The Spanish Word for Étude

A number of years ago I came upon a new, revolutionary product: fata paper, ostensibly invented by some Italian chef, though I'm sure he was only its public face. Fata paper purported to be a transparent, oven-safe plastic that one might use as one would use parchment for meals "en papillote." It seemed pretty cool at the time - I pictured packing meals-to-go in the stuff, doing some nifty table presentation, whatever. Then I discovered Reynolds Oven Bags. My fata bubble had burst. Anyway, last night's dinner was a bit of a spoof on some of today's latest trends, and following are recipes for you to execute a perfectly modern menu at home: native cod, a ragout of corn, shiitakes & smoked shrimp, maiz fundido and cucumber-celery espuma.

It begins with the farm to table movement: garlic scapes, first blanched, then cooked for so long they approach a surprisingly edible state; and some local corn, which along with New Hampshire shiitakes, Maine shrimp and dayboat cod, all qualify for the locavore title. Next we hit Spain, home of the top culinary trendsetters for the past 15 years or so, and the hub of molecular gastronomy (a title which, to me, much better describes microwave cooking). So we have little monoliths of corn (the yellow rectangles in the photo) designed to only finally melt when the dish is fully cooked, which actually works out quite well. And here we use marshmallows, as it is typical to the school of avant garde Spanish cuisine to make use of rather improbable, perhaps inappropriate - or at least marginally appealing - ingredients. Of course we must include one of several types of foam, the one often refered to as "air." I personally prefer "fizz," but that doesn't do justice to such a scholarly study of la cocina. Also, I included one metric measurement for true authenticity. And finally we bake this whole bundle in fata paper, except that I left my expensive roll of fata paper at the office, so I got some Reynolds Oven Bags from Shaw's while Owen had a piano lesson. (I should mention, by the way, that Owen chose corn and shiitakes as ingredients.) I should also mention, that spoof or no, this was an unreasonably delicious dinner.

The Spanish Word for Étude

Ragout

2 Tbsp grapeseed oil

1 Tbsp butter

10 large shiitake caps, cut into brunoise

kernels and milk from 2 ears corn

6 oz smoked Maine shrimp, chopped

2 Tbsp combined thyme and oregano flowers

pinch salt and a few grinds pepper

- sweat shiitakes and corn in oil and butter over low to medium heat 7 minutes

- remove from heat and add shrimp, herb flowers, salt and pepper; chill.

Maiz Fundido

1 Tbsp butter

shaved corn and milk from 1 ear corn (1/2 cup)

1/2 cup thin sliced sweet onion

1/2 tsp sea salt

200 ml prepared dashi

2 marshmallows, diced ( I like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's brands)

1/2 cup 1% milk

3/4 tsp agar agar powder

- sweat corn, onions and salt over low to medium heat until onions soften - about 8 minutes

- add dashi and bring to a simmer

- stir in marshmallows and remove from heat

- puree in blender until smooth (this should amount to about 1 cup)

- return to pan and add milk and agar agar; whisk constantly while simmering 5 minutes and pour into small bread pan lined with plastic wrap; chill until set

Cucumber-Celery Espuma

1 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced cucumber

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp soy lecithin granules (available at hippie supermarkets)

- puree celery, cucumber and water; strain

- add soy lecithin and warm this liquid over low to medium heat

- before serving, whip this mixture with an immersion blender

Assembly

4 oven bags

4 garlic scapes, blanched 3 minutes and shocked in ice water

corn, shiitake & smoked shrimp ragout

4 7 ounce portions of cod, seasoned with salt and pepper

maiz fundido

cucumber-celery espuma

- in each oven bag place a garlic scape and fill with the ragout (the scape is a spiral shape)

- top each with a portion of cod and 1/4 of the maiz fundido (which will be a solid block)

- seal bags with the provided enclosures and bake at 350 degrees until the solid maiz fundido rectangle has melted - about 20-25 minutes

- remove from oven and cut bags open; top with dollops of espuma and enjoy!