My family and I are in the Cape Winelands staying with my wife's sister(Jenna-Lea) and brother in-law(Sean Kelland) while we are trying to settle down and find jobs in this beautiful part of our country, South-Africa. Tonight for dinner Jenna-Lea prepared one of the best minestrone soups I've tasted.
This chunky, heart warming soup had all of it's humble ingredients, lovingly, prepared to absolute perfection. The characteristic ingredient of tomato was skillfully infused with a dry white wine and just the right amount of smoked bacon, and dressed with carrots, celery, onion and garlic, perfectly boiled cubed potato and al dente broken spaghetti pieces. Just the way an Italian mama would do it.
This was all then served with a fresh sliced foccacia bread and butter.
Our meal was gorgeous and reminded me that "soul food" is the main reason I became a chef. Any ways I am looking forward to finding a good job amongst these beautiful vineyards and establishing some strong roots that will not easily be pulled from it's soil.
Ciao Romano, from Chef J.P.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
sushification
Hi all, I'm finally back after nearly a year I might add!
Anyway while I've been gone I've been working on a few things, e.g. Raising children, relocating from New Zealand back to our home country of South-Africa, getting involved in business, getting uninvolved in business, but most importantly, fine tuning my sushi skills.
Let me start by explaining some of the finer points of sushi making that eludes many sushi lovers on their quest to actually producing sushi that meets true oriental standards.
1. Rice-In traditional sushi training school, assistant sushi chefs start out by cleaning and learning how to store, wash and cook the sushi rice for at least three years. Mastering the technique of cooking and seasoning the rice is an absolute essential, as this is the main ingredient of any sushi dish. Overcooked/overseasoned or undercooked/underseasoned rice ruins the entire sushi experience.
2. Fish and fillings-These must be as fresh as possible for use in the making of sushi. The balance of bright sharp colours of pickled yellow radish, lumenescent green avocado, the crunchy julienne of cucumber and the sweet, fresh, translucent flesh of thinly sliced yellowfin tuna and sesame flavoured mayonnaise is poetry at its most beautiful moment, so only the best will do.
3. Condiments-Only high grade japanese soya sauce and wasabi paste mixed from fresh wasabi powder must be used as condiments. Any garnishes like carrot flowers, deepfried egg noodles or carved radishes should always be made and used the same day.
4. Rolling and shaping-the amount of rice and fillings used per roll will affect the size of the piece, so when rolling decide how big your nori sheet should be. Cutting a piece off the longest edge will help to keep your sushi a nice small and dainty size. This ensures avoiding embarrasing moments like dropping an oversized nori roll into the soya bowl with an almighty splash and showering of any innocent bystanders. Even sized, well displayed sushi and bright fillings and garnishes really does make the sushi experience special.
I hope you find the above mentioned helpful in some way, and getting hold of a good sushi recipe book is also a good idea.
Anyways, happy days and fun in the kitchen is what I wish you.
Chow for now Jean-Pierre :-)
Anyway while I've been gone I've been working on a few things, e.g. Raising children, relocating from New Zealand back to our home country of South-Africa, getting involved in business, getting uninvolved in business, but most importantly, fine tuning my sushi skills.
Let me start by explaining some of the finer points of sushi making that eludes many sushi lovers on their quest to actually producing sushi that meets true oriental standards.
1. Rice-In traditional sushi training school, assistant sushi chefs start out by cleaning and learning how to store, wash and cook the sushi rice for at least three years. Mastering the technique of cooking and seasoning the rice is an absolute essential, as this is the main ingredient of any sushi dish. Overcooked/overseasoned or undercooked/underseasoned rice ruins the entire sushi experience.
2. Fish and fillings-These must be as fresh as possible for use in the making of sushi. The balance of bright sharp colours of pickled yellow radish, lumenescent green avocado, the crunchy julienne of cucumber and the sweet, fresh, translucent flesh of thinly sliced yellowfin tuna and sesame flavoured mayonnaise is poetry at its most beautiful moment, so only the best will do.
3. Condiments-Only high grade japanese soya sauce and wasabi paste mixed from fresh wasabi powder must be used as condiments. Any garnishes like carrot flowers, deepfried egg noodles or carved radishes should always be made and used the same day.
4. Rolling and shaping-the amount of rice and fillings used per roll will affect the size of the piece, so when rolling decide how big your nori sheet should be. Cutting a piece off the longest edge will help to keep your sushi a nice small and dainty size. This ensures avoiding embarrasing moments like dropping an oversized nori roll into the soya bowl with an almighty splash and showering of any innocent bystanders. Even sized, well displayed sushi and bright fillings and garnishes really does make the sushi experience special.
I hope you find the above mentioned helpful in some way, and getting hold of a good sushi recipe book is also a good idea.
Anyways, happy days and fun in the kitchen is what I wish you.
Chow for now Jean-Pierre :-)
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