Episode 72: Starches

Seabass Fillet Wrapped in Yukon Gold Potatoes
Pommes Souffles
Forbidden Rice Risotto
Alberta Wild Rice with Pine Nutes and Fresh Rosemary
Sweet Potato & Caramelized Onion Napoleon
Sweet Potatoes in a Pear Shape
Butternut Squash Flan

SEABASS FILLET WRAPPED IN YUKON GOLD POTATOES
4 x 6 ounce portions of cleaned seabass fillet (4 x 200 grams)
3 large size Yukon gold potatoes (long), peeled
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (15 millilitres)
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil (15 millilitres)
salt and pepper
½ sprig of thyme
½ sprig of fresh coriander
1 teaspoon of fresh chives (5 millilitres)

Ease of preparation is easy
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Prepare the fish by cleaning it and pat it dry. On the mandolin with the straight blade, cut the potatoes length wise to make long strips. Do not put them in water or they will loose some of their starch component. Lay the potatoes on a board, overlapping one another like fish scales (about 5 slices wide).

Place the piece of fish on the potatoes and roll the fish so that the potato scales wrap the fish. Season with the chopped herbs, salt and pepper.

In a saucepan, heat up the oil and butter and sear the fish on the side where the potatoes overlap to make sure to seal the wrapping. When well sealed, turn the fish around and sear the other side. Finish cooking in the oven for 7 minutes.

Remove the seabass from the oven and drain on a piece of paper towel. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings
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POMMES SOUFFLES
4 Russet potatoes, peeled
5 cups of vegetable oil (1 litres 250 millilitres)

Preparation time is 15 minutes
Ease of preparation is moderate

Divide the oil into two saucepans and bring the first one to 300 degrees and the other one to 350 to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Shape the potatoes into an oval shape and cut them into slices either on the mandolin or with a sharp knife. Cut all the potatoes into a 3/16 of an inch thickness.

Put a couple of slices into the first oil saucepan and shake gently to move the potatoes around. This will make the crust form on the potatoes. Scoop the slices out of the oil and allow the excess oil to drip off for 10 seconds.

Plunge the slices in the second saucepan where the oil is at 350 degrees and allow to puff. Some slices will not puff up and you must remove them from the batch. Cook until they become golden in colour.

Remove the potato slices from the oil and put on a paper towel. When ready for the final frying, reheat one of the skillets and bring the oil to 375 degrees. Place the slices of potatoes in the oil and flip them once in a while to make sure that they colour evenly. Season to taste. Serve warm.

Yield: 4 servings
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FORBIDDEN RICE RISOTTO
2 cups of dried forbidden rice (420 grams)
5 cups of chicken stock (1 litres 250 millilitres)
1 tablespoon butter (15 millilitres)
1 medium shallot, peeled and chopped
1 sprig of thyme, chopped
¼ cup of Philippe de Rothschild Sauvignon Blanc white wine (60 millilitres)
¼ cup of fresh Parmesan cheese, grated (2 ounces)
salt and pepper

Preparation time is 25 minutes
Ease of preparation is easy

In a saucepot, melt the butter and sauté the shallots until translucent. Add the forbidden rice and cook for another minute. Deglaze with wine and stir constantly. When the wine is all reduced, add the warm chicken stock, ½ a cup at a time. Keep stirring, and adding the rest of the stock.

When the rice is cooked, add the grated parmesan, the fresh thyme and season to taste. Serve with fish and a curry foam or by itself.

Yield: 4 servings
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ALBERTA WILD RICE WITH PINE NUTS AND FRESH ROSEMARY
1 ½ cups of wild rice (315 grams)
4 cups of vegetable stock (1 litre)
1 small sprig of rosemary
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
100 grams of pine nuts (3 ¼ ounces)
2 sprigs of mint
2 tablespoons of olive oil (30 millilitres)
¾ tablespoon champagne vinegar (12 millilitres)

Preparation time is 25 minutes
Ease of preparation is easy

Put the wild rice and the vegetable stock in a medium sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, add the bay leaf, the rosemary and simmer for 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked.

In the meantime, roast the pine nuts in the oven for 3 minutes or until they become golden brown. When the rice is cooked, cool it down and put it in a bowl with the vinegar, the oil and the chopped mint. Season to taste and serve this salad with fish or by itself.

Yield: 4 servings
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SWEET POTATO AND CARAMELIZED ONION NAPOLEON
2 sweet potatoes medium size
2 Vidalia onions
¾ cup of cream (175 millilitres)
1 sprig of rosemary
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (15 millilitres)
2 tablespoons brandy (30 millilitres)

Preparation time is 25 minutes
Ease of preparation is easy
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

In a saucepan, melt the butter and sauté the onions for 8 minutes on low heat. Deglaze the pan with brandy. In the meantime, slice the sweet potatoes thinly on the mandolin on the straight blade side. Then cut the slices with a cookie cutter to give them a circular shape.

Cook the slices of potatoes in the cream and the rosemary for 10 minutes and remove from the liquid. To form the Napoleon, place one slice of the potato in a round insert on a piece of parchment paper and add one teaspoon of caramelized onions. Repeat the process 3 times. Reheat in the oven, take the insert off and serve as an accompaniment for veal or pheasant.

Yield: 4 servings
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SWEET POTATOES IN A PEAR SHAPE
3 sweet potatoes
1 sprig of rosemary, chopped
salt and pepper
3 whole eggs
1 ½ cups of homo milk (375 millilitres)
1 cup of wild rice flour (125 grams)
1 ½ cup of breadcrumbs (110 grams)
oil for frying
8 pine nuts

Preparation time is 40 minutes cooking, overnight in the fridge
Ease of preparation is moderate

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into rough chunks. Cook them in pot of salted water, for about 10 minutes. When soft, puree the potatoes and press them through a tamis (or fine sieve). Season to taste with salt, pepper and rosemary.

Put the sweet potato puree in the oven for 5 minutes to allow the excess moisture to evaporate. Remove from the oven and cool completely. It is better to do this recipe one day in advance so that you can let the potatoes rest in the refrigerator overnight.

Take the potatoes out of the refrigerator and form into 8 pear shaped potatoes of about 2 inches high. Put the eggs and milk in one bowl. Mix them together. In another put the flour and in a third put the breadcrumbs.

Take one pear-shaped potato and coat with the flour. Then dredge with the egg mixture and coat with the breadcrumbs. Fry in a 350 degree oil bath until the potato becomes light brown in colour. Remove from the oil and repeat the process with the rest. When the sweet potato pears come out of the fryer, season with salt and pepper. Add one pine nut on top of each pear-shaped potato and serve.

Yield: 4 servings
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BUTTERNUT SQUASH FLAN
10 ounces of butternut squash (310 grams)
2 eggs
½ cup of heavy cream (125 millilitres)
salt and pepper
pinch of cumin

Preparation time is 1 hour
Ease of preparation is easy
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Cook the butternut squash in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the squash and puree in a food processor until smooth.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs and the cream. Add the squash and the cumin. Season with a pinch of salt and a couple of turns of the pepper mill.

Butter 4 3-inch ramekins and fill them with the mixture. Place the molds in an oven-proof pan and fill the pan with enough hot water so that it reaches halfway up the ramekins.

Cook for 30 minutes or until set. Let the flans rest and then turn them out onto a piece parchment paper. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings
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Recipe courtesy of Chef Caroline McCann-Bizjak