Entertaining in the Raw - Matthew Kenney [6]
Assembly Pour the soup in deep bowls. Float two dumplings in the center, garnishing around it with pear matchsticks. Drizzle with a touch of olive oil, top with freshly cracked black pepper, and garnish with tarragon leaves and remaining mushrooms. Serves 4
Ragout of Spring Vegetables, Chanterelle Essence, and Pignoli “Parmesan” Crisp
Delicate is not a word I associated with raw food early on. Many of the original dishes I tasted or prepared were quite hearty, bolstered by the presence of nuts and crunchy textures. A typical sauce would be a pesto, chutney, or vegetable purée. As time went on, I started to experiment with broths and lightening the food. For one spring dinner, I wanted to capture not only that season’s essence in the use of ingredients we chose but also its texture and weight overall. As a result, I discovered that lightly “poaching” in a dehydrator created the effect I had been missing, and I’ve made ample use of it ever since. This style of dish is great for a dinner party, as it is very easy to prepare in advance and serve when needed.
Ragout Broth
4 cups cucumber juice
4 cups celery juice
Salt
1 tablespoon cracked black peppercorns
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 bunch pencil asparagus, sliced on a bias into 1-1/2-inch lengths
3 cups sliced almond mushroom caps (reserve stems for sauce)
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 fennel bulb, cored and sliced
Ragout Sauce
1 cup almonds, soaked 2 hours
3 cups water
Salt
1 tablespoon soy lecithin
Almond mushroom stems
Olive oil
Essence
2 cups chanterelle mushrooms
Crisps
1 quart pine nuts, soaked 1–2 hours
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 cup chopped scallions
Garnish
1/4 cup fresh chervil leaves
Ragout broth Mix the first seven ingredients in a bowl. Place asparagus, mushroom caps, tomatoes, and fennel separately in half sheet pans or shallow cooking pans; pour broth over vegetables. Place in bottom of dehydrators at 115 degrees F and let “poach” 2–3 hours.
Ragout sauce Blend almonds, water, salt, and soy lecithin; strain through a fine chinois. Toss mushroom stems in olive oil and salt; place on dehydrator Teflex sheets and dehydrate 1 hour. Add marinated mushrooms to almond mixture and blend in a Vita-Mix until smooth.
Essence Place mushrooms on dehydrator screens and dehydrate until crisp. Blend in Vita-Mix until fine powder forms.
Crisps Process first five ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Add thyme and scallions and pulse until well combined. Spread mixture onto Teflex sheets; dehydrate overnight until crisp. Break into large shards for garnish.
Assembly Divide the vegetables among shallow bowls and pour 1/2 cup sauce over each. Sprinkle generously with mushroom essence, garnish with crisps and chervil. Serves 4
Basil Raviolini with Summer Tomato Sauce
I used to love garlic so much that I would come home from working a sixteen-hour day and prepare risotto at midnight, carefully stirring, adding stock (and usually wild mushrooms, which I still love today), and finishing with several cloves of roasted garlic or, even better, elephant garlic. I couldn’t get enough. And somewhere along the palate path, I developed an aversion to it. There seem to be a few schools of thought on garlic—some feel that it is therapeutic and others that it is toxic. I am now of the latter, although I would never dispute the fact that it tastes great. While mature garlic takes away some of the cleaner flavors that I so admire in raw food, young garlic and garlic flowers are more subtle—enough so that I was very happy to serve this dish at one of my dinners.