Today, I'm going to hold a conference.
Because I think some of you don't know what the picture below depicts.
Some scholars of the forum, like Vasudev or aa1234779 could probably find the answer: it's a peanut, indeed. But what else?
Pirouette and peanut have been in touch for a long time. Well beyond the nursery rhyme because the little seed, prank queen, has more than one trick up its pod. It is never where we expect it to be, plays with clichés, without denying its status, faithful companion of the aperitif at any time in any place.
It is first of all by its nature that the peanut tricks us: we would swear it is a member of the family of oleaginous, cousin of almonds, hazelnuts and nuts of all kinds... Well, no, it is a vegetable, as well as peas, beans and dried beans, with which it can share the same culinary destiny. It is then by its spelling that the little seed confuses us: the French word “cacahuète” is borrowed from Spanish, and from tlalcacahuatl, in Nahuatl language ( Aztec), designating an "Earth cocoa ". Adapted to tropical and subtropical regions, the cultivation of the peanut is widespread in Latin and Central America where it originated and has spread to Africa and Asia (China and India are now the first countries producers).
In small doses, the peanut is extraordinary because it has assets compatible with the requirements of contemporary food, which no longer excludes the "good fat", an excellent source of vegetable protein, zinc, copper, and its neutral oil, rather average in terms of taste and diet, withstands very well the highest temperatures. In gastronomy, it is particularly distinguished by its powerful and original taste and a crisp stimulant, when it is grilled or roasted. Qualities that have made it accessible to luxury tables; a pretty pirouette again. At the Plaza Athénée in Paris, the young pastry chef Jessica Préalpato makes a sublime dessert with it, both light and gourmet, in combination with vegetable milk.
The peanut is therefore much better than its poor reputation, as evidenced by the African recipes (Senegalese mafé...) and Asian (Indonesian gado gado, Thai Pad, green papaya salad, Vietnamese bo bun), in which it sometimes compensates for the lack of meat. In the purified version of peanut butter, the mashed peanut nature and bio can compete with tahini (crushed sesame) to form a sauce, give body to a dressing, thicken and raise a soup, enrobe roasted vegetables, replace the butter in cookies, spice up a cake , or welcome the apples on a pie...
