Patrick Sheerin, executive chef at the Signature Room at the 95th, challenged Jason McLeod, executive chef at Ria and Balsan, to come up with a recipe using asafetida for this installment of our weekly feature.
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Yet another name for asafetida, though, is “food of the gods,” and it’s used extensively in India. Once cooked it becomes much milder, though most sources still stress that it should be used in very small amounts. McLeod also discovered another reason for moderation: a dishwasher in the Ria/Balsan kitchen who’s from India told him that if you eat a lot of it—”I don’t know what a lot is,” McLeod confesses—your teeth will fall out. (This could not be confirmed through the interwebz, though several sites claim that asafetida can help toothaches, tooth decay, and, strangely, bad breath.)
McLeod found two different versions of asafetida, both powdered. One, which his diswasher brought him from a store on Devon, combines the asafetida with turmeric and reminded him of a steak spice. The other, a purer version from the Spice House, reminded him of urine when he smelled it: “I just thought, whoa. I think that’s when I read about the wolves.” It’s also very strong when uncooked, and “stays on your palate for a long time. I tasted this for the first time, and two hours later I was still tasting it. Not a horrible taste, but it was just there.”
In the foam, though, the asafetida was very subtle for such a pungent ingredient. “I don’t think there’s really a distinctive flavor where I say, wow, that’s it. It’s more of an enhancement,” McLeod said, noting that it rounded out and balanced the elements. “The first time I made the foam, I tasted it and was like, I don’t get anything out of it. As I kept doing it, I kept learning what to look for and I can pick it out a little clearer.”
Video by Michael Gebert/Sky Full of Bacon
Chopped onion
3 cups chicken stock
