The Chef: Matt Troost (Three Aces)The Challenger: John Manion (La Sirena Clandestina)The Ingredient: Dende oil
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“I want to shake John Manion so hard for giving me this,” Matt Troost said of his ingredient. Reddish-orange and semisolid at room temperature, dende oil is extracted from the fruit of the African oil palm (it’s also known as red palm oil but is not the same thing as palm kernel oil, which comes from the fruit’s pit). Common in Brazilian and West African cuisine, it’s rarely used outside of those areas.
Starting with a traditional risotto of short-grain rice and broth, Troost added king crab, Calabrian chiles, basil, cilantro, and scallions, finishing it with dende oil and coconut milk rather than butter or cream. He could taste the dende oil in the finished dish, he said—it was subtle but definitely present. “I would probably say I’d rather have it without the dende oil, but that’s just my taste,” he said. “I’m going to leave the Brazilian food up to John.”
Video by Michael Gebert/Sky Full of Bacon
