Food Trends and Menu Predictions

The Eat to the Beat team is waiting to see this year's event menu. For now, all we can do is guess what components might show up in the dishes served on the night. We have picked four food trends that we think will make an appearance this year, and a few recipes so you can try them at home.

 

Coconut

Expect to see coconut just about everywhere this year. From intricate desserts to simple dried chips, coconut is having a moment. Try these recipes to sample it in a whole new way.

 

Spicy Coconut Risotto with Lime Shrimp

What you need

4 cups vegetable stock

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup arborio rice

1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

2 teaspoons fresh ground ginger root

1/2 cup light coconut milk

2 tablespoons sambal oelek

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup roughly chopped cashews or macadamia nuts

Sriracha, to taste

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 pound raw 16/20 count peeled and deveined shrimp, patted dry

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

What to do

In a small covered saucepot, heat the vegetable stock over medium heat. When simmering, turn off the heat and keep covered.

In a large high-sided skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat. Add the rice, shredded coconut and ginger. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until the rice begins to become translucent at the edges of the grains, stirring constantly.

Add 1/2 cup hot stock and stir constantly until mostly absorbed. Add additional stock in 1/2 cup increments, stirring after each addition and cooking until the stock is mostly absorbed before adding more. Cook 20 to 25 minutes, or until the rice is tender, stirring frequently and adding stock as needed. Stir in the coconut milk, sambal oelek, salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, prepare the lime shrimp. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and cook 4 to 5 minutes, or until opaque throughout, turning occasionally. Add the lime juice and toss to combine.

Divide the risotto between warm pasta bowls. Top with shrimp and garnish with cilantro, cashews and sriracha.

 

Toasted Coconut Margarita

What you need

1 ounce cream of coconut

1.5 ounces tequila

1 ounce Cointreau

3 ounces lime juice

1 ounce simple syrup

3 ounces coconut milk

1 splash half and half

Sweetened coconut flakes

What to do

In a small frying pan over medium heat, cook 1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes until the edges are brown. Allow the flakes to cool, then crush them with your fingers.

To create the rim, brush honey on the outside of the glass all the way around. Be sure to keep the honey on the outside of the rim, not inside. Next, roll the honeyed rim in the toasted coconut flakes until it is covered completely.

Combine the cream of coconut, tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, simple syrup, coconut milk and half and half into a shaker with ice. Shake and serve over ice. Garnish with a slice of lime if you like. Enjoy.

 

Coconut Chips

What you need

1 coconut

Coarse salt

What to do

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Test each of the three eyes at the stem end of the coconut to see which is the softest. Then use an ice pick, or a screwdriver, and a hammer to pierce two of the eyes. Strain the water through a fine sieve into a bowl and reserve for another use, or discard.

Place the coconut on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until the shell begins to crack. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Wrap the coconut in a clean kitchen towel. Holding the coconut with one hand, hit it with a hammer in the same place several times to crack the outer shell and split the coconut into several large pieces.

Separate the coconut flesh from the shell, and use a vegetable peeler to remove the dark outer skin, if desired. Rinse and dry the coconut. Using a mandoline or a vegetable peeler, remove strips from the edges.

Divide the coconut strips between 2 rimmed baking sheets in a single layer and season with salt. Bake until toasted, about 10 minutes.

 

Biscuits

The comfort food of the year is the biscuit. On its own, or used to hold a sandwich or a burger, expect to see the biscuit in your restaurant adventures.

 

Sweet Potato Breakfast Biscuits

What you need

3.5 ounces cooked and well-mashed sweet potato

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces

1/2 cup milk, whole or 2 percent works best

For breakfast biscuits, add poached eggs, bacon, cheese and your jam or spread of choice

What to do

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda, and whisk until combined.

Using a fork, pastry blender or your hands, add the butter pieces to the flour and mix until coarse little crumbles remain.

Pour in the milk and add the sweet potato, stirring with a spoon until thoroughly combined, but not overmixing. Use your hands if needed to bring the dough together.

Use a 1/4 cup measure to drop the batter onto a nonstick baking sheet, or press the dough on a sheet of parchment paper or cutting board, then use a biscuit cutter to shape the dough into rounds.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the biscuits are slightly golden and puffy. While the biscuits are baking, prepare your breakfast sandwich ingredients. Eat.

 

Chicken Wings

This year, prepare to see a more upscale version of the traditional dish. Look out for signature sauces, stuffed wings, and new meats like duck, catfish, pork belly and goat showing up on menus.

 

Baked Asian Chicken Wings with Raspberry Hoisin Glaze

What you need

2 1/2 lbs chicken wings, tips removed, drumettes and flats separated

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoon sesame ginger blend

1/3 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup raspberry jam

1/4 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced

1/4 cup green onions, sliced

Sesame seeds to garnish

What to do

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Rinse the wings and drumettes and pat dry. Transfer the chicken to a large bowl and toss with the canola oil and sesame ginger blend until well coated.

Position the wings on a baking rack in a single layer. Space them far enough apart so they are not touching.

Bake for 25 minutes, turn the chicken wings over to the other side and bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the wings from the oven and transfer to a large bowl.

In a small saucepot over medium-low heat, whisk together the hoisin sauce, raspberry jam and fresh minced ginger until warm.

Drizzle the wings with the sauce, tossing until well coated.

Serve immediately. Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.

 

Firecracker Duck Wings

What you need

4 whole duck wings

Sea salt

Pepper

2 dried bay leaves

1 stalk lemongrass, chopped

2 to 4 cups duck stock or chicken stock

2 cups duck fat for frying

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup Sriracha

2 tbs coconut aminos

Fish sauce to taste, about 2 dashes

What to do

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

While the oven is preheating, rinse the duck wings with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Season both sides of the wings liberally with salt and pepper. Let stand 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Add the duck wings, stock, lemongrass and bay leaves to a large roasting pan or dutch oven, cover and roast in the oven for 2 to 4 hours. The goal here is to get the wings close to fall-off-the-bone tender, yet not quite.

Remove the wings from the oven and let cool slightly.

Place the wings in a separate pan or airtight container, strain the braising liquid and pour over the wings. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

Remove the wings from the refrigerator, pat dry and set aside to come up to room temperature.

While the wings are resting, add the duck fat to a heavy bottomed pot or deep fryer and heat to 350 degrees F.

Fry the duck wings until crispy and golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Place the wings on a paper towel to soak up any excess fat. Toss immediately with the firecracker sauce, serve and enjoy.

Firecracker sauce

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.

Once the butter has melted, whisk in the coconut aminos, Sriracha and fish sauce. Set aside and keep warm.

 

Eclairs

The new sweet trend you will be seeing in many bakeries is the eclair. From the classic chocolate eclair to new flavours like popcorn, salted caramel, passion fruit and green tea, make sure to try one of these delicate sweets.

 

Salted Caramel Eclairs

What you need - Choux Pastry

125 ml milk

125 ml water

pinch of salt

10 grams sugar

100 grams butter

150 grams flour, sifted

4 eggs, beaten, around 200 grams

What to do

Place the milk, water, salt, sugar and butter in a saucepan and heat until the butter has melted.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the flour all at once. Stir the flour off the heat for a minute and then place the mixture back on the heat to dry out the pastry for around 5 minutes. Make sure to stir the choux mixture vigorously over a medium heat.

Remove the choux mixture from the pan and tip it into a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat this mixture over a medium speed and gradually add the beaten eggs, a quarter at a time, and make sure the egg is fully incorporated before adding more.

When you have added around 3/4 of the egg mixture, check whether the batter is ready. To do this, scoop some of the batter onto a spatula. If the mixture adheres to the spatula and then falls off, it is just right. If it does not stick to the spatula, it is too dry, so add the egg mixture a little bit at a time until you get the right consistency.

Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius.

Place the choux pastry in a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle that is 1.5 cm thick and put it in the refrigerator to allow it to cool slightly.

In the meantime, get some baking paper ready. Using a ruler and a marker, draw rectangles that are 10 cm long and 2.5 cm wide, spaced around 4 cm apart. Place another sheet of baking paper over the guide.

Take the mixture from the refrigerator and carefully pipe it onto the baking paper, using the marked baking paper as a guide.

Lightly spray some water over the piped choux pastry and place it in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 150 and bake another 20 minutes. Once done, turn off the oven and leave the pastry in for another 5 minutes. Never open the oven door while baking the eclairs, as this will cause them to deflate. Remove the pastry from the oven.

When the pastry has cooled, use a serrated knife to cut along the tops of the pastry and fill with the creme patisserie.

What you need - Creme Patisserie

300 ml milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

100 grams sugar

90 grams cornstarch

1 egg yolk

80 ml milk

100 grams butter

500 to 600 ml thickened cream

Salted caramel sauce to finish the eclairs

What to do

Heat the 300 ml of milk over a low heat. Add the vanilla.

In a bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch and egg yolk. Mix thoroughly, then add the 80 ml of milk. Add this mixture to the 300 ml of milk and allow it to thicken, using a whisk to stir. When the mixture has boiled, quickly take it off the heat and place it in a stand mixer. Allow the mixture to cool for around 5 minutes. Using a whisk attachment, gradually add the butter until it is fully incorporated. Place the custard in a bowl and cover with cling film. Place in the refrigerator for around an hour.

When the custard has cooled, take it out of the refrigerator and give it a good mix to loosen it slightly. Weigh the custard mixture. Let us say the mixture weighs around 550 grams, take the same amount of cream and whisk it using a stand attachment to stiff peaks. Before adding the cream, add around 50 grams of the salted caramel sauce to the custard. Then add 1/3 of the cream to the custard until well combined, then carefully fold in the rest of the cream to lighten the mixture.

Place the creme patisserie into a piping bag fitted with a very small round tipped nozzle, about 6 mm. Make three holes on the bottom of the eclair and pipe the creme patisserie filling.

To finish the eclairs, spread some salted caramel over the eclairs and top with some sea salt flakes.