The local Lenten table

 

Recipes and photos compiled by Darlene J.M. Dela Cruz
Hawaii Catholic Herald

Catholics traditionally abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent. No beef, pork or poultry on those days doesn’t have to mean giving up fun and flavorful food ideas. The Hawaii Catholic Herald reached out to some of the Islands’ notable chefs to seek out fresh takes on Lenten fare. These recipes personally shared by the chefs focus on farm-to-table local ingredients and can be made easily by faithful home cooks. Enjoy!

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Buttered Ulu with Chile Pepper Water Aioli
Contributed by Chef Ed Kenney

1 pound breadfruit (ulu)
4 ounces unsalted butter
1 ounce olive oil
Salt and pepper

Peel the breadfruit (ulu). Cut into chunks in uniform sizes (about ¾-inch or 1-inch pieces). Bring ulu up to a boil, starting in cold salted water. Simmer for 3-5 minutes. Let ulu sit in hot water for a few more minutes or until ulu is tender. Strain and cool. Heat up a sauté pan and add olive oil. Brown the ulu and finish with butter, salt and pepper. Yields 4 portions.

Chile Pepper Water Aioli
Note: Makes 16 ounces. Adjust proportions as needed for home use.

6 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 dash Tabasco sauce
2 ounces chile pepper water

Peel garlic. Add garlic and salt to the food processor. Blend until garlic is the size of a mince. Scrape the bowl down and add egg. Measure out oil in an easy to pour container. Turn on the food processor and slowly drizzle in the oil to start the emulsion process. After about 3/4 of the oil is in, add the lemon juice and chile pepper water. Finish drizzling the last of the oil and add additional salt and pepper to taste. Store in refrigerator preferably.

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Pohole Salad
Contributed by Chef Ed Kenney

1 pound pohole (Hawaiian fiddlehead fern shoots)
4 ounces sweet onion
4 ounces grape tomatoes
1/2 ounce opae (baby shrimp)
3 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Prep and blanch pohole. Shave sweet onions. Halve tomatoes. Fry opae. Toss all ingredients together. Dress with lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

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Taro Cakes
Contributed by Chef Peter Merriman

Note: Recipe is for a restaurant-sized portion of the taro cake mix (14 pounds yield). Adjust ingredient proportions accordingly for home use.

12 pounds taro, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup jalapeño peppers, brunoise cut
2 cups onions, small dice
½ cup garlic, minced
16 ounces extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons salt and pepper

Steam taro in water and salt until soft. Sweat onions and garlic together in a sauté pan. Put the taro through a food mill and add the onion/garlic mixture, jalapeños and olive oil. Blend in a food mixer until smooth. Finish with salt and pepper, adjusting seasoning if necessary. Create round “cake”-sized portions and sear them as desired.

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Hawaiian Kampachi Sashimi  with Yuzu Ewa Melon, Pickled Mango, Ho Farms Tomato Sambal, Green Papaya Salad
Contributed by Chef Roy Yamaguchi

3.5 ounces Hawaiian kampachi (thinly sliced)
Pickled mango (recipe to follow)
Ewa melon (small dice, marinated in yuzu juice)
Shaved radish
Ho Farms tomato sambal (recipe to follow)
Green papaya salad (fine julienne green papaya, Big Island hearts of palm, Japanese cucumber)
Pea tendrils

Tomato sambal

3 quarts Ho Farms tomatoes
6 pieces (thin) sliced shallots
2 bunches chopped cilantro
12 pieces Thai chili peppers
3 cups shoyu
3 cups rice vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons black pepper
1/2 cup fish sauce
2 pieces lemon (juiced)
Salt to taste

Thinly slice shallots, Thai chili peppers and cilantro and place them in an air-tight container. Cut Ho Farms tomatoes and place them in the same jar. In a mixing bowl, combine shoyu, rice vinegar, brown sugar, black pepper, fish sauce and lemon juice. Mix well until all the sugar is dissolved. Pour the liquid over the sliced vegetables and marinate for at least four hours. Taste the mixture by eating a tomato — this will tell you if you have enough salt or spice. Add salt, pepper or more chili peppers if needed.

Pickled mango

1 mango, slightly unripened
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Thinly shave the mango on a mandolin. Mix the remaining ingredients together until sugar and salt have dissolved. Pour the liquid over the mango and let sit overnight.

To assemble the dish

Toss the papaya salad with some of the tomato sambal liquid and place as a bed for the fish. Shingle the fish over the salad. Roll the pickled mango and place around the fish. Spoon the melon and yuzu juice over the fish. Place the tomato and shallot sambal over the fish as well. Spoon tomato juice if needed. Garnish with pea tendrils and shaved radish.

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Halekulani Coconut Cake with Raspberry Coulis
Contributed by Chef Mark Freischmidt

Sponge cake

3/4 cup cake flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons oil
1 whole egg
1/3 cup water
4 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together in a small bowl cake flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Set aside. In separate bowl, combine well the oil, egg and water, and add them to the sifted ingredients. Mix batter until smooth. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites and the cream of tartar. Gradually add the sugar, continue to whip until it forms a stiff meringue. Fold batter into the meringue only until just combined; do not over mix. Pour the entire batter into an ungreased 9-inch cake pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Invert cake onto a flat surface lined with parchment paper. Set aside to cool. Store in the freezer for several hours before cutting.

Pastry cream

1 3/4 cups milk
3  ounces sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean
1/4 cup milk
2 ounces cornstarch
2 eggs
1 ounce butter
1 1/4 cups coconut flakes
1/2 cup amaretto

Combine the 1 3/4 cups milk, sugar, salt and the vanilla into a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Combine well the 1/4 cup milk with the cornstarch, then add the eggs and beat several times. When the milk boils, temper the cornstarch mixture into the hot milk by pouring about 1/2 cup of the hot liquid into the cornstarch and mixing well, then pouring it back into the main pot. Stir constantly until thick. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Remove the custard from the saucepan and place in a bowl. Cover the custard with plastic wrap so it touches the custard. This will help prevent a skin from forming on the custard. Place over an ice bath to cool quickly. Store in the refrigerator. After the pastry cream has cooled to the touch, fold in the coconut flakes, amoretto and whipped cream. Combine well. Store in the refrigerator.

Whipped cream

3 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1  1/2 cups coconut flakes

Combine the heavy cream and the sugar together in a mixing bowl and whip until stiff peaks form. About 1 cup of whipped cream is to be added to the chilled pastry cream, and the remaining whipped cream is to be used to frost the cake.

Raspberry Coulis

1 pint fresh raspberries
1/4 cup simple syrup
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water

Bring sugar and water to a boil and reduce for 5 minutes. Chill the simple syrup over an iced water bath until cold. Pulverize the raspberries and the simple syrup together in a blender and strain though a chinoix. Chill until ready to use.

To assemble and serve

To finish the cake: When the cake is completely cooled, cut the cake into three layers using a serrated knife. Place the bottom layer on a 9-inch cake board or a serving plate. Place half of the coconut cream on the first layer of cake and spread to the edge of the cake evenly. Place the second layer of cake on top of the coconut cream and repeat this process, ending with the last layer of cake. Frost the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream and gently press the coconut flakes into the sides and top of the cake. To serve: Cut the cake into 8 pieces and serve with raspberry coulis.