce) balls. Place balls 2