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From SCA website |
One thing I really enjoyed about Chef KG’s kitchen is the ability to choose our own entrees to prepare for classmates. In typical form, I decided to do things that were a little bit above my pay grade. Why not? I’m learning, and if I crash and burn, it’s better to do so in an area with a lifeguard (Chef KG) to save me. Or roll his eyes and shake his head.
So, knowing this, I decided to make a rice biryani with saag paneer (Food network recipe), a braised leek, porcini, and chicken on pappardelle pasta (inspired by the Herbfarm), a vegan spaghetti bolognese (for my vegetarian classmate Lyle), and snapper en papillote (inspired by Andre, a 5Q student, and an Herbfarm recipe). I researched at least two versions of each recipe, except for the Herbfarm recipes, and I had cooked each of the items, in some form or another, before trying it at school. Then I gathered input from my chefs at school and from classmates whose food I trusted.
The result: the dishes were all successful! Well, with some teachable moments, of course.
Rice Biryani with Saag Paneer: Chef wasn’t especially stoked about the look of my overcooked biryani (yes, Virginia, you do have to pay attention to rice and water ratios, and they’re different for each rice) – “What’s that white stuff?” he asked, eyebrows raised. Okaaaaaay, I may be the first Asian girl he met who cannot cook rice correctly. He also was a little bit skeptical of my handmade paneer cheese, which I made the day before with the advice from Chef Don in the pastry program and Chef Vicky from 3Q, but it was tasty, and he even liked it. Linda, a student from the 1Q, patiently rolled all of the squishy paneer bites in flour to help make them more solid so we could panfry them. Poor kid. I had a deep half-pan full of the cheesy stuff, so she was there for quite a while. The rice biryani I made had almonds, raisins, cumin, cayenne, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, and onions. The saag was made with spinach – 6 lbs of blanched spinach, to be exact – collards, more Indian spices and garam masala, a blend that Anne from 3Q had researched for our papers for Chef Gregg’s class. Anne later said that the flavours were well-blended and that the dish was very good.
My Herbfarm braised chicken, leeks and porcinis were a costly meal, about $3 or $4 per person in food cost alone, but the flavours turned out beautifully. A really great mate of mine had given me his copy of the Herbfarm cookbook, so we’d made this dish before. For school, I used drummettes and flats instead of the 8-way chicken — hey, that’s what the butchers gave me! — so the meat was a bit skimpy and there were lots of bones with which to contend. The pappardelle pasta was Dececco brand, and it turned out tender, buttery, and smooth. They soaked up the leek and porcini sauce, so each bite burst with flavour.
The fish en papillote was also inspired by the Herbfarm, though the idea originally came from Andre’s recipe testing. One classmate, whom I admire greatly, said that it was the best en papillote she’d had at the school. That was cool. I did learn that the packets need to be cut to exactly the right size for the food, and that the edges should be tightly rolled, not scrunched. They’re also sort of difficult to time, because you can’t fork-flake the fish to see if it’s done. Fortunately, I had the timing correct, so the fish were cooked but not overdone when I served them.
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By savit keawtavee |
The vegetarian bolognese gained its meaty, chewy texture from black lentils. They don’t remotely resemble ground beef, so this isn’t a dish that should be served to fool meat eaters, but the bolognese had great flavor. I cooked it for about 80 minutes, once all the ingredients were added, so the dish homogenized and looked convincingly like a bolognese. I think it was fairly obviously vegetarian, but it was hearty and filling. I tend to add red wine and balsamic vinegar to my red sauces – I’m not actually sure why other than for the bite and tang – and I also usually add brown sugar to enhance the tomatoes. I had a classmate who works at Barking Frog taste it. His palate is usually spot on, and after I’ve had at least two classmates taste my dish, I take it to the Chef to get his nod. He didn’t like that my onions were a small dice, and thus larger than the lentils. A true bolognese should be more completely homogenous and less chunky looking than mine, he pointed out. But other than the appearance, he approved of the taste. Works for me!
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