Last week saw my third class with Food Sorcery (I’ve already done cheese making and fermentation). And this one has been a long time coming. It was my second with chef Jan Cron, and this time concentrating on protein led food, with an Italian twist.
There is a bit of a reason for choosing this cooking class. As many of you know, I’m a powerlifter, and learned the hard way (through lack of it bringing on perimenopausal symptoms) that I need quite a lot of protein to function. So I’m always looking for way to incorporate it, healthy fats, and to up my veggie count. And the menu definitely promised to do that. Add to this, I’m learning to eat more intuitively (moving away from calorie counting and dieting/restriction). So all ideas, inspiration and influence are welcome. Especially so I avoid continually making stir fry noodles, or egg fried rice over and over again.
Our first dish was the cauliflower pizza. I must admit to having tried this at home and it was… OK. Not my favourite, it was quite eggy and wet. Which is probably why I haven’t made it since the first time around.
Riced cauliflower was cooked and excess water removed. Jan did this by putting it in a tea-towel and squeezing out the excess. We added egg and some Parmesan, plus seasoning, smooshing it in our hands until it came together in a smooth paste. Then we laid it into a baking tin, lined with paper, before popping it into the oven. So far, so good.
To top the ‘pizza’, we made a simple marinara sauce, and to accompany both our savoury dishes, made a simple but delicious salsa. The pizza was flipped half way through cooking, to ensure it browned on both sides, before being topped and popped back in. It was already looking better than my solo effort at home.
The texture had become soft and spongy, not completely un-doughlike. Sure it didn’t have the tear and pull of bread, but the texture was good, and didn’t taste overly of the cauliflower, or the egg. Served with the salsa, it was tasty, and almost completely plant based, meaning I must have hit my five a day in one plateful, right?
Onto our second dish, chicken parmigiana. I was presented with the biggest chicken breast I’ve seen in some time! We butterflied the breast, then seasoned and coated it in coconut, rather than breadcrumbs. We browned the chicken in oil we had infused with garlic, by cooking a crushed clove in it until brown. I think next time I may try it with almonds, similar to Jan’s chicken katsu dish at The Counterhouse. Seriously I’m obsessed and slowly wheedling recipe details out of him one cooking lesson at a time.
Chicken browned, we grabbed a cooking dish, and laid the last of our marinara sauce in the bottom, placing the browned chicken on top. We then topped it with a sauce made from soaked cashew nuts and almond milk. If you’re unsure of a bechamel, want to avoid it, or simply are a little pushed for time, this is a quick alternative to making a batch of sauce for one dish. It’s still creamy, still tasty, but takes no time to blend together. into the right consistency.
Topped with more Parmesan, this was put into the oven to finish off. Of course if you’re dairy intolerant, it would be a simple swap to a cheese alternative.
To accompany this we made carrot ‘spaghetti’. Yeah OK, not bit of pasta in sight, but this was all about me getting more veggies in, and in the most delicious way possible. Onion, courgette, carrot garlic and a little chilli was added to hot oil. Once gently browned, we added kale and the carrot ‘noodles’, stir fried for a minute or two ( if that) before removing from the heat and serving with the chicken.
This was absolutely delicious, though I had overindulged on the first course, and had to take most of it home with me.
Time for pud. And it couldn’t be easier. Chocolate mousse with avocado.
This is a pull together, blend in a mixer kind of dessert. One of those you can make at home, and then make yourself look like some sort of Instagram queen with careful application of seeds, and fruit. I mean…
We had a fabulous evening, and the leftovers I took home didn’t last long at all, Mr GFB had a day off, and by the time I came home, there was only a little salsa left for me to sample.
I guess I know these dishes are going on the menu at home, right?
This class was provided free of charge by Food Sorcery.