Week 6 - Potatoes, Rice and Pasta

Objective

To familiarize ourselves with the proper selection of potatoes for the dishes to be made with them, along with the variety of rices and what they are used for. Also, an introduction to fresh pasta preparation and cookery.

Sanitation and Safety

Potatoes that have been exposed to excess light will develop a green colouring on their skin which is an indication that solanine is developing. This is a toxic substance that can cause illness if consumed in sufficient amounts. However, it is easily removed by peeling. Rice has the potential to be contaminated with endospores of the bacillus cereus bacteria which can result in the bacteria being present once the rice is cooked. Danger can be avoided by following proper cooling and hot holding techniques to prevent the growth of the bacteria.

Information

In week 6 we prepare many potato dishes, along with some rice and pasta dishes. An important factor in preparing potato dishes is the selection of an appropriate type of potato. Potatoes are broken down into two general categories: mealy and waxy. Mealy potatoes (or starchy potatoes) have a high starch content and a thicker skin than waxy. They have a low moisture and sugar content, making them appropriate for baking and deep-fat frying. Varieties of mealy potatoes include russet or Idaho potatoes. Waxy potatoes have the opposite properties of mealy: a low starch, high moisture and high sugar content. This makes them appropriate for boiling and sautéing, as they will not fall apart while boiling as mealy potatoes would. Their high moisture and sugar content makes them inappropriate for deep-fat frying. Varieties of waxy potatoes include red potatoes and new potatoes.

With this information in hand, we prepare the following potato dishes:

• Duchesse Potatoes
• Croquette Potatoes
• Hash Brown Potatoes
• Rösti Potatoes
  
• Pommes Nature
• Pommes Chateau
• Roasted Potatoes
• Potato Gnocchi

Rice is typically selected for an application based on the length of its grain: long-grain, medium-grain, and short-grain. Long grain is typically the most widely used and versatile - it remains firm, fluffy, and separate when properly cooked. Short-grain rice has more starch and becomes tender and sticky when cooked. Sushi and Risotto both use short grain rice because of these properties. With appropriate rice selection, we make:

• Basic Simmered Rice
• Rice Pilaf
• Risotto Milanese

Pasta is prepared from an unleavened dough of liquid mixed with flour, the liquid usually being egg and/or water. Flour can be used from almost any grain, and the dough can be coloured and flavoured with herbs, puréed vegetables, and is then extruded into a wide variety of shapes and sizes. This week we prepare a fresh fettuccine noodle to be used in a Fettuccine a la Carbonara. We also prepare a Spaetzle, a German dumpling made from a dough of eggs and flour.

Practical

We start potato cookery by preparing Duchesse and Croquette potatoes. They both start with the same base of potatoes boiled in salted water until tender, drained and left on a sheet pan so excess moisture evaporates. The potatoes are pressed through a food mill and have butter and seasonings mixed in, followed by egg yolks. At this point the duchesse potatoes are placed in a piping bag and piped into single portion spirals, brushed with clarified butter, and placed in the oven to bake just until the edges are golden brown. They are then ready for service. The croquette potatoes are rolled out by hand and cut into even length sticks. They are placed in the fridge to chill, then rolled in flour, egg wash, and bread crumbs. Once breaded, they are deep fried until golden brown and served.

Hash brown and rösti potatoes also start from the same base. Potatoes are boiled until nearly done, and then brought out of the water and allowed to dry. They are then grated and prepared for finishing on the stove-top by sautéing. With some clarified butter in the pan, hash browns are cooked until brown, keeping the grated pieces mostly separated. They are seasoned and ready for service. The rösti is cooked similarly in a pan with some clarified butter, but is pressed together in a fairly thin layer, allowing the starchiness of the potatoes to hold the grated strands together. Once appropriately browned on the bottom, the rösti is flipped like a pancake and allowed to brown on the other side as well. Once the colour is appropriate, the rösti is ready for service.

Pommes nature are "natural potatoes" - potatoes are turned, boiled until tender, tossed in butter and parsley, and served. Pommes chateau are prepared by turning potatoes, boiling them until they're almost ready, finishing them by sautéing, and serving. For roasted potatoes, we cut the potatoes to even sizes, place them in a roasting pan with oil and spices, and cook in the oven until done. They should be served right away to keep their temperature.

The gnocchi is prepared by boiling potatoes until done, and then putting them through a food mill. The milled potatoes are mixed with eggs and seasonings, and then flour is added to form a medium-soft dough. The dough is rolled into approximately a 1cm roll, then cooled. It is then cut into short pieces, and pressed with a fork to create a shell shape. The shells are cooked in salted simmering water until they double in size, at which point they are ready for service. We prepare a tomato sauce to serve with the gnocchi.

The basic simmered rice is prepared by measuring an appropriate amount of water to rice, bringing the water to a boil, adding the rice and covering the pot. The heat is lowered and the rice is cooked until done. It should be fluffed with a fork and then served while hot.

Rice pilaf is done by heating butter and olive oil in a sauce pot and sweating an onion and bayleaf in the heated liquid until they are tender. Rice is added and stirred to coat completely, ensuring the rice does not brown. Boiling chicken stock is added and seasoned with salt. The pot is tightly covered and placed in an oven to cook for 18-20 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is fluffy and tender. The bay leaf can be removed, the rice fluffed with a fork and served.

We prepare the risotto by starting with heated butter in a saucepan, which we use to sweat minced onion. The arborio rice is added to the onion and butter and stirred to coat the grains well. Wine is added and the mixture is stirred until the liquid is completely absorbed. Simmering stock is added one ladle at a time, allowing the rice to absorb the moisture completely before adding another ladle. This process takes about 18-20 minutes to incorporate the appropriate amount of stock, after which some butter and grated cheese are mixed in, and the rice is served immediately, to ensure the rice is not overcooked.

Our pasta dough is made by combining eggs, oil and salt in a bowl. The mixture is poured into a flour bowl and slowly the flour is incorporated into the liquid until the dough is dry and will not absorb any more flour. The dough is wrapped and set aside at room temperature to rest for 20-30 minutes. Once rested, the dough is rolled flat and passed through a pasta cutting machine to cut to appropriate size. The pasta is placed in simmering water to cook. We prepare the carbonara sauce by sautéing bacon until done, but not crispy, and then allow the pan to cool slightly. We combine eggs, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese, and add this to the bacon.
The cooked noodles are added as well and the mixture is heated until the eggs thicken the mixture. It is seasoned and ready for immediate service.

The spaetzle dough is prepared from eggs, water, salt, nutmeg, and flour, mixed together in a bowl. The consistency of the dough can be adjusted by adding more flour if necessary. The dough is then passed through a large-holed colander or "dumpling grater" over simmering water so that the dough falls into the water in small dumpling pieces. The dumplings are cooked until they float to the surface, about 2-3 minutes, then removed and refreshed. After refreshing, they are drained well as they should not be left to soak. They are then sautéed in butter and finished with chopped parsley, and ready for service.

Personal Observations

I was looking forward to everything on this weeks menu as an avid potato, grain, and pasta fan. None of the dishes disappointed me. The piping of the duchesse potatoes wasn't an easy procedure and will take some more practice to do as smoothly as Chef demonstrated. The hash browns were straight forward, but keeping the rösti in form while flipping it presented problems at first. After a few attempts this was sorted out - again, practice will help the whole thing move smoother in the future. The pommes nature and pommes chateau were both fairly straight forward, although the pommes chateau came out of the water a little too early and were slightly undercooked when presented.

The rice pilaf was a fairly easy dish that turned out very tasty. The risotto was very good as well. There isn't much to be said about simmered rice, I've made this many times - although I think I will follow my own method for preparation next time rather than adding rice to boiling water and blindly covering to simmer for an arbitrary amount of time.

The spaetzle was a new dish completely to me. Our preparation of it was slightly impacted by our being ahead of schedule and working on it before Chef had demonstrated it.

The fresh pasta was fairly simple, and the carbonara sauce very tasty. This was as close as we've gotten thus far to preparing a whole dish, and it turned out very well.

Chef's Observations

For the most part our potato dishes turned out very well. Chef said the duchess and croquette potatoes were good, as well as the hash browns and rösti. The pommes nature were very good as well, but the pommes chateau were slightly undercooked. The roasted potatoes were fine.

Our tomato sauce and gnocchi were used as an example for some of the other in class as to how the dish should appear - the sauce had a very good flavour, and the gnocchi was well formed and cooked.

Our simmered rice was slightly undercooked and as a result, a touch grainy, said Chef. Our pilaf and risotto were both very good. Our spaetzle was good, even though we hadn't waited for the demonstration. Chef said it could have used a little more colour from sautéing though.

The fresh pasta in carbonara sauce was also very good, with very good flavours and appearance, although the pasta was slightly chewy, perhaps from overworking during preparation or not having been put through the pasta cutter on a thin enough setting.