-
-
Ad Space
(728 x 90)
Published on 5/16/08
Published at 4:48pm
Survey
Sign up today!
How do you turn a multitextured sugar snap pea into a perfectly translucent broth? If you’re Fahrenheit chef Peter Balodimas, you blanch the pea pods, shock them in ice water to keep that brilliant green from fading, juice them, then add gelatin and pour the liquid through cheesecloth- (the gelatin solidifies the sediment so that only clear consommé makes it through the cloth). Add poached lobster, foamy whipped yogurt and micro mint for a beautiful spring starter. (1890 W Main St, St. Charles, 630-444-1350.)
Nacional 27 bar chef Adam Seger dips into the kitchen’s produce supply quite often for his cocktail concoctions, especially once warm weather kick-starts the parade of boxes from local farms. For his “snap-pea-irinha,” Seger saves sugar snaps from salad boredom by muddling them with lime then adding simple syrup, gin and crushed ice. Taking a cue from salads, Seger uses fresh cracked black pepper to finish the job. (325 W Huron St, 312-664-2727.)
If chefs can toss fruits into savory dishes, who says Blackbird pastry chef Tim Dahl can’t use vegetables in desserts? Dahl purees cooked snap peas then separates the juice from the solids, dries the solids to a veritable pea “flour” then uses that flour and the juice to create a snap pea cake. Licorice-laced mascarpone, pickled carrots, candied peas, pea shoots and carrot sorbet complete the dish, giving new meaning to the ultimatum to “finish your peas and carrots.” (619 W Randolph St, 312-715-0708.)
Comment