Celebrity Chef Lorena Garcia! From her thriving restaurants to her success on top television cooking show challenges, Lorena is taking the culinary world by storm capturing both the hearts and taste buds of many. Born and raised in Venezuela, Lorena grew up with a great passion for cooking and through years of travel, she has absorbed influences from many countries around the world expanding her knowledge of flavors and cultures. As her culinary experiences have created a dynamic chef and restaurateur, it is her vivacious energy, positive enthusiasm and drive towards motivating healthy eating and beautiful living that have made her one of the most loved and well respected women in the food industry today. As she prepares for the debut of her upcoming collaboration with leading multichannel retailer HSN for a line of amazing cookware, Lorena has created two new recipes to share with her fellow food lovers, perfect for this year’s fall and holiday season!
Lorena’s success has been attributed to both hard work and dedication, as well as a shear passion and heart for the art of cooking. From competing with the greatest chefs from around the world to inspiring schools through her healthy eating program, “Big Chef, Little Chef,” her future in the culinary world is going nowhere but up. The next step, bringing her passion and love for the art of cooking to the tables of everyday chef’s. Lorena’s new dishes bring together the flavors holiday lovers have come to know and love along with exotic twists. The Cremita di Apio, is the perfect dish for a family gathering, giving guests a dish that is both light and hearty and the Lomo Saltado with grilled papayas, a classic Peruvian style stir-fry mixed with Asian influences, will give guests a divine cultural appetizer at any meal. With only the best ingredients and easy to follow instructions, food lovers can wow their friends and family with these delicious dishes!
CREMITA DI APIO
Serves 6
In Venezuela, when you want to cook something special for a family gathering, you make cremita di apio, a beautiful and elegant cream of celeriac soup. Celeriac, also called celery root, has a gentle flavor, somewhere between parsnips and celery – it manages to be delicate and hearty at once. Serve with a loaf of crusty bread on the side.
Ingredients:
12 cups Chicken Stock
1 pound boneless beef shanks or stew meat, cut into 1- inch pieces
2 pounds celeriac, peeled and cut into 1- inch pieces
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 cup whole cilantro leaves, plus
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro and a few sprigs for serving
1 cup Basic Sofrito (see recipe below)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat- leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
BASIC SOFRITO
Makes 2-1/2 cups
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil
2 yellow onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, very finely minced
4 fresh ají dulce (about 1/2 cup), halved and finely chopped
2 scallions, white and light green parts only, finely chopped
1 celery stalk (with leaves), finely chopped
1 leek, white and light green parts only, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, halved, seeded and finely chopped
2 tomatoes, halved, seeded, and finely chopped
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent, stirring often, for about 2 minutes. Stir in ají dulce, scallions, celery, leeks, and bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bell peppers are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, until the juices evaporate, 2 to 3 minutes. Use immediately, or cool to room temperature before scraping into an airtight container and refrigerating for up to 4 days, or freezing up to 3 months.
1.Bring the chicken stock, beef, celeriac, carrots, celery, onions, and the 1 cup whole cilantro leaves to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Cook for 5 minutes and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue to cook until the meat is tender and the vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes.
2. Stir in the sofrito and salt, cook for 1 minute, and then turn off the heat. Let the soup cool for 20 minutes.
3. Stir in the heavy cream, parsley, and thyme. Ladle one-third of the soup into a blender jar and blend until very smooth and airy, about 3 minutes. Pour the puree into a clean soup pot and repeat with the remaining soup in two additions. Divide the soup among six bowls, finish with a cilantro sprig, and serve immediately.
LOMO SALTADO with GRILLED PAPAYAS
Serves 4
Lomo saltado, sauted tenderloin, is a classic Peruvian style stir-fry of steak, and onions (and sometimes bell peppers) and happens to be one of my absolute favorite recipes. We have a lot of Asian immigrants in South America, and this dish is a reflection of their profound influence on our culture. I serve it in a grilled papaya boat that adds a wonderfully tropical taste and stunning presentation. If you can plan ahead, take the time to marinate the beef overnight-the result is worth it. .
BEEF MARINADE:
1 garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 teaspoons rice vinegar
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 pound beef tenderloin, sliced
crosswise into 1/4- inch- wide slices
LOMO SALTADO:
1 large papaya, halved and seeded
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon extra- virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, halved and sliced
1/2 inch thick
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 shallot, very finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, very finely minced
3/4 cup red wine (such as merlot)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, plus
a few sprigs for serving
1. To make the marinade, finely chop the garlic clove, sprinkle with the salt, and mash the mixture together with the flat side of a chef’s knife. Continue to mash and chop until the mixture is a paste. Scrape the paste into a medium bowl and whisk in the canola oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, cumin, pepper and paprika. Add the beef, turn to coat in the marinade, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside for at least 2 hours overnight.
2. Prepare a hot charcoal or gas grill.
3. To make the lomo saltado, coat each papaya half with some vegetable oil and then place them cut side down on the grill, cooking the papaya until it has grill marks and is browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer the papaya to a plate. Set aside to cool while you cook the steak. (Alternately, preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the oiled papaya halves in a grill pan cut side down and roast in the oven until the cut side is golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes.)
4. Heat the olive oil in a large wok or skillet over high heat. Once the oil starts to smoke, add the steak and onions and cook, stirring often, for 1 minute. Stir in the cherry tomato, shallots, and garlic and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes start to collapse, about 4 minutes.
5. Pour in the red wine, soy sauce, and honey and cook until the sauce is slightly thick, about 4 minutes. Stir in the cilantro. Cook for 2 minutes longer to bring the flavors together and then turn off the heat.
6. Place the papaya halves on a platter and divide the lomo saltado between the halves. Finish with cilantro sprigs and slice crosswise into wedges to serve.
Lorena Garcia – BIO:
Venezuelan, born and raised, Lorena grew up with a tremendous passion for cooking and influence by great cooks, although she never considered it as a career path. Following in the footsteps of her family, Lorena pursued law and earned a paralegal degree when her family moved to Miami, Florida. Through her career, she knew that cooking was her true destiny and decided to enroll in Johnson & Wales University to earn her degree in culinary arts. After graduating, Lorena traveled the world, absorbing influences from countries and cultures around the world, creating her dynamic culinary point of view and expanding her knowledge of technique and flavors.
Lorena’s passion and success have brought her to grace the pages of national newspapers and magazines, receive numerous awards and accolades, cultivate a successful restaurant brand, and even become a spokeswoman for prominent national brands we all savor. Lorena has also appeared on many talk shows, The Today Show, The Chew, and The Nate Berkus Show just to name a few, as well as appeared on many noteworthy cooking shows including Top Chef All-Stars, Top Chef Masters, The Biggest Loser, and America’s Next Great Restaurant.
Her rise to success has been attributed by friends and family as a result of hard work and dedication, as well as her heart of gold. Lorena’s giving nature led to the start of “Big Chef, Little Chef” a program designed to help shape healthy practices in schools across the country and ultimately educate kids, parents, and schools on the foods that are not only healthy but taste great. Her passion and enthusiasm for cooking have made her a loved and well respected name in the culinary world, and she continues to work to motivate others towards a healthier and beautiful way of life.
