Cutting EDGE Cuisine - Recipe

As we move into summer, our culinary palette is filled with a rainbow of fresh produce. In keeping with the season, our second edition of "Cutting Edge Cuisine" carries the theme "Summer's Bounty."

Not only is this theme seasonally appropriate, but the very concept of eating in season is one of the underlying principles of "Cutting Edge Cuisine."

This new cuisine, being developed by our nation's top chefs and in culinary institutes across the country, is partially driven by "the current trend toward serving local, in-season produce-- a movement referred to as `sustainable cuisine'." Top chefs from around the country subscribe to this philosophy, including Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California and renowned chef Nora Pouillon of Restaurant Nora and Asia Nora in Washington, D.C.[1]

Other driving elements of this cutting edge cuisine include the growing interest in organic and whole foods, vegetarian dining, and multi-ethnic fare. All of these elements are incorporated into the recipes developed in our four-part "Cutting Edge Cuisine" series. To ensure we are tapping the source of this new cuisine, we're collecting recipes from some of the most creative kitchens in the country -- the kitchens of our nation's culinary institutes.

In part II of our four-part series, we're featuring The Natural Gourmet Cookery School (NGCS) in New York City, New York. Founded in 1977 by Anne Marie Colbin, author of the best-selling Food and Healing (New York Woman), NGCS offers classes using:

* Whole grains

* Fresh vegetables

* Beans

* Sea vegetables

* Natural sweeteners

* Fruits

* Nuts

* Soyfoods

The Natural Gourmet Cookery School teaches its students to cook meals that are balanced according to Chinese and scientific principles of nutrition. Students in the NGCS Chef's Training Program gain mastery of the basic principles governing the culinary sciences, as well as an understanding of the fundamentals of human nutrition and the connection between food and healing.

For more information, contact the Natural Gourmet Cookery School directly at 212-627-COOK or visit www.naturalgourmetschool.com.

The following recipes were developed by students from the Natural Gourmet Cookery School, employing the products and principles of "Cutting Edge Cuisine".

Sources: [1] Beth Panitz, p. 33, Restaurants USA, Vol. 19 No. 9. October 1999

Orange-Cinnamon Vinaigrette

4 oranges juiced (1 cup)
2 lemons juiced (3 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon shoyu
2 tablespoons Eden Hacho Miso
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2 teaspoon Eden
  Ume Plum Vinegar
Pinch salt
2 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons Colavita Extra
  Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup grapeseed oil

Combine all ingredients in a KitchenAid blender and blend until smooth.

Serve with Earthbound Farm Mixed Baby Greens.

Yield: 2 1/2 cups

PER 2 TBS.: 66 CAL; 0 PROT; 7G TOTAL FAT (1G SAT FAT); 3G CARB; 0 CHOL; 76MG SOD; 0 FIBER

WINE RECOMMENDATION: FREY ORGANIC CHARDONNAY 1998

Stuffed Portabello Mushroom Caps

Recipe Developed by Vegetarian Times' Partner Chef, Gregory Wenger, CEC

2 pounds red potatoes,
  sliced 1/4" thick
2 1/2 tablespoons Colavita Extra
  Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounces Vitasoy Enriched
  Original soy milk
2 large Portabello mushroom caps
1/2 cup white onions,
  julienne, 2" long
1/2 cup fennel bulbs,
  julienne, 2" long
1/2 cup red bell pepper,
  julienne, 2" long
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper,
  julienne, 2" long
1/2 cup green bell pepper,
  julienne, 2" long
Dash salt
Dash pepper
1 can Amy's Kitchen Cream of
  Mushroom Soup

Place sliced red potatoes (with skins) in a four-quart pot and cover them with water. Bring water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain water from potatoes. Heat 1/2 teaspoon of Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic and saute for two minutes. Add Vitasoy Original Enriched soy milk to the garlic, then salt and pepper to taste. Add the soy milk mixture to the drained potatoes and mash them together. Cover and set aside. In a large saute pan, add 1 tablespoon Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Saute mushrooms, cap up, over medium-high heat for two minutes. Flip caps and saute on reverse side for two minutes. Flip caps again and saute original side for an additional two minutes. Remove caps and place them in a baking dish. Heat oven to 350 [degrees] F and bake mushroom caps for 12 minutes. While caps are baking, heat one-tablespoon olive oil in the same pan used to saute the mushrooms. Add onion and saute for two minutes. Add fennel, bell peppers, and saute for another four minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. In a small saucepot, heat Amy's Kitchen Organic Cream of Mushroom Soup. Remove mushrooms from oven and stuff with garlic-mashed potato mixture. Spoon on fennel and pepper mixture and top with warmed soup.

Serving Suggestions:

These stuffed mushrooms make a nice side dish or appetizer. You can use fresh herbs to create unique flavors.