Culinary competency in caldo verde

Chef Dan Fluharty rewarded me full credit -- 20 points -- for my caldo verde in Monday' soups competency exam in Culinary Foundations II.

The exam called for making three soups in two hours. The caldo verde was my best; Chef Dan called it "very flavorful and seasoned just right." Thanks, Chef.

My clam chowder and consommé offerings also got high marks, and he judged the flavors to be good in both.

The flavor profile is the key: identifying the flavors, bringing them out and building their complexities from the bottom of the pot to the top.

In the case of caldo verde, one must reconcile the competing flavors in two strong ingredients -- spicy chorizo and bitter kale -- to make them complementary. The background ingredients of potatoes, sautéed onions, chicken stock and a little olive oil help do that.

(Photo shows my caldo verde in the pot.)

Culinary school quotes of the week, Week 8

It's a sure thing
"Shrimp always sells. If you think you're going to have trouble selling something, add shrimp."
-- Chef Dan Fluharty (left), explaining the making of shrimp bisque and telling us that many a restaurateur has gotten by using the tasty little crustacean.

Non-sequitir of the week
"My question is actually about bleaching. Can we bleach these?"
-- Culinary student Molly Lester (below left), tugging at her white chef's jacket and stopping Chef Dan's soup demo.

Let there be no uncertainty
 "When in doubt, add salt."
-- Culinary student Fontaine McFadden, responding to Chef's question of what she had learned that day.

Cooking unconventionally
"The Portuguese are just like anyone else on the planet: Just because they have a recipe doesn't mean we have to follow it."
-- Chef Dan Fluharty, acknowledging that the "national soup" of Portugal, caldo verde, can be made with rice rather than potatoes as the starch.

We'll talk bonus later
"All this fun and you'll get paid for it."
-- Executive Chef Michael Weller making note of students actually enjoying themselves while cooking in Culinary Foundations II.

Man (and woman) as food-making machine

Soup production techniques began in earnest today in culinary school, and as it did, I was struck by the continuous push by the teacher chefs to get us to multi-task and do things in a hurry.

Not a complaint, necessarily. Merely a note that this is training not only in how to prepare foods well, but how to prepare them quickly and in repetitious steps that mean one plate of French onion soup is like the previous one, and the next one and so on.

Today we produced three soups -- French onion, consommé and caldo verde -- in about 75 minutes, including prep work, cooking and plating for presentation. Thursday's production will be the same, with shrimp bisque, cream of mushroom and clam chowder on the menu.

The chef instructors clearly are pushing to replicate the pace of restaurant work. Again, no complaint about it. Just a recognition of that reality.

(Photo shows my soup production for today: French onion in the foreground, consommé left background, caldo verde right background.)