Culinary event spotlights keiki cooking competition

This year, the Hawai’i Food & Wine Festival is profiling some of the state’s best young cooks with Keiki in the Kitchen: Food, Fitness & Fun!, a cooking competition for youth, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Honolulu Zoo.

Celebrity chef judges will include "Iron Chef" Cat Cora, Jason Fox (Commonwealth, San Francisco), Raphael Lunetta (JiRaffe Restaurant, Santa Monica, Calif.), Nobu Matsuhisa (Nobu Waikiki), Hiroyuki Sakai (La Rochelle, Tokyo) and Art Smith (Table 52, Chicago).

Meet the chefs, watch them cook, shop at a farmers market and enjoy food from Hawaii’s best food trucks.

Purchase $5 presale admission at hawaiifoodandwine festival.com, or pay regular zoo admission at the door. Call 738-6245 or email info@hawaiifoodandwine festival.com. The event is sponsored by Hawaii Medical Assurance Association.

This week, we feature recipes from some of the festival’s celebrity chefs, for both keiki and seasoned cooks.

Seared Alaskan Salmon with Lilikoi Shrimp Salsa
Courtesy Roy Yamaguchi

» Salsa:
4 ounces extra large shrimp (about 4), peeled, deveined and diced
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup passion fruit syrup
1/4 cup minced onion
1 large Roma tomato, peeled, seeded and finely diced
2 tablespoons finely sliced scallions (including green parts)
1 tablespoon minced cilantro
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon palm sugar or granulated sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste

» Salmon:
4 (7-ounce) Alaskan salmon fillets
3 tablespoons peanut oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
To make salsa: In small bowl, toss shrimp with olive oil.

Heat stainless-steel pan over high. When hot, add shrimp. Sear, turning often, until evenly pink, about 1 minute. Transfer to a nonreactive bowl and add remaining ingredients. Toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate.

Prepare salmon by coating with peanut oil, then season with salt and pepper.

Heat dry cast-iron skillet over high 2 to 3 minutes, then sear salmon 30 seconds per side for rare, or 1-1/2 minutes per side for medium-rare.

Transfer to serving plates and top with salsa. Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (not including salt to taste): 600 calories, 39 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 155 mg cholesterol, 350 mg sodium, 15 g carbohydrate, no fiber, 14 g sugar, 46 g protein

Chilled Carrot Soup
Courtesy Hiroyuki Sakai

1 carrot
1/2 onion
2 to 3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup honey, or to taste
1-1/3 cups chicken broth
Sugar and milk, to taste
4 baby carrots, for garnish
Chervil, for garnish

Peel and slice carrot and onion. In medium pan, heat butter on medium and add onion; saute until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add carrot and continue to cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add honey and broth; boil 10 minutes.

Place in blender and blend until smooth. Add sugar and milk to taste.

Strain to remove any lumps and place in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours or until it reaches desired temperature.

Garnish with carrot and chervil. Serves 4.

Nutritional information unavailable.

Baked Apples with Cinnamon-Oatmeal Streusel
Courtesy Art Smith

4 large apples, such as Envy, Empire or Honeycrisp
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons chopped dates
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut apple tops and core, while keeping them whole.

Place apples in 8-inch baking dish, cored sides up.

In small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Mix with fork until incorporated.

Fill apples with mixture. (It should spill over top of apples.) Bake 20-30 minutes or until apples become tender. Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 300 calories, 12 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 10 mg sodium, 51 g carbohydrate, 6 g fiber, 40 g sugar, 1 g protein

More Hawaiian Electric Co. recipes are available at www.hawaiianelectric.com.