Tuesday, April 5, 2011

I Am a Sous-Chef - Jay Prepares a Recipe

One of the classes in which we are participating is entitled "The Cuisines of the Mediterranean." Twice a month we meet with enthusiastic teachers/learners and one of us gives a presentation on some aspect of our subject. If we are lucky, the person has some food samples to share!!

This week Jay is presenting on his chosen topic:  Cinghiale, Chestnuts and Ceci!  He has a wonderful presentation about these three food items and decided that he would share with the class a slice of pork salami, a cookie made with chickpea flour and a soup of chestnuts and lentils that he watched Lidia Bastianich prepare on a recent TV show.  So, Jay became a "Top Chef" and I became his Sous-Chef and official photographer..

Since fresh chestnuts are not in season, the preparation began with a run to A-1 Imports Market in San Pedro where we purchased some dehydrated chestnuts.
He reconstituted them by soaking them overnight.

The next day, being of a scientific mind and an educated engineer, he began by reading and studying the recipe.


Then he ventured out into the garden to gather his fresh herbs:  thyme, bay leaf and basil.
 He chopped his garlic
Once the basic broth was going, which included him crushing the tomatoes through his fingers, he added the chestnuts and let them simmer for over 2 hours, peeking in every so often to give it a stir.
When the chestnuts were soft and beginning to crumble, he added the lentils and let them cook until they were soft.
Today was the class.  He gave a great presentation on the three food items complete with research data and anecdotal stories that captured everyone's interest.
But the "piece de risistance" was his Chestnut and Lentil Soup.

Not bad for a meat-and-potato farm boy from Illinois....
Lidia would have been proud of him...I certainly was!!
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6 comments:

  1. LindaApril 5, 2011 at 6:23 PM

    A-1 Imports Market has been in San Pedro, my hometown, since I was a child. My grandmother and I would go to get the ingredients for Paella which she fixed every Sunday night. It's as close to shopping in Europe as one can get. I can't believe it's still around.
    I would love to try the recipe. Any chance that Jay will part with it?

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  2. LyndaApril 5, 2011 at 6:56 PM

    Yummy! How about the cookie made with chickpea flour?

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  3. Malay-Kadazan girlApril 6, 2011 at 4:30 AM

    Both of you have so many fun activities together everyweek.

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  4. LindyLouMacApril 6, 2011 at 7:04 AM

    Interesting that as a scientist Jay studies the recipe, my husband is also a scientist and he prefers to make things up as he goes along, only ever following a recipe when I insist:)

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  5. Rosaria WilliamsApril 6, 2011 at 8:50 AM

    This is a new dish for me too. Yes, the recipe, please!

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  6. PatriciaApril 6, 2011 at 3:08 PM

    Thank you all for the nice comments! Lynda...the cookies were not that spectacular and took lots of time.
    As for the soup:
    dehydrated chestnuts (we used a whole pound) reconstituted by soaking overnight.
    4 smashed garlic cloves sauteed in about 1/4 cup olive oil with sprigs of fresh thyme, marjoram and a couple of bay leaves (and some red pepper flakes if you like a little kick).
    Add liquid...about 10 cups of water and at least 1 cup of canned whole tomatoes squeezed through your fingers.
    Cook this slowly (with NO salt) for at least 2 hours with cover ajar. When the chestnuts are soft to the bite and crumble easily, add 1 pound of regular lentils and now you can add some salt.
    Cook slowly with cover ajar until lentils are tender (about 30-45 minutes). Watch the liquid, we had to keep adding some hot water as it thickened.
    At the end, Jay sauteed some onion and celery in olive oil until soft and stirred it in to the soup.
    Serve with grated cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy!!

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