Chef Meegan Roberts has always enjoyed competing. Recently, she won the American Culinary Federation‘s 2011 Northeast Region Paella, Please! competition during the 2011 ACF Northeast Regional Conference held at the Renaissance Columbus hotel downtown. This win allows her to compete in the national competition at the 2011 ACF National Convention in Dallas in July for a $1,000 grand prize.
“I was a pastry chef, and I was up against three executive chefs who were using crab, lobster, rabbit and duck confit,” said Meegan. “With a 3-year-old, I decided to make a dish I could also use to feed my family. I used chicken thighs and simple ingredients. The frozen Ohio peas from last season was the star of the dish.”
The Lima native had graduated from the hospitality program at Hocking College in Nelsonville and was in Texas competing at a national competition. It was there that she caught the eye of Chef Hartmut Handke and was offered a position in his kitchen. That wonderful opportunity brought her to Columbus, where she and her family settled on a home in Hillard.
She worked as a Pantry Chef at Handke’s Cuisine for about a year then moved to a Sous Chef position at the Athletic Club of Columbus, did freelance work for JEGS and then became the Executive Pastry Chef of Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin.
Her home has a sizable backyard where they have a garden. She enjoys planting corn, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, arugula, zucchini, squash (preparing squash blossoms is one of her favorites!) and lots of fresh herbs. She loves growing fresh herbs and then drying them to use throughout the year.
Meegan enjoys shopping at the Hilliard Farm Market for raspberries and cabbages, stopping at roadside stands for fresh ears of corn, sourcing produce from Jorgensens Farms, and traveling to Athens for their farmer’s market when she has time. Her favorite place to get produce year round is Sanfillipo Produce.
She’s also been perfecting her homebrews for a couple of years. “I love the art of making it,” she shared. She loves to take one ingredient and turn it into a lot of different things to eat. Today, she is working with beets.
The main dish is Roasted Beets marinated in a Citrus Vinaigrette with Sautéed Beet Greens paired with Strawberry Marmalade and Queso Blanco Empanadas and topped with poached eggs. Later, she plans on making a Chocolate Beet Porter. I’ll have to say, this delicious dish changed my mind about buying and preparing beets!
Even though Meegan is very busy with her day-to-day duties, she still finds time to coach culinary students at the Tolles Career & Technical Center in Plain City (last year her group created a gingerbread house for an auction that raised $3,000 to benefit St. Stephen’s Community House, an organization that provides community services to the Linden area of northeast Columbus), perform cooking demonstrations for kids between 3 and 10 years of age (sometimes her darling son dons a chef coat to help) and teaches classes at Hocking College. She even tried out for Top Chef and has been toying with the idea of trying for the show again.
The Recipes
Strawberry Marmalade and Queso Blanco Empanada
For the Empanada Dough
Yield: 1 dozen. You will need:
3 C Flour
8 oz Butter ( cold and cut into small pieces)
1 ½ tsp Salt
½ C Water (ice cold)
1 ea Egg
1 Tbsp Water
1. Combine the flour, butter, and salt in mixing bowl with paddle attachment. Run on low speed until the butter becomes the size of a pea. 2. While the mixer is still running, slowly add the water and allow the dough to just come together. 3. Wrap the dough tight in plastic wrap and allow it to rest under refrigeration for at least 3 hours, or over night.
For the Strawberry Marmalade
Yield: 2 Cups. You will need:
1 lb Fresh, ripe or over ripe Strawberries
1 lb Sugar
1 ea Lemon (juiced)
1. Clean and quarter the strawberries. Combine with sugar and lemon juice and allow it to sit over night. 2. After the mixture has sat, and the strawberries have already started breaking down, place them in a medium sauce pot over medium heat. 3. Cook for about 30 minutes, skimming the white foam occasionally. 4. Once the syrup has thickened the marmalade is done. Transfer to another container and allow it to cool before using it for your empanada filling.
For the Queso Blanco
Yield: 1 ½ Cup. You will need:
½ gal Whole Milk
1 ½ Tbsp White Vinegar
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
Meat Thermometer
Cheese Cloth or Coffee Filter
Strainer
1. Heat the milk to 180 degrees. 2. Combine the lemon juice and vinegar and add it to the milk, stirring gently. The curds will begin to form, turn off the heat. Stir for another minute and pour though a strainer lined with cheese cloth or a coffee filter. 3. Allow the cheese at least 3 hours, preferably over night under refrigeration.
To assemble the empanada:
1. Roll the chilled dough out to 1/8 in thickness. 2. With a round cutter, or a knife cut circles about 3 inches in diameter. 3. Brush with egg and water mixture around the edges, and place 1 Tbsp of both the marmalade and cheese just off center. 4. Fold the dough into a half moon shape. Try to push out any air, and crimp the edges with a fork. 5. Bake on a greased sheet tray for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees, until golden brown. 6. Brush with Butter.
Sautéed Beet Greens
Yield: 6 servings. You will need:
6 each Small Beets (green leaves only)
1 tsp Canola oil
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
1. In a sauté pan over medium high heat sauté the greens in the oil just until they begin to wilt. 2. Turn off the heat, season, and reserve.
Roasted Beets
Yield: 6 servings. You will need:
6 each Small Beets
1 Tbsp Canola oil
Large piece of Foil
1. Toss the beets in the oil. Wrap them in the foil and bake at 400 degrees, until done, approximately 1 hour. 2. Remove them from the oven when they are fairly soft, allow them to cool, and peel them with the back of a knife. 3. Cut them into 6 wedges. Marinate them in the vinaigrette.
Citrus Vinaigrette
Yield: 1 Cup. You will need:
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/3 C Aged Red Wine Vinegar
2/3 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
1 Tbsp Honey
1. Combine the acids, salt, pepper, and honey. Whisk quickly and begin adding the oil slowly.
And if you’d like to make her award winning Chic Pea Paella:
Yield: 6 servings. You will need:
½ C Canola Oil
4 oz Chorizo
1 ea Small Onion (small dice)
3 ea Garlic Clove (minced)
3 C Instant White Rice
4 ea Chicken thighs (confited, skin and bones removed)
3 C Chicken stock
½ C Tomato Water
1 pinch Saffron
½ C Pine Nuts (toasted)
10 oz Frozen Peas (blanched and shocked)
8 oz Grape Tomatoes (poached in olive oil, skins removed)
1 Tbsp Italian Parsley (finely chopped, and rinsed)
1 ½ ea Conserve Lemon for garnish
1. Heat oil and chorizo in paella pan. Add onion and sauté till translucent. Add garlic and sauté a second. 2. Now add pulled chicken, followed by the rice, and heat until the rice begins to stick. Deglaze with saffron infused chicken stock, and tomato water. Reduce to med-low heat. Stir occasionally. 3. Once the rice is almost done add the pine nuts, peas, and parsley, stir just to combine and allow the dish to finish, and rice to get slightly crispy over med- low heat. 4. Serve immediately with a side of conserve lemon and pea puree for garnish.
In the Kitchen joins Columbus area chefs in their home kitchen for a dish they like to make and a casual chat about their experiences and backgrounds. If you are a chef and would like to be featured, or if you’d like to recommend someone for the In the Kitchen series, please send an email to Anne at [email protected].