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Plating my Theme
When I was told about this project, I was very excited. This was an opportunity to make a dish for people I don't know, and make it look nice. Though we were working to create a team menu, our dishes still needed to align with our themes, mine being “Jewish Jawns.” I wanted to stay in the realm of Jewish Israeli foods, and make it simple, so I chose to make pita bread and hummus. A safe choice, but something I thought I could make special.
My Idea of plating vs. how it turned out
Making this dish for the first time was an interesting process. Making the pita bread was easy and I was very happy with the process. When it came out, they didn't really taste much like pita bread, more like naan, not as puffy, but I figured it out. Making the Hummus, I kinda went off direction and did my own thing. I ended up adding more than initially intended, but it did end up well. When mixed, I think the dish really stands out, it tasted really good.
First time making Pita bread
After making my dish, we were told we could make drinks. I decided I wanted to make something sweet and refreshed. I surfed the internet to find the “Honeydew refresher.” The drink was nice.. When it came out, alone, it was very sweet, not something I wanted to serve to the judges. After thinking about what could be done, adding soda water seemed to be the best choice, and it was. It turned out really well and had a perfect amount of sweetness in the end.
Honeydew drink
Once my team decided what we wanted to make, our task was to make a menu for the judges, starting with the name. We spent a whole period working on this, when we finally came to an agreement with “Stop Over,” we went to work on the actual menu. From then on, it went smoothly, we worked together to create a menu that looks nice, and well represents our international foods restaurant.
Final Menu
After making the dish for the first time, I had a few changes made to the menu. For the hummus, I added more lemon juice, garlic, and more paprika for a little spice. Additionally, Chef gave me advice for a hummus topping, cilantro and olive oil blend. Pouring this on top was the cherry on top, it really blended the flavors and tasted really good. I ended up doing the pita bread the same because although it didn't taste what i wanted it to taste like, it was still really good. Plating the dishes was really interesting. I've seen nice dishes plated, and I've seen pictures, so I wanted to do something that looks professional. I ended up putting the hummus in the bowl, swirling it, and drizzling the oil on top with a sprinkle of paprika.
Plated Hummus
My finished product
When it was time for me to present my dishes to the judges I was ready. Considering I was the first person and had little instruction, I'm happy with the way I presented my dish. After introducing the food, I left and helped my teammates with their dishes. I melted chocolate on the stove, and for the rest of the period I was either helping or cleaning.
I was very happy with the feedback I got. Reading what they had to say about both the drink and my dish was really crazy. I've always kinda felt like the food I make doesnt turn out great, but this definitely did in my opinion. I was very happy with how it looked, tasted and the effort I put into it.
INGREDIENTS
1 medium size honeydew melon, cubed/chunked
2 cups cold coconut water or filtered water
2 limes, juiced
Half cucumber
¼ cup raw honey
Ice from filtered water
Mint
Soda water
INSTRUCTIONS
The outside of honeydew melons can hold dirt and other unwanted particles, so make sure to wash the outer rind of the honeydew melon before prepping. When the honeydew melon has been washed and dried, grab a cutting board and a knife and cut the honeydew melon in half, then remove and discard the seeds with a spoon.
Cut the honeydew melon flesh into chunks. I like to cut the honeydew melon into slices, then cut vertical slices into the flesh, spaced about ½-inch apart and use a knife to slice horizontally near the bottom of the flesh right above the rind. This leaves you with several chunks of melon. Go ahead and cut the honeydew melon however you want, just make sure to remove the melon from the rind.
To a blender, add the honeydew melon chunks, coconut water, lime juice and honey, then blend until the drink is pureed and no chunks remain, about 20-30 seconds.
Strain the agua fresca drink through a fine mesh strainer/sieve into a large glass pitcher with lid or 64-ounce (2 quart) mason jar, using a wooden spoon to gently press on the pulp to squeeze the remaining juice out, then discard the solids.
Place the agua fresca in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes or immediately serve the honeydew melon agua fresca with lime chilled over ice. Enjoy!
60% honeydew drink 30% seltzer in cup.
INGREDIENTS:
INGREDIENTS:
Pita Bread
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
½ teaspoon sugar
35 grams whole-wheat flour (1/4 cup), preferably freshly milled
310 grams unbleached all-purpose flour (2 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Hummus
Chickpeas (3 cups). (you'll want to cook your own chickpeas from scratch (you'll give them a good soak overnight + boil in water until well-done. More on this later)
Garlic (1 or 2 cloves) .(Start with 1 clove and make sure it is finely minced)
Tahini (⅓ cup).
Fresh Lemon Juice (from 1 lemon).
Kosher Salt. (Just a pinch of kosher salt)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil. (A generous drizzle of quality extra virgin olive oil)
Garnish (tangy sumac)
DIRECTIONS
Pita Bread
Make sponge: Put 1 cup lukewarm water in a large mixing bowl. Add yeast and sugar. Stir to dissolve. Add the whole-wheat flour and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and whisk together. Put bowl in a warm (not hot) place, uncovered, until mixture is frothy and bubbling, about 15 minutes.
Add salt, olive oil and nearly all remaining all-purpose flour (reserve 1/2 cup). With a wooden spoon or a pair of chopsticks, stir until mixture forms a shaggy mass. Dust with a little reserved flour, then knead in bowl for 1 minute, incorporating any stray bits of dry dough.
Turn dough onto work surface. Knead lightly for 2 minutes, until smooth. Cover and let rest 10 minutes, then knead again for 2 minutes. Try not to add too much reserved flour; the dough should be soft and a bit moist. (At this point, dough may refrigerated in a large zippered plastic bag for several hours or overnight. Bring dough back to room temperature, knead into a ball and proceed with recipe.)
Clean the mixing bowl and put dough back in it. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then cover with a towel. Put bowl in a warm (not hot) place. Leave until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Heat oven to 475 degrees. On bottom shelf of oven, place a heavy-duty baking sheet, large cast-iron pan or ceramic baking tile. Punch down dough and divide into 8 pieces of equal size. Form each piece into a little ball. Place dough balls on work surface, cover with a damp towel and leave for 10 minutes.
Remove 1 ball (keeping others covered) and press into a flat diskc with rolling pin. Roll to a 6-inch circle, then to an 8-inch diameter, about 1/8 inch thick, dusting with flour if necessary. (The dough will shrink a bit while baking.)
Carefully lift the dough circle and place quickly on hot baking sheet. After 2 minutes the dough should be nicely puffed. Turn over with tongs or spatula and bake 1 minute more. The pita should be pale, with only a few brown speckles. Transfer warm pita to a napkin-lined basket and cover so bread stays soft. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.
Hummus
*If using canned chickpeas, give them a quick 20 minute simmer in plenty of water to help soften them some more. chickpeas soaked overnight
Peel the chickpeas
Cover the cooked chickpeas in hot water and add 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda. Leave for a few minutes. Take a handful of chickpeas and rub under running water to remove the skins. Discard skins. Let the chickpeas cool completely before using.
chickpeas being peeled under running water
Puree the chickpeas in a food processor
Dry the chickpeas well then add them to the bowl of a large food processor that's fitted with a blade. Run the processor until the chickpeas turn into a smooth powder-like paste
Add the rest and keep blending
While the food processor is running, add 2 ice cubes, tahini, salt, and lemon juice. Blend for about 4 minutes or so. Check, and if the consistency is too thick still, run processor and slowly add a little hot water. Blend until you reach desired silky smooth consistency. At this point, you can cover and refrigerate the hummus for an hour or so before serving.
hummus dip in the food processor
Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish
Spread in a serving bowl and add a generous drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil. Add a few chickpeas to the middle, if you like. Sprinkle sumac on top.
Enjoy with warm pita wedges and your favorite veggies and some warm pita bread.
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