How to Cook with Tea

How to Cook with Tea

The rich and illustrious history of tea conjures up thoughts of elegantly executed and flavourful dishes when we introduce it to modern cuisine. It inspires us to imagine luscious dishes like Earl Grey Clam Chowder. Tea has traversed the globe and thus lends itself to fascinating fusion such as Lap Schong Smoked Duck over Parmigiano Reggiano Risotto. 

It isn’t tricky to cook with tea, or even that uncommon, but it does sound intimidating at first. There are many things to consider when cooking with tea:  which type of tea to infuse into what ingredients, and how to accomplish this using common cooking methods. Simply follow the three steps below and you’ll be fearlessly cooking with tea in no time. 

1. Choose the Tea

Tea	Flavour profile
Chinese Green Tea	toast, sweet and savoury
Japanese Green Tea	grass, hay, seaweed
Oolong Tea	floral, dried fruit
Black Tea	rose, smoke, wood, chocolate

2. Choose your complimentary flavors and ingredients 

When pairing food with tea, we follow the same rule as we do when pairing food with wine: highlight flavours by matching flavour profiles, and balance the dish by contrasting them. Some examples are given below, but feel free to explore ideas outside the box.

Tea	Complimentary Flavours and Ingredients
Chinese Green Tea	game meats, couscous, miso, rice, barley
Japanese Green Tea	seafood, pork, chicken, lemon, kale, seaweed
Oolong Tea	seafood, duck, squab, elk, quail, blueberries, jus
Black Tea	beef, dairy, lavender, thyme, orange

1. The Appropriate Infusing Method

Tea	Infusing Method
Chinese Green Tea	smoke, poach, marinate, braise
Japanese Green Tea	smoke, poach, marinate, braise
Oolong Tea	smoke, poach, marinate
Black Tea	smoke, poach, marinate

a. Aromatic Smoking -  As with any smoking, make sure you are in a well-ventilated area. A quick and easy shortcut to infusing your meat with smoke is to first poach, marinate or braise the meat using tea according to the instructions below.  Once cooked, heat a cast iron pan on the stovetop until hot. Add approximately 3/4 cup (75 grams) of tea and heat until it begins to smoke. (Using a smoked tea such as Lapsang souchong adds extra smokiness to your dish, which is beneficial when the meat is smoked for only a short time.) Add your cooked meat, and cover. Smoke for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat, brush off any tea leaves and serve. 

b. Marinating - Make a marinade using oil, tea leaves and some ingredients and seasonings of your choice. Marinate for 2-6 hours, then wipe off the marinade using a clean cloth, and pat dry before searing in a pan or popping in the oven.

c. Poaching - To prepare a poaching liquid, make a large batch of tea (1-2L) using the guidelines below. Once the tea leaves have been strained add some flavour boosters such as onions, celery, bay leaves or thyme. Simmer the meat or vegetables in this liquid until cooked, then use a slotted spoon to remove from the liquid. Poached foods are quite delicate in flavour, and so they pair nicely with fats and creams. You can also poach fruit in a tea for  both sweet and savoury applications. For example, you could poach some prunes in Oolong tea to add as a finishing touch to a Moroccan lamb casserole, or you could poach them in black tea and sugar to create a floral sauce to accompany a custard tart. 

d. Braising - Make enough tea to cover the bottom half of the piece of meat when it is in a roasting pan. Add flavor boosters of your choice such as onions, garlic, herbs. Choose the braising time and oven temperature according to a recipe for the size and type of meat. Black tea is not recommended for this application, as it has a high amount of tannins, which may result in bitter-tasting meat.

Tea Brewing Guidelines:

Use 1 tsp/ 2 grams of loose tea leaves for every six ounces of water. After steeping, do not squeeze the tea leaves to extract more liquid as it will impart a bitter taste. This goes for any type of tea. 

Tea	Water temperature	Steeping Time
Chinese Green Tea	160℉/ 70℃	2-3 minutes
Japanese Green Tea	160℉/ 70℃	2-3 minutes
Oolong Tea	203℉ / 95℃	3-5 minutes
Black Tea	203℉ / 95℃	3-5 minutes

Te gustas ir al txikiteo? = Would you like to go on a fabulous bar hopping night filled with good, cheap food?

txikiteo – quick group migration from one bar to another, sampling wines and bar food, also known as "pinchos" and "caxuelitas".

After a healthy lunch chosen from the menu del dia  ( a low-cost three course lunch that by law must be offered at all Basque restaurants) and a few more hours of honest work, the masses flood the streets with laughter and chatter, hollers and handshakes. Newborns bounce on enthusiastic mums, the elderly shout wise words firmly to gaggles of girls and couples stroll on the cobble streets. They spill in and out of one bar after another. It’s what the Basque do, and they call it txikiteo, a steady migriation from one locale to another, sipping the local cidre (poured with muchos flare)and snacking on pinchos. 

In most of Spain they are referred to as tapas, but in Basque, they call them pinchos: from the Spanish verb pinchar (to prick), pinchos are little bites you can pick up with one hand - leaving the other for your glass. They are small, so they’ve got to pack a punch to fuel and satisfy the swells.  Not that they need any more seducing. With local avacados, olive oils, cheeses and chorizos to choose from, they are all bound to swallow. Gulp after satisfying gulp, they cut the rich bites with crisp apple cider or sips of Sauvignon Blanc from their neighbours in Loire. The tart drink leaves the stomach wonting; Digestivo is apertifo too, separated by bites of salt cod confit on crackers, olive oil seared scallops spiked with toothpicks and simple sandwiches made with just one slice of meat. Most of them are 1 euro. 

Typical Basque pinchos include fried Piquillo peppers, blood sausage, and the famous Gilda, which is an olive, a guindilla (a very hot pepper), an onion and a piece of cod or anchovy drenched in olive oil and vinegar. The oily, salty, sweet fish helps to calm the firey pepper and the onion helps the pepper fight back.  

After bar hopping and gaining a steady appetite, the Basque population will slowly slow down and sit down for a long and late dinner. 

Olive Oils of Spain

The mountain-sheltered land, flanked by the mediterranean encapsulates the perfect climate for tropical plants like lycees, mangos, macadamia nuts, cherimoyas, avacados and olive oils. If you keep in mind that what grows together goes together then highlighting olive oil goes from daunting to inspirational; Think olive oil drizzled over grilled mango with camerano cheese 

The Basque region is overflowing with olive oil.

In Basque alone you will find a olive oil comes in a full spectrum of greens, signifying the varying intensity and diverse applications for this celebrated oil. 

Lighter olive oil has a higher smoke point, meaning it is the perfect medium for a spanish freiduría (chip-frying shop). The lighter oils are often used in canned foods like what I imagine to be the most unctuous treat: chorizo canned in olive oil or fish out some Hojiblanca -soaked anchovies for a an easy snack. 

The darker the oil, the more complex the flavours and when the choices are endless, it can take an expert to decide a pairing that will put both the oil and the other components of the dish in the best light.  Olive grower and Chef, Jean Pierre Vandelle  introduced Spain to its first olive oil trolly, where diners at El Olvio can oogle the oils before a professional selects the perfect one for the dish. One of them is Arbequina olive oil which is slightly sweet, a little bitter, with a delicate notes of almond. It’s favoured by chefs for desserts (think olive oil chocolate truffles), but some can’t resist using it as a dressing with herbs over freshly caught, sweet lobster. 

Other oils are piquant, deep green and sometimes grassy. These are begging to meet on a plate with equally-grassy goats cheese and some crackers, or over braised lamb with fresh herbs. 

Really, there is an olive oil for every dish. ( And that’s just olive oils from Spain!)

Cakes I Bake

Jenny’s Cakes: I take pride in baking the following cakes from scratch using locally sourced, seasonal ingredients whenever possible. I don’t and will never use any artificial sweeteners or colours. All recipes are my own, inspired by my favourite flavours. The desserts below are all packed with flavour and have only a touch of sweetness so you put your fork down feeling satisfied rather sugar rushed.

100% Organic versions of the cakes below are available upon request

Type	Frosting	total price per 8’ cake
Bourbon Manhattan: Lemon Peel, Bitters, Marachino Cherries	Serve with a shot of Bourbon	$16
Pina Colada: Pineapple cake	Coconut Buttercream	$17
Triple Berry Twist: A swirl of colourful berries & orange zest	Citrus Sugar Glaze	$16
Carrot Cake: Rich with grated carrots. No raisins!	Traditional Cream Cheese Frosting	$15
Speckled Citrus : Grapefruit pieces & poppyseeds	Citrus sugar glaze	$16
Malva Pudding: Traditional South African cake soaked in Bailys just before serving	No frosting. Comes with Bailys mixture to warm on site and pour over individual servings.	$17
Caramel Peach Cake	(the caramel)	$15
Ginger Spice: Refreshing summer take on a winter classic		$15
Souflee Cheesecake:  Flavours optional: mango mint, strawberry rose, blueberry lemon or candied ginger caramel		Please note this cheesecake has a pastry crust so it is best consumed within a day of delivery. Must give 48 hours notice for this order.  $20
Plum Pudding: A moist and boozy cake perfect for welcoming in the fall and winter	Grandma’s Sauce Superb	$16
Boozy Banana Cream Pie: Chocolate glazed pastry with layers of bananas and caramel sauce under a orange rum cream cheese frosting. Decadent, rich and delicious.		Should be consumed within 1 day of delivery. Must give 48 hours notice for this order. $18
Lemon Tart	none	Must give 48 hours notice for this order.  $18
Chocolate Orange Truffle Cake (flourless too!)	Suggested: whipped cream or a citrus gelato	$17
Orange Date Cake: Orange segments and date pieces	Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting	$15
Pistachio Crunch	Orange Blossom Frosting	$17

It's Not Them, It's Us: When You Shop, You Vote

After working on a show that features numerous food factories, and after watching more than 65 interviews I have learned that more than anything, companies create, modify and continue to process food with the consumer in mind. Using social media as an effective marketing tool, as well as receiving direct customer feedback, companies that produce mass quantities of food will do all they can to sell all they can. 

We first saw the eagerness of food companies to please with the boom of organic foods, then companies toting the ambiguous ‘green’ on their label and most recently, locally sourced. We are the growers of change and as Local Food Plus has repeatedly reminded us, to do this we vote by buying what we support and believe in - not what is cheapest. When companies check their stats, and see a growing consumption in  products that are fair trade, ‘green’ or local then they will ensure they have a lace in the market by creating new products, or beefing up the labeling of their current products to match trends.  In turn, these large companies will eventually be up against each other and that means prices will go down.

We’re not quite there with GMO-free products yet. There are still tons of studies to be conducted and analyzed but to me the important thing is that GMO is labelled so that the customer can make his or her own choice. In England, the GMO-free market is booming. In Canada, the FDA has said that because no studies have found averse results, there is no need to distinguish what is what. I too am unsure of the dangers of GMO but I would definately like to know! The problem with GMO, to me, is not that the food has been cross bred but that the companies who do this slap patents on everything, and design extremely unsustainable plants which don’t produce seeds so that farmers must continue to buy them from Monsanto and the like. Why do companies like Monsanto exist? Well, it’s sad to say that as evil as any believe them to be, the stemmed from our desires. They made sure every tomato is ripe when it hits shelves, they make sure they can grow field upon field of rapeseed so we can indulge in fried food, they send not one bruised apple to the grocery stores, and every cucumber is perfectly cylindrical. Somehow in North America we have grown so accustomed to uniform food that we forget that fruits and vegetables are unique as humans and no two are alike - unless of course they are genetically modified. They way to avert the support of GMO without knowing what is and isn’t, is to buy from farmers to whom you can speek. That means going to a farmer’s market, or a co-op like the new West End Food Co-Op in Parkdale.

In order to change the way food is produced, we need shoppers’ persistent dedication. One cannot flip flop; in the summer buying local, but in the winter forgetting it all and buying tomatoes and bananas. We’ve seen an increase in chefs and home cooks who preserve the summer bounty and there is a plethora of books on the subject. It does take work, but good food should! Why do we spend more time working under florescent lights than we do at home sitting around a table with friends and family sharing a good meal? We’ve becoming too entrapped in the Western way of thinking about ‘the economy’ and instead drown ourselves in coffee so that we can keep on marching. I would be so happy if we turned back the clock and lived like how I saw Italians living in Chianti. You grow your own food and at lunch everything stops and stores close so that every person can go home and enjoy food and time with their loved ones. But now I’m drifting from the point. Basically, I think food needs to be appreciated for it’s beauty, it’s vitality and it’s nourishment. Not for it’s ability to supply protein or for it’s low fat qualities. It should be appreciated as a whole and not for it’s parts. Whole foods are always better than processed for a number of reasons; Our body can absorb their nutrients easily, they are easier to digest, they can be bought locally and they have less packaging. 

That being said, most of us do buy packaged food in one form or another and so in that case the best thing to do is to buy from a company you support. That’s it. Every time you shop, you vote. 

Introducing: Square Snacks

Most energy bars have lists of +20 ingredients, most of them unrecognizable. Most energy bars are so heavy and difficult to digest that the package suggests drinking up to a litre of water after consumption! Most energy bars are just plain gross.

But not Square Snacks!

With 2 lines available ( 3pm Snacks and Marvellous for Mom Snacks), these 100-calories bites offer everything your body craves:

•  All natural and raw*   
•  Ingredients sourced from the best, close-to-home farms
•  Locally produced
•  Recipes developed and tested by a nutritionist
•  Easy to digest
•  Delicious ans convient!

Questions, Comments or Orders:              We can be reached at (416) 461-9379 or via email at info@squaresnacks.com

*Honey has been pasteurized 

FoodShare's Next Event: Recipe for Change

Join Toronto's top chefs on March 1st, 2012 for an unforgettable night of local food and wine, listening and learning about sustainability and joining the community of good food fighters!


http://www.foodshare.net/RFC/RFC-buytickets.htm

Sesame Bread

Yes, I am still making bread without a recipe. In this batch I added 1/2 cup of sesame seeds and about 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds. I worked out food costs et cetera and figured out that it cost me less than $2.00 to make these 2 loaves! They stayed moist for 3 days. If you'd like to learn how to bake bread without a recipe, check out my post here

Be Inspired and Eat Local in January

My personal favourite guide to seasonal Ontario produce is Foodland Ontario. It isn’t impossible to eat locally all winter and it certainly isn’t boring!

Even if you can’t make it to a farmers’ market, all major grocery stores now have signs stating the origins of the fruit or vegetable so it won’t be difficult to choose local. 

Here is the list of vegetables that are grown in January with inspiring menu ideas and some recipes that are definitely not the norm. (Recipes and menu ideas that do not have a chef’s name afterwards are my own. If you would like the recipe for any of the dishes below, please email me. Click on the book title or Chef after the recipe for a link to buy the book)

Apples

Apple Soup (The New English Table by Rose Prince)

Melt 85g/3 oz of unsalted butter in a large pan. Add 1 large onion, roughly chopped, 2 garlic cloves, chopped, 12 apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped, 2 celery stalks, chopped, 2 sprigs of thyme and 1/2 tsp allspice. Cook over low heat until the apples soften and then add 1.2 liters of chicken stock. Cook for 15 more minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Serve with bread and cheese. Serves 4. 

Beets

Beetroot Purée (A Year in My Kitchen by Skye Gyngell)

Purée 1.5kg cooked and peeled beets with 2 peeled garlic cloves and 1 large red chili. Wash 1 large bunch of coriander very well, then chop roughly and add to the beet mixture with 1/2 bunch fresh mint leaves, 1 tbsp freshly grated horseradish, 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 2 tbsp olive oil. Blend until a smooth puree and then fold in 125mL full fat Greek-style yoghurt. Serve as a garnish to a white bean soup, or as a dip with pita, or as a garnish to grilled fish. 

Cabbage

Sautéed Savoy cabbage with chili and garlic (A Year in My Kitchen by Skye Gyngell)

Cabbage soup with confit rabbit shreds (A Chef for All Seasons by Gordon Ramsey)

Carrots

Sweet Carrot Pickle (A Taste of Palace Life: Royal Indian Cookery by Manju Shivraj Singh)

Peel 1lb carrots and cut into small cubes. Put in a pot and cover with 2 cups water then bring to a boil and cook until tender. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid. Add 1lb sugar, 4 cloves, 2 sticks of cinnamon and 4 cardamom pods to the liquid and simmer covered with a lid for 20 minutes. Add the carrots and simmer until the mixture thickens. Cool completely, then spoon into jars. 

Cucumbers (greenhouse) 

Fried Cucumbers ( I learned this recipe while working in Ireland, at the Rathsallagh House Hotel)

Slice one cucumber lengthwise and running a spoon down the length of it, remove the seeds. turn over so that the cucumber is steady on the cutting board. Chop the cucumber into half moons, about 1/4 inch wide. Heat a pan until very hot. Add 2 tbsp butter and once bubbling, toss in the cucumbers, keeping the heat high. Toss them a few times until hot, then season with a generous amount of fresh ground pepper. Serve immediately. These are a superb surprise.

Garlic

Garlic white wine mussels

Leeks

Leek Chips ( A Chef for All Seasons by Gordon Ramsey)

Split open the white of a leek and cut the layers into large bite-size squares. Blanch for a few seconds and then pat dry and brush each side with truffle oil. Dry them out in a single layer on a baking sheet in the oven at the lowest temperature until crisp.

Saffron-scented leek soup with pickled girolles ( A Chef for All Seasons by Gordon Ramsey)

Lettuce ( greenhouse)

Heart of romaine with wood-grilled onions, radishes, fresh cheese and roasted garlic dressing (Rick Bayless)

Mushrooms (greenhouse)

Mushroom risotto garnished with chopped almonds and shaved pecorino

Mushroom caps fileld with bone marrow ( Jeremiah Tower)

Onions

Panade of slow-cooked onions with Gruyère (A Year in My Kitchen by Skye Gyngell)

Melt 50g unsalted butter in a large pan over low heat. Add 4 yellow onions, sliced very thinly and sprinkle over 1 1/2 tsp caster sugar and a pinch of salt.Cook gently for 20 minutes until very soft. Pour in 50mL brandy* (*Be sure to keep children well away as the brandy may ignite. If it does, don’t try to blow it out! Simply let the alcohol burn off and soon the flame will extinguish). Increase the heat and add 1 bay leaf, 4 sprigs of thyme and 750mL of chicken stock. Cook for 10 minutes and then remove the herbs. Toast some bread and rub with a clove of garlic. Ladle over the broth and onions and finish by sprinkling some grated Gruyère.

Parsnips

Smoked haddock chowder (A Year in My Kitchen by Skye Gyngell)

Woodcock with caramelized parsnips and chocolate sauce  ( A Chef for All Seasons by Gordon Ramsey)

Potatoes

Potato soup with a drizzle of truffle oil ( A Chef for all Seasons by Gordon Ramsey)


Rhubarb

Baby red mullets with choucroute and rhubarb  ( A Chef for All Seasons by Gordon Ramsey)

Rhubarb compote with seared foie gras

Rutabaga

Rutabega dip with sour cream and fried sage

Squash

Squash soup  Mantua style (Giuliano Bugialli’s Foods of Italy by Guiliano Bugialli)

Cut 1 butternut squash, about 2 pounds, into thirds then remove skin and seeds. Cut the squash into smaller chunks and soak in cold water for thirty minutes. Heat 8 tbsp butter in a large pot and once melted add 1 4oz piece of prosciutto and sauté over low heat for 5 minutes. Drain the squash and add it to the pot. Cook for 15minutes, then add 3 cups beef broth and then cook another 15 minutes. Remove the prosciutto and discard. Purée the soup, add salt and pepper to taste and then cook for 10 minutes longer over low heat. Serve hot, garnished with a basil leaf. Serves 6. 

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potato stew with crab, coriander, lime and butter (A Year in My Kitchen by Skye Gyngell)

Coleslaw

coleslaw.

Although I'm unemployed, it seems I am rarely home and it is depressing when I watch an entire case of baby spinach go to mush before it is opened. What I need is an appetizing, affordable and nutritional food in my fridge that will stay good  for a week. I need coleslaw. 

I almost always have coleslaw in my fridge. It is the perfect food for a number of reasons. Cabbage, carrots and onions are cheap and available all year round. They last forever in your fridge and so do the other ingredients necessary for slaw: mayonnaise and vinegar. Once you make your slaw, it will last up to a week. Red cabbage, carrots and onions are packed with nutrients. Of course, as soon as any vegetable is picked, plucked, cut, or cooked it begins to lose its nutritional value, but coleslaw is still better than KD. 

My recipe: 

1/2 red cabbage, shredded

2 carrots, grated

1 kholrabi, peeled ( optional. It is another healthy veg that stays fresh for a long time)

1-2tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp mayonainse

salt and pepper

Stir it all together and eat. The next day, stir again before eating and it will be even better than day one!