🍲 Velouté de courge / Cream of Squash Soup 🥄

⛄ ❄️ Winter—that time of the year when most of nature slumbers. In Australia, especially the area below the Tropic of Capricorn, we experience the depth of winter around July–August. 🌐 But for my dear friends in the upper latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, it's already their winter around this period. One of my first winter experiences before was when I was still living somewhere in the left bank of the Garonne River several years back. The southwest of France has a maritime climate which gives the region mild winters and make snowfalls uncommon. Luckily, I got to experience a rare, short but sweet chute de neige during my stay there—even the bonhomme de neige ("snowman" ☃) we've made was literally short, haha... 😄

Il neige!

Why am I even talking about winter? Because I thought this soup I've cooked recently would be a good winter–warmer. 😋 🌞 Even then, winter or not, I believe that this soup is hearty enough to be served even in a tropical climate, where I am spending my Christmas holidays at the moment. 🎄 🌟

I have this leftover squash that I previously used for making squash and chickpea fritters and I thought I'd just turn it into a soup. I went online and scrambled for a recipe for a pumpkin or squash soup. However, for those recipes that I looked into, I don't have all the ingredients that they listed. 😕 There was also one recipe which calls for white wine, but I was too hesitant to open my 7–year old Vin de Pays Charentais – Sauvignon Blanc—better save this bottle for a special occasion, hehe... 🥂 So, I just cooked a creamy soup with what we have in our kitchen. It also helped that we have a lovely shrub of lemongrass growing in our outdoor planter box in front. 🌿 This aromatic herb gave a citrusy/lemony note which deliciously cuts through the unctuousness or creaminess of my potage. 🍋 According to Ben–Erik van Wyk's book (Culinary Herbs and Spices of the World – 2013), the subtle lemon flavour of lemongrass is mainly ascribed to the compounds called geranial and neral that this plant naturally contains. ⚗ 🤓

Structural formulae of the natural compounds responsible for lemongrass' lemony flavour

Anyway, enough of the chemistry and nerdiness and let's get into cooking! 😊 For the ingredients, I didn't exactly measure them and all were incorporated according to taste. Also, one important piece of equipment that we would need is an immersion or handheld blender. If you don't have one, a traditional blender would do, but just be careful when handling hot food!


🍲 Velouté de courge  –  Cream of Squash Soup 🥄

Ingredients:
vegetable oil  ← I used canola
garlic  ← I used 1 small head; peeled and crushed
onion  ← I used 2 small heads; chopped
squash or pumpkin  ← I had about 1 kg leftover from the fritters I've made; peeled and cut into chunks; some recipes suggest roasting the pumpkin/squash in the oven first, but I couldn't be bothered consuming additional heat energy 😑
chicken stock/broth  ← I prepared about a liter; a commercially prepared stock or solid cube dissolved in boiling water would do; otherwise, we can also use natural chicken stock but we should prepare it beforehand
curry powder  ← I think I used about 3 tbsp or more—I like it spicy 😋
cream  ← I used all–purpose cream
lemongrass  ← Be careful when cutting fresh stalks of grass from the main plant as the edges of the leaf blades can be very sharp! My knuckle actually got a small cut from doing so... *ouch* 😖
salt and pepper

Procedure:
– Sauté garlic first until light brown in colour then add the onions; Sauté the onions until translucent
– Add the squash chunks and cook a little bit
– Pour in the chicken stock (about 700 mL initially, when using ≈ 1 kg of squash), curry powder, and bring to the boil
– Process the squash chunks by using an immersion/handheld blender
– Add a little bit of cream; add more according to taste
– Adjust soup consistency with chicken stock as desired; If the stock you prepared is too salty, just use plain hot water instead, for adjusting the soup's texture
– Adjust seasonings (curry powder, salt, and pepper) as necessary
– Add the lemongrass blades before the end of cooking (i.e. let the herb infuse for ≈ 15 min or so before serving); As with many delicate herbs, this is to ensure that the volatile essential flavour molecules would stay longer than when added early on
– Serve hot in a soup bowl or mug with a dollop of cream (crème fraîche or Greek–style yoghurt would also do)—just make sure you don't include the lemongrass in your serving bowl/mug 😉; You may also top your soup with croûtons and other chopped herbs (e.g. chives, coriander, kutsay (garlic chives), marjoram, parsley, sage, scallions) according to your liking

   🔪 Peeled and sliced squash

   Some of the ingredients for my velouté de courge (clockwise starting from the left): squash, lemongrass, garlic, onion

   My satisfying hot bowl of Cream of Squash Soup served with hot pan de sal—how's that for a winter–warmer or as a comfort food? 😋

Bon appétit! 😊 👌

🥔 🍚 🌾 🥚 🥓 Nothing fancy...

Hello dear friends,

Hope you're all doing well

I just thought I'd post my journal entry that I wrote after pulling another all–nighter of hard mental work in order to finish it today. 😵 Also, I felt encouraged with Chef Claire's positive comment on my work—thanks heaps for the encouragement Chef Claire! 😄 Part of our course is to write something about the dishes we cook during practical assessments. In our school, we use this digital learning platform called Blackboard to answer worksheets, post journal entries, and other theoretical learning activities.

Nothing fancy for today; just basic but delicious dishes that I cooked during the final practical assessment of our Vegetable, Fruit, Egg, and Farinaceous Dishes Unit last Tuesday (22 November). 😊 In case you'd like to try out the recipes, I'll try to edit this post next time when I get more time on my hands.

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• Name and describe the dish/es you produced and photographed

Gnocchi Pesto

     Originating from Italy, gnocchi are small dumplings or balls that are usually made with potato or semolina and served with sauce. In this dish, I first baked the potatoes, peeled and mashed them, and then added flour, egg yolks, and seasonings (i.e. nutmeg, salt, and pepper) to make a dough. I kneaded this dough and made small gnocchi dumplings by rolling the dough into long sausage–like segments and cutting these segments in small pieces. I gently rolled each small piece between my palms to make oval–shaped balls and marked each ball with that characteristic gnocchi indentation by rolling them against the tines of a fork. (Marking gnocchi with ridges is not just decorative but also help compress the gnocchi so that they keep their shape and the grooves help hold the sauce when the gnocchi are served.) I cooked my gnocchi in boiling salted water. With this cooked gnocchi, I mixed it together with a creamy sauce made of basil and cashew pesto.

Green Beans with Almonds

     This is a simple but healthy vegetarian dish made of green beans and slivered almonds that’s easy to cook. I toasted the almonds in butter, squeezed in a little bit of lemon juice, and added my blanched al dente green beans.

Lemon and Spinach Risotto with Chicken Breast

     Risotto is another dish that has Italian origins. In this rice–based dish, I cooked short–grained Arborio rice together with chicken stock, lemon juice and rind, spinach, and sage. To make it creamier, I also added Parmesan cheese and a little bit of cream. For the chicken breast, I allowed it to marinate for a while in chopped sage, lemon rind, and olive oil before searing it and finally roasting in the oven. Lastly, I plated this dish by carving the roasted chicken breast into slices, placing them on top of the risotto, and garnishing the two elements together with grated Parmesan cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, a small lemon slice, and aromatic sage leaves.

Potatoes Marquise

     Potatoes Marquise are not just ordinary baked mashed potatoes but are more of a “jazzed up” version of them. I first baked the potatoes, peeled and mashed them, and added egg yolk, butter, and seasonings. I then piped this potato mixture into beautiful nest–shaped rosettes on a baking tray and placed them in a preheated 200°C oven to dry their outer surfaces. After a few minutes, I brushed the rosettes with egg wash and continued baking them until they became golden brown in colour. According to Escoffier and Saulnier, Pommes de Terre Marquise are traditionally prepared by mixing reduced tomato purée or sauce with the finely mashed potatoes. In the recipe that we followed, I used hot tomato concassé as filling or topping for my baked potato rosettes and sprinkled chopped parsley as garnish. While these Potatoes Marquise are simply made of humble spuds that have been baked, mashed, and incorporated with other ingredients, their presentation as golden brown rosettes finished with red tomato concassé and chopped green parsley gives them an attractive appearance—like baked mashed potatoes that have been dressed up to the nines or given a makeover.

Rice Pilaf

     Rice pilafs are popular in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Unlike plain boiled or steamed rice, a pilaf is a rice dish that has been cooked in a seasoned or spiced liquid, often with vegetables or meat added. The term “pilaf” comes from pilav, which is the Turkish/Persian name of the same rice dish. In this simple Rice Pilaf that I cooked, I used chicken stock, bay leaf, garlic, butter, onions, salt, and pepper to flavour long–grained basmati rice. The first stage of the cooking was done on the hob and then the rice was eventually finished in a preheated 190°C oven. The end result is a very flavoursome rice pilaf that can be used to accompany meat, poultry, seafood, or vegetable dishes.

Scrambled Eggs with Crispy Pancetta

     This is basically an egg dish that is suitable for breakfast. Scrambled eggs (or œufs brouillés in French) is one of many different ways of cooking eggs out of their shell. I prepared this dish by beating the eggs together with cream and seasoning. To complement my scrambled eggs, I also included pancetta, which is a type of unsmoked bacon used especially in Italian cuisine. I first fried the diced pancetta, took out about half of it for plating, and then I poured in the beaten egg mixture. I continuously stirred the eggs and pancetta together in the pan over a gentle heat until the eggs have coagulated but not overcooked. For presentation, I served my scrambled eggs topped with the other half of the fried pancetta and sprinkled some chopped parsley on it.

• For each dish, write down one significant point of awareness (e.g. production steps, safety, hygiene)

Gnocchi Pesto

– The gnocchi must be light in texture but firm enough to shape and not break up when cooked.

Green Beans with Almonds

– The blanched green beans must not be overcooked but should be tender yet still “firm to the bite” (al dente) and still retain their bright green colour.

Lemon and Spinach Risotto with Chicken Breast

– The cooked risotto should have a creamy consistency and al dente texture.

Potatoes Marquise

– The potato rosettes should be baked in the oven until they develop golden brown colour on their surface.

Rice Pilaf

– The chicken stock must be fully absorbed by the rice at the end of the cooking period and the cooked rice should be somewhat fluffy and not too clumpy.

Scrambled Eggs with Crispy Pancetta

– The eggs should not be cooked too long or they would be rubbery in texture otherwise.

• What feedback did you receive from your lecturer? (improvement, alternative approaches, etc.)

Gnocchi Pesto

– Gnocchi is a little bit dense, but otherwise OK

Green Beans with Almonds

– Almonds were a little too brown, but otherwise good

Lemon and Spinach Risotto with Chicken Breast

– Well–done

Potatoes Marquise

– Well–done

Rice Pilaf

– Well–done

Scrambled Eggs with Crispy Pancetta

– Pancetta should have been fried further to make it crispier, but still generally good overall

• How would you improve these dishes?

Gnocchi Pesto

– This dish is already good enough on its own.

Green Beans with Almonds

– This dish is already good enough on its own.

Lemon and Spinach Risotto with Chicken Breast

– This dish is already good enough on its own.

Potatoes Marquise

– This dish is already good enough on its own, but I would probably try making this dish as described by Escoffier (Le Guide Culinaire / A Guide to Modern Cookery) or Saulnier (Le Répertoire de la Cuisine) in their cookery guide books by mixing reduced tomato purée together with the mashed potato mixture.

Rice Pilaf

– I would add either meat, chicken, seafood, or vegetables in order to make this pilaf as a complete and wholesome meal.

Scrambled Eggs with Crispy Pancetta

– This dish is already good enough on its own.

• Where could you place these dishes on the menu?

Gnocchi Pesto

– As entrée, but should only be a small portion size

Green Beans with Almonds

– Main course, but should accompany a more substantial dish (e.g. meat, chicken)

Lemon and Spinach Risotto with Chicken Breast

– Main course

Potatoes Marquise

– Main course, but should accompany a more substantial dish (e.g. meat, chicken); a good alternative to potato wedges or potato chips for steaks and other roasted meats

Rice Pilaf

– Main course, but should have other ingredients as well, like meat, poultry, seafood, or vegetables

Scrambled Eggs with Crispy Pancetta

– Breakfast

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– 🤓 Description of Pommes de Terre Marquise (“Potatoes Marquise”) in page 663 of the abridged English translation of Georges Auguste Escoffier's Le guide culinaire (“A guide to modern cookery”)

– 📖 A full copy of his book may be freely viewed or downloaded here: https://archive.org/details/b21530142

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🤓 Description of Pommes de Terre Marquise (“Potatoes Marquise”) in page 211 of the English translation of Louis Saulnier's Le répertoire de la cuisine (“The Cookery Repertory”)

🧀 Perth's first ever cheese festival

I wasn't sure if it's just alright to juxtapose a few stems of lavender together with these delicate cheeses. 🤔 But I drew them nonetheless as I find lavenders fragrant and lovely. 😊
(media: coloured pencils on plain A4 paper)


🧀 Le fromage ("cheese")—one of French cuisine's Sainte-Trinité or "Holy Trinity"; the other two being le pain ("bread") 🥖  and le vin ("wine") 🍷 *Santé!* 🥂  No, we're not going to l'Hexagone 🇫🇷—where their land abounds with soft buttery croissants 🥐 and other culinary treats 🤤—anytime soon. We're still here in Perth 🇦🇺 and we recently had our very own cheese festival! *Wohoo!* 😄

Yes, Festival Fromage 2016 was successfully held over the weekend (11–13 November) here in our dear city. Being a cheese lover myself, I was too excited about it that when they called for volunteers some months ago before the event, I didn't hesitate to sign up as a general hand volunteer or an all–rounder as they call it. I only committed for one full day of volunteering during the Festival though, as I still have other school activities to accomplish. Together with other volunteers and organisers, I was also tasked to set up the table, serve cheese and wine to participants, and clean up during two dégustation sessions.

📸 Here are some shots that I was able to take—except the fifth one—during the Festival at Perth Town Hall:

Food truck outside Perth Town Hall

The main hall of Perth Town Hall where cheese artisans, vendors, and distributors exhibited, served, and sold their wares to the public; can you find me in the picture above? 😉

(Image taken from the Facebook page of Fromage Artisans)

Who could resist that much cheese on your platter? 🤤

Setting up the cheese dégustation long table

Cheese dégustation participants on the table

Looooong queue of Fromage Festival attendees outside Perth Town Hall 😮

Some of the hardworking volunteers at the back of house enjoying a little break 👍

Dishwashing and cleaning up

Say cheese! 🧀 😁

That's all for the meantime. À plus... 🧀 🍷 😊

Filigranes en chocolat... 🍫

Some of my chocolate filigrees that I've personally designed

Hi everyone! I've been quite preoccupied lately with my worksheets for school. To be honest, they're my least favourite part of our course, especially since a lot of the questions aren't really directly related to a particular unit/module. Take this for example: 5 questions out of 15 in our desserts course are all about general equipment. 😕 Oh well. Fortunately, my answers to our desserts worksheet has all been marked correct by our chef instructor and I'm quite delighted to receive an encouraging remark from him—thanks a lot Chef John! 😊

Today, I've been preparing for our final practical assessment tomorrow for our desserts unit. 😟 Part of the assessment tomorrow is to check our chocolate piping skills by making delicate filigrees. Filigrees are ornamental openwork having intricate designs or patterns. In this case, we employed dark chocolate to make them. These chocolate filigrees can be used for decorating a wide variety of desserts and pastries. Our chef instructor said we can make our filigrees at home (because it takes time to create them) and then just bring them on the day of assessment. Another pattern that I've originally made is shown below. As you can see, it does take patience and dexterity to pipe out the melted chocolate. My hands were a bit shaky and some of my lines were unevenly thick, but I still had to make them anyway—personally, I would prefer eating them than making them, haha... Who doesn't, right? 😋 Let's see what Chef John would think of my filigrees tomorrow. 😣 🤞

My "hit–and–miss" chocolate filigrees... 😁

I pause here meanwhile. I still need to make my workflow plan for tomorrow's assessment. 😑 Wish me luck mes amis! À plus! 😚

Chocolate Tart with Lavender Cream and Churros con Chocolate

Chocolate Tart with Lavender Cream

We're on our 10th lesson in our desserts unit/module. For tonight, we made Chocolate Tart with Lavender Cream and Churros con Chocolate.

I won't be describing these desserts too much and I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 😉

The Chocolate Tart with Lavender Cream has three elements: the shell/crust/base, the ganache, and the lavender–flavoured cream. A ganache is a sweet creamy chocolate mixture used especially as a filling or frosting. Below is the recipe that we followed. I just noticed though that I had excess pastry trimmings while I was lining my pie tin, so you might want to reduce the pastry dough recipe a little bit. Also, there were no lavender flowers available to decorate my tart, so I just made chocolate filigrees and used them instead.

🍫 Chocolate Tart with Lavender Cream 🍓

(Makes 1 pie [diameter (⌀) ≈ 23 cm (9″)])

For the pastry shell/crust/base:
240 g flour (plain)
160 g butter
10 mL (1 – 2 tsp) water
pinch of salt

– Preheat the oven to 180°C.
– Place the flour, butter, and a pinch of salt in a bowl and rub in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add 1 – 2 teaspoons cold water and mix in until the dough just comes together. Tip out onto a lightly floured board or clean bench and form dough into a disc. Enclose in cling film and refrigerate for 30 – 60 minutes.
– Roll pastry out to about 3 – 5 mm thick and then line a pie dish or pie tin with this pastry. Prick the base with a fork, then place back in the refrigerator to rest for about 20 minutes.
– Blind–baking step: Line the pastry case with baking paper and pastry beads or uncooked rice/beans. Blind–bake for about 7 – 10 minutes, then remove baking paper and beads/rice/beans and bake for another 5 – 10 minutes or until just golden in colour.
– Press down any bubbles that have risen up and allow to cool.

For the ganache:
150 mL cream
40 g butter
250 g dark chocolate

– Place the cream and butter in a pan and stir over medium heat until butter has melted.
– Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl, pour over the warm cream–butter mixture, then stir until the chocolate has melted.

For the lavender cream:

300 mL cream

15 g sugar (castor)

1 mL lavender essence

– Whip cream with sugar until soft peaks and then stir through lavender essence.

– Cover with cling film and refrigerate until needed.

Assembly:

– Pour the chocolate ganache into the tart shell. Spread evenly with the back of a spoon or a palette knife.

– Top tarts with lavender cream and decorate with strawberries. Decorate tarts with extra lavender flowers.

My benchtop while preparing the chocolate tart 😊


A churro is a Spanish and Mexican pastry resembling a doughnut or cruller (a sweet food made from a piece of dough that has been twisted and fried) and made from deep–fried unsweetened dough and sprinkled with sugar (Merriam–Webster). The dough used in churro is pâte à choux or choux pastry.


Churros con Chocolate

Here's how we made them tonight:

🍫 Churros con Chocolate 🍓

For the pâte à choux:
250 mL water
100 g butter
150 g flour (plain)
pinch of salt
3 eggs
vegetable oil (for deep–frying)

– Preheat deep–fryer to 180°C.
– Combine water and butter in a saucepan and bring to the boil over high heat. Cook, stirring, for 3 – 4 minutes or until butter melts. Remove from heat.
– Add the flour and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until well–combined and the dough comes away from the sides of the saucepan. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 15 minutes or until cool.
– Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, until well–combined. Spoon dough into a piping bag fitted with a fluted/star nozzle.
– Deep–fry at 180°C for 1 – 2 minutes or until golden brown. Use a slotted spoon or a spider to transfer churros to a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat with the remaining dough.

For the chocolate dipping sauce:
200 g dark chocolate (coarsely chopped)
250 mL cream

– Combine the chocolate and cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.

Serving:
icing sugar (sifted) or cinnamon sugar powder mixture

– Dust churros with icing sugar or cinnamon sugar powder mixture.
– Arrange churros on a platter and serve with chocolate dipping sauce.


My benchtop while preparing the churros 😊


...Now tell me, who needs romance when you can have these desserts? 😉

International Chefs Day 2016 / Crisp–skinned Barramundi on Saffron Risotto with Asparagus and Lemon and Capers Butter

😊 Today (20 October) is International Chefs Day! This special day for all chefs worldwide has been started by the World Association for Chefs Societies. More information about this event can be found on their website.

So, to all of our great cooks and chefs out there, we salute you on this special occasion! Happy International Chefs Day!




I just got home after our biweekly restaurant service training at Pavilion Restaurant tonight. We had about 20 people booked and I was assigned to cook one of the main courses: Crisp–skinned Barramundi on Saffron Risotto with Asparagus and Lemon and Capers Butter. It was my first time to prepare it, since we recently changed to a new menu for this school term (October – November). Some of the elements of this dish has already been precooked by one of the previous student teams, so that was less work for me.

Barramundi is a type of fish which is popular here in Australia. In fact, the name of this fish was borrowed from an Aboriginal word which means "fish with big scales". To know more about this fish, you may visit these pages:

          Australian Barramundi Farmers Association:
          → http://www.abfa.org.au/barramundi_name.html
          
          Australia's Sustainable Seafood Guide
          → http://www.sustainableseafood.org.au/fish.php/1/16/barramundi
          
          FishBase – the world's most comprehensive electronic encyclopedia on fish
          → http://fishbase.org/summary/346
          
          Government of Western Australia – Department of Fisheries:
→ http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/Documents/recreational_fishing/fact_sheets/fact_sheet_barramundi.pdf

          → http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/species/barramundi/Pages/default.aspx



(top) Postage stamp picture source: http://australianstrampcatalogue.com/images/1754-1-1.jpeg
(bottom) Barramundi illustration source: http://fishbase.org/images/species/Lacal_u1.gif


Here's the recipe for this delicious fish dish:

🐟 Crisp–skinned Barramundi on Saffron Risotto with Asparagus and Lemon and Capers Butter 🍋

(Makes 10 portions)

For the barramundi:
2 kg barramundi fillet (skin on)
≈ 100 mL olive oil
≈ 80 g butter
salt and pepper

– Portion barramundi into about 150 g portions with the skin on. Season with a little bit of salt and pepper.
– Put some olive oil into frying pan. When hot, add some butter and then place the barramundi skin side down. Cook until the skin is crisp.
– Turn over fish and cook until fish meat becomes opaque.
– Rest well before plating/serving.

* The fish can also be cooked in a preheated 180°C oven, but the skin should be seared on a pan first.

For the saffron risotto:
≈ 30 mL olive oil
≈ 120 g onion (finely chopped)
≈ 400 g Arborio rice
≈ 50 mL white wine
10 pieces saffron strands
≈ 1.1 L chicken stock
≈ 40 g butter
≈ 50 g Parmesan cheese (grated)

– Heat up the olive oil, sauté finely chopped onion, and add the rice. Sauté until rice becomes translucent.
– Add the white wine and saffron. Let the wine evaporate.
– Add a bit of chicken stock at a time and stir. Cook risotto until all of the stock is used and until it becomes al dente.
– Finish with butter and Parmesan cheese.

For the lemon and capers butter sauce:
5 pieces lemons
≈ 200 g capers (remove them from the brine solution)
≈ 100 g butter

– Segment lemons and extract juice from the trimmings. Combine them together and reserve for later use.
– Heat butter and toss capers, lemon segments, and juice together. Cook until butter becomes golden brown.

For the asparagus (≈ 3 spears per plate):
– Blanch the asparagus in boiling water then refresh in cold water.
– When serving, heat in butter on a frying pan.

To serve:
– Arrange on a plate with risotto, fish, asparagus, and topped with the lemon and capers butter sauce.

At Pavilion tonight, we served it up like this:



😊 Bon appétit! 🍽