Episode 86: Garnishes

Frazzle Fried Veggies
Potato Web
Glass Potato
Veggie Skins
Pancetta Crisps
Plate Painting

FRAZZLE FRIED VEGGIES
Preparation is easy

Terro root
Cassava root
Lotus root
Beetroot
Parsnip
Sweet potato
Leek

All of the above can be sliced thinly, cut into julienne, or other interesting shapes. Lightly dust with cornstarch and deep fry a few at a time until lightly golden brown or crisp. To retain natural colors deep fry roots in clean vegetable oil at 350 to 360 degrees. Drain well on a kitchen towel. Allow to cool and the frazzled veggies will be crisp, delicious and make excellent garnishes in soups, salads, fish dishes, meat and poultry.
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POTATO WEB
Preparation is easy

1 cup silky smooth mash potato
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg white

Boil your potatoes and put them through a ricer to get the ultimate mashed potato with no lumps. Mix all ingredients together. You may wish to add fresh chopped chives, saffron, grated zest of lemon or cracked black pepper. Using either a stencil to create interesting shapes or spreading the mixture thinly free hand on a silpath and baking at 325 for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned and beginning to crisp. If you do not have a silpath, parchment paper will also work. You can shape the web into almost any shape in which to hold a salad or use as a simple garnish for meat, fish and poultry.

To create a beautiful yellow colour to your web, add a small bit of saffron tea to your mashed potatoes
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GLASS POTATO
Preparation is easy

1 Large potato
Clarified Butter

Take one large potato, peeled and cut into an interesting shape e.g. and oval or triangle. Slice thinly on a Japanese mandolin, dip in clarified butter and place on a sheet of aluminum foil (shiny side up), which has been brushed with clarified butter. Placing a second sheet of foil (shiny side down), which has been brushed with clarified butter, on top, creating a sandwich effect. Using a kitchen towel, push down firmly to remove any excess air that maybe trapped and to ensure that the potatoes are perfectly flat. Bake at 225 degrees for approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours. Remove from oven, allow to cool. Gently peel the foil away to reveal the glass like potato garnish. This garnish adds great height or interest to any dish.
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VEGGIE SKINS
Preparation is easy

Tomato skins
Asparagus peelings
Eggplant skins

To get the skins

To remove the tomato skins, place a small 'X' on the bottom of your tomatoes and place them into boiling salted water for 15-25 seconds. Remove them with a spider and peel the skins back.

For both the eggplant and the asparagus, use your peeler.

Drizzle the skins with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and bake in an oven on a silpath for 1 hour 45 minutes at 200 degrees until dry and crisp. If you do not have a silpath, you can use parchment paper. If you have a warming drawer, you may wish to put on low heat and bake over night. These make great little garnishes for salad or around the plate for appetizers, sea scallops, or an interesting element to sit on top of a finished dish.
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PANCETTA CRISPS
Preparation is easy

Pancetta comes in slabs or rolls. Thinly slice or ask a butcher to slice for you. Sandwich between two layers of silpath. If you do not have the silpaths, you can use parchment paper. Bake at 225 degrees for 2½ to 3 hours. Remove top layer silpath during the last 30 to 40 minutes of cooking. The long slow cooking process removes all the excess fat, leaving you with a dry, crisp and tasty wafer of pancetta. Perfect to garnish a Caesar salad, use as the base of a fine salad or as a layer between a tian.
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PLATE PAINTING

Plate Painting

To add pizzazz to any dessert presentation, painting on a simple white plate, using fruit coulis, or using milk, dark or white chocolate. Mango, raspberry, and black currant provide a great palette to work from. Using different size pastry, paint brushes, stencils one can paint, drizzle, spin and apply colors to provide the perfect backdrop for almost any dessert.

Raspberry Coulis
2 12-ounce bags frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup raspberry jam

Puree all ingredients in processor. Do not over puree the raspberries of they will lose their colour. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a nonreactive bowl, pressing gently on the fruit to extract as much liquid as possible. Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Chocolate Sauce
½ cup butter
2 squares (1 oz. each) unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
1 cup light cream
½ cup light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

In a saucepan, melt margarine and chocolate. Add sugar, cream, corn syrup and vanilla. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 ½ minutes. Remove from the heat.

Dark Chocolate Sauce
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
2/3 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate -- chopped
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate -- chopped
1/2 stick(1/4 cup) unsalted butter -- softened

In a small heavy saucepan combine the cream and the brown sugar, bring the mixture to a boil over moderately high heat, whisking occasionally, and whisk it until the brown sugar is dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat, add the bittersweet chocolate and the unsweetened chocolate, and whisk the mixture until the chocolate is melted. Whisk in the butter until the sauce is smooth and let the sauce cool slightly. The chocolate sauce may be made 1 week in advance and kept covered and chilled.
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Recipes courtesy of Chef Michael Bonacini of Toronto’s Oliver Bonacini Restaurants, including ‘Canoe’; ‘Auberge du Pommier’; ‘Biff’s’; ‘Jump Café’; & ‘Steakfrites’