Culinary adventures: Seasoned cook gives a salt block a try
I find “Culinary Adventures” in the most unusual places.
While shopping recently for faucets I stumbled into a new store in Oak Brook called Pirch. The store's mission: to help “feather your nest” and make a joyful home.
Appliances and display kitchens are everywhere and while wandering around the store I also noticed two cooking areas one a traditional kitchen, the other with an outdoor theme where the store offers cooking classes. I soon learned they were featuring salt block cooking, something I knew very little about — so I signed up for one of the free Saturday classes.
According to Mark Bitterman's 2013 book “Salt Block Cooking,” Himalayan salt blocks most commonly associated with cooking don't come from the Himalayas at all, but from mines in the Salt Range in Pakistan, almost 200 miles from the southernmost edge of the Himalayas. Colors range from clear to amber-yellow or dark red to silver-blue crystal depending on the trace minerals like iron, magnesium, copper, potassium contained in the salt, yet the most common hues fall in the pink zone. Salt blocks retain heat as well as an iron skillet and also can be used to chill foods or as a serving dish. The shape is not limited to blocks; you can also find salt formed into cups and bowls, perfect for cocktails and guacamole. Special care — such as gently heating and proper cleaning — are required, so do a little research before selecting and using yours.
The “Sourcing Saturday” classes at Pirch feature local ingredients from small local purveyors and have a seasonal focus. Students learn recipes and techniques and help prepare a four-course meal, eating courses throughout the class.
Upon entering the kitchen I noticed 8-inch square slabs of salt heating directly on gas stove burners. I had kitchen envy during the entire class as we roasted vegetables in the stone hearth “pizza-type” oven, used a steam oven, and were easily distracted by the aroma of chicken spinning on the rotisserie, but our tasks kept us busy. Chef Steven Bruner appeared with a whole Schooner Bay salmon and allowed us to try filleting a fish, something I had never done before, all while providing tips for purchasing fish; look for bright red gills, clear eyes, intact scales, and the smell of the ocean. We would go on to use this same fish in two courses of our meal.
We soon began placing large peeled and deveined shrimp, seasoned only with a little freshly ground pepper, on the piping hot salt blocks and within minutes had perfectly roasted and seasoned shrimp to use in our shrimp Caesar salad.
Soon another block appeared, but this one was cold and topped with matchbook-size slices of the salmon we had just filleted. This fish had been marinated in a little olive oil and lemon zest and sat gleaming atop the pink salt block. The salmon was to be the star of a delicious “Sashimi Style” Salmon Salad. Raw, seasoned salmon topped with bitter frisee, crisp sweet apple, orange zest, chives, a bit of freshly ground pepper and a drizzle of olive oil — elegant and tasty and restaurant-like in both presentation and taste.
We seared salmon fillets and topped them with a guacamole-like mixture of mashed avocados and crisp bacon pieces, enjoyed along side jasmine rice and our roasted vegetables and an extra special garnish of “lime caviar,” aka the pulp scooped from the inside of a finger lime. The skin was green and tasted as you would expect, but the similarities ended there. Shaped like a small fingerling potato, this lime was filled with caviar-like beads that we scooped out with a small spoon and used as a garnish. It was almost as if somewhere a lime had been introduced to molecular gastronomy and this was its offspring.
The class ended with chocolate-coated strawberries dipped in pistachios, both tasty and colorful.
This was by far one of the most interesting Saturday afternoons I have had in a long time. I can't wait to go back and try another class. In addition to Sourcing Saturdays, Pirch also offers weekday classes focused on specific types of cooking, along with Cinema Sundays for families where themed four-course meals are delivered to movie watchers — imagine a snowman themed appetizer while watching Frozen! Classes are all free, but you do need to register ahead of time. Take a class you will not be disappointed.
• Penny Kazmier won the Daily Herald's Cook of the Week Challenge in 2011.