As outdoor farmers markets begin to wind down and signs of fall start to appear, there’s one delicious event to look forward to: the Green City Market Chef BBQ is right around the corner. If you are in Chicagoland area this is the hottest ticket in town!
It is where all of the top restaurants, chefs, mixologists, and wine makers come together not only to fundraise but to celebrate the farmers and what makes the Midwest so fabulous as a food scene. All of the participants utilize market ingredients to showcase the producers bounty and guests get to enjoy unlimited tastings of all of their creations.
The Chopping Block has been participating in this event for as long as I have worked here and even well before I started. We are so grateful to be a part of this event, not only to support the local farms but this community that makes Chicago flourish. The elaborate set ups and table displays at the BBQ are amazing to wander around and see. The dishes that chefs create are absolutely delicious. I will never forget my first year at TCB grilling a whole side of pig for sliders. What was funny, though, is that quite a few other participants were featuring pork that year!
Another year, I decided to make lamb kebabs and the same thing happened! Multiple chefs were showing off lamb. Even when that is the case, I love getting to try all of the other chef’s recipes. It is spectacular to see them all preparing the same ingredient in different ways and to see which farms they used.
In order to try and mitigate similar ingredient use, I have tried to challenge myself to create a dish utilizing ingredients that may not be very popular and to use them in a unique way. Not that I have anything against zucchini, corn, tomatoes, peaches - they are delicious, but I would categorize them as the cool kids at the market! They are the veggies that always get chosen. Just last month, I demonstrated how to make zucchini and corn fritters at the Edgewater Farmers Market, and there is nothing wrong with that.
But for this very special chef BBQ, I try and think outside the box. My passion for education sets in, and I take an unpopular ingredient - that last picked vegetable - and transform it into something that is undeniably delicious. I always ask in my classes what is your least favorite food and in my Love it or Hate it blog I provide recipes to make you actually like that food.
So, one year at the GCM Chef BBQ, I made beet bread and featured beets in three ways. Beets tend to be a heavily disliked food and guess what? There were no other vendors serving beets that year! This year, I decided on pears and parsnips. I always pick the ingredient I want to feature first, contact my farm connections to see if it will be available, and then come up with a recipe.
My dish will consist of a ginger-spiced parsnip cake, with a dark chocolate parsnip puree, whipped salted caramel, vanilla poached pears and cinnamon sugar parsnip chips. Below I will share the recipe for the cake, and I urge you to check out the other blogs on how to poach fruit and make caramel so you too can make an elegant dessert at home.
Ginger Spiced Parsnip Cake
Yield: 1 quarter sheet tray
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 40 minues
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup neutral oil
1/2 cup buttermilk or whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups packed shredded peeled parsnips - roughly 3 medium
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Preheat the oven to 350° F. Prepare a quarter sheet tray with pan spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment and spray the parchment as well.
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In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, ground and fresh ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
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In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, the oil, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir gently with a wooden spoon just until combined. Gently stir in the parsnips.
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Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 18-20 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out without any streaks of batter (moist crumbs are okay).
Who knew parsnips three ways would be so delicious?! The reason this combination works is natural because parsnips have their own sweetness and lend themselves beautifully to baked goods not unlike carrots. But they are mild enough to turn into chocolate sauce which I would not necessarily do with carrots.
Taste the finished dish at the Green City Market Chef BBQ this Thursday, September 10 from 5pm-8pm. Get your tickets now.
My other favorite part of this creative process is creating a composed plated dessert which I don’t get to do very often. If that is something that you aspire to definitely check out our Pastry Boot Camp coming up where I will teach you many basic baking and pastry techniques that come in handy for a multitude of different dishes.
