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America's Test Kitchen Season 26 Episode 24
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Short filmTranscript
00:04I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
00:36Today on America's Test Kitchen, Nick makes Julia tandoori salmon, Hannah and Lisa talk
00:43about the best kitchen gear for under $15, Jack talks all about yogurt, and Lon makes
00:50Bridget broiled smashed zucchini with garlicky yogurt.
00:53It's all coming up right here on America's Test Kitchen.
01:03Clay ovens called tandoor ovens date back at least 5,000 years, and tandoori cooking refers
01:09to food that's been marinated in yogurt and spices and then cooked in a tandoor oven.
01:14But today Nick's got something special up his sleeve because he's going to show us his
01:18recipe for tandoori salmon, but you're not using a clay oven.
01:21Absolutely no, because it's so difficult to cook with a tandoor oven inside the house,
01:25so I've developed a method where you can cook it at home in your oven, and it's Indian
01:29barbecue at its best.
01:30So let's start with the salmon and bring this dish to life.
01:33Okay.
01:34First, I'm going to prepare brine using baking soda.
01:37That's different from our usual brines that have salt.
01:39Now why baking soda?
01:40Baking soda is a magical ingredient when it comes to brining.
01:43What it'll do is that it'll provide the same electric charges on the surface of the fish
01:47protein, which helps it hold moisture, and you get this beautiful, juicy, flaky texture
01:51once it's cooked.
01:52First, I'm going to take one quart of water and dissolve two tablespoons of baking soda
01:57to make our brine.
02:00And now I'm going to completely submerge four six to eight ounce salmon fillets with
02:05their skin on.
02:05Okay.
02:06And leave this in the brine for about 15 minutes at room temperature.
02:11While the fish is brining, I'm going to start preparing the marinade for a tandoori salmon.
02:15To do this, the first thing that I'm going to do is take a red beet to get that bright
02:19red color that comes in tandoori dishes.
02:20Yes.
02:20We're going to use this as our secret ingredient.
02:23I love that because tandoori food really has that pink tinge, both from the spices, but
02:27also from the smoke of the tandoor oven.
02:30And the beet contains a pigment called betaline, which is water soluble, so to prevent my hands
02:34from getting stained, I'm going to rub them with a little bit of oil and then start working
02:39on it.
02:39Okay.
02:40I'm first going to peel the beet and then I'm going to trim the ends.
02:46Now I'm going to grate the beet on a fine rasp grater.
02:50Okay.
02:52And I'm going to collect about three tablespoons of pulp.
02:56Now I'm going to squeeze out two tablespoons of beechers and then what's left behind, I'm
03:01just going to discard it.
03:02Okay.
03:02I'm going to go wash my hands before we move on to the next step of this recipe.
03:06Sounds good.
03:07Now I'm going to heat an eight-inch rice skillet over medium heat.
03:11And I'm going to toast two teaspoons of garam masala until it turns fragrant, about one minute.
03:17Now I'm going to add it straight directly into the bowl with our beet juice.
03:21Okay.
03:22The next step is to prep the ginger.
03:24I'm going to start by peeling our ginger.
03:28Now I'm going to grate the ginger until I get about two teaspoons and then add that directly
03:32to the bowl to prepare our marinade.
03:37Now I want you to smell one key ingredient that goes into this marinade.
03:42Okay.
03:42It's an ingredient that's used in a lot of tandoori dishes and a lot of North Indian dishes
03:46like butter chicken.
03:47Well, that smells good.
03:49What does it remind you of?
03:51Something familiar.
03:52I can't quite put my finger on it.
03:54A little bit sweet.
03:55Uh-huh.
03:56You're on the right track.
03:57Yeah.
03:57What is that scent?
03:59So these are the leaves, the dried leaves from the fenugreek plant and it smells of maple
04:05syrup.
04:05It does.
04:06That was it.
04:07And that's because it shows the same chemical, sotalon.
04:10Sotalon gives it that sweet aroma and that's what you smell in a lot of these North Indian
04:14dishes, especially tandoori.
04:16I'm going to crush it into a fine powder and then add it to the marinade.
04:20Now, if you can't find kasuri methi, just leave it out in the recipe.
04:23Don't use fenugreek seeds because that'll destroy your dish.
04:26Gotcha.
04:26That's too potent.
04:28I'm adding one and a half tablespoons of lemon juice right now for brightness and balance.
04:33One tablespoon vegetable oil, two minced garlic cloves, two teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder.
04:42That's what's going to give it that lovely smoky flavor.
04:45Now I'm going to add one teaspoon of table salt and then finally one fourth teaspoon of
04:53ground green cardamom.
04:54Hmm.
04:56That's a lot of spice in there.
04:58It's going to be so good.
05:00The fish has been brining for 15 minutes.
05:03I'm now going to rinse it under running tap water to get rid of the baking soda on the surface.
05:11And I'll transfer it to this baking sheet lined with paper towels.
05:16Nice.
05:17Now I'm going to pat the fish dry.
05:21I have to feel the fish to feel if it's changed in texture.
05:23Oh, it's silky feeling on the outside.
05:26It's very soft.
05:26Yeah.
05:27It feels almost like soft butter.
05:28Yeah.
05:29The next step, I will transfer the fish to this sheet lined with aluminum foil and then
05:35we'll prep the whole fish on here.
05:36Gotcha.
05:38Now I'm going to brush the surface of the fish well with one fourth cup of fresh lemon
05:42juice and let it drip over the sides.
05:44What this lemon juice will do, it'll neutralize any baking soda that's on the surface.
05:48Aha.
05:48And it'll prevent the discoloration of that beautiful red color from our beets.
05:52Gotcha.
05:53Now it's time to apply the marinade onto the fish.
05:56I'm going to spoon it over and even it out on the surface.
06:00What a gorgeous color that is.
06:03I can already smell the spices and it's not even cooked.
06:05Mm-hmm.
06:07And I'm going to also apply the spice mix onto the sides of the fish so we get it completely
06:12coated.
06:13Boy, that little offset spatula is really helpful here.
06:16It's like making a cake, right?
06:18Like frosting a cake.
06:19Same thing.
06:20Now it's time to cook the fish.
06:22And to do this, I'm going to cook it on the upper rack in the oven about eight inches
06:25away from the broiler element so the fish will broil and I will cook it for eight to
06:30ten minutes rotating halfway through until the internal temperature reaches 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
06:35Gotcha.
06:35So the hot heat of the broiler is mimicking that hot heat of a tandoor oven.
06:39Oh, yeah.
06:39And we're going to get the char on top.
06:46Oh, Nick, that smells incredible.
06:48Look at the char.
06:55Now I'm going to check the fish for doneness.
06:57Mm-hmm.
06:57And to do this, I am going to check the temperature and see if it reaches 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
07:04Perfectly cooked.
07:04And 125 is what you're aiming for, for farm-raised salmon.
07:08If you're using wild salmon, which should also work here, you want to aim for a slightly lower
07:12temperature, around 120.
07:13And there's another way to check it.
07:15You can check the texture by taking the tip of a paring knife and pressing it against the
07:19fish and you want that buttery, flaky texture.
07:21Oh, yeah.
07:21Now that a fish is cooked, it's time to eat.
07:24Love it.
07:24Are you ready?
07:25It's my favorite time.
07:26Gorgeous.
07:27It looks like it came right out of a tandoor oven, which run really hot.
07:31That's how you get this nice char.
07:33We're going to eat the tandoori salmon with cilantro rice and a lime pickle.
07:38Lime pickles.
07:39And lime pickles are a really great accompaniment.
07:42You can find them in supermarkets, but also you could make your own.
07:44And that recipe is on our website.
07:47Oh, look how tender and perfectly cooked that fish is.
07:51It's like butter, right?
07:52Like a slice of butter falling off.
07:54Mmm.
07:57The texture of the brined fish is so silky.
08:01I don't think I've had a silkier piece of salmon.
08:03And the flavor on the outside, it's just enough.
08:07It doesn't overpower the salmon at all, but you taste the spices.
08:11You get a little bit of that texture.
08:13And the smokiness.
08:14Mm-hmm.
08:14Ooh, that lime pickle adds a nice little citrusy punch.
08:19It goes perfectly with the richness of the salmon.
08:22And it's a great way, instead of just serving the fish with a fresh lemon or a lime,
08:26you've got the lime pickle on the side, but it adds so much more flavor.
08:29Nick, this is fabulous.
08:31Thank you for showing me how to make it.
08:32Absolutely.
08:33If you'd like to make this wonderful recipe for an indoor tandoori salmon,
08:37start by soaking the fish in a baking soda brine.
08:40Make a marinade using beet juice and a handful of spices.
08:43Then broil the salmon just until it registers 125 degrees.
08:48From America's Test Kitchen, Nick's fabulous recipe for tandoori salmon.
08:54I love all the flavors.
09:01Want a bigger bang for your buck?
09:03Here are some of the most useful, affordable pieces of kitchen equipment you can buy.
09:08These are all tested winners, and better yet, they all cost under $15.
09:13I have to share this quirky little gadget that always comes through for me.
09:18This is the Amco Swing Away Jar Opener.
09:21And this thing is terrific.
09:23I don't have to ask anybody to help me open jars anymore.
09:27You just adjust it to the size of the jar, squeeze it, and turn.
09:33Effortless.
09:34Let's talk about one of my favorite things, the Nordic Ware quarter sheet pan.
09:38This is probably the most used pan in my kitchen right now.
09:40I cook 95% of the time in the toaster oven.
09:43This fits right in there.
09:44It's a lot easier to wash and handle than a big rimmed baking sheet.
09:48But it is the smaller sibling of our big winner, so it has the same sturdy construction, rolled rim.
09:54This is a commercial pan.
09:56You can get a little tailored cooling rack right for it.
10:00Add a lid on top.
10:02And the whole thing's a storage container.
10:04We have tested a lot of paring knives over the years, and some of them cost upward of $100.
10:10But not this little guy from Victorinox, which is about $7.
10:14It is so easy to use.
10:16It's slim.
10:17It's light.
10:18It's nimble.
10:19It really becomes an extension of your hand.
10:22Now let's talk about kitchen scales.
10:24Weighing your ingredients is one way to accuracy.
10:26This is really important for baking in particular.
10:29And a great kitchen scale can actually be pretty expensive.
10:32This little one right here from Ozeri only cost about $11.
10:36It was very easy to use.
10:38Great, clear, bright digital display.
10:41It reads in grams or ounces, whatever your preference is.
10:45And it was really easy to wipe clean.
10:46We love this little thing.
10:48So with all these ideas for great gear under $15, we hope you'll enjoy upgrading your kitchen
10:53without breaking the bank.
10:54For full testings and more information, head to our website.
11:03Yogurt is a very old ingredient that dates back to at least 6,000 BCE.
11:09Fast forward and today you'll find a wide variety of types and brands of yogurt on the supermarket shelves.
11:16And Jack's here to tell us more.
11:17This is going to be super fun.
11:19It is.
11:19Because we tasted 18 different brands from all around the world.
11:23And they're tremendously different.
11:25So these are all plain, whole milk yogurts.
11:28But we've found that they're really different.
11:30I want you to start at the far end here.
11:32Okay.
11:32There are four ways that these are going to be different from each other.
11:35First, tartness.
11:37Some of them are much tarter than others.
11:39And that's really about the cultures they're using, the temperature that they're incubating those cultures in.
11:44And so it's all about the bacteria.
11:46Gotcha.
11:46Okay.
11:46Not about the milk, more about the bacteria.
11:48It is about the bacteria.
11:49The second factor we noticed is some of them were significantly sweeter.
11:54Now that's a little different than less tart.
11:56They actually were sweeter.
11:57And we found that that's from adding nonfat milk solids.
12:01So they all have more milk sugars in them.
12:03Okay.
12:04And look at the sugar content.
12:05There's no added sugar to these, but they have more natural sugar because there's more milk in them basically.
12:11So we've got tartness level, sweetness level.
12:15Next up, we've got richness.
12:18Now some of these, these are all whole milks.
12:20Okay.
12:20So they're all a minimum of 3% fat level.
12:23But some of them are closer to 5% and they're getting there with cream.
12:27Interesting.
12:28So you add cream to whole milk yogurt and it's very, very rich.
12:33Oh.
12:33Cool.
12:34And lastly, thickness.
12:36And so there are two ways to control the thickness.
12:39The first, you can strain the yogurt.
12:41Greek yogurt, Icelandic yogurt, they're strained and the whey is removed and so they are much thicker.
12:47The other way is you could add pectin.
12:49And so you get a sort of firmer texture.
12:51It's a little bit different.
12:52The way you can tell whether it's been strained or pectin is one.
12:56Do you see pectin in the ingredient list?
12:58The other is the strained yogurts have a much higher protein content because all of that whey is sort of
13:04upping up the overall.
13:06So you're getting rid of the water and so you're getting more protein in every spoonful.
13:10Gotcha.
13:10So I've been talking, you've been tasting.
13:13Mm-hmm.
13:14So first of all, they are different from each other?
13:16They're very different.
13:17I mean this one starts out as the loosest of the bunch and this one has the texture of sour
13:23cream.
13:23I can imagine this making incredible desserts because it is so rich.
13:28It is so creamy and it's delicious but I don't think I could eat that as my breakfast yogurt.
13:32I think it would be too over the top.
13:34Well, I think that's one of the things why these are different is based on the culture they're coming from
13:38and the way they're being used in that culture, they want something different, right?
13:42And that might impact as you're saying, you know, is this something you're going to sit down with a bowl
13:47of granola
13:47or are you drizzling this over a soup?
13:49Yeah.
13:50This would be a great drizzler.
13:51It is acidic.
13:52I could see pairing it with lime juice, cilantro, making it into sort of a crema of sorts.
13:58Again, I don't know that I'd sit down to granola and berries with this, although that would be good, but
14:02it's delicious.
14:03Okay.
14:04This one tastes milkier than the others.
14:07It almost has a watery finish, but it doesn't look watery.
14:11It's just milder in flavor.
14:13Okay.
14:14I think it would be great with berries because it's just really mild.
14:16This one, let's see.
14:20Mmm.
14:22That one's good.
14:23This one has a sour cream.
14:25It's a bit more sour.
14:27Not tart, but just sour.
14:29And I like that.
14:30Okay.
14:31All right.
14:32This one's just straight up dessert.
14:34Mmm.
14:35Mm-hmm.
14:36So we're going to do things a little differently.
14:38Okay.
14:38It's a quiz.
14:40Uh-oh.
14:40Uh-oh.
14:40All right.
14:42So one of these, I want you to say, is the tart one.
14:45Mm-hmm.
14:46One is the sweet one.
14:47One is the rich one.
14:49And one is the thick one.
14:51Rich, now think about creaminess.
14:53Okay.
14:55So let's start with the tart one.
15:00I'd say this one's tart.
15:01Yeah.
15:02So that is the Bulgarian yogurt.
15:04It's from a company called Trimona.
15:06And it is 10 times tarter than the mildest yogurt.
15:10And again, this is all about the type of culture and the way that they are sort of fermenting
15:15the milk.
15:15Yeah.
15:16So the sweet one.
15:17That one's going to be harder for me to figure out, actually.
15:20Okay.
15:20You want to do the richest one or the thickest one?
15:23I can't tell if this is the richest or the thickest.
15:25I know.
15:26Because it's kind of both.
15:26Well, they're similar to each other, but it's really about the amount of fat that's
15:30in there.
15:32It's definitely the thickest.
15:34I don't know that it's the richest.
15:36Now, I'm changing my tune.
15:37Because I said it was really rich, but I think I was thinking about the texture, not
15:41the richness.
15:43Mm.
15:45Rich, thick, sweet.
15:50You are four for four.
15:51Really?
15:52I mean, like, all right.
15:53So let's start down here.
15:54So this is the Icelandic yogurt.
15:56This is Siggy's.
15:57Oh, okay.
15:57It's strained.
15:58It's got the super high protein content, and it's got a really thick texture.
16:04It's delicious.
16:05It's delicious.
16:06This is a Turkish yogurt from a company called Merv, and this has got cream in it.
16:11It's almost 5% fat content, and it's just decadent.
16:15It is.
16:16It just sits on the tongue so nicely.
16:19Yeah.
16:19So this is an Indian yogurt company called Desi, and this has the nonfat milk solids.
16:26There we go.
16:26I said it tasted milky.
16:28Yeah.
16:28And so, which, if you look at this on a label perspective, it has a higher sugar content.
16:32Again, there's no added sugar, but it's the sugar from the nonfat milk solids.
16:36And then down here, we have the Bulgarian yogurt from a company called Trimona, and this is by
16:42far the most acidic yogurt that we tasted.
16:44It's got that super horrible texture, and it's just, it's a lot of personality.
16:50Yeah, it is.
16:50What fun, and I can really picture all these yogurts being used in different recipes.
16:55Yeah, this is super fun, and I think you see that even though plain whole milk yogurt seems like it
16:59should be the same,
17:00they're wildly different from each other.
17:02That's awesome.
17:03Thank you, Jack.
17:03You're welcome, Julia.
17:10Anybody can take lemons and turn them into lemonade, but can you?
17:14You turn zucchini into something spectacular.
17:17I'm interested in this technique because Lon's here, she's got a method that's going to make a zucchini dish I'll
17:23never forget.
17:24Bridget, this is going to be the most interesting zucchini dish you've ever had.
17:27We're going to do some smashed zucchini today.
17:30I've never heard of smashed zucchini.
17:31I hadn't either until I was assigned zucchini fritters, got frustrated, and started smashing zucchini.
17:36You're like, I'm not going to grate. I'm going to smash?
17:39Yeah.
17:39Okay.
17:40So we're just going to take our two pounds of zucchini and give it a good smash.
17:44Now, you can't go at it too hard because then the zucchini goes flying all over the kitchen.
17:49But I'm just looking to flatten it and kind of crack them open.
17:52Okay.
17:55You can see why this is nice when you're annoyed with your recipe, right?
17:59Oh, yeah.
18:00Next up, I'm just going to trim the ends.
18:02This is going to make taking these apart a little bit easier.
18:07And the goal here is to get pieces that are not uniform.
18:12I just want to break them up and I'll dump them into this bowl right here.
18:15And really I'm just looking for two to four pieces.
18:18I'm not concerned about how even they are.
18:20We're not looking for uniformity.
18:23That's it. That's the prep.
18:24This is kind of amazing.
18:25So I'm going to dress this zucchini.
18:28I've got two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
18:32And then I have four teaspoons of lemon juice just right over the top.
18:36And we'll give this a nice little toss.
18:38Okay.
18:40Next up, we're going to cook our zucchini and I'm going to broil it on this baking sheet.
18:46I've got it lined with foil to make clean up a little bit easier.
18:49And I just want to arrange these so that they're skin side down.
18:52I found that if they went in kind of haphazardly and skin side up, the skin would get kind of
18:58tough and leathery.
18:59And it just wasn't all that pleasant to eat.
19:03Last up before this goes in the oven is some salt.
19:06I've got two teaspoons of kosher salt here.
19:09And rather than seasoning in the bowl, I want to make sure that the big pieces get more salt than
19:14the little pieces.
19:15And the easiest way to do that is to use my fingers to just season.
19:19So this is two teaspoons of kosher salt.
19:23Right.
19:23So now this is going to go under the broiler.
19:26I've got the oven racks at about five inches from the element.
19:29I just want the zucchini to get lightly charred in spots.
19:32It's going to take nine to 12 minutes and I'm going to give them a spin halfway through.
19:39Look at that.
19:40Oh, wow.
19:42Yeah.
19:42So just nice bit of charring on there.
19:45This is going to hang out until it cools because it's a little hot right now.
19:48That's going to take maybe 15, 20 minutes.
19:51While that's hanging out, we're going to make the dressing for this salad.
19:54Okay.
19:55Really simple.
19:56I've just got four ingredients.
19:57This is plain Greek yogurt, half a cup of it.
20:00And to this, I'm adding two tablespoons of water.
20:03I find that the water just kind of makes it silkier.
20:05Half a teaspoon of minced garlic.
20:09And a quarter teaspoon of kosher salt.
20:12Quick whisk.
20:16So that's it.
20:17This needs 10 minutes to hang out.
20:19That's going to give the garlic time to kind of permeate the dressing.
20:22All right, Bridget, our zucchini is cooled.
20:25I'm going to cut it up now because this is a salad.
20:28And you know how these pieces are non-uniform?
20:31I actually like to do knife cuts that emphasize that so that you just get something that's a little bit
20:37more interesting.
20:37It feels like a little sad to have perfectly uniform square pieces when this dish is all about irregularity.
20:46Irregularity, texture, interest.
20:49Yeah.
20:49Yes.
20:50So our dressing has sat for 10 minutes.
20:52And rather than dressing the zucchini, I'm going to dress the plate.
20:56Okay.
20:56I find that with something this thick and creamy, putting the dressing down on the plate lets everyone get a
21:03bite,
21:03but the flavor of the zucchini itself isn't obscured.
21:05Your tongue isn't hitting dressing first.
21:08Yes.
21:09It's just a nice way to make the salad look as pretty as it tastes.
21:13So the zucchini is going to go right on top.
21:16You can just kind of make a nice little pile.
21:19I really like to use a nice big platter for this.
21:23Some of these pieces are lighter and fresher, and some of them have really cooked down and become more concentrated.
21:29And you're going to be able to taste that difference when you go to have the salad.
21:34I've got a couple of garnishes here.
21:36This is a quarter cup of toasted chopped hazelnuts, and they've been skinned.
21:42I have some chopped fresh dill.
21:44Now you can use any fresh herbs you got.
21:46You can use as much or as little as you have.
21:50And then last up, a little bit of Aleppo pepper.
21:53Ooh.
21:54Just for a touch of heat, a little bit of color.
21:58And then just for bonus richness, extra virgin olive oil.
22:03You can use as much or as little as you want.
22:06You ready to try this?
22:07Yeah.
22:08That is beautiful.
22:09All right.
22:10I'm going to first go for this little chard piece.
22:13Yeah, the little chard piece there.
22:19How do you make zucchini interesting?
22:22Right?
22:22It's so fun.
22:24Like, as you're eating, pay attention to how the different pieces kind of have different flavors.
22:28The little ones that get more cooked under the broiler, they're kind of sweet, almost butternut splashy.
22:34You can tell that they're related.
22:36That's definitely true.
22:37And then those bigger pieces that are just kind of warmed through, they have this kind of light melony, cucumbery
22:43vibe, more summery flavors.
22:44I love it.
22:45I love that it's just, it's not boring.
22:49And it tastes like zucchini.
22:51The yogurt dressing, the dill is fantastic.
22:55My favorite part is the little bit of char that I get from some of the zucchini.
22:59Not all of it, but from some of the zucchini.
23:02It's just a nice little nod.
23:03Almost tastes as if it's been on the grill.
23:05It's got that little burnt flavor to it that's just absolutely perfect.
23:10Thank you so much, Lon.
23:11This is the most interesting zucchini dish I've ever seen.
23:14Period.
23:15Probably the most interesting salad I've ever seen.
23:18And you're the most interesting person I've ever met.
23:20Oh.
23:21If you want to make this smashing recipe at home, it starts by using a meat pounder to crack and
23:27flatten zucchini.
23:28Broil with lemon and olive oil until charred.
23:31And then serve with a garlic and yogurt sauce finished with hazelnuts, dill, and Aleppo pepper.
23:36So from America's Test Kitchen, broiled smashed zucchini with garlicky yogurt.
23:42You can get this fantastic recipe and all the recipes from this season, along with product reviews and select episodes.
23:49And you'll find them all on our website, americastestkitchen.com slash TV.
23:56All right.
23:56What are you smashing next?
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