Culinary School Chronicles - Tusan White Bean Salad

Even though I started Culinary Arts at George Brown two weeks ago - we skipped last weekend for Easter tho - this really felt like the first week we REALLY started because we actually got to cook something.  The first week was orientation, safety and sanitation procedures and then we watched the Chef demo how to make fish stock, chicken stock and beef stock.  Pretty basic stuff but important to get the basics down first before you move on to the next more complicated dish.

The class not only demonstrated the basics of stocks, it also focused on knife cuts - in this case - the dice.  I hadn't really thought about this too much but the size of the dice should be proportional to the length of time you are cooking a stock.  The longer the stock cooks, the longer you have to extract the flavours from the vegetables, so the larger the dice can be.

A fish stock takes only about half an hour, so the dice should be small (1/4" x 1/4" x 1/4").  For a chicken stock, which takes 2-3 hours normally, a medium dice is required (1/3" x 1/3" x 1/3").  And for a beef stock which requires roasting of bones and vegetables and takes 8-10 hours, a large dice is called for
(3/4" x 3/4" x 3/4").  There is a smaller cut still called brunoise which is teeny tiny at 1/8" x"1/8"x1/8".

From Columbus State Community College

This week we focused on the julienne cut.  Julienne is the cut where vegetables or fruits are cut into long thin strips, or matchsticks.  There is a fine julienne (1/16"x1/16"x1-2"), julienne allumette  (1/8"x1/8"x1-2") and then the batonnet (1/4"x1/4"x1-2").  You can apply a similar technique to meat, but it is called emincé, and if you roll and very thinly slice herbs it is called a chiffonade.  Here's a link to a great knife cuts chart if you'd like a visual beyond the photo above.

I wasn't too excited about the Tusan White Bean Salad on the slate for today's lab, but it turned out to be a nice lunch, and something I could actually see myself taking to a summer potluck or family picnic. This recipe calls for dried beans that have been soaked over night (canned ones really wouldn't work in this preparation), so if you try it, be sure to soak yours the night before, or for at least 4 hours for same day use.  As usual, recipes in a kitchen are scaled, or weighed, so I have converted as best as I can the measures from weight to volume measure.

Tusan White Bean Salad

3/4 cup dry white navy beans, pre-soaked
1 package of proscuitto (115g or 4 oz), emincé
1/2 cup asiago cheese, grated
3 plumb tomatoes, seeded and julienned
1/2 yellow pepper, julienned
1/2 red pepper, julienned
1/2 red onion, peeled and julienned
1-2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon
10 sundried olives, pitted and finely chopped (add more if you like)
2 sprigs fresh oregano, chiffonaded
1/2 bunch basil, chiffonaded
3-4 sprigs parlsley, chiffonaded
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Sachet:

Wrap together in a piece of cheesecloth and tie off with kitchen string:

1 sprig parsley or a few parsley stems
1-2 bay leaves
12 black peppercorns, crushed
2 cloves

Instructions:

Soak the beans over night in enough water to cover by 2 inches.  Drain and rinse before using.

Place beans in a pot with enough water to cover by 2 inches.  Add the satchet to the pot.   Simmer until the beans are tender, about 30-35 minutes.  Drain and allow to cool.

Cut up all vegetables, herbs and seasonings and combine in a large bowl.  Add olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper and allow to marinate for about 30 minutes.  Add in cold beans, proscuitto and asiago cheese and combine.  Adjust seasoning and serve!

An interesting note is that if you are serving the dish same day you can add the proscuitto, but if you are making ahead a day, then wait to add the proscuitto until a few hours before serving as the acid in the salad (vinegar and lemon juice) will bleach the meat making it look grey and unappetizing.