Beef Tenderloin Recipe by Igor Macchia

As promised, here the first recipe in a long time. As we are talking about Igor Macchia, I have taken the liberty to share his recipe with you. It is a bit labor intensive than many others, but then, you want to cook one Michelin Star cuisine...then you have to work for it....Stars don't come just for a simple steak on the BBQ, no there needs to be more to it than that

It was so much fun working with Igor, he is totally down to earth and happy to coach the team, something they loved as the guest chefs are really changing the everyday routine, mine included. Often these chefs need specialized ingredients like the cassis and spinach powder for this recipe. Of course you can do it without it, but for us here, we want to be as close as possible to the original. So I contacted Igor and he happily shared where I can get all the special ingredients from, it took of course still a lot of mails with suppliers to get it finally delivered to us,..... but that is the fun part, the part where we have to source the best ingredients and then bit by bit actually have a web of suppliers where we can fall back with all the fancy foods....I just love that part

So here is the recipe: Enjoy!

Ingredient for cherry marinated with ginger:

  400 gr. fresh cherry

  140 gr. brown sugar

    50 gr. fresh ginger

Method for cherry marinated with ginger:

season quartered cherry with sugar and ginger. Vacuum pack and cook in steamed oven at 80°C for 3 hours. Chilled and blend. Keep the sauce for presentation of the plate.

Ingredient for mashed potatoes:

1500 gr. potatoes

                Sea salt

  150 gr. diced butter

  150 gr. mascarpone cheese

               Salt

               Pepper

Method for mashed potatoes:

wash potatoes and pierce with a fork. Cook with sea  salt in oven at 200°C for 1 hour.

Mashed potato and add mascarpone cheese and butter. Season with salt and pepper and keep for presentation of the plate.

Ingredient for watercress sauce:

250 gr. fresh watercress

             Xantana

             Salt

             Pepper

Method for watercress sauce:

Cook watercress in salted water. Chilled and blend.

Add xantana and season with salt and pepper. Keep for presentation of the plate.

Ingredient for presentation of the plate:

480 gr. wagyu beef tenderloin

120 gr. foie gras

   30 gr. cherry pure’ from boiron or capfruit

   20 gr. beef juice

   10 gr. watercress sauce

     2 gr. cassis powder

     2 gr. spinach powder

   60 gr. mashed potatoes

   40 gr. cooked cherry

   40 gr. saute fresh spinach

               Extra virgin olive oil

               Maldon salt

               Sea salt

               Pepper

               Fresh sprout

Method for presentation of the plate:

Season beef with salt and pepper and cook in a hot pan with olive oil. Finish to cook in oven at 200°C for 5 minutes.

Garnish the top of cooked beef with all ingredient and plate in a hot plate garnished with cherry and watercress sauce.

Use cassis and spinach powder for garnish the plate.

Beef Tartar with Salmon Roe

I always feel that Amuses or Amuse Bouche are such an important part of a meal. It is the business card from the kitchen, the little surprise that gets the guests going, the start of a great meal.

As the name says it already the Amuse Bouche is a bit like a teaser to the taste buts, the preview of things to come. I have eaten in some of the best restaurants in France where the kitchen would serve even an Amuse for the desserts, the pastry liking to show off as well.

The beef tartar is actually a very easy to make amuse. At the same time it is a dish I would only eat in a reputable restaurant as it has its dangers when eating raw meat. It really has to be super fresh and the hygienic conditions in the kitchen have to be top

I like to mix in some different flavors so this time I added some salmon roe and crème fraiche. All together it is a lovely experience of the meat flavors, the saltiness of the roe and the creaminess of the crème fraiche

Here is the recipe for 4 friends (starter portion)

320 g Beef fillet or any other lean and tender cut

50 g Onions

10 g Garlic

25 g Spring onions

10 g Mustard (Moutarde de Meaux)

Salt

Pepper

10 ml Olive oil

60 g Salmon Roe

40 g Crème Fraiche

Method

Cut the meat in very fine cubes, I prefer it like this as you have more texture to the dish.

Chop the onions and garlic very fine

Cut the spring onions

Mix the meat with all ingredients except the roe and crème fraiche

Season to taste

Plate the tartar in small rings

Garnish with roe and crème fraiche

Optionally garnish the tartar with a sweet potato chip and or a small salad

Hungarian Goulash

After all the travelling I am cooking again, yes and there is a lot to come. I will cook a lot of basic and simple dishes like the one we talk about in this Blog. The Goulash.

It can be an absolutely beautiful dish if properly cooked. One part that is really important is the onions. One uses a lot of onions. They don't just give a beautiful flavor, but thicken the sauce nicely too. At the end we add potatoes and because they cook in the sauce they are taking up all the flavor.

The difference here compared to other stews is that the meat does not get browned, either do the onions. Everything is cooked without giving color but as you can see on the first photo, the color at the end is still great. I have not added any stock to it. With the slow cooking and adding the salt at the beginning, all the juices from the onions and meat will come out and then the meat is braising slowly in its own juices.

As a spice we add a little bay leaves and of course caraway seeds. They are really important because they give a wonderful new level to the dish, something that makes your Goulash different and at the same time more original. Just be careful that you don't add too much to the dish.

What I find amazing cooking here in Maldives is that I am constantly exposed to Indian and Sri-Lankan cooking. Especially in Indian cuisine one finds often the gravy which is based on onions and like with the Goulash onions, it thickens the dish apart from giving it a lot of flavors. So even these two cuisines are so different in many ways....there are some similarities.

So try it out, the recipe is really simple and try to buy a lower cut of the beef, something from the leg that needs long cooking. There the meat has much more flavor which will add to the dish. Just take your time with cooking, it really has to simmer very slowly and would actually work well if cooked in the oven

So here is the recipe which is enough for 10 friends, because like this you can freeze some if you have less over for dinner

Recipe

1.5 kg (2,5 lbs) Beef cubes

750 (1,5 lbs) g Onion

75 ml (3 oz) Oil

400 g (1 lbs) Red Peppers

400 g (1 lbs) Tomatoes

60 g (2 oz) Sweet Paprika powder

8 g (0.3 oz) Caraway seeds

2 ea Bay leaves

15 g (o,5 oz) Salt

Pepper

Method

Cut the beef in 30 g cubes

Cut the onions in a fine julienne

Sweat the onions in the hot oil

Add the beef cubes and sweat at low heat

Add all the spices, red peppers and tomatoes

Stir well then simmer with the lid for 1.5 hours or till the meat is starting to get tender

Add the potatoes which are cut in 1 cm cubes

Simmer till all is soft but the potatoes are still whole

Season to taste

Serve with homemade Spaetzle

Homemade Pork Sausage

Over 6 month ago I wanted to start making our own sausages here at Soneva Fushi and finally, the day has arrived that we have made our first batch. The sausage machine arrived about 2 weeks ago, we got finally the sausage skins, so there is no stopping anymore.

Have I made sausages before? Yes, once about 20 years ago, so I can't say that I am a master sausage makes, but what I can say is that I love sausages and that is enough.

Of course I read up a little on how sausages are made, we are going very simple here with no preservatives, my pork sausages must look like sausages and not like pink, ugly things. So off we go

First I had to clean the machine nicely, it just came out of the box and there was still a lot of wrapping on it, but then that was one. We don't have always the right pork cuts, so I just took some of the pork necks we had and put them through the mincer, that was easy. But of course I wanted a special sausage, not just a simple pork sausage, so I started to chop some onions and garlic and cut a whole load of Granny Smith apples in cubes. I took some very good EV Olive oil and sauteed the onions and garlic till glassy, but no color, than added the apples. Simmer till al dente and voila, that was it. I let the mix cool down completely.

Then I thought that in a meat loaf one always puts some bread and eggs in it. I did not want to add the eggs, but I know that old bread binds the meat nicely, so I just soaked it in some milk.

So far everything was very easy, I mixed all the ingredients together and added the seasoning, honey, salt and pepper. Of course as any good chef, I had to taste my mix, but no, I really don't want to eat raw pork......so I made a small patty and fried it, yummie, yes it was good, just a little more salt and it is perfect.

Still everything is very easy......but then cam the tricky part. I had to put the sausage skin on the machine which was a lot more difficult than expected. The skin tears quite easily and I had to be patient with my work. But at the end it was done, I had the filling in the machine and started turning.......ohhhhh I made a little knot in front to avoid the sausage mix to just come out, that did not work because now my sausage filled with air instead of meat.....Caramba.....so I cut the tip off and it worked well.

To fill the sausage is OK, one just has to be patient, not to turn the machine too fast and at the same time to make sure the skin is sliding off the nozzle easily. The result: An acceptable sexy sausage that just needed to be turned and fried.

When turning the sausage (like making the individual sausages) one sees immediately if the right amount of meat is in the sausage, if it is too much it will burst, if it is too little, then it is just not so pretty, but OK.

Finally, after more than 6 Month of waiting, I had the first homemade Pork and Apple Sausage in the pan, wow was I excited and the smell started to come up, the sausages started to take color, I turned them around a couple of times and........yes they were absolutely fantastic. I was so happy, my day was made, nothing could go wrong anymore.....

The the chefs had a try, we laughed a lot, of course some jokes were made, some really pretty and some really ugly sausages were produced, but the main reason is, we have now our homemade sausages. We will start making different sausages, beef, chicken, lamb, fish and more. We all learned a lot this morning and had a great time with our new toy, the sausage machine

So here is the recipe if you want to try at home, trust me it is a lot of fun and works

4 Kg Pork neck
500 G Onions
100 G Garlic
1 Kg Apples
500 G Bread
250 Ml Milk
30 G Honey
60 G Salt
10 G Pepper coarse

Sausage skins

Mince the pork neck in a medium to fine mincer, not too fine as otherwise there is not artisanal look

Chop onions and garlic finely
Cut apples in 5 mm cubes
Use Granny Smith or any other sour variety

Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil without color
Add the apple cubes when the onions are soft
Cook for another good 5 minutes till apples are cooked al dente

Cool down the apple mix

Add milk to dry bread and keep everything in the fridge overnight

Mix all ingredients well together, put in sausage machine
Make little breakfast sausages

The Chefs are trying out sausage making

Not as easy as it looks, but a job well done

Duck leg with smoked Risotto

Christmas is coming and I want to do something different for the festive season. Duck goes well in the Christmas season, but I am bored of the traditional Duck in Orange sauce. So I am preparing today a slow cooked duck leg, and as it is cooked in its own fat it is called confit. The cooking process takes 3 to 4 hours, one has to be patient, but the result is absolutely delicious.

With the duck leg I prepare a risotto. I have mushrooms in it and instead of a light chicken stock I make a brown chicken stock. For that I roast the bones in the oven till they are nice and dark brow.....remember, only dark brown as if the bones burn the stock will be bitter.

As for the smoke..... I am "cheating" a bit, I am taking one of my fancy powders from the Molecular Cuisine, the smoke powder. If you use smoke powder get a top quality one. I use the products of a company called Sosa. They specialize in all sorts of flavors and products used in the Molecular Cuisine but can of course be used as well in normal cuisine. We don't actually do Molecular here, I call it more progressive Cuisine as we use the aids which can give you amazing flavor combinations, without actually being Molecular.

The risotto is prepared exactly the same way like a normal risotto, but with the brown chicken stock it gives it more the look of being smoked.

Then of course we are using some lovely green vegetables to make the dish perfect in looks and taste

Just for a garnish OI made a little beetroot chip, just looks very nice

Recipe
4 Ea Duck leg

160 G (6 oz) Arborio Rice
560 Ml  (0.55 quart) Chicken Stock
50 G (2 oz) Parmesan
3 g Smoke Powder
120 G (4 oz) Asparagus, green
100 G (3.5 oz) Mushrooms
80 G (2.5 oz) Mange Tout
40 (1.5 oz) Ml Fresh Cream
50 G (2 oz) Onions

Method
Confit the duck leg in duck fat in the oven for 3 hours at 135 C
Chop onions finely, fry in olive oil without color
Add the risotto, fry a little
Add chicken stock and smoke powder
Be careful that you don't add too much powder
Add the cream, mushrooms and Parmesan at the end

Saute the vegetables

Pork Fillet, Bacon and Calvados

I am cooking again, this time pork fillet. I haven't cooked pork fillet in such a long time and when we went shopping this morning I just saw them and heard the inner voice telling me to buy them. Then we got some bacon too, I bought smoked streaky bacon. The idea is to wrap the individual portions of the fillet with the bacon to keep them nice and moist. It is important that the bacon is cut very thin and is only slightly smoked.

The pork must be cooked all the way, but make sure it doesn't get dry. Especially the fillet gets dry very quickly as there is no fat on it. If you buy the pork from a good butcher then one can even keep it a little pink, this makes the meat so much nicer to eat. If you are not sure where the pork is from, rather cook it well done.

Then when the meat was cooked I just poured some Calvados in the pan, flambeed and added some cream, seasoned and finish. Then when meat was rested I took the juice of the meat and added it to the sauce, like this it helped as well to keep the meat nice and moist.

With that I made some Knoepfli (or Spaetzle in German) and some Zucchini with garlic, OK, lots of garlic because  but today I have just the recipe for the pork fillets

Recipe
1.8 Kg Pork Fillet
400 G Streaky bacon, smoked
10 G Salt
5 G Pepper
25 Ml Oil

 50 Ml Calvados
100 Ml Demi Glace
100 Ml Cream
5 G Salt
3 G Pepper

Method
Cut the pork fillet in 60 g pieces, then wrap each piece with thinly sliced bacon
Fix the bacon with a toothpick to keep it tight
Heat a bit oil in the pan and then fry the pork on both sides till golden brown, season to taste
Take the meat out and keep warm
Deglace the pan with the calvados, flambee
Then add the demi glace (Beef stock) and cream
Bring to a boil and simmer for a couple of minutes
Reduce a bit and thicken if required
Season to taste
Before serving add the meat juice to the sauce
Take the tooth picks out the meat and plate

 For 10 Friends

Canapes: Lamb Chops

I am playing again, OK, the playing is actually for the launch or Jaguar and Range Rover here in Ghana, so it is something that gets showcased with some of the most amazing cars there are...yes I love Jaguar and Range Rover, so I am more than happy to create some nice and special bites for it.

The recipe for the canape of today is actually very easy, but if you serve it in the right dish it just looks absolutely stunning. To get the meat perfectly pink I first season and sear the rack on all sides, then I put it in the oven at....64 C and yes it has to be exactly 64 C if it is more it will be well done, if it is less then it will stay too rare. It takes good 45 minutes, even more to get the center temperature up to 64, but then you can actually leave the lamb in the oven as long as you want, it will not overcook as the temperature is not high enough

Now for all my friends in the States, 64 Celsius is 147 Fahrenheit.

You will see that if you want to do this method, it is a lot easier in a convection oven, the traditional ovens are a lot more difficult to have the exact temperature, but the end result is the same, you want it nice and pink in the middle

Then I add the crust and just finish the rack in the salamander to give the crust the crispness and the brown color.

I like to serve the cut rack individual with a little creamy mash potatoes, some marinated peas and a little jus, garnish with some herbs and your deluxe canape is ready....or our 150 deluxe canapes will be ready

Recipe2 Ea Lamb Rack, Frenched
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
10 G Thyme
10 G Rosemary
20 G Parsley
100 G Bread Crumbs
100 G Butter

500 G Potatoes
20 Ml Cream
20 Ml Milk
20 G Butter
Salt
Pepper

Method
Season the lamb rack and fry in hot oil till nice and brown
Finish it off in the oven at 65C for about 45 minutes
The meat will be perfectly pink
Have the butter at room temperature
Chop the herbs finely
Mix bread crumbs, butter and herbs
Roll the crust between 2 plastic wraps to about 3 mm
Put in the fridge to get hard, then cut the size of the lamb rack
Take the lamb rack out the oven and place the crust on the rack
Quickly flash under the salamander till golden brown

Boil the potatoes till very soft
Pour the water off
Strain the potatoes
Add milk, cream and butter
Season to taste

Pipe a bit mash in a Chinese spoon
Cut the lamb rack in slices
Put the lamb on the mash
Add a bit truffled demi glace
Garninsh with some herbs

Pork Chops and Belly

Let me tell you a bit about the next dish on our menu, the pork chop and belly, it is something that is just so tasty, you will not be able to resist and will have to try it out at home.

The Belly is slow cooked, I usually take hours for it, then cooled down, cut in cubes and fried with red kidney beans and tomatoes, so like a stew. Then the pork chop gets fried in the pan, a blob of butter and some herbs at the end and then I finish it off in the oven.

As you can imagine, the pork comes from the organic pork farm in Swedru, the one I visited long time ago. Yes we do buy our pork from them and it has been a great success, the pork is tasty, one of the best I had in Ghana. If you have not read the blog about the pork, I would suggest you check it out, it was really a great experience going there.

With the pork we serve Fondant potatoes. These are potatoes which are nicely cut in thick discs and then cooked in chicken stock, then at the end they getting glazed with the reduced stock, so they are really full of flavor.

2 Kg Pork Chops
600 G Pork Belly
200 G Red kidney beans
100 G Tomatoes
40 G Whole grain mustard
200 G Butter
800 Ml Chicken stock
200 G Granny Smith
15 G Salt
5 G Pepper
25 G Parsley
1.2 G Potatoes
50 G Sugar
10 G Cinnamon

Braise the pork belly for 2 to 3 hours at 180 C in the oven
After braising the pork remove the skin of the belly
Cool down completely, then cut in cubes
In a hot pan saute the belly cubes
Add kidney beans and tomato concasse to it
After cooking it for a couple of minutes season and add freshly chopped herbs
Pan fry the pork chop in a hot pan
Add butter and fresh herbs to it and finish the cooking in the oven
Peel the potatoes, cut in cubes and cook till soft
Strain off the water and puree the potatoes
Add Butter and whole grain mustard to it, season to taste
Slice the apples thinly, season with salt, sugar and cinnamon
Pan fry till golden brown
Place on cling film and roll like a cigar

Braised Lamb Shoulder

We are cooking again. It has been a little while since the last post, that is due to the business at the hotel, but finally I have a bit time to write again.

We are just about to change the a la carte menu, it has been overdue for a major overhaul as we have started serving a dinner menu now, so the a la carte needs to get smaller otherwise we can't cope with cooking for an extra buffet and a full a la carte. So the new a la carte menu will be smaller but with a couple of selected and really nice dishes on it.

This dish is actually from my Chef de Cuisine, Donavin. He is in charge for the main restaurant and had the task to spear head the change of the menu. We tasted the dishes, we wrote the recipes and then of course needed a cost, but then finally they will all go on the menu

So here is the recipe

Recipe
2.2 Kg Lamb shoulder
200 G French beans
100 G Black olives
100 Ml Sunflower oil
300 G Potatoes
100 G Sun dried tomatoes
15 G salt
5 G pepper
200 G carrots
100 G leeks
100 G celeriac
300 G Onions
1.5 L Chicken stock
50 G Parsley
30 G Anchovies
50 G Garlic
50 G Capers
40 Ml Lemon juice
20 G Thyme

Method
Dress the lamb shoulder and tie tightly together
Roast in hot oil on all side, season well with salt and pepper
Take the shoulder out the pan, then roast all vegetables, add tomato paste and deglaze with red wine Put the meat in a braisiere (deep pan)
Add the roasted vegetables and chicken stock
Cover the pot and braise the shoulder in the oven for about 3 hours at 150 C or till soft

In a blender mix anchovy, olives, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil together
Blend sun dried tomatoes with a little olive oil
Cut potatoes in fondant shape
Cook them in a butter and thyme flavored stock till soft
Cut the lamb shoulder in 200 g pieces and vacuum pack with the reduced braising liquid
Heat up in hot water when required
Serve with fresh French Beans, Fondant potato Tomato puree and Tapenade

This recipe serves 10 friends, have a good bottle of wine with it, something from the Rhone Valley in France or a nice Australian Shiraz

Chicken Breast on Creamy Asparagus Tagliolini

Today we have a super easy and delicious recipe, something when you start eating it you can't stop. Creamy pasta is always nice, but with asparagus it is just that much nicer.

The secret to this dish is that you use the stock of the white asparagus as a base for your white sauce, so there is plenty of flavor in it.......basically you will use the white asparagus soup as a sauce, with plenty of fresh green and white asparagus inside, then a crispy roast organic chicken breast on top, this is just like being in heaven.

When cooking asparagus you will be able to use about everything. I even take the water from blanching the green asparagus to cook my pasta in, it just adds to the flavor. Try it out yourself you will see it is just that much more delicious. I often use the blanching water of vegetables to cook my pasta

so here is the recipe

2 Kg (4.5 lb) Chicken breast
75 Ml (3 oz) Olive oil
20 G (2.5 oz) Salt
5 G (0.2 oz) Pepper
500 G (1 lb) Tagliolini
750 G (1.5 lb) Green asparagus
750 G (1.5 lb) White asparagus
250 Ml (10 oz) Cream
250 Ml (10 oz) Asparagus stock, white

Reduce the asparagus stock till half
Add the cream and boil up
Add the blanched green and cooked white asparagus
Season to taste Cook the tagliolini al dente, chill
Just before serving boil up the sauce and add the tagliolini, heat and plate

Season the chicken breast and fry in olive oil till golden brown
Finish the breast off in the oven
Let the breast rest for 5 minutes
Slice and plate


Garnish the plate with fresh herbs and a swirl of jus

Veal on Asparagus

Now this is about as classical as it can get. We have a veal steak, asparagus, parsley potatoes, Hollandaise sauce and a bit gravy. Every single restaurant has it on the asparagus menu in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. It is a must have. If it is not on the menu, then the guests will either ask for it or complain that it is not on......strange but true.

So there is just no choice but giving you the recipe for this lovely dish, you will see the flavors are just perfect together, the harmony is tantalizing.....try it out

You might find 200 g of meat per person a little too much, but you will see after cooking the steaks are just perfect. When cooking the steaks please don't forget, veal is nothing else than a young beef that has not eaten grass yet, that is why the meat is still so light. Of course you can substitute the veal with young beef, it is not the same but will do just fine. Make sure you buy a good quality veal, organic farm grown is the best. The meat will be delicate and tender

 

The asparagus promotion went well, it is nearly finished and the dishes were really popular, especially the soup we had on the menu, so simple and so good, white asparagus with a rose of smoked salmon, just yummy, but as well the fish went well and of course the polenta. I will do it again next year, with some recipe changes, some new dishes, just having fun

You will see that the recipe for hollandaise gives you a lot of sauce, be generous, give your guests the Hollandaise because it is simply delicious and decadent. No, it is not for someone who is on weight watchers, that is for sure but this sauce will make everybody dream and wanting more and to run out of Hollandaise is the last thing you want to do

Recipe
2 Kg (4.5 lb) Veal loin
25 G (1 oz) Salt
5 G Pepper
1 Kg (2 lb) Asparagus green
1 Kg (2 lb) Asparagus white

1.5 Kg (3 lb) Potatoes
100 G ( 3 oz) Butter
50 G (2 oz) Parsley

Hollandaise Sauce
50 G (2 oz) Shallots
10 Each Peppercorns
1 Each Bayleave
100 Ml (3 oz) Whitewine
6 Each Egg Yolks
600 G (1.3 lb) Butter
1 Each Lemon
1 Pinch Cayenne
5 G Salt

Method
Cut the veal loin in 200 g (7.5 oz) steaks
Season and fry in a bit olive oil
Cook the white asparagus and blanch the green
Turn the potatoes and boil till soft
Melt the butter, toss potatoes and chopped parsley
Season to taste

Method for Hollandaise Sauce
Clarify the butter
Peel and chop the shallot
Reduce white wine together with shallots, peppercorns and bay leave
Cool the reduction down
Mix the reduction with the egg yolks
Whisk the mixture in a bain marie until poached
Take the mix off and cool down slightly while whisking all the times
Whisk in the warm clarified butter
Season to taste
Makes enough sauce for 10 friends

Beef fillet with Truffle Potatoes

It has been a good new year so far, we had already some great recipes, so time now for a good piece de resistance, the beef fillet. I serve it with truffle potatoes, basically lovely creamy mashed potatoes with a bit of truffle oil and then chopped truffles. For the meat I take a Karan fillet. Karan is a South African breed, very nice and lean. It is good value for money, not as nice as a Scottish Black Angus, but for the price there is no complaints, Karan is lovely

I love truffles, of course I do, I love truffles, I love foie gras I love food. Always happy to try new things and they don't always have to be exotic.

Truffle is something not too many people cook with, even so I have to admit, I found it once in Seattle in the frozen section of a supermarket, wow, was I happy and we of course cooked straight a lovely dish with it.

Truffles go with many things, not just foie gras, no, it actually goes great with potatoes. The potatoes are the best carriers for this lovely subtle flavor, it is subtle that is for sure. If you use truffle oil, use it sparingly otherwise it will overpower your dish and it won't be the great dish you were hoping for

There are plenty of different truffles, I think I should actually write a separate blog about them, they really deserve it!

 

But of course the recipe would not fall under gourmet recipes if there is not some more labor involved.....hehehe, yes it is. The sauce I serve with the fillet is actually an oxtail sauce. It is a powerful yet subtle sauce that just goes perfectly well with the fillet and the truffles and the potatoes. It takes hours to cook, but boy is it nice!!!!!

So without too much chatting, let's go and check out the new recipe

1.8 Kg (4 lb) Karan fillet
15 G (0.5 oz) Salt
2 G Pepper
50 Ml (2 oz) Olive oil

1 Kg (2 lb) Oxtail
10 G (1/3 oz) Salt, pepper
50 Ml (2 oz) Oil
150 G (5 oz) Onion
10 G (1/3 oz) Garlic
100 G (3 oz) Carrots
100 G (3 oz) celeriac
100 G (3 oz) Leeks
50 G (2 oz) Tomato paste
10 G (1/3 oz) Rosemary
200 Ml (0.2 qrt) White wine
750 Ml (0.75 qrt) Brown veal stock
250 Ml (0.25 qrt) Demi glace

1500 G Potatoes
10 G Salt
2 G Pepper
100 Ml Milk
50 Ml Cream
50 G Butter
50 G Truffles, black
5 Ml Truffle oil

Roast the whole fillet in the butter till brown all round
Season to taste
Finish in the oven at 51 C for 3 hours
Cut the Oxtail in 5 cm pieces
Cut the vegetables in matignon
Season Oxtail
Roast in rotissoire till brown on both sides, take out
Pour away oil, then add matignon
Add tomato paste, roast some more, then deglacer with white wine, repeat twice
Add meat, herbs, stock and demi glace
Braise covered in the oven till tender.
Take the meat out carefully
Reduce sauce till nice and thick,add meat

Peel and cook the potatoes till soft
Drain off water
Dry the potatoes on the stove a bit
Boil up milk, cream and butter
Mix with potatoes
Add truffles and truffle oil
Season to taste

Springbok with Spinach Spatzle

Today I make a traditional game dish from Europe but with a different game, one from South Africa. Springbok is a small antelope with incredibly tender meat, especially the loin and fillet. But even the legs don't require to long cooking times.

 

The recipe below looks like this huge amount of work, but to be honest, it is not. Of course there are short cuts you can take, often one can buy the braised red cabbage already, one can use something else than spatzle....of course it is not the same anymore, but it is possible

 

Then on the other side, nothing in this recipe really takes long. The cabbage is cut quickly, and the marination doesn't take time, OK, then you leave it over night in the fridge, but you are not really cooking during that time. The apples are really quickly made and the butternut is the same. Just make sure that you don't add any water when you cook the butternut, it has to be low heat and covered. There is enough liquid int he vegetable to make a perfect puree

 

This is a dish we serve on our second weekly menu, OK, the first one took nearly 3 week, but we wanted to sell out first all the New Zealand beef before we made a new one.

 

The whole menu is lovely, here it is

Tomato mousse on ratatouille salad

Olive oil seared scallops and capsicum vinaigrette

 

Tender Springbok loin with Spinach Spatzle and red cabbage

Caramelized butternut puree

or

Sole and Salmon roulade

Spinach, Chateaux potatoes and chardonnay cream

 

Caramel Foam with Saffron poached Mango

Recipe
2.00 Kg Springbok loin

500 G Flour
40 G Butter
4 Each Eggs
200 Ml Milk
5 G Salt
2 G Nutmeg

0.50 Kg Red cabbage
0.10 L Red wine
0.10 L Orange juice
0.05 Kg Oranges
0.05 L Red wine vinegar
0.05 Kg Sugar
0.05 Kg Honey
0.20 Kg Apples
0.20 Kg Onions
0.01 Kg Bayleaves
0.00 Kg Gloves
0.01 Kg Peppercorns
0.05 Kg Potatoes

0.50 Kg Butternut
0.03 Sugar
0.00 Salt
0.5 Kg Apples
0.1 Kg White wine
0.1 Kg Water
0.05 Kg Sugar

Method
Cut the loin in 200 g pieces, season and fry in oil

Sieve the flour
Mix all the other ingredients except the butter
Mix the liquid quickly with the flour
Beat the dough with your hand until the dough has blisters
The dough must be smooth and slightly runny
One can add Rocket, Spinach, Wild Mushroom flour or Tomato Paste to flavor the Spätzle

Slice the red cabbage very fine, preferably on a slicer
Cut the onions and apples in fine slivers
Mix all ingredients well, except the potatoes
Marinate over night
Simmer slowly in the oven till the cabbage is tender
Peel and grate the potatoes
Use them at the end to thicken the red cabbage

Peel the butternut, saute with sugar in a bit butter add salt simmer covered till soft
Puree and season to taste

Peel the apples and cut in wedges
Poach in white wine, water and sugar till al dente

New Zealand Beef Fillet in Ghana

I actually just wanted to write about our latest addition in the restaurant, the new 3 course menu. We have created a 3 course menu where the guest can as well eat the individual courses "a la carte" but basically if you order the whole menu you get the dessert for free. We will change this menu every week, so there are so many more recipes just waiting to be posted.

But then I thought about the menu, one of my suppliers came and said that he has beef fillet from New Zealand. Now I have to be honest, I have no idea how it got here. I know this supplier well....and you do too! It is my fish supplier with whom we went fishing in Krokobite. Yes he deals in many other things, Parma Ham, Parmesan, flour, cheese bacon....anything that sells.

He got the fillet through some dark corners and thought he would send me one to taste.....wow, this was nice. The color is really dark, not like the usual beef I have from South Africa. It is super tender, tasty and just simply great.

That is how my new menu should start. so I looked what else I have and found some lovely Salsifys....a root vegetable that is best eaten in a creamy sauce....just if you ask my humble opinion. Then we made some nice turned potatoes and some green beans on top of the fillet, yes, and believe me, it goes well.

So with no further ado and mumbling and long story, here is the recipe.....and I still wonder how he got it!!!!!!

Ingredients

2 Kg New Zealand Beef Fillet
0.05 Kg Salt
0.01 Kg Pepper

1 Kg Salsify
0.1 L Chicken stock
0.2 L Cream
0.05 L White wine
0.01 Kg Maizena

1.5 Kg Potatoes
0.05 Kg Parsley
0.05 Kg Oregano
0.05 Kg Butter

0.3 Kg Fine green beans
0.03 Kg Butter
0.005 Kg Garlic

0.1 L Demi Glace

Method
Season the fillet with salt and pepper
Fry in oil to the desired temperature
Saute the salsify, then add chicken stock and cream
Boil up, season and thicken with Maizena
Turn the potatoes and boil them in salt water till soft
Chop the herbs very finely, then toss potatoes with herbs and butter
Blanch the green beans, cool down in ice water
Saute in butter with a bit garlic, season to taste
Put the salsifys on the bottom of a deep plate
Place the meat on top, potatoes around, a little jus
Put one bundle of beans on top of the meat

Duck Breast, Sweetcorn Puree, Wild Mushrooms

I haven't cooked with duck breast for a while and have to say that I missed it. Duck is such a beautiful product, the flavor is amazing. It has some gaminess to it, but is not overpowering. It is a strong meat, dark red in color and therefore is best eaten medium to medium rare.

Of course the cooking point is always something one can debate. For me personally a good cut of red meat should be eaten medium rare, except a rib eye which is best consumed medium. Why?? Because there is a lot of fat in it and if the temperature is too low, the flavor won't develop and it is not nice to eat. But then of course on the other side, if a guest, friend or fiance would like to have their meat more cooked (or less), it is no problem. From a chef point I feel that it is my duty (and to a certain extend pleasure) to cook the meat to exactly the cooking point wanted. If somebody doesn't like blood in the meat, this person doesn't like blood in the meat and it is not up to me telling that person that this is not good......because it is good, it is the way that person enjoys the meat best.

So, after all this long story, cook the duck the way you like it, not the way I like it, because I want you to enjoy your meal.

Today I made my duck breast with a sweet corn puree, marinated red cabbage, rosemary potatoes and a berry jus. Duck pairs well with sweet items like sweet corn or the red cabbage which is marinated with red wine, sugar, honey, cinnamon, onions, apples and more. I have added some berries to the jus (gravy) to give it a bit of a different flavor.

Lastly a tip when you cook the duck breast. You won't need any fat to cook it. I usually take a non stick pan, heat it up and then fry the breast skin down. You will see, within no time there is a lot of fat in the pan. Be careful with the heat, as it takes a bit time for the heat to penetrate through the fat and cook the meat, if the breast is not long enough on the skin side, it will still be undercooked under the skin. I like the skin crispy, so it takes good 5 to 7 minutes on the skin side, then I turn the breast around and finish it off under a salamander or the oven with more top heat.

When the meat is cooked I let it rest. You should do that with every red meat, the resting will help that the juices stay in the meat and don't just run out as soon as you cut it. As a rule of thumb, you let the meat rest in a warm place for the same amount of time you cooked it....ok, with a big piece of meat you don't have to wait that long, but 10 to 15 minutes is the best time.

Recipe
2 Kg Duck breast
1 Kg Sweet corn
0.5 L Cream
1.3 Kg Potatoes
0.1 l Olive oil
0.05 Kg Rosemary

1 Kg Red Cabbage
0.5 L Red wine
0.25 Kg Onions
0.25 Kg Apples
0.1 L Cider Vinegar
0.05 Kg Honey
0.05 Kg Sugar
0.5 L Orange juice
0.1 Kg Cepes
0.1 Kg Chanterelles
0.1 Kg Oyster mushrooms
0.1 Kg Shimeji mushrooms
0.1 Kg Trumpet mushrooms
0.05 Kg Garlic
0.1 Kg Shallots
0.15 Kg Butter
0.05 Kg Parsley
Demi Glace

Method
Marinate the red cabbage with all ingredients and let it covered in the fridge for 24 hours
Braise slowly till most liquid is gone

Boil the sweet corn till soft and most liquid gone
Add cream, boil for another 10 minutes
Blend to a smooth puree

Cut the skin of the duck breast in criss cross
Fry on the skin side till golden brown and crispy
Turn around and leave the pan on the side.

Clean the mushrooms, then saute with garlic, shallots and butter, season to taste

Beef Fillet with Wild Mushrooms

I have to admit, the title of this blog is giving very little away and is even a bit boring. There is so much more to this dish than a piece of beef with a couple of wild mushrooms.....I mean wild mushrooms on its own is already a treat, but you will see in this combination, wow

Some the hidden items are foie gras, yes, the famous and infamous foie gras is featuring again. I love it and some people hate it, but because I love it, I will feature it again and again, sorry, but we all have our weaknesses and this is one of many, and I mean many.

For the foie gras I take the small off cuts, let them melt and then mix them with the wild mushrooms and some bread crumbs in order to make a nice crust. Then I give a small slice of fried foie gras on top as well, just to make it a bit more decadent. Of course I give a generous helping of sauteed wild mushrooms, mmmmmm I am getting hungry just writing the blog.

2 hours have passed between the last paragraph and this one. I was doing the pass in the restaurant and yes, we were serving some of these special beef fillets and I got hungry just looking at them. It was a busy evening and the new dishes were sold successful with great feedback, so I am sure that you will be enjoying this dish when you cook it

Here is the recipe

1.6 Kg Beef fillet
0.5 Kg Foie Gras
0.1 Kg Chanterelle mushrooms
0.1 Kg Cepes mushrooms
0.1 Kg Oyster mushrooms
1.6 Kg Potatoes
0.25 L Cream
0.25 Kg Butter
0.05 Kg Shallots
0.1 Kg Shimeji mushrooms
0.1 Kg Enoki Mushrooms
0.1 Kg Eryngi Mushrooms
0.1 Kg Butter
0.03 Kg Garlic
0.05 Kg Parsley, Italian
0.3 L Demi Glace
0.1 L Merlot

Method
Cut the beef fillet in 150 g portions Cut the foie gras in 50 g portions
Cut the mushrooms finely
Fry the mushrooms in a bit butter, season
Mix with bread crumbs, egg white and foie gras
Fry the beef to the desired temperature
Let it rest for a couple of minutes
Top with the mushroom mix
Flash under the salamander
Make a creamy mash with the potatoes
Clean the mushrooms and saute in a bit butter, garlic and shallots

Pipe the mash on the plate, use some demi glace for garnish, plate the fillet and sauteed mushrooms around, add some glaceed onions