Burlington County Times

Burlington County Times
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
What does a Moorestown chef eat at home? Nothing that's processed.
By Sally Friedman Correspondent
So what happens when a chef closes the doors of his work
kitchen and goes home?
Does he whip up fabulous, complex meals?
Does he use exotic ingredients, and spend hours over that
proverbial hot stove?
Not if he’s Chef John Branella — and if it’s spring and moving
toward summer.
On a recent morning, in a cheerful room at e Evergreens,
a Moorestown continuing care retirement community, about
two dozen of the curious sat at scattered tables and watched and
listened as Branella shared the secrets of his own home cooking.
“Chef John,” as he is commonly known, took center stage. In
this case, that “stage” was a demonstration table with perfect sight lines.
He first shared his own route to becoming a chef, noting that he started his career in
1978, apprenticing under German and British master chefs, then moving out into the
world of hotel kitchens, restaurants, country clubs and private men’s clubs. “For me,”
said the chef, “food is beauty and excitement. It’s not a gulp of fast food.”
Dennis Mc Donald
John Branella explains
how to make iced tea.
Branella never eats processed food at home. He wants his food to be “pure and fresh,
with flavor and integrity.”
at’s not to say that a man who works long hours in a kitchen as his daily life wants
fussy meals. e message was that quality food with flavor can be simple, pure and light.
Summer, he reminded the audience, is not the ideal time for heavy meals.
And then the chef went on to prepare a lovely, light one, starting with one of his favorite
healthy beverages, an orange-cinnamon green iced tea.
Why tea? Why green?
As he explained to his audience, green tea is healthier than other varieties, and when
you mix it with the zest from an orange, and mint leaves (mashing the leaves to release
the essential oils) and then add agave nectar and one cinnamon stick to taste, you’ve got
a simple, refreshing summer beverage that seems custom made for the season.
Pointers: be gentle with your tea. Don’t let it come to boil , and instead let it just simmer,
so as not to scald the tea leaves.
If you add a bit of tea to your ice cubes, you’ve improved the total effect, and with
little effort.
One last benefit, noted the chef: Tea is believed to be a cavity fighter.
e chef then proceeded to create a summer spinach salad that again is healthy, light and
lovely, strongly urging that home cooks use local ingredients. “ere’s nothing better than
Dennis Mc Donald
Bernard Morgenstern and
his son, Rick Morgenstern,
sample a salad prepared
by John Branella at
The Evergreens in
Moorestown.
produce that’s fresh as can be because it’s grown close to home,” he said.
Using baby spinach, strawberries, sunflower seeds (roasted and unsalted, he
recommended), fresh red onions and the crowning touch, a garnish of fresh
mozzarella, is a simple process.
So is creating a dressing combining Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar and
pepper.
More chef tips, amplified by e Evergreens’ registered dietitian/nutritionist
Beth Phillips, who was on hand to add her knowledge and insight:
■
leafy greens are a great source of iron;
■
couple iron intake (spinach) with vitamin C foods when possible. e
vitamin C helps the body absorb the iron;
■
nuts and seeds are wonderful salad accompaniments.
Branella also demonstrated a bruschetta on grilled focaccia bread recipe, noting
that this light summer fare also is loaded with healthy ingredients and a mix
of savory flavors and seasonings. “It also presents well with lots of color and
eye appeal,” said Branella, who adds a little spice of his own to presentations
with his humor.
Dennis Mc Donald
John Branella, executive chef at
The Evergreens, spoons fresh
tomatoes and other vegetables onto
garlic brushed toasted bread
(bruschetta) during a presentation
on healthy meals at the Moorestown
continuing care retirement community.
e chef’s Tomato Basil Bruschetta lived up to its billing, with a tasty blend of
tomatoes, olive oil seasonings, Italian parsley, mozzarella for protein, and grilled
focaccia bread as its base.
More tips:
■
use flat-leaf Italian parsley for its flavor and appearance;
■
extra virgin olive oil comes from a “first press,” and is worth
the difference;
■
in working with basil, use a very sharp cutting knife, and
every kitchen should have several of those;
■
don’t use canned tomatoes when a recipe calls for fresh, and
be wary of the salt content in sun-dried tomatoes.
As attendees enjoyed the simple, nutritious and attractive lunch,
the chef fielded questions.
Among the insights gained was the answer to a common
question about how to remove the seeds from a tomato. Turns
out it’s easier than it seems.
Cut the tomato in half, and gently squeeze and shake the seeds out. It works.
“I know what I’m going home and making for dinner,” said one participant.
“And my husband hates tomato seeds, so now I’m ready to impress him.”
Dennis Mc Donald
John Branella, executive chef at
The Evergreens in Moorestown, talks
about making healthy meals during a
presentation at the Moorestown
continuing care retirement community.
At right is Beth Phillips, a registered
dietitian at the facility.
309 Bridgeboro Rd. • Moorestown, NJ 08057 • (856) 439-2000