It's very important as a chef, or any busy professional really, to stop and take a moment to reflect on all of the positive things in your life. I know I am certainly thankful for where I am today and for all of those who have helped me get there. And I thank all of you who read this thing. It keeps me going!
Considering my recent feast, I picked out a lighter recipe for our next installment. It's a vegetarian antipasto, Babbo's version of peas and carrots.
Carrots were my favorite veggie as a child. Peas, not so much.
I'd like to paint you this inspirational picture of how we had a bounty of fresh vegetables growing up, but almost all of them were canned. Which is probably better than nothing. But watching my mom cook army green peas to oblivion did not help sell me on the health benefits of eating your vegetables. It's not her fault, it's what she grew up on as a child. The carrots were always fresh, though, and she made sure they found their way onto the dinner table at special meals.
I really don't remember any farmer's markets in town as a child. Sure we had farms in town but we never shopped there. We went to the grocery store and picked out what they had out of convenience. Canned veggies were easier to deal with seeing how they needed almost zero prep, which for busy wives/moms is the reason they became so popular.
It's great that there is a reemergence of local farms and fresh veggies. Babbo certainly gets their pick of the best being in the heart of New York City. So Mario, let's see what you can do to elevate peas and carrots.
I start by bringing a pot of salted water to a boil and blanch frozen green peas, which Mario said are acceptable when you can't get fresh, and fresh mint.
The oven then gets preheated to 350° and I coat 6 ramekins with cooking spray. There's a great side note at the end of the book that talks about essential kitchen equipment and how it's much more convenient to use foil ramekins for recipes like this. I totally agree. You can find them on Amazon.com and they're cheap. No need to clean after using, just throw them out. You'll thank me later.
The peas and mint when fully cooled go into a food processor and get puréed. The mixture then gets passed through a food mill to smooth out.
Once passed through the mill, the peas get mixed with eggs, cream, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
This mix gets spread among the ramekins. They get put into a pan with water halfway up the sides of the ramekin and covered with foil. It took about 30 minutes to set in my oven.
Now for the vinaigrette. Carrot juice gets reduced down in a saucepan until thickened.
Once reduced, it gets combined with honey, champagne vinegar, and raw carrot juice.
I then emulsify olive oil into the carrot mix using my trusty hand blender which, if drizzled slowly, helps to make a beautiful vinaigrette that rarely breaks. The finished vinaigrette gets seasoned with salt and pepper.
Looking at the ingredient list I see that I have to make parsley oil for the finished plating. This is very simple. Oil, a bunch of parsley, and salt gets blended and the mix gets strained.
Now for plating. I had a little fun with it, but you can keep it simple like Mario outlines. Drizzle the parsley oil and carrot vinaigrette around the plate. Unmold the flan onto the plate. Top with pea vines that have been tossed with the vinaigrette and shave some Parmigiano-Reggiano over the top.
I substituted pea shoots for the vines because that's what was available. Overall this was an impressive appetizer. My wife devoured it and I'm sure most vegetarians would follow suit. The presentation is elegant enough for a classy dinner party. Two thumbs up.
That was a fun little recipe. The next one will involve a little more labor. And a strong stomach.
In closing, I want to leave you with a picture from the gender reveal party my wife and I threw this past weekend. Inside the box are either pink or blue balloons to let us know what sex our baby is going to be. It was lots of fun! Which do you think it'll be, boy or girl? The box will be opened on the next post. Until next time...
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