Grain, continued from Previous Page
One of Urban Picnic’s most popular dishes is its kale and quinoa salad. “We soak the quinoa in water and then cook it as we do with rice, at a two-to-one ratio. We toss it with soy sesame vinaigrette. Quinoa absorbs those flavors and adds texture and nuttiness to it. It goes really well with the kale. The quinoa serves as a salad topping, as if you added garbanzo beans or peanuts.”
Rarer breeds While farro and quinoa reign supreme in popular-
ity, some chefs have used more esoteric grains with great success, proving there are no bounds to this trend. In fact, in a culinary universe where diners are increas- ingly looking for integrity, variety and novelty on a menu, the rarest grains offer a great avenue for distin- guishing a menu.
“Grains have gotten to sound like wine,” says Jim
Maser, who co-owns Berkeley’s Café Fanny along with celebrated chef Alice Waters. “Where did it come from and who grew or processed it? It’s all very important. The guest is much more informed now and they’re much more curious. Adventuresome diners want to know. And you’ve got to speak to them through your menu.”
Maser is no stranger to unusual grains. He’s
been serving Café Fanny’s signature sweet millet muffins for 25 years, spending six months to perfect the recipe back when the establishment opened. “It took us a while to figure out how to work with it,” he explains. “By itself, millet’s texture is a little coarse. I experimented and put it in a Cuisinart for literally two seconds to buff it. That broke down the grain just enough to absorb the batter’s wet ingredients. The millet softened, making it less crunchy, and releasing its flavors.” After years of perfecting the recipe, Maser has
figured out how to showcase every unique character- istic of millet. “The texture is its predominant tone,” he explains. “It looks very pretty because of the con- trast between the millet and muffin dough – the muf- fin is golden brown but the millet keeps its light yellow colors. Our diners can’t believe it. They love it.” Chef Burckhard’s latest foray into ancient
grains has introduced diners at the Tipsy Pig to Ethiopian black barley, a dark variety of pearled barley that was largely unknown until recently. Bur- ckhard prepares it much like a cacciatore, situated in a salivating pan-seared scallop dish that is paired
LA BELLE FARMS DUCK BREAST WITH ANSON MILLS CRACKED GREEN FARRO, SWISS CHARD, BABY TURNIP, GINGER GEL, PICKLED SWISS CHARD STEMS & HUCKLEBERRY PURÉE
[Serves 6]
INGREDIENTS [La Belle Farms Duck Breasts] 6 duck breasts (6-7 oz ea.) 1 Tbsp thyme 1 each fresh bay leaf 1 tsp cracked black pepper 2 Tbsp olive oil
METHOD Clean and score each
duck breast. Marinate duck with thyme, chopped bay leaf, black pepper and olive oil. Best to marinate overnight (or at least for 30 minutes).
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INGREDIENTS [Green Cracked Farro] 2 cups cracked green farro
1 cup fine diced yellow onion 1 oz olive oil
1 Tbsp unsalted butter 6-8 cups chicken stock
METHOD
In a sauce pot on low heat, add 1 ounce of olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Add onion and a pinch of salt. Sweat the onions until tender for about 5 minutes. Add farro and sauté for 1 minute. Add half of the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and let cook until farro is tender. You may need to add more stock to farro. Once tender, remove from heat, season and cool.
INGREDIENTS [Turnips] 18 each baby Tokyo turnips 1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp unsalted butter 2 cups chicken stock
METHOD Peel baby turnips, keep- ing a one-half inch of the stem attached. In a sauté pan on medium high heat, add oil and butter. Add turnips and sauté for 1 minute. Add chicken stock. Reduce heat to low and braise turnips until tender. Remove from heat and sea- son with salt and cool. Re- serve for later.
INGREDIENTS [Pickled Swiss Chard Stems]
SERGIOSPHOTOS.COM
4 cups diced Swiss chard stems
1 whole star anise 1 whole garlic clove 1 whole shallot 2 Tbsp cocoa nibs 4 cups white wine vinegar 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup water
Chef Jason Knibb NINE-TEN Restaurant La Jolla, CA
See Web site for complete recipe:
www.culinarytrends.net
Culinary Trends | Mid Winter 2011
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