America's Test Kitchen

-Today on "America's Test Kitchen," we're celebrating Passover.

Carmen makes Julia chraime, Jack talks about bitter herbs, Adam reviews copper skillets, and Keith makes coconut macaroons with chocolate chips and almonds.

It's all coming up right here on "America's Test Kitchen."

-"America's Test Kitchen" is brought to you by the following.

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Visit us at surlatable.com.

-The spicy, saucy dish known as chraime is served across the Maghreb and Israel.

It's often served during Shabbat and Passover, but the beauty of poaching fish in a potently flavored sauce is something we all should enjoy.

So Carmen here is gonna tell us more.

-That's right, Julia.

Chraime is a Sephardic Jewish dish with many regional versions.

Our version uses a special blend of spices, some fresh ingredients, pantry staples, and easy-to-cook haddock.

-Mmm.

-So let's get started creating our flavorful broth by creating just a nice blend of vegetables here.

I'm gonna chop up a pepper, a jalapeo, and a small onion.

These ingredients really add to the dish just because they give you some freshness and also some color, some heat, some sweetness.

So all of these ingredients really play a special role here.

We're going to notice different sizes, as well.

The peppers get chopped a little bit bigger.

The onions get chopped a little bit smaller.

But that's okay.

They're gonna cook at the same time.

-Mm-hmm.

-And some people like to keep the seeds in.

But we have opportunities for spice later on so we can take those out with no problem.

But if you want to keep things extra spicy, go ahead and keep it in.

-Alright.

Not today.

-Not today.

We have other opportunities coming up.

So I'm just going to run this through with my knife just to make sure everything is nicely sized, because I essentially want these onions to melt into the sauce.

And if you cry, it's okay.

It's cleaning out your eyes.

-Are you a crier?

-I cry every single time.

-[ Laughs ] Not just about the onions?

-Not just about the onions.

I have a very healthy emotional spectrum.

[ Both laugh ] I'm gonna drop these right in here.

And if you would be so kind as to turn the heat up to medium for me.

Sure.

I see that the 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil are shimmering in our 12-inch skillet.

This is the perfect time to add our vegetables.

And they're all gonna go in together.

So it doesn't matter that they're different sizes.

That is fine.

We have 3/4 of a teaspoon of salt.

Just gonna put that right over top.

And that's gonna accelerate the cooking just a touch.

So, that's gonna cook for about 5 to 7 minutes until softened, but not browned.

And that gives us plenty of time to work on something extra-special.

This is the tabil spice blend.

So, "tabil" sometimes translates to "coriander."

Coriander is one of the main ingredients of this Tunisian spice blend.

So we have 3 1/2 tablespoons of coriander seeds that are gonna go right into this spice grinder; 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons of caraway seeds; and 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds.

[ Grinder whirring ] This makes about 1/2 cup.

We're not going to use all of it today, but you'll want to hold on to this because the recipe is so good, and it stores perfectly well in an airtight container for up to one month.

-It's probably used in a number of other recipes, as well.

-Absolutely.

This is great on fish.

It's great on chicken, and really it's nice on eggs, too.

-Ah.

-I use it a lot of times.

It's been 7 minutes, and these vegetables are perfectly softened.

We are ready to build upon this foundation that we've created with some spices, some pantry staples.

I have here 1/4 cup of tomato paste.

I have 6 minced garlic cloves.

-Ooh!

-So I have a lot of flavor there.

I have a tablespoon of our freshly ground tabil spice blend.

So we're gonna smell exactly how flavorful that is... -Mmm.

-...within just a couple of seconds.

Isn't it so good?

-Oh, I really love -- It's citrusy, it's woodsy.

-Yes.

-It has a little bit of bite to it, even on the nose.

-I love it so much.

We also have some Aleppo pepper... -Aha!

-...which provides that seasoning.

I have a full tablespoon here because I know you like spicy.

-Yes.

-If you want to adapt your spice tolerance, you can go down to 2 teaspoons, maybe 1 teaspoon.

-Mm-hmm.

-But we're professionals here.

We like to... -We are?!

Where?

[ Both laugh ] -We also have 2 teaspoons of paprika and just 1/4 teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper.

It's been about 20 seconds.

Alright, I'm adding a cup and a half of water here, just to make sure that we can create that flavorful broth.

We're not using chicken stock or anything like that, because we have enough flavor built right into this skillet.

I'm gonna go ahead and scrape up any browned bits.

-Look at the color of that.

-It's so vibrant.

So, I'm gonna bring this up to a simmer.

And once it's simmering, I can reduce that down and cover it.

And we're gonna let those flavors meld and come together over the course of 15 minutes.

This sauce is really coming together.

It just needs a couple more minutes.

So let's take care of our fish.

So I have here a pound and a half of boneless, skinless haddock.

So I'm gonna go ahead and cut that.

I have a ruler just to guide me if I need help.

But I usually cut one piece and then I will measure everything in relation to that.

If you don't have haddock, you can make this dish with many kinds of fish.

Cod or pollock are perfectly acceptable options.

Let's see if I did a good job.

Three.

Beautiful.

-On the nose.

So I'm just gonna use that.

And that's gonna help me with the rest of this.

This sauce is ready for our fish.

It's really come together.

So just get ready for that delicious smell.

What?

-Oho-ho!

-That's great.

So I'm gonna go ahead and put my thickest piece right here in the middle.

I'm gonna arrange my others around.

And I'm gonna want to get the sauce on top of every single fish fillet, as well.

-Mm-hmm.

-So.

you could use a spoon if you want, but I like to actually just use the divot of my tongs... -[ Laughs ] -...because I don't want to get things dirty.

I have enough going on.

-[ Laughs ] -[ Laughs ] -I am with you.

-So, I'm gonna go ahead and coat them and make sure they're covered.

I also have here 10 ounces of cherry tomatoes.

-Hmm.

-Cherry tomatoes are not traditional, but we chose to use them because they add a pop of bright acidity, and they're also available year-round.

How many times have you gone to the grocery store, end of January, and they still have beautiful cherry tomatoes available?

-Yeah, and they still taste sweet.

So they're kind of seasonless at this point.

-Absolutely.

I'm gonna go ahead and arrange these tomatoes evenly.

I'm gonna bring this up to a simmer.

And once simmering, I'm gonna reduce the temperature to low, cover it, and let that cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until my fish reaches a temperature of 135 degrees.

It's been 6 minutes.

We're looking for a temperature of 135 degrees.

-Mm-hmm.

-It's 136 degrees.

This fish is perfect.

I'm gonna take it out of this simmering sauce because I do not want it to overcook.

Thank you for turning the heat off.

-Yep.

-And very carefully placing it right here in my platter.

Look at how flaky this fish is.

This is meant for a holiday meal.

-Mm-hmm.

-We want to really highlight all the beautiful features of this.

So, now is the perfect time to taste my sauce and make sure it's well-seasoned.

[ Blows gently ] That's really good.

If it needed more salt or pepper, we can always add it at this point.

But here we have some delicate flavors that are spicy, sweet, perfect for this dish.

And I'm just gonna pour this sauce right over top.

-That is beautiful!

-Yeah.

This is really special.

For Shabbat, a lot of people enjoy this room-temperature... -Mm-hmm.

-...because, of course, Shabbat is a day of rest.

-Ahh.

-This is looking beautiful.

So, this is a perfect time to add some garnishes that are gonna really highlight the bright, flavorful notes of this dish.

I have half a cup of chopped cilantro.

-Mmm.

-I'm gonna put a little bit on top, but I'll save our -- a little bit more for our own individual plates.

And coriander and cilantro are from the same family.

So it makes sense here.

-True.

We have some extra virgin olive oil that's just gonna get drizzled right over top.

-[ Chuckling ] Oh!

That is a really elegant-looking platter.

-I would love to serve you some of this.

-Mmm.

-The chraime is smelling wonderful.

-Mm-hmm.

Pick me a juicy piece of fish.

-I'll pick you the juiciest.

-[ Laughs ] -And we're gonna add some more juice on top of that.

Fresh cilantro on top.

And I'll give you a fresh lemon wedge.

-Alright.

Oh, look at that.

The fish is so juicy, it just flakes right apart.

You can see how glisteny it is on the inside.

-It's juicy.

-Perfectly cooked.

-This is really good.

-Mmm.

Wow!

-Yeah.

-I have a blast of heat.

-Yeah.

-But then the tomatoes.

There's the cumin.

-Yeah.

-The coriander.

Oh!

-The Aleppo pepper.

-Yes.

-It's, like, peppery, bright.

It almost has, like this sweet cherry kind of note to it.

-Yeah!

Carmen, this is fantastic.

Thank you.

-It's my pleasure.

-If you want to make this flavorful and celebratory dish, start by making your own tibil spice.

Add flavor-packed tomato paste and spices to the sauted vegetables, and finish by simmering the haddock directly in the sauce.

From "America's Test Kitchen," a spicy and spectacular recipe for chraime.

I could totally have this on my birthday.

I might change my birthday meal.

-I think I'll have to come to your house then.

-[ Laughs ] -The Passover Seder is a meal filled with rituals, including the eating of bitter herbs -- or "maror," in Hebrew.

Now, the bitter herbs are to remind us of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt.

Before we talk some more about the actual Seder meal, I want to talk a little bit about bitterness, which I think is the most interesting of the five tastes that we perceive in our mouth.

That would be sweet and salty, sour, umami, and bitter.

And from an evolutionary perspective, the one that we're primed to reject is bitterness.

Think about it.

Babies love sweet things.

They do not like bitter things, because many toxins are actually bitter.

So there's a reason why we tend to avoid bitter foods.

That said, many of the antioxidants in leafy greens, the things that make them so nutritious, are bitter.

And so over time, we learn, as humans, to appreciate bitter foods, including things very grown-up, like coffee and alcohol.

Now back to the Seder.

There's a lot of discussion about what constitutes a bitter herb.

Some of the confusion comes from the translation of the original Hebrew words into modern English.

What plants were they actually eating and talking about so many hundreds of years ago?

The other thing is, it's changed over time with cuisines and cultures.

So in Sephardic traditions, in the Mediterranean, where it's warm, you might see cardoons as the representative on the table of the bitter herbs.

Cardoons are members of the thistle family, like artichokes.

Now, in Ashkenazi traditions, in Central or Eastern Europe, horseradish would be popular because, think about it, it's late winter, early spring in Poland or Russia, and there really aren't any bitter greens or herbs there.

And horseradish is the one thing that would be available.

And so while sources will cite everything from celery to parsley, the most common choices are here on the table.

And this would be the romaine lettuce, endive, which is a member of the chicory family, and finally the horseradish.

So now you know a little bit more about the bitter herbs on the Seder table.

Happy Passover.

-Highly conductive, absolutely beautiful and very expensive.

We're here today with Adam, and we're talking about copper skillets.

Did you win the lottery?

-And I spent it all in one shot on this testing.

-[ Laughs ] These things can get really expensive.

-Yeah, they sure can.

-You know, copper is legendary for a couple of reasons.

Number one, it's gorgeous.

-Yes, it is.

-Number two, it's expensive, as you said.

Number three, it's super conductive of heat.

Like, it responds really quickly to heat changes.

We're curious about how these fit into a modern 21st-century kitchen.

So we're doing a little testing here.

We have seven different skillets.

They're all roughly sort of the 11- to 12-inch size.

The price range was $100, which wasn't terrible, up to $435.

-Okay.

-Yeah, that's where you start to get expensive.

-That's more than I paid for my first car.

-[ Laughs ] Alongside all of these pans, we also tried all the cooking tests in our favorite traditional skill at the All-Clad D3... -Okay.

-...just to see how they compared.

Let's talk about copper in general first.

Number one, as I said, it is super conductive.

It's second only to silver in terms of heat-transfer speeds.

It's 1 1/2 times faster than aluminum, which is known to be really fast.

It's 25 times faster than stainless steel.

-Yeah, it's not just pretty.

It actually is there for a reason.

-It -- Totally.

-Right .

-It really responds to heat changes.

Number two, copper is seriously reactive to acids... -Hmm.

-...like vinegar or wine, something like that.

So it's always lined.

You just don't cook with an unlined copper skillet.

In the old days, it would be lined with tin like this.

-Right.

-You can still get these, but tin is kind of fragile.

This is one that we tested alongside the lineup, and look what happened.

-Yeah, I have an old copper skillet that I've had to have relined twice, so, yeah.

-Exactly.

So we recommend steering clear of tin and going for a stainless-steel lining, which is also non-reactive.

-Right.

-It's gonna be a lot tougher.

Copper is dense, so these pans tend to be fairly heavy.

-[ Chuckles ] Yes.

-They were close to twice the weight, on average, of our favorite All-Clad D3 traditional skillet.

That means that the handles are important because you're lifting a lot of pan here.

Traditionally, they would be something like this in cast iron.

-Right.

-You can also get them in stainless steel.

Testers did not have a huge preference, as long as the handle was comfortable and well-balanced.

Stainless-steel ones took a little longer to heat up.

So, you know, that's a slight benefit there.

-Okay.

Right.

-And as with any skillet, we like to have a generous cooking surface.

And in this group, that meant roughly 9 to 9.5 inches.

There are two types of construction among this group.

This is a copper-body pan with a stainless-steel lining.

Stainless steel slows down the responsiveness of copper.

That's seen by some companies to be sort of a drawback.

So they'll make a big point out of how thin a lining they can put on their pans.

-Oh, okay.

-In our testing, we actually found that it wasn't necessarily a drawback, because copper transfers heat vertically very quickly, and you can get hot spots in copper.

The stainless steel sends the heat out horizontally and evened out the heat.

-Just better dispersement.

-Better dispersement -- heat distribution.

-There we go.

-Exactly.

-If you want to go for the bling and you're willing to do the work and spend the money, this is the pan to go for.

-Right.

-This is the Mauviel M'heritage M200Ci round fry pan in the 11.9-inch size.

$435 -- not cheap, but very responsive.

A joy to cook with.

The food turned out beautifully.

-And these are almost indestructible at this point.

-Exactly.

This will last -- -You're gonna be passing it down.

-Great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren.

There's a second construction type.

These two pans are copper-clad, and that means that there's a very thin layer of copper on the inside, sandwiched between layers of aluminum and stainless steel.

And you can see there's just barely a little bit of copper visible at the bottom there.

-Yeah, somebody went at that with a copper Sharpie, I think.

[ Both laugh ] -A copper Sharpie.

There are certain benefits to this.

It's a little lighter than the super-heavy copper pans.

It's easier to handle.

It's certainly easier to maintain.

You don't have to polish copper, but you're gonna lose the bling factor.

-Sure.

-This one is the All-Clad Copper Core 5-Ply Bonded Fry Pan, 12 inches.

If this is the construction style that appeals to you more, $265 will buy you this pan.

It was a terrific performer.

It's just not gonna look quite as flashy.

-I gotcha.

-Well, you don't want to just hang these beautiful things on the wall.

You want to use them.

-Absolutely.

-There you go.

And if you want to buy the winner, it's the Mauviel M'heritage M200Ci round fry pan, 11.9-inch, and it retails for $435.

And our best copper-core option is the All-Clad Copper Core 5-Ply Bonded Fry Pan.

And that one is 12 inches and $265.

-Coconut macaroons are delicious, with a chewy, moist texture and pure coconut flavor, but they're also notoriously difficult to make.

But not to fear, because Keith is here and you have a foolproof recipe for us.

-I do have a foolproof recipe, and it's all about the sweetness.

-Mm-hmm.

-The sugar is what's in there.

It will give it moistness and chewiness.

But if you have too much sugar, well, it's achingly sweet... -Mm-hmm.

-...and you lose that coconut flavor.

-I hate those.

-Too little, it's dry and crumbly, and it falls apart.

-Yes!

-So it's all about balance.

-Okay.

-So, like I said, super simple to put together.

And it starts with egg whites.

I have 2 large egg whites.

Just gonna put those into a large bowl.

And I'm also gonna add 3 tablespoons of white sugar.

So that kind of ratio of 2 egg whites to 3 tablespoons of white sugar is the perfect balance.

Moist and chewy, not too dry.

And we like white sugar here because it's a very clean sugar.

-Mm-hmm.

-Doesn't provide a lot of flavor unto itself.

-Right.

You really want to taste the coconut.

-Exactly.

Coconut first, and then sweetness in the background.

So, to the sugar and egg whites, I'm gonna add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Almond extract... -Ooh!

-1/4 teaspoon.

Just a little bit of hint in the background.

And 1/2 teaspoon of table salt.

Now, all of these are gonna help bring out that coconut flavor.

And the flavor is gonna kind of be in the background and just accentuate the cookies.

-Okay.

-So, just want to whisk this together.

And all I'm doing here is I'm breaking up those egg whites so they're not thick.

-Mm-hmm.

-And we want to start to dissolve that sugar a little bit.

So I'm gonna whisk this for about 30 seconds, and you can see that it will start to get quite foamy.

Okay, that looks perfect.

Egg whites are broken up.

Now for the coconut.

We have two options when it comes to coconut.

We have sweetened and unsweetened.

-Mm-hmm.

-Now, you would figure that unsweetened would be good, but it's actually quite dry.

There's not a lot of moisture in there, so it makes for really dry cookies.

-Ah.

-So we're gonna use sweetened shredded coconut.

I have 2 1/3 cups here, which is 7 ounces, if you have a scale.

-Oh!

That smells good.

-So, we could mix this and bake these macaroons off, and it would be wonderful.

I'm going to put a little bit of a spin on it.

So, I have 1/2 cup of toasted slivered almonds here.

-Oh!

I see what you're doing there.

-Yeah.

And 1/3 cup of milk chocolate chips.

-Oho-ho-ho!

-You don't have to add these if you don't want to.

You can just go straight coconut, but that's fine.

But we're gonna put a little -- little spin on it.

So I'm just gonna take this and I'm gonna fold this together until everything is really well-incorporated.

And we get those egg whites distributed throughout all that coconut.

-Well, now it makes sense why you added a little bit of almond extract, too.

-Yep, yep, that will bring out those toasted almond flavors.

This mixture is a little moist, and it will make forming cookies a little bit difficult, so I'm gonna cover these, put this in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

And it'll allow that coconut to start to absorb some of that moisture and make a cohesive mixture.

It's been 30 minutes, and you can see that this mixture has firmed up a little bit, which means... -It really has.

-...it's time to portion our cookies.

So, I have a number-40 scoop here.

What I like is, you can compact the cookies into this bowl and scoop it out.

You want something that is kind of cohesive, not falling apart.

So, I'm gonna take this scoop and I'm just gonna mound it just slightly.

And we're looking to get 12 cookies here.

So I'm just gonna put these on a rimmed baking sheet that's lined with parchment and sprayed with vegetable-oil spray so we don't stick.

-Oh, yeah, you can really pack it into the ice cream scoop.

-Yeah, and you see we get these nice little mounds.

Now, it's okay if they have some little ragged bits on the side.

That's okay because that's the part that's gonna get nice and crispy and well-browned.

-I love that part.

-Yeah.

But just as long as they're kind of loosely holding together.

Okay, last cookie here.

I'm really kind of scraping the... -Love it!

You're not wasting anything.

-No.

Now, if you get to this point and you do find that you have more in the bowl... -Mm-hmm.

-...you can take moistened fingers and just kind of scrape this out and kind of put it right on top of here like that.

-Ooh!

-You can also just kind of clean this up a little bit.

I like to go back and clean these up just a little bit.

But they can be rustic.

They don't have to be perfect here.

Okay, These look great.

Now that our mounds are shaped, I'm gonna bake these in a 350-degree oven, on the middle rack, for 25 to 30 minutes, and I'm just gonna rotate them halfway through to make sure that they brown evenly.

It's been 25 minutes.

-Oh, goodness!

-These are looking wonderful.

-They really are.

-Nice and golden brown.

You can see those little crispy bits.

That's gonna be great.

-Now, tell me what you're looking for, in knowing that these are done baking.

-You're just looking for something to be golden brown, right?

So, you have these nice little crispy edges right here.

-Mm-hmm.

-And that will ensure, like, a nice crisp outside and a nice tender, chewy inside.

-Ah, the dual texture.

-Exactly.

So, we're gonna let this sit for 5 minutes.

Because if I try to take this off the rack right now, they're gonna fall apart because they're still warm.

So we'll let these sit on the rack for 5 minutes.

And then I'm gonna take them and put them on a wire rack and let them cool fully for about 20 minutes.

Our cookies have cooled for 20 minutes, and I've transferred them over to this beautiful platter.

-Mm-hmm!

-And now it's time to try these.

-Mmm!

Mm-hmm.

I mean, one, it's holding together, and it has that classic chewy bottom where the sugars have caramelized, but that strong coconut flavor in the middle.

-You get the coconut, and then you have the crunchy almonds in there... -Mm-hmm.

-...and just little pockets of chocolate.

It's absolutely perfect.

-Mm-hmm.

-Again, 3 tablespoons of sugar is all you need to get that really nice chewy texture.

-Mmm.

-But it's also really moist.

-Mm-hmm.

Keith.

these are brilliant.

Thank you.

-You're welcome.

-If you want to make these amazing coconut macaroons, start by whisking the egg whites and sugar together until foamy.

Stir in sweetened coconut, almonds, and chocolate chips, and let that batter chill for 30 minutes before baking.

From "America's Test Kitchen," coconut macaroons with chocolate chips and almonds.

You can get this recipe and all the recipes from this season, along with our product reviews and select episodes, at our website, americastestkitchen.com/tv.

Only makes 12, huh?

[ Laughs ] -You could double it if you want to.

-Ooh!

-Yeah.

-Let us help you with dinner tonight.

Visit our website anytime for the newest season's failproof recipes, whole episodes, ingredient advice, and equipment reviews at americastestkitchen.com/tv.

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Slow-churned with 82% butterfat for a smooth texture and more pliability for flaky crusts.

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-Sur La Table, where you can discover an assortment of provisions for your next meal or gathering, from cookware and tools from a wide variety of kitchen brands to hands-on cooking classes, visit us at surlatable.com.