5 ingredient cooking "contest"

[chefdavid321]

I have some friends who have a top chef viewing party and I just moved to the area and I can attend. They choose a theme, watch the show, and cook. The theme this Wednesday is 5 ingredient dishes. I thought it would be interesting to hear what you egulleters would cook. I'm not looking for ideas per se, just thought it would be fun. The group had a write up in the paper last season and they are all just really, really cool people having fun cooking. I'm the only professional chef who will be joining the festivities but I don't think my training will guarantee a win. I'd be fine loosing to an amateur cook and some of them can cook.

So, what would you cook with 5 ingredients to win the Top Chef challenge? Salt, pepper, and water I am assuming are excluded.

Oh, I think I will make a caramelized onion and goat cheese tart. Or maybe I'll mess with them and make a tomato water bloody mary... or maybe potato gnocchi...

I'll keep y'all informed about other themes and share what was served and won. I'll take pictures too.

[PopsicleToze]

Sounds like great fun. Only 5 ingredients??? That's takes a better chef than me.

[RAHiggins1]

Ceviche

Sliced Scallops

Blood Red Oranges

Chopped Red Onion

Seeded and Diced Jalapenos

Lemon juice

Salt

Marinate in fridge until scallops are cured (2 hours).

[Shalmanese]

Carbonnade a la Flamande

Beef

Beer

Onions

Flour

Bay Leaf

[KennethT]

ok - this one's a little out there - but it's 5 ingredients... it's the squab breast and foie gras dish from Atelier Robuchon:

Squab breast

Foie gras

Savoy Cabbage

Bacon

Piment d'Espelette

Granted, I think it would be better with some kind of sauce - like a squab reduction or something, but I think it could stand on its own...

[Dr. Teeth]

Arugala, cannelli bean and caremelized onion salad.

Baby arugala

Canelli beans

Onion

Vermouth or white wine

Olive oil

Slice onions, cook over low heat with 1 tbls olive oil for 30 min

turn up burner to high, caremelize, deglase with wine, repeat.

Salt and pepper

off heat, combine onions with beans.

top greens with mixture

[chefdavid321]

I love all of the ideas! Keep them coming...

One of the hosts of the event doesn't eat meat so there tends to be a lot of seafood at these things. I've decided to do some chipotle shrimp based loosely around Rick Bayless' recipe.

Chipotle puree

Tomato, broiled

Garlic, toasted

Onion, broiled

Shrimp

The original recipe has cloves added to it but that would be another ingredients.

Basically, I'm going to puree the tomato, onion and garlic, fry the sauce, add the chipotle and hten the shrimp. Done. I only have 30 minutes.

[Dr. Teeth]

Just so I'm clear on the rules, does cooking oil and such count as an ingredient?

[chefdavid321]

Just so I'm clear on the rules, does cooking oil and such count as an ingredient?

←

Salt, pepper, oil (and i was told butter) are all free ingredients to use. I was hoping sugar was a freebie.

[RAHiggins1]

So, is it cheating if you use "Italian Style Tomatoes" in a can?

[Jonathan Kaplan]

Carrot Consomme with Carrot Foam

Comsomme:

Carrots

gelatin (does it count if it doesn't end up in the dish?)

Salt to taste (doesn't count)

Foam:

Carrots

Cream

salt to taste (doesn't count)

Well, that's only 3 ingredients! How about:

Corn and tomato consomme

(this assumes you can still get fresh corn where you are, or froze some earlier in the season)... I serve this in small glasses (a little bigger than a shot glass), with the tomato water cold and the corn consomme hot...

Corn consomme:

Corn

gelatin

Salt to taste

Tomato water

salt to taste

light gelling agent to slightly thicken

You could serve both and still be in at 5 if you used gelatin to thicken the tomato water....

jk