PO‘IPU — The Soup Chef is coming soon, said Chef Helen Lacono recently at The Shops at Kukui‘ula. Lacono, who earned her “Soup Chef” moniker through the Hanapepe Cafe & Bakery, was demonstrating scalloped potatoes, the leftovers being used as
PO‘IPU — The Soup Chef is coming soon, said Chef Helen Lacono recently at The Shops at Kukui‘ula.
Lacono, who earned her “Soup Chef” moniker through the Hanapepe Cafe & Bakery, was demonstrating scalloped potatoes, the leftovers being used as soup base, including the potato corn chowder which Lacono was distributing through her vendor table at the weekly Kaua‘i Culinary Market.
“The weather is perfect for warm soup, so Helen offered to do a demonstration of Scalloped Potatoes, the base for her chowder,” said Melissa McFerrin, the event coordinator for the Kaua‘i Farm Bureau who partners with The Shops at Kukui‘ula for the popular market.
True to Lacono’s words, the soup was gone before the 6 p.m. close of the weekly market.
The Kaua‘i Culinary Market is the only place people can visit to get Lacono’s soups, a featured item at the former Hanapepe Cafe & Bakery.
“We’re coming out with something else people can enjoy,” Lacono said. “It’s a cookbook featuring 15 of the award-winning soup recipes we used to serve at the Hanapepe Cafe.”
Priced at $15 a copy, “The Soup Chef” features recipes created by Lacono with photography being done by Ada Koene.
Orders for copies of the soon-to-be released book can be done by email at hanapepecafe@gmail.com, Koene said while coaxing Lacono to include the potato corn chowder recipe.
“Maybe we can do 15, plus one,” Koene said after sampling the chowder.
McFerrin, while darting between vendors and the passing misty rains, said the weekly markets, including the Kaua‘i Community Markets held Saturday mornings at the Kaua‘i Community College, are doing well with a lot of vendors offering rambutan, a tropical fruit related to the lychee.
“Rambutan is coming into full season right now, and there are several vendors at the Kukui‘ula market who have them in abundance,” McFerrin said. “With the recent arrival of the winter rains, the produce quality is also very good.”
The testament of the rambutan quality was evident as one vendor, like Lacono, was sold out well ahead of the 6 p.m. cutoff.
“The Shops at Kukui‘ula has had a very good holiday season with strong traffic,” said Stacy Chiba, the shopping area’s assistant real estate manager, while watching the weekly Live Chef’s Demonstration. “We had the opening of The Dolphin restaurant, and for those shops who were open for the holidays, they did very well.”
While not all of the tenants were open for business on Christmas or New Year’s, Chiba said there was at least one establishment who planned on closing by 3 p.m., but because of the traffic, kept its doors open until past 7 p.m. on the holidays.
The Kaua‘i Culinary Market, a partnership with the Kaua‘i Farm Bureau, is offered each Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. featuring live music, the Live Chef’s Demonstration and a variety of more than 20 vendors offering locally grown fruits, vegetables, and coffee along with spices, jams and cheeses.
The Kauai Community Market, a partnership with the Kaua‘i Farm Bureau and KCC, is open Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the KCC campus, offering farm fresh produce, value added agricultural products, local treats and plate lunches.
Visit www.kukuiula.com for more information on The Shops at Kukui‘ula, including the weekly Kaua‘i Culinary Market. Visit www.kauaicommunitymarket.org for more information on the Kaua‘i Community Market.
Scalloped Potatoes
Recipe by Hanapepe Cafe Chef Helen Lacono
8 medium to large russet potatoes
1 large sweet onion (or 2 small)
1 and a half quarts heavy whipping cream
Hawaiian sea salt and fine black pepper, to taste.
Cut potatoes with mandolin to a little more than 1/8-inch thick. Not too thin, or they will disintegrate.
Grind the onion in a food processor to a very fine mash.
Combine the potatoes and onions in a large bowl. Add Hawaiian sea salt and a fine grind black pepper to taste, remembering the potatoes will absorb the salt.
Pour the cream over the top and mix together. Let the mixture set for five minutes for the flavors to combine.
Oil a 9 by 13-inch pan. Pour the mixture inside and arrange so the potatoes are flat. The cream should reach just the top of the potatoes.
Cover with parchment paper, first (or substitute waxed paper), then aluminum foil. Place on top of a sheet pan to catch any spills. Bake in a 340-degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes.
Turn the pan at 30 minutes and poke holes in the top to ventilate steam. If a browned top is preferred, remove the foil and parchment at 45 minutes. Check the potatoes for doneness. There should be give, but knife will not come out clean.
This can be served as scalloped potatoes, or used as a base for cream-based potato soups.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
