Paper Chef #22 Jetset Dish
It's here again, Paper Chef in its 22nd edition! Owen at Tomatilla has named this challege the Slow Edition: "I have been so slow getting to things ... participants can take it slow". There is about a week until NEXT Monday noon (October 16th) to battle for the Paper Chef crown! The secret ingredients list:
1. Barberries
2. Pumpkin
3. Spinach
4. Slow
There is no time for slow cooking, or to dash down to the Middle Eastern store for dried barberries since Noodle Cook has a plane to catch. It's a matter of ransacking the fridge and pantry.
Mildly tart oriental wolfberries seem a suitable substitute for the barberries. There's no spinach in the fridge, so it makes sense to use the left over bok choy before it goes to waste. Balsamic Vinegar of Modena qualifies as the slow ingredient since traditionally, balsamic vinegar takes 12 years to mature.
Non-traditional balsamic vinegar is a blend of red wine vinegar and the "must" (see below) from a traditional balsamic vinegar. It may be aged but most times it is not. In the absence of a certification stamp, the Balsamic vinegar is most likely 95% red wine vinegar with a splash of traditional and some caramel coloring. Here's bit of background on Balsamic vinegar:From Italian Food. Accessed 9/10/2006.
After last month's disastrous giblet effort, Noodle Cook attempts a much simply dish:
"Balsamic vinegar can only be produced in the regions of Modena and Reggio in Italy. The first historial reference to balsamic vinegar dates back to 1046, when a bottle of balsamic vinegar was reportedly given to Emperor Enrico III of Franconia as a gift. In the Middle Ages, it was used as a disinfectant. It also had a reputation as a miracle cure, good for everything from sore throats to labor pains. Balsamic vinegar is an aged reduction of white sweet grapes (Trebbiano for red and Spergola for white sauvignon) that are boiled to a syrup. The grapes are cooked very slowly in copper cauldrons over an open flame until the water content is reduced by over 50%. The resulting "must" is placed into wooden barrels and an older balsamic vinegar is added to assist in the acetification. Each year the vinegar is transferred to different wood barrels so that the vinegar can obtain some of the flavors of the different woods. The only approved woods are oak, cherry, chestnut, mulberry, acacia, juniper, and ash."
Charred vegetables with balsamic butter sauce, served with lemon myrtle couscous
500g pumpkin
olive oil
2 bok choy plants
1 large red capsicum
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar of Modena
1 cup couscous
1 cup water
1 lemon myrtle leaf (or substitute lemon zest)
2 tablespoon dried wolfberries, soaked
1 tablespoon quinoa, toasted (or pinenuts)
Par cook the pumpkin in the microwave for 5 minutes. Cool. Peel and remove seeds. Cut into cubes. Drizzle with olive oil and caramelize under a grill.
Char the capsicum under the grill. When cool, peel and slice into thin strips. Drizzle with olive oil. Caramelize in a heavy smoking pan.
Separate the bok choy into leaves. Sear in a very hot oiled pan.
To make the sauce, brown the butter. Remove from heat. Add the Balsamic vinegar. Toss the vegetables in the Balsamic butter.
Serve the charred vegetables over couscous cooked with the lemon myrtle leaf. Sprinkle over the wolfberries and toasted quinoa.
So, with a "burning" desire to succeed, Noodle Cook reaches the finishing line with a delicious dish, simple enough to cook in an open fire just like in the 18th century.
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