We were very fortunate to have our home filled with some of our dearest longtime friends during the week of the New Year’s holiday. As always happens when we are all together, there was much merriment and lots of fun cooking and wine tasting.
During this particular visit, we did something we’ve been talking about for years. We trekked to our local international supermarket, and our friends selected ingredients for a “mystery basket” in the spirit of the Chopped television show. The challenge was for me to prepare an appetizer, a main dish, and a dessert that incorporated all of the ingredients they selected, with additions from my own pantry.
Here’s what they selected:
- Eddo — a starchy tuber that is toxic in raw form and nutty flavored after cooking
- Sweet tamarind pods — a fruit used in Southeast Asian cuisines
- Tapioca in a small, diced form with coloring — similar to tapioca pearls, but with a different shape and the addition of color
- A package of assorted Chinese candy made from sesame seeds and peanuts
- Freekeh — an earthy grain made from green wheat
- Chestnuts in the shell
As my kitchen bears no resemblance to a 30-minute television show set, I was not required to comply with the strict time constraints imposed on Chopped contestants. However, I did have the added challenge of making my dishes gluten-free to accommodate the dietary restrictions of one diner. Alas, I don’t believe there are pictures of ingredients or the dishes that resulted, but here is what I prepared:
Appetizer: freekeh and chestnut kibbeh with a tamarind and persimmon chutney (using cooked freekeh, roasted chestnuts and tamarind pulp)
Main Dish: pad thai (using chopped sesame and peanut candies for peanut flavor)
Dessert: Bo Bo Cha Cha — a coconut & cardamom adaptation of a dessert from Southeast Asia (using cooked tapioca and peeled and grated eddo to thicken coconut milk steeped with green cardamom)
Overall, it was pretty successful. I’m not sure that I’d ever think to make any of these dishes again, but it was a fun challenge that had us all chuckling over the possibilities!
