Sweet Plantain and Lentil Soup

The comforting perfume of warm sweet plantain is hard to resist. Traditionally used in Latin and Caribbean kitchens, these starchy fruits are treated like potatoes and served boiled, baked or fried. Sweet plantain is by definition an overripe green plantain. Sweet and musky, the cooked fruit has an aroma that is sap-like and syrupy, with a banana note that reveals a hint of tart lemon. Tostones, twice fried plantains served with a mashed garlic condiment, are familiar fare in Puerto Rican and Dominican neighborhoods in New York City. Adventurous preparations of plantain that combine sweet and savory tastes are the domain of home cooks and chefs. If fortune smiles upon you, you will know one or the other.

Chef Orlando León, who currently runs the kitchen at The Restaurant at The Benjamin, introduced Sweet Plantain and Lentil Soup at his former haunt, Mosaico. Chefs from well-known restaurants all over the city frequented the café for take-out, hoping to fill their bellies while deciphering Chef León’s multiregional Latin cuisine. The Sweet Plantain and Lentil Soup was part of many not-so-stealth missions and tickled León, who continued to turn out dishes that put restaurants like Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill to shame.

Chef León’s warm and hospitable demeanor endeared him to patrons who would occasionally find him serving food to customers from behind the counter. Though León revealed his recipe for Pumpkin Cajeta Cheesecake in The New York Daily News (November 15, 2000), the Columbian native’s recipe for Lentil and Sweet Plantain Soup stayed in the confines of Mosaico. There was one caveat; it was up for discussion if you were a customer who fell in love with it.

The recipe for the version of Sweet Plantain and Lentil Soup presented on Glass Petal Smoke is the result of a series of discussions with Chef Orlando León that took place when he was at Mosaico. Measurements and spices were not disclosed by the chef and tweaking liberties were taken with regard to spices and the addition of a vegetarian protein booster called TVP®. Lovers of hot sauce rejoice; the combination of heat with savory and sweet is addictive, lending a harmonious contrast.

Sweet Plantain and Lentil Soup
Recipe by Michelle Krell Kydd
Inspired by Chef Orlando León

Ingredients:
· 16 ounce bag of green lentils, rinsed
· 3 sweet yellow plantain (sliced into discs)
· 2 large carrots (diced)
· 2 large stalks of celery (diced)
· ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
· 1 medium Spanish onion (chopped)
· 1 tablespoon olive oil
· 4 cups of water
· 2 quarts nonfat, low-sodium chicken stock
· 2 teaspoons ground cumin
· 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
· ½ teaspoon oregano
· 3 teaspoons epazote
· 2 cups texturized vegetable protein (aka TVP)
· plain nonfat yogurt for garnish

Instructions:
· Heat olive oil on a low flame. Add onions and celery and sauté until onions are clear.
· Add all dry spices, except epazote. Mix thoroughly, coating celery and onions with the spices.
· Slowly pour chicken stock and water into the pot. Add carrots and sweet plantain, gently mixing all of the ingredients together. Cover the pot and heat on a low to medium flame. Allow contents to simmer until they reach a gentle boil.
· When the soup begins to boil add lentils and epazote, reducing heat to a low setting and covering once again.
· Stir soup every half hour until 1½ hours have passed.
· Add TVP and simmer for an additional 40 minutes over low heat.
· When finished, serve with a dollop of plain nonfat yogurt and fresh cilantro. Heat lovers can add hot sauce to taste.

Notes:
When shopping for the sweet variety of plantain, yellow and brown are the colors to seek out. Green plantain is starchy, its flavor akin to a mixture of squash and potato in flavor. Semi-ripe yellow plantain is sweet and grows more sugary as it turns brown. Brown plantain is sweetest and softer than yellow plantain when cooked. All sweet plantain should be firm to the touch.

TVP® is texturized vegetable protein made from soy flour and is available at most health food stores. It adds protein, isoflavones and fiber to the soup and keeps carbohydrates in check. TVP® has a cereal-like aroma in the bag, but has no flavor. It is a popular ingredient in vegetarian dishes as it absorbs the flavor of sauces and has a texture that lies somewhere between a meat and an al dente grain.

The Restaurant at The Benjamin is located at 125 East 50th Street in New York City. 212-715-2500.

Mosaico was opened in 1997 and is now closed.

Photo of plantains comes from Gourmet Sleuth, which has additional recipes for the fruit.

Breath Perfumes

In the late 1800’s, T.B. Dunn and Company introduced a “breath perfume” called Sen Sen®. Patchouli, geranium, ionones, orris extracts, nitromusks, anise and clove were some of the ingredients that comprised the oriental flavor of the candy, which was marketed to mask the smell of tobacco. According to F&F Foods, the current manufacturer of Sen Sen®, the candy straddled olfactive and gustative categorization at its inception and “In keeping with its perfumery roots, it was on the market list for many years as a cosmetic.”

Perfuming the breath is not an uncommon ritual in India, where fragrant spices abound. Consumption of mukhwahs—a mixture of fennel seed, anise seed and colored sugar—is customary at the end of a meal. Most restaurants leave a bowl of the refresher at the door as a courtesy to patrons, allowing them to neutralize lingering traces of onion, alcohol and other instigators of bad breath. Rose and cardamom are also used in mukhwahs, though fennel and anise seeds are commonly employed for purifying and uplifting properties categorized as “sattvic” in the tradition of ayurveda.

The history of breath perfumes in twentieth century America was not limited to Sen-Sen®. In an effort to create a “unique and different flavored candy,” Charles Howard enlisted the help of Givaudan’s flavor division and developed Choward’s® Violet in the early 1930’s. Historically, candied violets were a favorite among the Victorians and the French, but Choward’s® Violet was not an homage to sugar petal pleasantries and nostalgia. Its powdery bouquet was designed to eliminate tobacco, alcohol and unpleasant mouth odors, perfuming the breath with the subtlety of potpourri. Choward’s® Scented Gum, the company’s second fragrant creation, is more palatable than the candy that preceded it. Woody tones of musk, violet and a faint trace of patchouli playfully fragrance the mouth and do not overstay their welcome.

An interesting and complex example of fragrant confectionary is Lifesavers® Musk. The iconic pink candy is redolent of rose, violet, patchouli and musk, and tastes like perfumed cotton candy. Where the flavor of Choward’s® Scented Gum quickly fades, the taste of Lifesavers Musk® gently lingers in the mouth an hour after it has been consumed. In perfumery, musk is utilized for its ability to magnify the olfactive characteristics of individual ingredients that are combined with it. Its knack for promoting staying power in fine fragrance has made it the fixative of choice for perfumers. It behaves no differently in flavor applications, as evidenced by Lifesavers® Musk.

Though one may not crave “breath perfumes” or consider them a proper gourmand indulgence, the category does have a distinct place in flavor and fragrance history. Exploring fragrant sweets challenges traditional notions of flavor, providing an opportunity to expand sensory horizons.

Notes:

Though Lifesavers Musk® is distributed in Australia it can be purchased online through the U.K.’s Cybercandy.com.

Writer Stephen Fowler authored an essay on musk that appeared in issue #3 of Juice Magazine (1995). It is compelling, well written and filled with olfactive gems.

Natural musk is no longer used in flavors and fragrance due to the near extinction of the musk deer. Synthesized musk is now the standard.

Tabac Blond, a renowned perfume classic by Caron, was created to counter the lingering smell of cigarette smoke that would permeate the hair, clothing and fingertips of French women who began smoking in public after World War I. Parallels between Tabac Blond and Sen-Sen® are a reflection of the postwar popularity of tobacco on both sides of the Atlantic.

Coffee: The Fragrant Cup Revealed

My introduction to coffee began in a modest 1960’s family kitchen. These were the days of percolators, Nescafé and ads for Mr. Coffee™ featuring baseball great Joe DiMaggio. My mother drank two or three cups of coffee a day, a pack of cigarettes always within arm's reach. She took her coffee light with Sweet’N Low™ and in the afternoon added one or two Dutch-style pretzels, which she would dip into her coffee to soften before eating. Her coffee habit caught the nose of my sister who at age two displayed a taste for the brew and was permitted one or two sips with an accompanying pretzel. As a child, I never liked the taste of coffee, but associated the aroma with quiet moments my mother, sister and I shared together. I enjoyed coffee the way one enjoys the perfume of another—by encounter and in memory.

It wasn’t until I met my husband that I began drinking coffee. This was largely due to the extraordinary aroma generated by a peculiar gadget that graced our kitchen; the Chemex®. At first glance the hourglass shaped carafe, which is corseted by a wooden neck and a string of rawhide, exudes retro bohemian style. Invented in 1941 by German chemist Peter Schlumbohm, the Chemex® was inspired by a passion for coffee and an ubiquitous laboratory staple—the Erlenmeyer flask. Electricity is not required to brew a pot of coffee in a Chemex®, but patience is. If you enjoy the aroma of coffee, you can extend the sensory experience by becoming directly involved in grinding, wetting and brewing the beans. These steps result in a highly fragrant cup of coffee that is free of bitterness and sediment. Once the Chemex® is mastered, it boldly unmasks the drip machine for what it truly is—a scent bandit.

Coffee contains over 800 aromatic compounds and is one of the most fragrant foods in the world. Of these compounds furans and pyrazines dominate the aroma spectrum, luring coffee drinkers with their savor. Furans lend caramel-like aspects while pyrazines add toasty flavors. Though roasting and country of origin contribute to differences in taste, it is important to note that not all coffee beans are alike. Arabica beans are highly fragrant and indigenous to Ethiopia and Yemen. Robusta beans, which are used to make espresso, are native to Uganda. Higher in caffeine than arabica beans, robusta are essential to the development of crema (the foam that caps a shot of espresso) and possess a telltale rubber note that can be exaggerated in overly roasted coffee.

Over the years I’ve experimented with a variety of coffees and found that medium roasts possess smooth bouquets that are as complex as perfumes. In the interest of promoting a more fragrant cup, the following coffees are recommended for use in a Chemex®:

Fazenda Lagoa Estate of Brazil (Medium/French Roast)
Mingling notes of chocolate, honey, and caramel are topped with traces of walnut. Low acidity and a touch of sweetness make this the perfect choice for an unadulterated cup.

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Organic/Fair Trade (Light/Vienna Roast)
Notes of maple, honey and floral nuances of lemon blossom leave a sublime impression.

New Mexico Piñon Coffee (Medium Roast)
A unique melding of roasted coffee and pine nuts results in an incredibly smooth and earthy flavor. Faint traces of toffee and vanilla linger on the palate. Not a flavored coffee in the commercial sense.

Notes:

For an instruction sheet on brewing coffee in a Chemex®, visit Sweet Maria’s. They sell the eco-friendly coffeemaker and related accessories.

In February 2006 The Sun published a wonderful selection of coffee stories submitted by its readers. Each is a testament to the importance of coffee in our culture and the role it plays in memory (Issue 362, February 2006). A partial sample can be uploaded for free in PDF form. The ad-free magazine is published monthly and worth the subscription price of $36/yr.

Photograph of latte art taken at The Pioneer Coffee Roastery in Australia and posted by Gilfer on Flickr.

Animator Jonathan Ian Mathers takes a hilarious crack at a commercial coffee chain in Coffee House Propaganda. The main character is a ranting squirrel named Foamy. Warning; hilarity and profanity are involved.

Chinese Smoked Tea Eggs

Chinese smoked tea eggs possess aesthetic and gastronomic qualities that smooth the jagged edges of winter. In a season where everything in nature is stripped down and bare, this simple yet exotic preparation of eggs inspires the  the appetite with mesmerizing patterns and voluptuous earthy flavor.

Lapsang Souchong is a bit of an oddity to the western teetotaler, whose palate is unaccustomed to the savory flavors of this pine-smoked tea. Many store-bought Lapsang Souchong teas have been fired to conceal inferior quality leaves and the tarry notes are overpowering for most tastes. Upton Tea’s Lapsang Souchong is sourced from China and is less smoky than traditional Fujian versions, offering appealing characteristics of dry spice and wood.

Fire is one of the most powerful elements known to humankind and smoked foods are marked with its transformative verve. Rise above the stark chill of the season with a smoky and tasty antidote by indulging in Chinese smoked tea eggs.

Chinese Smoked Tea Eggs
Recipe by Michelle Krell Kydd

Ingredients:
· 1 dozen eggs (rinsed of any residue that may be on the shells)
· two points of a whole star anise
· 3 tablespoons of Lapsang Souchong Tea
· 8 cups of water
· ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
· one block of firm tofu, cut into fifths*

Equipment:
· 2-quart cooking pot
· 2-quart bowl for rinsing eggs
· tongs
· 2 ¼-quart plastic storage container with lid
· measuring cup
· ladle
· 4-cup plastic container with lid*
*Option to make tea smoked tofu using reserved liquid from tea eggs.

Instructions:
· Fill the pot with water, star anise and tea. Heat on medium and keep the lid on.
· When water begins to boil, gently add eggs using tongs and reduce flame to medium/low. Place the lid on the pot, leaving an opening for steam to escape.
· Cook for 15 minutes. When done, remove from heat.
· Remove eggs one by one with tongs and place into a bowl of cold water for 3-4 minutes.
· Ladle tea from the pot into the plastic storage container, keeping tea leaves out. Extract the star anise and place it in the tea broth. Slowly add low sodium soy sauce from your measuring cup into the brew. Stir with ladle to incorporate.
· Tap each egg firmly against a counter to promote cracks. The idea is to create crevices that will be permeated by the savory tea. Place eggs into plastic storage container, making sure that the eggs are completely submerged in the liquid. Allow to rest for 30 minutes. Secure the container and refrigerate for 8-10 hours.
· Remove the tea eggs from the refrigerator, reserving 2 cups of the liquid in a 4-cup plastic container. Place eggs in a heavy-duty freezer bag and return to the refrigerator. The eggs will keep for 5-7 days. When you remove the shell, beautiful marbled patterns will emerge and the eggs will be redolent of tea, smoke and spice.
· The reserved tea liquid can be used to marinate tofu. Cut a block into 5 slices refrigerate in the tea brew for 24 hours. You can use the tofu the next day or let it soak for two more days if you don’t plan on using all of it at once. The outside of the tofu will turn a soft shade of brown and all of the flavor in the liquid will gently infuse the tofu. Smoked tea tofu is great cubed in soups or prepared scrambled with onions, shitake mushrooms and a touch of sesame oil and salt.

Notes:
Photo of eggs from Speak Peppery.