We don't always think about the role that drama plays in our enjoyment of food, but it's an important thing to consider. Whether it's presenting a whole roasted turkey at Thanksgiving that is carved at the table, the armor of bruleed sugar that encloses the delicate creme underneath, the smells wafting through a dining room as a particular course gets brought to another table, the traditional cloche covering up the dish as it is set before us and then revealed, we like our food to play coy with us. When that whole turkey comes out at Thanksgiving, or that whole chicken on Tuesday night, it's playing hard to get. We don't get to dig in immediately. We have to stare at it as our anticipation builds. Basically, we like food that keeps its secrets until the last possible moment, food that leaves something to the imagination, food that doesn't put out on the first date.

Sometimes we work hard to construct the drama, and sometimes--rarely--nature does it for us. This soup course comes with a bit of drama in several forms, some of which we created, and some of it was nature. The first kind of drama is built with the menu, which is definitely an avenue of drama that most chefs overlook. They use menus only to entice diners to order, rather than using menus to manipulate diners' expectations in a way that will keep them engaged once the course arrives.

In this case, the title of the dish is "Two Cabbages," but when the course arrives, there is nothing that the guest recognizes as cabbage. Not all the guests will even recognize the green hash as brussels sprouts, and of those, few will realize that brussels sprouts are a cabbage. Second, the dense white foam on the plate, studded with nigella seeds, does not look like anything recognizable, and also does not seem to represent anything that was on the menu.

Third, a short time after the bowl is set down (giving them a few seconds to be puzzled), they get a graduated cylinder of a blue-ish purple liquid. At that point, the course is described somewhat: "In the bowl is a brussels sprout hash with marcona almonds, and whipped Meyer lemon juice studded with nigella seeds. In the graduated cylinder is a red cabbage soup. Pour the soup into the bowl around the foam, then pay attention as you stir the foam into the soup." Any time the diner gets to do something to "finish" the construction of the dish, it gets them very engaged. People love that.

Fourth, what a dramatic description. "Pay attention?" "What will happen?" We don't answer the questions. Then people stir in the foam, and as they do the soup almost instantly turns from blue-ish purple to hot pink. It goes from liquid to silky and airy. Drama.

Oh, and also, it tastes good.

The color change happens because the pigment in red cabbage is a pH indicator, meaning that its color changes as the pH changes. The soup starts out blue-ish purple based on the pH of the water with which it is pureed. When the Meyer lemon foam gets stirred in, the pH lower dramatically from the lemon juice, and the color turns hot pink. The funny thing is that I initially conceived this course without realizing that the color change would happen. It was serendipitous.

When I first conceived the dish, I began testing red cabbage soups. I was very concerned with ensuring that the beautiful pink of red cabbage would be preserved in the pureed soup. I wasn't sure whether I'd need to cook the cabbage briefly, or blanch and shock, or blanch with acidified water, etc. The first method I tested was to simply boil the red cabbage and then puree. It turned a fairly ugly shade of blue-ish purple. But I noticed that when I poured it into the sink and ran the water it seemed to turn even more blue. That set my experimentation and research into motion. I figured out that if I wanted the bright pink color, I needed to acidify the soup. But then I realized that I could make that color change happen in front of the diner. Awesome. Everyone loved this dish, both nights.

Brussels Sprouts Hash

To shred brussels sprouts, cut sprouts in half from pole to pole, then lay the two halves next to each other so that you can cut both at once, and cut into 1/8" thick slices, stopping before you include the stem. Repeat until you have enough shredded brussels sprouts. Get a saute pan very hot, then add a film of olive oil. Once smoking, add the sprouts all at once and then season with salt. Toss occasionally. Cook for 3-4 minutes on high heat, adding almonds during the last minute.

Whipped Meyer lemon

100g Meyer lemon juice
50g water
3g Versawhip
1.5g xanthan gum
salt and sugar to taste

Combine all ingredients with immersion blender, then transfer to stand mixer and whip on medium-high until maximum foaminess is achieved. You can't over-whip Versawhip whips, so don't be too concerned.

Red Cabbage Soup

Make a vegetable stock with plenty of onion and spices, but no acidic ingredients like tomato. Chop cabbage into manage pieces, and simmer the pieces for ten minutes or so in salted water. Drain the cabbage and transfer to blender. Blend, adding plenty of veggie stock to get the puree to blend smoothly in a proper vortex. Salt the soup, and adjust the consistency by adding extra vegetable stock if necessary. Strain through a chinois. The soup will keep, refrigerated, for a week or so, and its color won't suffer from reheating.

Posted by Barzelay on 2010/01/21 @ 23:06 | Comments (3) | Lazy Bear, Veggies, Fruit, Grain, Cheese

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