My first 'master class'

Decided to go for my first cooking class in HK, and the first in many years. Must say I loved it.

Grassroots Pantry's 'First Date Recipes' three-course menu was so compelling that the class had to be signed up for. On the menu were grilled figs and panko crusted halloumi salad, orzo pasta and raw banana banoffee pie (my old love from the days of Big Chill Cafe).

The restaurant itself is tucked away in a little corner and was as cute as button. Couldn't get as many pictures as I would have liked but I'm pretty sure I'm going back there soon-ish!

Was great to see so many people there at 10am on a Saturday and the class was led by Peggy, the Executive Chef and founder of Grassroots Pantry.

She started with making the grilled figs and OMG, who would have thought it would have been so easy to make?! Although I was little disappointed that we didn't get to cook along, it was great to be able to watch her cook and ask her as many questions as we wanted. And many of those simple tips and tricks are hard to be found anywhere besides a live demo session.

We got a chance to taste each dish, made with fresh organic ingredients, after the cook. And WOW!

Grilled figs and panko crusted halloumi salad with Middle-Eastern dukkah dressing

Tip - For a good dukkah, always roast your nuts and spices before pulsing them in the food processor. This helps to release their natural oils.

And, if you are a vegetarian and can't use eggs for the wash, whisk flax seed with water and use that instead!

Roasted eggplant, cherry tomatoes and morel mushroom orzo pasta 

If there was some way I could capture the fragrance of that searing morel mushroom, I won't be writing a blog post right now. I couldn't help but wonder that if this is what one tiny pan in a tiny kitchen smelled like, wonder what the Masterchef Kitchen feels like?

Tip - While making pasta, make the sauce and blanche the pasta simultaneously. And just before you think it's the right kind of al dente, take it off the heat, strain and cook it in the sauce. That way the pasta will really pick up the flavours. That's how the Italians do it, Penny said. And always, always, salt the water used for blanching the pasta.

Raw banana banoffee pie with salted almond and pine nut caramel

Saving the best of the last, the session ended on a sweet note. This pie was so spectacular that there were squeals of excitement when Peggy sprinkled the choco-chips on top. And because it was so simple, so elegant and so HEALTHY, it deserves more than one picture!

 

Tip - If not using butter, coconut oil works as a stabiliser and can be used instead.

Peggy made vegetarian cooking and flavours look so good that it was difficult to miss the meats.

All in all, a morning well spent, lots of notes scribbled, new techniques learnt and a sprouting of new ideas to execute in the kitchen. Definitely keeping an eye out for the next class coming up. Thanks Peggy!