As a huge fan of both movies and food, I am thrilled when I find a movie that combines both! Especially when the movie is not only entertaining but also inspires me to get creative in the kitchen. The Hundred-Foot Journey, released August 8th, is sure to have you doing just that!
Synopsis:
In “The Hundred-Foot Journey,” Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) is a culinary ingénue with the gastronomic equivalent of perfect pitch. Displaced from their native India, the Kadam family, led by Papa (Om Puri), settles in the quaint village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the south of France. Filled with charm, it is both picturesque and elegant – the ideal place to settle down and open an Indian restaurant, Maison Mumbai. That is, until the chilly chef proprietress of Le Saule Pleureur, a Michelin-starred, classical French restaurant run by Madame Mallory (Academy Award®-winner Helen Mirren) gets wind of it. Her icy protests against the new Indian restaurant a hundred feet from her own escalate into a heated battle between the two establishments until Hassan’s passion for French haute cuisine — and for Madame Mallory’s enchanting sous chef, Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon) — combine with his mysteriously-delicious talent to weave magic between their two cultures and imbue Saint-Antonin with the flavors of life that even Madame Mallory cannot ignore. At first Madame Mallory’s culinary rival, she eventually recognizes Hassan’s gift as a chef and takes him under her wing.
“The Hundred-Foot Journey” abounds with flavors that burst across the tongue. A stimulating triumph over exile, blossoming with passion and heart, it is a portrayal of two worlds colliding and one young man’s drive to find the comfort of home, in every pot, wherever he may be.
Asian Style Green Beans Recipe
Ingredients
1 lb fresh green beans
1 TBS minced garlic
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS butter
lite soy sauce
Directions
1. Start a large pot of heavily salted water on to boil. (The salted water helps to keep the beans flavorful and retain the beautiful color) This will NOT make the beans salty by any means. The water should be 6-7 times saltier than seawater.
2. Rinse your beans thoroughly, and trim the ends off the beans with a sharp knife. Some prefer to snap the ends, but that can sometimes lead to breaking off too much of the bean. If the beans are long or if you just like a smaller bean, you can snap them in half at this time.
3. Prepare a large bowl of ice water and keep refrigerated until its time to cook.
4. Once the water reaches a full rolling boil, slowly introduce the beans to the pot. You want to gently stir them from a few times during the process, but you only want to blanch the beans, so only cook for about 2 ½ minutes.
5. Drain beans slowly into a colander but do not rinse.
6. Once drained you need to quickly transfer the beans into bowl of ice water. This step is important to shock the beans, and quickly end the cooking process (this keeps the beans crispy as over cooking softens the bean.)
7. Meanwhile start a sauce pan on over a medium flame and heat the olive oil. Spread the oil to coat the pan and once hot, add in the butter until melted and blended in. Add the garlic and sautee for about 1 minute.
8. Drain the beans once more in the colander before adding those to the pan. (This whole process should only take a few minutes as you also don’t want the beans to sit in the ice water for too long and absorb too much water which can make them soggy.)
9. Sautee the beans in the mixture, gently tossing and coating the beans for 2 ½ minutes before adding the soy sauce.
10. After another 30 seconds drain beans into the colander one last time to remove the excess oil.
Serve and enjoy!