“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”...”Call me Ishmael”...some notorious words that lead into notoriously great tales. These are classic novels, that start with an impactful statement, which grab the reader by the collar and seize upon them to become one with their reality. While it wasn’t the first line of the book (it was merely a few pages in), this line struck me, to the point I’ll probably never forget. A line which stoked today’s inspired culinary offering: “Their work, like them, was invisible. Invisible men and invisible women cooking invisible food for invisible children.”
This was Kwame trying to explain to the reader how difficult it is for one to pay their dues, or even simply honor their predecessors, when that history has all but been erased from the hierarchical ladder within the archives of cuisine. The problem lies before him; as stark as the black-font words imprinted on a white page - a contrast of two separate realities, long at odds with each other, in a similar manner which the African American History Museum (where he ponders this dilemma) stands in uncomfortable dissimilitude among all of the white-washed structures of Washington, D.C.
Sometimes, the only way to successfully navigate around a problem is to slam through it head-on. Chefs like Kwame Onwuachi, Marcus Samuelsson, Nina Compton, and Carla Hall are paving the way for future generations, not only to be successful behind the closed doors of a commercial kitchen, but to thrive in the limelight, employing the benefits of multimedia. They will see chefs who look like them, who are not afraid to find their own voice and cook their own food, limited only to the breadth of their imagination, unhindered by a stereotypical expectation. Their lives will be made easier by the fearless efforts of these primogenitors. They will know who to look to when they need to cut their teeth in an uber-competitive industry, whose positive example to follow, whose stories to stand upon.
Invisible Pie
Notes: Don’t use a pastry cutter blade to make the pie dough as it’s too small and will press some ingredients to the exterior instead of incorporating them. Many times, coconut water has chunks of coconut or pulp. When pouring out, do so through a fine mesh strainer, lined with a coffee filter to catch the solids. If any bubbles are sticking around on the surface of the cooling gelatin (after 40 minutes of chilling) remove them from the surface.
You will need a 9-inch pie dish, pie weights or 1 lb dried beans, a fine-mesh sieve, coffee filters and a pastry brush.
Pie Crust
1 cup AP flour
1/4 cup sweetened cocoa powder
3 tbsp confectioners’ sugar
1/4 tsp table salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp cold butter, cut into tiny pieces
Ice water
2 oz good bittersweet chocolate, diced
4 tsp coconut oil
Filling
4 cups coconut water
2 ¼-ounce packets of gelatin
1 tbsp vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
Combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, and oil in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 15-20 times until it appears sand-like. Then pulse in the butter until it crumbles - resembling pea-sized chunks. Add 2 tbsp of ice water and pulse to combine. If the dough is not starting to come together, add another tablespoon and continue pulsing. If it still needs more water, add in one teaspoon at a time.
Assemble the dough on plastic wrap and press out into a 6-inch round disk. Wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
Once the dough has rested, roll it out into a 12-inch round, on a lightly floured surface, and gently place into a 9-inch round pie dish. Pinch the crust. Place in the freezer to rest for 20 minutes and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
After the dough has rested, poke it all over the bottom (and sides) with a fork. Spray a piece of tinfoil with cooking spray and place it sprayed-side down on the crust. Place pie weights (or 1 lb of dried beans) on the foil and place in the oven on the middle rack for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and place back in the oven for 8 minutes. Then, transfer for a rack and let it completely cool. Prepare the filling.
Meanwhile, place 2 cups of filtered coconut water in a large bowl and sprinkle the gelatin all over the surface. Bring the other 2 cups of filtered coconut water, along with the vanilla and sugar, just to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pout the hot contents into the large bowl and stir everything until combined. Place in the fridge and cool for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
When the pie has cooled, melt the bittersweet chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave for 1 minute, giving it a stir half-way through. Then, using a pastry brush, apply the melted chocolate all over the bottom and sides of the pie crust (you will have some melted chocolate leftover). Let it cool at room temp for 20 minutes, then place in the fridge to set.
Once the shell has set and the gelatin has cooled for an hour, slowly pour the coconut gelatin mixture into pie dough and set in the fridge for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight. Before cutting/serving, place the pie in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Optional garnish - (banana-infused) whipped cream, chocolate shavings, toasted coconut.
______________________________ Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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