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Fresh World Flavors at Delaware Valley College
FoodService Director Magazine

New menu uses global salads to please all diners.

When Parkhurst Dining Services took over culinary operations at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, Pa., last summer, Executive Chef Frank Hummelcreated a whole new campus menu. He quickly found that his students, especially the vegans and vegetarians, wanted more variety. Culling fresh produce, much of it from DelVal’s own farm, he created a global salad menu to keep pace with Parkhurst’s Hemisflavors concept. Hummel’s signature mango nut salad is an homage to the tropical flavors of the Caribbean Islands.

“We feature foods from different cultures that have authentic ingredients throughout our menus. It’s easier to create vegan and vegetarian meals that way, and you can offer a lot more fare. We feature vegan and vegetarian composed salads every day. We were looking to create a Caribbean-influenced salad because summer was coming and we wanted some lighter fare. We had pineapple in one dish and strawberries in another, so we thought we’d use mangoes. The mango nut salad is made with grilled mango halves, walnuts, pecans and julienned red onion served with three kinds of lettuce leaves: romaine, red leaf and mesclun. We toss it with olive oil, Worcestershire sauce and a raspberry vinaigrette and season it with fresh basil and thyme.

It’s not a really labor-intensive dish but something that could be thrown together easily. Most of my recipes are pretty simple. Sourcing ingredients is easy as well; most are things we use on a daily basis like fresh herbs and lettuce. We source those from campus when they are available. Lately we’ve been getting bok choy, spinach and radishes. Last semester we had some nice red leaf [lettuce] and some romaine. It depends on what the students are growing. I get most of our produce from our purveyors and some special ordered for other recipes. If we can’t get mangoes, we’ve used strawberries and grilled pineapples instead. Same thing with the nuts: if you don’t like walnuts, throw in some toasted almonds. If someone makes the salad before me, they usually use the grilled pineapple. The mango nut salad is popular with students, but some say it’s better with the grilled pineapple. It gives the salad that sweet and charred flavor.

We offer two composed salads daily, like the mango nut salad or a roasted veggie salad. We also offer a slaw-type salad, like an Asian vegetable slaw, to give a variety of textures as well as tastes and regions. Our roasted vegetable salad is made with leeks, squash, zucchini, tomatoes and parsnips. We put olive oil, salt and pepper on the vegetables to roast them. We garnish it with scallions and fresh sprigs of herbs like chives, thyme, fresh basil. We season it with salt, pepper and fennel seeds.

For the Asian vegetable slaw we use bok choy, authentic red chili paste, yucca root, carrot, zucchini and squash—to give it a nice yellow and green color—all julienned fine on a mandoline. Sometimes I add mushrooms for color. We toss it with a sesame vinaigrette made with black and white sesame seeds and rice wine vinegar. My recipes are not set in stone. I like having that leeway; that’s one of the things I love about my job.”

Mango Nut Salad
Yield: 6 to 8 portions

2 each mangoes, peeled, seeded
1/4  oz. walnut halves
1/4  oz. pecan halves
1/2 head romaine lettuce, washed, chopped
1/4 head red leaf lettuce, washed, chopped
1/4  head mesclun lettuce, washed
1/4 each red onion, julienned
2/3 cup olive oil
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup raspberry vinaigrette
3 leaves fresh basil, separated, chiffonade
3 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped fine

  1. Grill mango halves slightly; cut on bias and set aside.
  2. Wash lettuce and cut into ¼-dollar size; let drain. Put in mixing bowl and set aside.
  3. In small bowl, mix raspberry vinaigrette, olive oil and Worcestershire sauce, along with ½ of the fresh herbs; set aside.
  4. Add red onion, ½ of the nuts and ½ of the vinaigrette to lettuce and toss lightly.
  5. Put dressed lettuce into serving dish and place sliced mangoes over lettuce. Add remaining nuts and herbs as garnish.
  6. Add more vinaigrette if desired.


View original article here
Fresh World Flavors at Delaware Valley College
FoodService Director Magazine

New menu uses global salads to please all diners.

When Parkhurst Dining Services took over culinary operations at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, Pa., last summer, Executive Chef Frank Hummelcreated a whole new campus menu. He quickly found that his students, especially the vegans and vegetarians, wanted more variety. Culling fresh produce, much of it from DelVal’s own farm, he created a global salad menu to keep pace with Parkhurst’s Hemisflavors concept. Hummel’s signature mango nut salad is an homage to the tropical flavors of the Caribbean Islands.

“We feature foods from different cultures that have authentic ingredients throughout our menus. It’s easier to create vegan and vegetarian meals that way, and you can offer a lot more fare. We feature vegan and vegetarian composed salads every day. We were looking to create a Caribbean-influenced salad because summer was coming and we wanted some lighter fare. We had pineapple in one dish and strawberries in another, so we thought we’d use mangoes. The mango nut salad is made with grilled mango halves, walnuts, pecans and julienned red onion served with three kinds of lettuce leaves: romaine, red leaf and mesclun. We toss it with olive oil, Worcestershire sauce and a raspberry vinaigrette and season it with fresh basil and thyme.

It’s not a really labor-intensive dish but something that could be thrown together easily. Most of my recipes are pretty simple. Sourcing ingredients is easy as well; most are things we use on a daily basis like fresh herbs and lettuce. We source those from campus when they are available. Lately we’ve been getting bok choy, spinach and radishes. Last semester we had some nice red leaf [lettuce] and some romaine. It depends on what the students are growing. I get most of our produce from our purveyors and some special ordered for other recipes. If we can’t get mangoes, we’ve used strawberries and grilled pineapples instead. Same thing with the nuts: if you don’t like walnuts, throw in some toasted almonds. If someone makes the salad before me, they usually use the grilled pineapple. The mango nut salad is popular with students, but some say it’s better with the grilled pineapple. It gives the salad that sweet and charred flavor.

We offer two composed salads daily, like the mango nut salad or a roasted veggie salad. We also offer a slaw-type salad, like an Asian vegetable slaw, to give a variety of textures as well as tastes and regions. Our roasted vegetable salad is made with leeks, squash, zucchini, tomatoes and parsnips. We put olive oil, salt and pepper on the vegetables to roast them. We garnish it with scallions and fresh sprigs of herbs like chives, thyme, fresh basil. We season it with salt, pepper and fennel seeds.

For the Asian vegetable slaw we use bok choy, authentic red chili paste, yucca root, carrot, zucchini and squash—to give it a nice yellow and green color—all julienned fine on a mandoline. Sometimes I add mushrooms for color. We toss it with a sesame vinaigrette made with black and white sesame seeds and rice wine vinegar. My recipes are not set in stone. I like having that leeway; that’s one of the things I love about my job.”

Mango Nut Salad
Yield: 6 to 8 portions

2 each mangoes, peeled, seeded
1/4  oz. walnut halves
1/4  oz. pecan halves
1/2 head romaine lettuce, washed, chopped
1/4 head red leaf lettuce, washed, chopped
1/4  head mesclun lettuce, washed
1/4 each red onion, julienned
2/3 cup olive oil
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup raspberry vinaigrette
3 leaves fresh basil, separated, chiffonade
3 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped fine

  1. Grill mango halves slightly; cut on bias and set aside.
  2. Wash lettuce and cut into ¼-dollar size; let drain. Put in mixing bowl and set aside.
  3. In small bowl, mix raspberry vinaigrette, olive oil and Worcestershire sauce, along with ½ of the fresh herbs; set aside.
  4. Add red onion, ½ of the nuts and ½ of the vinaigrette to lettuce and toss lightly.
  5. Put dressed lettuce into serving dish and place sliced mangoes over lettuce. Add remaining nuts and herbs as garnish.
  6. Add more vinaigrette if desired.


View original article here