By Audrey Anderson
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Sustainable Medfield and Medfield TV held a fun one-hour Soup Group event last Thursday night at the Medfield TV studio on North Meadows Street. Approximately 20 participants watched the premiere of a video on making minestrone soup with pesto and then happily tasted the delicious soup.
Katie Duval, Executive Director of Medfield TV, introduced the multi-cam video produced by Medfield TV as part of Sustainable Medfield’s “Food: Sustainable Food!” action of the quarter. In the program, Chef Andrew Wilkinson demonstrated how to efficiently dice onions, carrots, and zucchini and how to grate garlic with a microplane. Peg Doyle showed how to add the ingredients to the pot, season the soup, and cook it on a sustainable electric induction burner. Finally, Doyle’s granddaughter, Emie, expertly whipped up a batch of fresh nut-free pesto in a food processor.
Chef Wilkinson attended the Culinary Institute of America, worked in some of the finest restaurants in New York and around the world, and currently is a Seafood Specialist at North Coast Seafoods. He enhanced the video with his joy in cooking and fun sense of humor.
When the video finished, a cup of piping hot minestrone soup with pesto was served to each participant, along with a fresh baguette slice. Murmurs of appreciation spread throughout the room. The addition of fresh pesto added levels of complex flavor to the soup.
After the tasting, Chef Wilkinson shared his culinary experience with the group and answered questions about cooking with induction burners and the nature of sustainable food.
The group discussed how, when using an induction burner, the heat is spread throughout the food through a magnet. Because of this, the heat is spread evenly throughout the food. There are no hot spots. A pot that is compatible with the burner must be used. Since it is small and light, a portable induction burner can be used in small spaces and carried to events. Several people in the group said that they have enjoyed using induction burners at home.
Since Chef Wilkinson has spent time in his career working with seafood, he discussed wild vs. farmed seafood. He said that there is only one variety of wild salmon available now. The rest is farmed. The farming area, however, is not a small pool of stagnant water. Salmon aquaculture takes place in fjord-like deep waters in the north. There is a lot of movement in the water, and it is refreshed continually.
Everyone left the program with new dicing techniques, a great new recipe, and solid information on the sustainability of food. See the links below to watch the video and learn about Medfield TV and Sustainable Medfield.
If you would like to learn about video production firsthand, Medfield TV is looking for volunteers! Help them cover events around town and record shows. Training is provided. Contact info@medfield.tv for information.
Soup Group video on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCICIYC5Eco
