Part Four : Chapter Fourteen : Mise en Place for Stocks, Sauces, and Soups

When I started reading tonight's chapter of The Professional Chef, I was hoping it would be a first read before stepping into the kitchen to take things step-by-step and show you lots of pictures. That was not the case since this chapter was more of an introduction to the different types of aromatics, flavorings and thickening agents for soups, stocks and sauces.

Bouquets and Sachets are preparations of aromatics used for flavoring purposes. They are added during the cooking process. A bouquet garni is a tied bundle of thyme, parsley stems, bay leaf, celery and leek. The leek leaves act as the wrapping for the rest of the ingredients. A sachet is usually a bundle of peppercorns, as well as other herbs and spices all tied up in a bag made of cheesecloth. A sachet is very similar to a tea bag in the way it infuses the liquid in which it is submerged.

I've spoken about Mirepoix in the past, the French word for a combination of carrots, celery and onions that acts as the base flavor profile for many stocks, soups and sauces. There are many variations on the basic mirepoix, which we will learn about as we delve into the recipe portion of this part of the textbook.

A roux is a thickening agent that consists of a flour and a fat. Usually, this means lots of butter, melted, and then mixed with the flour, cooking it until it becomes the correct color for the recipe at hand. The basic formula is three parts flour to two parts fat. The colors are divided into four basic groups: white, blond, brown and dark, depending on how long it is cooked. Once roux is created, it is added to another liquid to thicken it.

Clarified butter is made by heating whole butter until it separates and the fat can be skimmed off the top. Many recipes call for this, as opposed to plain melted butter, because it can then be used at a higher temperature. Many rouxs start off with clarified butter. Ghee, which is used in many Asian cuisines, is another type of clarified butter, and can usually be purchased in Asian markets, as well as the Global aisle at the grocery store.

Pure starch slurries have a greater thickening power than other methods we've discussed. Ingredients such as cornstarch and arrowroot have these properties, and they don't require the extended simmering time that a roux would require. The slurry is created by submersing the ingredient of choice into cold water, before adding it to the soup or sauce. This is the quickest way to thicken.

The final page of this chapter discusses Liaisons. A liaison is a mixture of egg yolks and cream that is used to thicken sauces and soups. This mixture does not thicken in the same way that a roux or a slurry would, but adds sheen, body and flavor to the dish, as well as light golden-ivory color. To add a liaison to your dish, you'll want to use a process known as tempering, to avoid curdling the eggs. Tempering involves adding a small amount of the hot liquid to the egg mixture, in order to even the temperature out before pouring it into the main pot. Once the temperate is slowly regulated, it can be incorporated into the dish without risk of curdling. 

In the next chapter, we start to learn about making stocks and I will be applying these lessons to some of the recipes provided for practice. If all goes according to plan, I'll have seen my last carton of store-bought stock, because why buy it, when you can make it yourself!

Saffron and Salt

Moroccan night started off like any other. I began to gather my ingredients and prep the things that needed to be prepped. To make the rub for the chicken, I ground some toasted saffron sprigs and coarse sea salt into a fine powder in my mortar and pestle.

That, along with some ground ginger, turmeric and chopped parsley made the dry rub complete so I slathered my chicken pieces with ghee, a clarified butter that can be purchased in the international aisle of most supermarkets. I then rubbed them with the spice mixture and set to readying my tagine for the cooking process.

I put the chicken in the tagine, along with the pulp of a preserved lemon and some sliced onions, and turned the heat on. Not more than 3 minutes had gone by when I heard a loud pop, and then found a piece of red ceramic halfway across my kitchen. You wonder what's going on? Yea, so did I. Turns out, my tagine was cracking from the bottom up, and fast. Of course, I started to yell, and started flailing around the kitchen in an attempt to save my dinner! I grabbed another pot, transferred the chicken and onions, and set them to continue cooking over another burner while I tended to "the situation." By the time the tagine had cooled, and I had wiped it clean, pieces had started to fall out of the center of the dish.

               

I stopped taking pictures at this point because I was a bit flustered. Needless to say, the chicken continued to cook, the chickpeas were added, and cooked. The last thing added was just an ounce of rice...I can't really explain the necessity for this ingredient, but at this point, I was just following instructions.

The finished product was a rich and hearty stew of chicken, chickpeas and melting onions with a lemony-saffron sauce that was really satisfying. I served it with some couscous instead of the tomato dish that I had originally planned on in the Current Menu. After the "tagine incident," I figured it best to just go the straightforward and easy route! I'm still the hero though, for I SAVED DINNER! 

Rotolo di Zucca e Ricotta

Well, this recipe certainly was a bit of work - but it was SO worth it. This dish is so pretty, and wonderful for impressing those dinner party guests. It's a lot of work, but the work isn't all that difficult. I love how Jamie Oliver writes, because it's like having a conversation with someone who's telling me how to make a specific dish. It's so easy to follow his instruction!

This is a rotolo of spinach, squash and ricotta. When I wiki'd "rotolo" to find you a more specific definition of what it is, I found that "Rotolo" is an Italian surname. Haha! So, I'll give you the Mere-finition, which is that this dish is a roulade of pasta. Normally, a roulade is made with a thin piece of meat rolled around some sort of stuffing such as vegetables or cheese. I replaced the meat with thick lasagna noodles, and voila, a rotolo!

Alright, here we go! I made my fresh pasta dough and left it to rest for the necessary 30 minutes. It was a bit sticky tonight, but after a little extra flour on my kneading surface, I evened it all out. I then moved on to my mise en place. The filling for the rotolo consists of butternut squash seasoned with fennel seeds, coriander seeds, chili powder, salt and pepper along with some wilted spinach, fresh oregano, garlic, butter and nutmeg. I also needed to get out my parmesan and ricotta. Finally, some extra butter and a nice handful of sage leaves, and my mise en place is complete!



Once everything was out and prepped, I preheated my oven to 425 degrees because I need to cook the squash. I dusted the squash pieces with the crushed coriander seeds, fennel seeds, chili powder, salt and pepper and tossed the squash in a snugly fit dish.





Once I got the squash in the oven (for 30 minutes - covered with a damp piece of wax paper), I started on the spinach since it was supposed to cool before use. I heated a nice glug of olive oil in a pan and added my sliced garlic and fresh oregano leaves.



Once that had sizzled a bit, I started adding the spinach and as it wilted, I continued to add more. I had two whole bags to get in there so slowly but surely wins the race. Keep the spinach leaves moving around with a tongs so that none of them burn, but as the leaves wilt, it makes more room to add more leaves.



Continue this way until all the spinach has wilted down. At this point, you can season with nutmeg, and a few clumps of butter. Always taste your food, as you are cooking - then you'll know if you need to add some salt and pepper to this before taking it off the heat. I added a little bit of each and then removed the spinach to a bowl to cool.



Once a half hour has passed, check on your squash. Remove the wax paper, toss them around a bit and put them back in for another 15 minutes - or until they are golden.



While the squash was finishing up, I used my pasta roller to make six long sheets of pasta. I laid them out on a dish towel (I would have preferred to use a white one - but I lucked out and nothing turned black at the end of this ordeal!). I used some water to stick the noodles together to make one long sheet.



Once the squash was finished, I removed it from the oven and spooned it across the long side of the noodle sheet.



I then sprinkled my cooled spinach around the rest of the sheet, leaving a 2 inch section at the top clear of any filling. That's the part that will tuck over to complete our rotolo.



From here, I sprinkled both ricotta cheese and shredded parmesan cheese on top of this mixture.



I used the edge of the towel to start my roll, and then continued tucking and rolling until I had one long roll of pasta and stuffing. Use a little bit of water on the top edge to stick it to the rest of the rotolo.



Once it was rolled, I put a pot of water on to boil. I didn't have a pot really big enough for this so I kind of had to wind it around the side of the pot I was working with. The best case scenario would probably be an oblong-shaped fish pot, but we work with what we've got right!? While the water was boiling, the recipe instructed me to roll this up in a dish towel. I didn't have a nice, thin, white dish towel like Jamie did in the pictures, so I made do with what I had. I was a little concerned that my pasta would come out dyed a little black, but luckily, that did not happen! I tied the ends with some kitchen twine.



Once the water was boiling I placed this in the pot as best I could, and then placed a plate on top to hold it under the water since it tends to want to float to the surface. I left this to simmer for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, I needed to clarify some butter by placing it in a very low heated oven, and allowing it to melt there. Once melted, I separated (as best I could) the white parts of the butter from the clear. I added the clear portion to a pan which I heated more aggressively. Once it was hot enough, I threw my sage leaves into the butter and allowed them to lightly fry.



I pulled the leaves out and let them drain on a paper towel. I kept the now sage-flavored butter over a low heat so that it didn't start to congeal. I pulled the rotolo out of the boiling water with some silicon potholder gloves and unwrapped it onto a cutting board. Because I had to curve it to get it in the pot, it had burst open in a few places but not too badly. I sliced the rotolo into generous serving portions and plated! I decided to serve this beautiful looking roulade with an arugula and radicchio salad, dressed with only some balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I seasoned it with a little salt and pepper and tossed it with a handful of shredded parmesan.



This isn't a dish you see on every Italian restaurant menu, but I'm sure glad it was on mine! :)