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Foodie Chap With Chef John Ladas of 'Our House' San Jose

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SAN JOSE (CBS SF) - Chef John Ladas started his culinary journey from as early as he can remember often "helping" his mother Soula create bountiful Greek family feasts and "assisting" his father Manolis on the grill or roasting whole spring lamb on the spit.

Landas obtained his degree in the culinary arts with an emphasis on classic French techniques from the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago, a Le Cordon Bleu accredited culinary program. In Carmel, CA Chef Ladas truly discovered what seasonal, farm to fork cooking is all about and has been living with these philosophies in mind ever since. While in Carmel & Monterey, Chef Ladas participated in 3 Pebble Beach Masters of Food & Wine festivals meeting and absorbing tricks and ideas from some of the biggest names in the culinary world. A few years later Chef Ladas moved to San Francisco to work with Bay Area Culinary Legend Chef Hubert Keller of Fleur de Lys.

The culmination of years of training, life experiences and Chef's culinary philosophy has lead to Our House a place that is warm, cozy, friendly and community driven. Utilizing ingredients that are Organic and GMO Free though remaining whimsical and technically sound, focused on seasonality, sourced sustainable as well as locally, just like he enjoys doing at home.

Chef John Ladas (credit: Foodie Chap/Liam Mayclem)

Our House is one of 27 restaurants participating in DINE DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE - a 10 day event where local SJ restaurants invite you ins to sample special pre-Fixe menus. Chef John and I met recently at Our House, voted as one of the top new restaurants by Eater.com, for our Foodie Chap chat. His food is an expression of his many years in fine dining restaurants with a nod to local and sustainable. A map on a chalk board on the wall let's you know where his food comes from - all sourced from farms in California. Chef prepped a stunning dish: Pea Purèe & Scallops, artful to the eye but yummy on the palate. The recipe is below.

Do yourself a favor and drop by Chef John's Our House for thoughtful & flavorful cuisine, a party on your palate at every bite. It's a "secret gem" in downtown San Jose but not for long.

Dine Downtown Pre Fixe Menu here.

Cheers, Liam!


 

Chef John Ladas' Pea Puree & Scallops
Chef John Ladas' Pea Puree & Scallops (credit: Foodie Chap/Liam Mayclem)

Chef John Ladas' Pea Purèe & Scallops

 
Ingredients:

  • 2 U-10 (jumbo) Sea Scallops
  • 3 Little Neck Clams
  • 1 Cup of English Pea Puree
  • 1/4 Cup of Mixed Pea Tendril Tips, Watercress and Micro Beet Greens
  • Bacon Dust
  • Truffle Essence

 
Pea Puree -

Simmer 1 C of English Peas in salted, garlic infused (1 teaspoon of minced garlic) water until tender, approx 1 C of water for 15 min.

Puree peas in a Vita-prep with 1/4 of simmer water, 1 teaspoon of white pepper, pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of butter until puree is smooth ( approx 3 min). Reserve at room temperature.

 
Bacon Dust -

Slowly render 2 pieces of Natural Hickory Bacon in a medium heat sauté pan until bacon is very crisp and almost all the fat is rendered, remove bacon and lay on paper towels to drain any excess fat. In 15 minutes when bacon is cooled, pulse in a food processor until bacon becomes almost powder form. reserve for plate up.

Salt Scallops and sear on high heat in a sauté pan with a teaspoon of canola oil for 45 seconds on each side, reserve for plate up.

In the same hot "scallop" pan, add the clams, deglaze with 1/4 C white wine (buttery chardonnay) add a 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic and the remaining pea liquid for 3-5 minutes until clams open.

Remove clams and reserve for plate up.
 
Truffle Essence -

Take 250 ml of clam poaching liquid, 2 tablespoons of Heavy Cream and 1 tablespoon of quality white truffle oil and place in a blender. Next measure 5 grams of Soy Lecithin (Soybean based foam stabilizer) and add to liquid.

Blend on high speed for 45 seconds until contents of blender are fully incorporated. Over the next minute the froth or foam will rise to the top of the blender and stabilize, it's ready for service.

 

Begin plating by streaking pea puree on the tip of a spoon in an offset straight line as seen in the photo.

Arrange tendrils, cress and micro beets as you like in the puree, have fun building your "garden".

Next place scallops and clams one after the other following the puree in line.

Then sprinkle the puree and seafood with bacon dust.

Last place your Truffle essence over the scallops and anywhere else you see fit.

 
Enjoy!


 
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