Feeding the Future
Lil' Foodies
Chef Brian Lewis of Elm Restaurant is teaching children about quality, local foods through Lil' Foodies! This week on Feeding the Future, Orianne Cosentino tackles the problem of feeding picky eaters, and later sits down with Brian to talk about deconstructing the kids' menu. Hear how Brian takes children from the market to the kitchen. Brian and the kids take farmer's market ingredients and develop recipes for Elm's menu! Learn about Brian's dedication to healthy and diverse food for people of all ages. How can parents take Brian's lessons home to their own dinner tables? Check out one of Brian's recipes below, and find out more on this week's installment of Feeding the Future! Thanks to our sponsor, The International Culinary Center. Today's music has been provided by Dead Stars.
"The workshop is free, and it always will be free. We're hoping to expose kids to good and local food." [13:35]
-- Brian Lewis on Feeding the Future
English Pea Sacchetti
pea shoots, lemon brown butter, parmigianio reggiano
English Pea Filling:
Ingredients:
shelled fresh english peas, 2 cups, blanched in heavily salted water
½ cup parmigiano reggiano, finely grated
¼ cup hot water from the pea blanching
kosher salt, to taste
Method:
1. Place all ingredients in a vita mix blender and puree until smooth.
2. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Egg Pasta Dough
Ingredients:
00 flour, 2 cups
semolina flour, 1 ½ cups
whole eggs, 2 each (preferably organic farm eggs)
egg yolks 12 each extra virgin olive oil, 2 Tbsp.
Method:
1. Place the flour in the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer, fitted with a hook attachment.
2. Combine the whole eggs, egg yolk and olive oil in a small bowl.
3. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg mixture slowly, allowing the flour to absorb the eggs and form a soft dough.
4. Remove from the bowl and turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, to develop the gluten and elasticity (structure) of the dough. The pasta dough should have a smooth feel and bright yellow color. Cover with plastic film or a clean kitchen towel for 30-45 minutes to allow the dough to rest before rolling and cutting.
5. Begin to make the sacchetti; first cut the dough in half and roll each half into 10 inch by 5 inch sheets, about ½ inch thick. Using either a hand crank or electric pasta machine, lightly dust the pasta sheets with flour and roll through the machine, starting at the highest number ( usually 10) and work your way down to number 2, rolling through each number setting along the way. This will yield a smooth and well developed and structured dough (giving you a wonderful mouth feel).
6. Using a fluted, 2 inch square cookie cutter, cut as many portions of the dough as possible, transfer the dough to a cookie sheet and cover with a dusting of flour and a clean kitchen towel.
7. Prepare the sachetti; lay 10 pasta squares out onto a lightly floured work surface and spray place 1 teaspoon of the English pea filling in the center of each pasta square. Dot a bit of water on one side of each square and now bring each corner of the square to a center point, creating a seal with four distinct edges.
8. Repeat until all of the pasta is filled.
9. Transfer to a cookie tray, lightly dusted with flour and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.
Lemon Brown Butter:
Ingredients:
8 ounces unsalted butter
2 lemons, halved
1 cup pea shoots
Method:
1. In a medium size sauce pan, place the butter over medium heat and cook until the butter begins to bubble and the milk solids begin to brown.
2. Once the butter solids begin to brown, stir with a whisk to prevent from browning.
3. Once the butter solids have taken on a nutty aroma and are evenly browned, add the lemon juice, pea shoots and kosher salt to taste.
Assembly:
1. Cook the sacchetti in salted boiling water for 4-5 minutes, remove from the water and toss with the lemon brown butter and pea shoots.
2. Plate in a warm serving bowl and sprinkle with parmigianio reggiano.