JOIN USFilling the coffers with coffee
Just admit it! Whether you are a coffee person or not, the heady essence of the earthy bean is just irresistible. While more and more coffee-lovers are turning to numerous gadgets to roast and grind their favourite beans at home, chefs and food-lovers are tapping into its rich aroma and flavours to dole out an array of sweet and savoury preparations.
“As a drink, coffee is a multi-sensory experience. The aroma is a clincher and marks the difference between a good coffee experience and a bad one. The way coffee behaves on the palate is remarkable, involving experiences of sweet, bitter, sour, all at the same time. And then there’s the lingering after-taste. I think all of these make people love coffee so much,” says Ashish Dabreo, Founder-Partner at Maverick & Farmer Coffee which has a chain of coffee stores in Bengaluru and Delhi.
“A fruity coffee can be the perfect complement to set off a dish that has a bit of acidity. A nutty coffee could potentially enhance the presence of aromatic spices in a dish,” he adds.
Coffees with notes of cream, caramel and chocolate have been lapped up by coffee-lovers across the globe for years now. So have coffee-based desserts like tiramisu. In fact, adding a dollop of coffee to desserts like brownies, flans or ice-creams takes their taste a notch higher. But who would have ever thought that the complex flavour of coffee with the right amount of fruitiness, acidity, sweetness, depth and body could even make savoury dishes extraordinary? Yes, it’s time to say move over filter coffee and cold coffee and hello there, coffee-braised meats and vegetables!
Espresso, along with regular marinades like vinegar and soya sauce, works wonders on meats and vegetables, believes food consultant and nutritionist Gauravi Vinay, who has created a chicken dish using all these ingredients for The Caffeine Baar.
“The basic principles of a marinade are heat, salt, fat and acid. Coffee is a unique flavour as it gives you sweetness or acidity depending on the brew,” she says.
Her chicken dish is simple — chicken marinated in espresso, rosemary, balsamic reduction and prunes. This is then roasted and served with mashed potatoes on the side.
“I had created a sticky sauce earlier with the same ingredients for a vegetarian dish — cauliflower buffalo wings. I thought it would work with chicken and it did,” she says.
Coffee not only enhances the taste of roasted meat and vegetables but also gives them a dark, charred look, says Rahul Sharma, head chef of the gourmet coffee shop Araku Coffee India. “For one of the chicken dishes we prepare, we make a glaze with coffee that we keep brushing on the meat to give it a lovely, dark look and a crisp yet juicy taste. Since coffee has a dehydrating property, it works perfectly when brushed on roasted meat or vegetables,” he informs. “Even the by-products of coffee like the husk of the seed are fruity and flavourful. We make bonbons with them and serve them on the side with a cuppa.”
So this summer, whether you make chilled drinks out of this fabulous grain or add it to spices to make a spice rub for your meat, coffee sure is coming out of its cup and leaving all food enthusiasts asking for more.
Coffee goes savoury
Here are some simple tips to keep in mind while cooking a savoury dish with coffee at home:
Don’t add too much coffee just because coffee has to be the hero of the dish, nor add too many aromatics like garlic as the flavour of coffee won’t stand out.
Vegetarians can try out coffee-based marinades on sponge-like vegetables like cauliflower and cabbage that absorb the flavours.
Follow the basic principles of a marinade — salt, acid, heat and fat. “A basic marinade with espresso, rosemary, balsamic reduction and prunes or even jaggery works perfect,” notes Gaurav.
Know your coffee before using it. “The darker the roast, the more bittersweet, robust, smoky and rich the flavours. Light roast coffee is more acidic with citrus, floral, fruity and tangy aromas and flavours,” says chef Anthony Tamang, executive chef of Gawky Goose.
Wild mushroom cappuccino
Ingredients
Mushrooms: 100 gms
Chopped onions: 20 gms
Garlic: 10 gms
Celery sticks: 10 gms
Bay leaf: 1 gm
Thyme: 2 gms
Cinnamon sticks: 1 gm
Salt: 10 gms
Black pepper: 5 gms
Cream: 50 gms
Butter: 20 gms
Milk: 5 gms
Lecithin powder: 1 gm
Coffee powder: 2 gms
Method
Finely chop mushrooms, onions, garlic and celery. In a pan, heat butter. Add the chopped vegetables, bay leaf, thyme, cinnamon stick and sauté. Take off the bay leaf and cinnamon stick and make a puree of the rest. Heat the puree and add a little butter, salt, pepper and cream. In a bowl, add milk, coffee powder and lecithin and whisk till the mixture foams up. Pour the soup mixture into a soup bowl, top up with the foam and sprinkle a little coffee powder on the foam. Serve with a soup stick or cheese straw.
(Recipe courtesy Chef Anthony Tamang.)