This was a delicious, perfect dish. Sweet, fresh peas and carrots, peppery watercress, peppery and nutty cheese, and the perfect sauce. The onion froth/foam/air/whatever is the key to the dish. It grounds the dish and ties it together with its earthiness. The other flavors are all very light and bright, and this sauce provides the perfect counterpoint.

• English peas - Shelled, blanched, shocked, held, then warmed in butter before serving
• Baby carrots - Blanched until crisp-tender, shocked in ice water, then the skin rubs right off and they look beautiful and translucent. Warmed in butter before serving, along with the peas.
• Mezzo Secco - Yummy and relatively inexpensive cheese made from cow's milk. It's actually a kind of Monterey Jack, and has a layer of very finely ground black pepper on the edible rind. I was introduced to this cheese at my Nopa stage. They put it on their little gem lettuce salad at the time. Its peppery notes enhance the watercress, while its nuttiness calls out the onion.
• Watercress - Dressed very lightly with just a bit of lemon juice.
• Onion froth - Yellow onions, sweated but not browned or caramelized, then simmered in water for a long time--maybe 45 minutes. Then strain out the onions and discard. Reduce the onion broth until it's very flavorful. Add salt until it's a bit saltier than you'd normally want for a sauce. Remember that its volume will be increasing through foaming and it will then be perceived as less salty. Then finish with a splash of cream. Add lecithin and foam with an immersion blender. The leftovers of the sauce can be served as an onion bisque by simply adding water and/or cream until the desired saltiness is reached (see photo of onion bisque in an espresso cup, below).

Posted by Barzelay on 2009/08/30 @ 15:34 | Comments (0) | Food Additives, Veggies, Fruit, Grain, Cheese

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