Welcome to the Premier posting of a new series based on gourmet recipes put together by none other than Mathieson Jennings.  If you haven’t heard of Matty J, you are (A) obviously in the dark in regards to the culinary world, & (B) under-employing your taste-buds.

Born and raised in the ‘great white norf’ of upstate New York, Mathieson possesses a scary fervor for palate stimulation and has quickly bound to chef positions that the uninspired cooking-type can take upwards of a decade to reach.  Putting his passion for culinary craft above all else, this Jennings soul lives in monastery-type surrounds – his library of cooking texts and armory of blades & tools dwarfing his sleeping arrangements in scale & investment).  To near pernicious lengths, Matt lives in full devotion to his trade and rarely has much else on his mind other then flavor pairings and thoughts of his next great dish.

Bottom line = Matty J is an imaginative savant who’s blowin’ fuses in the brains of those fortunate enough to sample his course creations.  A star on the rise, Mathieson is sure to alter the landscape of the culinary world in coming years.

Without further ado, I present you all with “Wrapper’s Delight” – a superbly healthy and tasty wrap loaded with an exotic combo of vehjeez.  To get underway you’ll need the following elements (omit or substitute ingredients at your own peril + M.J. will forever hold you in contempt):

Brown Rice Wraps                          Brown Rice                   Mushrooms (Porcini, Beech)

Edamame (hulled)                           Cucumber                    Gicama

Yellow Onion                                 Brown Sugar                 Orange (peeled, zest-ed, juiced)

Togarashi seasoning                    Ginger (minced)               Garlic (minced)

Shallot (minced)                         Cilantro (chopped)             Sriracha

Plum Vinegar                        Oil (preferably Grapeseed)       Salt & Pepper

Buhduh (butter)                     Vegetable Stock (optional for cooking the rice in)

Now comes our music pairing (which you should download and loop for the entire cooking and eating processes).  This should get you in the Wrapping mood.

Alright, now comes the PREP (get pumped).

Pickled Cucumbers & Jicima:

Combine Plum Vinegar, sugar, salt, and Sriracha in a bowl and mix til relatively homogenous.  Julienne (for all you simpletons [such as myself] out there, Julienne is the cutting of 1/8 inch × 1/8 inch × 2 inch strips- basically shredded) 1 medium Jicima and 1 English Cucumber and soak / pickle them in the mixture.  Do this step first to allow for good marination.

Rice:

Start off by rinsing your Brown rice (quantity dependent on your crowd, but rice is usually roughly a 2:1 liquid : rice ratio).  In the pot with the correct proportions of water / vegetable stock, put burner on medium heat.  Once it reaches boil bring the heat back and let excess water cook out on simmer.

Onion Marmalade:

Caramelize 2 Onions in a pan, adding brown sugar & butter on low heat – cook until dark brown. Once this stage is reached, add to (cooked) rice and mix, adding salt & pepper to taste.  Finish with Orange Zest.

Edamame:

In a bowl or closeable container, toss Edamame (around 3/4 cups worth for every wrap desired) with approx 1 tbsp. of melted butter (for each serving), chopped cilantro, Togarashi seasoning, and dashes of salt & pepper.

Mushrooms:

Pre-heat a saute pan to medium-high heat and add oil (grapeseed).  After oil gets to temperature, add sliced mushrooms and cook til golden brown.  Once golden brown reduce heat to low and add butter, shallot, ginger, garlic, and Plum Vinegar.

ASSEMBLY:

Heat both sides of the brown rice wrap in a pan (to make more malleable) and then place a line of rice in the middle, leaving room for folding. (In the case you are inexperienced in the art of wrapping please see the bottom of this post for tutorials on 2 different schools of burrito thought.)  Once you have the correct amount of rice in the middle top with the edamame, mushrooms, and the pickled cucumber & jicima.  Wrap tightly, slice in half, and if by some incredible chance, you still have endurance to spare: decorate the plate with pickle juice, edamae, grilled mushroom, & carrot spears, but we won’t make that mandatory.

GET READY FOR THE WRAPTURE!!!!

PLEASE ask any questions for clarification along any step of this process if you have any, and get ready for the next Gourmet Recipe coming your way next week (it’ll probably be more on the simple side [popcorn?])!