Bush's Chickpeas, California Olive Oil and Rice - Make Magic Together!

This week at the 16th Annual Chef Culinary Conference at UMass - Amherst, I  tasted several bites of heaven-on-earth. They came mostly from one dish.  The Mujadarrah (traditionally made with rice and lentils) made by a university chef using a recipe provided by the uber-talented and mega-brilliant and one-and-only, Joyce Goldstein. I could not help meddling in the preparation and ended up stirring, sauteing and frying the onions and chickpeas. But that was not the reason the recipe was so great.

Bush's canned chickpeas and California Olive Ranch olive oil took onions and rice to an exalted place. This dish happens to be my all time favorite comfort food along with its cousin, Rishta (a lentil and rice soup, also from Lebanon). Usually I am partial to the version prepared by my dear friend Mary Ann Joulwan, but this was close enough, good enough and deeply satisfying. Thanks Joyce! Thanks to all the chefs that made this conference possible. And thanks to Ken Toong and the stellar team from the dining department at UMass Amherst for hosting the conference and making it possible for all of us to have this experience. Thanks to their hard work and vision, chefs around the country, feeding students at colleges and universities, now have even more wonderful recipes to cull from. Now Mujadarrah could be one of them.

Each year, I marvel at the group of chefs from around the US and Canada that gather together at UMass Amherst for the annual Chef Culinary Conference. A motley group, it showcases the brilliance of our industry. It mirrors the melting-pot quality of the work force that makes up the food industry. It is a dreamy place to be. And most of all, it shows off the true talent behind the dining services that enrich the lives of students every day, around the US and Canada.

Most impressive is the hunger these chefs bring with them to learn, share and to better the offerings they serve up at their dining facilities. It is this greed to learn and change, to share and teach, to compete and to elevate the offerings that makes this gathering of chefs so special. At the very least, chefs from all across two countries get to come together, wine and dine, enjoy a clam-bake (great lobster and steak) and even a casino night, whilst taking hands-on classes with chefs, food writers, nutritionists and other food industry leaders.

Simplicity, sustainability, local, multicultural, healthy, comforting, fresh and honest are only some of the key words highlighted at the conference. It would take many posts to share the depth of what is experienced. Suffice it to say this is a conference that affects lives in ways that are worthy of being supported by all industry partners. We even celebrated milestones together. Like the 50th birthday of Iliana de la Vega (photographed above), the Queen of Mexican Cookery (chef/owner of El Naranjo in Austin, TX and also faculty at CIA-San Antonio, Center for Foods of the Americas), who was teaching us authentic Mexican cooking, beyond what is famous and popular in NYC, Chicago, SF and other cities across the US.

PS: I was proud to pose for a photo with a can of Bush's Chickpeas and California Olive Ranch oil, two great products and two healthy products. If more chefs use these, instead of prepared stuff that is simply brought to temperature in an oven (read processed junk), we would make an indelible change in the world of food in the US. It may seem corny or cheesy, but I hope for more to support such little efforts. It is such small change that leads to larger, bigger and more visible change. I respect Bush's Best, California Olive Ranch, National Peanut Board, Alaska Seafood, Bunge, McCormick and others that sponsor the conference for their support of the conference and through it our larger cause. How excited I was to meet a couple of chefs from University of Saskatchewan. Chef Ryan Rolph is photographed above, enjoying the clam bake. Meeting him and his boss Chef James McFarland, the Assistant Director/Executive Chef at the university was a pleasure. They came from this cold Prairie outpost (think Saskatoon Berries), and came warm and fuzzy, hungry to take back ideas that would please their student body and those others that come to their facilities for meals and sustenance.

I would be remiss in not commending the chefs/culinary educators (Chair Siriyarn of Marnee Thai, my favorite Thai restaurant anywhere, eating lobster at the clam bake) that made time out of their busy lives and schedules to be at Amherst for the conference. The list is long and august. The talent staggering and beyond brilliant. What is amazing is the humility that each chef brings with them, and the hunger they each have to educate, share and bring our food world into an ever-evolving and better place. Thanks!

Comments

[Joyce Goldstein]

I so enjoyed cooking with you at the conference. The theme was comfort food, something that students really need as they are away from home and stressed with studies. So listening to everyone groaning with pleasure after tasting the food we cooked was a thrill.
We must cook together again soon.

[suvir saran]

Joyce I miss you every day I spend without you.

Charlie and I feel we are blessed to have met you.

Our home is luckier for having had you visit it, and bless it with your energy.

Your food is glorious. You are stupendous, and cooking at your side, learning from you, is dreamy and so special.

Thanks for allowing me to play at your side, and to observe, learn and study from you. Thanks!

And yes, all the food you prepared that day was Comfort Food that was comforting, healthful and wonderful all at once.

[Roger]

Hey Suvir,

Great post! I'm glad you hooked up with Luci and Joyce. I see Joyce in early July in San Jose. I was raving today to Luci about how great your cookbook is. I need to pick some recipes to showcase!

Roger

[Bonnie Johnson]

Thank you for recognizing the sponsors of this special event...I am honored to have been a part of it. As a dietitian I can't think of anything better than spending a few days with a group of chefs committed to creating delicious AND healthful food choices for their customers. These chefs play such important roles in the lives of their students: 1) providing enegy and nutrients needed for peak mental and physical performance; 2) providing the comforts of home; 3) introducing new and wonderful flavors that will be taken far beyond campus life.

While I can't wait to go back next year, I hope I am lucky enough to visit some of our new found friends and work with them to showcase the nutritional power and culinary versitility of peanuts before we meet again at UMass!

Cheers!

[suvir saran]

Hey Roger! Will see you in San Jose as well. I should be there for the duration of the conference. When do you arrive? Thanks for your kind words. Joyce is amazing, is she not?

Let me know what recipes you want to play with.

Have you ever made Mujadarrah? American Masala has a recipe for it, it is either called mujadarrah or imm jadarrah. Try it! You will LOVE it.

[suvir saran]

Bonnie, it is great that you all sponsor this conference and other such amazing ones across the country.

IT means a lot to chefs everywhere, to be able to come to a setting like UMASS, and then gather information that would otherwise be very hard to find. I know I am not alone in feeling very proud of all the sponsors for doing the right thing, even if it somtimes means spending even more money. Thanks1

[Sally]

As someone who has tried dozens of recipes from both of Suvir's books, my advice is to close your eyes, open the book to a random page and make whatever you see there! You can't go wrong, as they are all winning recipes. My favorites so far: Tamarind Glazed Meatloaf, Fattoush, Crab and Salmon Cakes, Crispy Okra Salad is a big WOW, French Lentil Soup, Shrimp Poha Paella, Goan Shrimp Curry, Fried Chicken Masala, Green Peas in Spiced Cream Sauce, Roasted Baby Potatoes with Southern Indian Spices, Corn Bread, Creamy Vegetable Burgers, Candied Orange Peel.
Now, Suvir, what I want to know is: did you manage to buy the recipe for Bush's Beans from the dog?? :)

[Stacey]

The beans, olive oil and onion dish looks like fantastic comfort food. Is there a recipe somewhere I can peruse, or do you just saute the onions till browned than mix it all together? A Must-Try. Thanks for the idea Suvir.

[suvir saran]

Sally thanks for your kind words.
You are too loyal to your friends. I was not wanting an endorsement of my books here. You spoil me with your affection. What is this about Bush's beans and the dog? Please explain.

[suvir saran]

Stacey, do you have American Masala? If so, there is a recipe for the lentil version of the same dish. This particular version was made using chickpeas. And was DEELICIOUS!

The idea is hardly mine. It was a recipe that Joyce Goldstein was working with the group she had. And she knows how much I LOVE this dish. The dish has existed forever and is a favorite comfort-food of Lebanon and many other countries in the Middle East.

[ryan rolph]

Hey Suvir,

It's your northern friend Ryan. I enjoyed the time that we spent in umass togethor. I have made a couple dishes out of your cookbooks now and they have been great just wanted to tell you that.

[James McFarland]

Hey Mr.Suvir,

I would like to echo what Ryan said. I really enjoyed meeting you and I have sure been enjoying your cookbook.Its really opened my eyes to a whole new realm of fusion and flavors. In your next cook book you have to incorporate something with Saskatoon Berries ;)
Cheers!!
James

[suvir saran]

Hey Ryan! How are you?
It was fun getting to meet you and spend some time chatting with you and watching you cook and eat at UMASS. What have you cooked from the book? Curious here... did you take photos?
Thanks for cooking from the book. That was very nice of you. I am honored.

Suvir

[suvir saran]

Hey Mr. James,

I repeat what I said to Ryan and want to let you know that it was fun meeting you as well and enjoying some time in your company.

What in particular caught your attention in the books? Have you cooked from it yet? Are you going to?

I would LOVE to work with Saskatoon Berries. Now only if my Northern friends would be kind enough to send me some.. then I could cook with them and create some fun recipes to share with friends. What do you all do with them?

Keep well and in touch. I would love to come visit and cook with you all. Lets make that happen.

Suvir