Cured Wagyu Beef Salad

As promised I am busy again with new dishes and recipes and am happy to share some of the new dishes. I know it took a little longer than expected, but finally I have some time to share the recipes. I am trying to get back into the routine of writing 4 to 5 blogs a month, so that there is a steady flow of recipes and stories

Live here is amazing, the 7 restaurants and 2 bars are keeping me busy, but working with the 60 chefs here is an absolute pleasure. I like when the chefs are creative, I push them to be creative because to be quite honest, to put out daily specials and more for all the outlets, then menu changes, new buffets and more, that is something one single chef can't do, but with a team like I have here, it works really well.

Today we do a nice cured Wagyu beef. Something that sounds so expensive but if you take the right cut, it is actually not that expensive. For a marble grade 8/9 Fillet one can easily pay 120 to 220 $ per kg.....for proper Kobe it can be even more. But to be quite honest, you don't need the most expensive cut of meat. A nice Wagyu rump will do the same, just make sure it is nicely marbled. Then you will be able to get the meat for around 20 to 25$

 

To make cured beef is actually vey simple and similar to Gravad Lax, the main ingredients are salt and sugar and spices. I usually marinate it over night or just a little longer, like this it is nicely flavored but still not too strong in flavor

So here is the recipe for the dish. This is enough for 10 friends

Cured Wagyu
800 g Wagyu Topside
75 g Sugar
100 g Salt
25 g Pepper Black, coarse
10 g Juniper Berries, crushed
2 ea Lemon Rind

Salad
250 g Green Asparagus
250 g Artichokes (from a pack of Antipasti Artichokes, so they are already marinated)
100 g Parmesan shavings
100 g Grapes
150 ml Balsamic Vinegar
25 ml Honey
75 ml EVOO
Micro Greens

For the beef just mix all ingredients and rub evenly of the meat.
Wrap the meat in cling film and keep refrigerated for 12 to 18 hours.
From time to time turn the meat around to ensure it is evenly marinated

The cut it as fine as possible and plate like a Carpaccio

Cook  half the green asparagus al dente
Cut the artichokes in halves or quarters
Cut the Parmesan in fine slices with a truffle cutter
Do the same with the uncooked asparagus
Reduce the Balsamic with the hone to half

Plate and enjoy

Chanterelle Mushrooms on Parsnip Puree

I have just received the first fresh Chanterelle Mushrooms of the season. Not that we have a season here in Maldives, nor do we have wild mushrooms, everything is flown in. But still, it is autumn in Europe so the mushroom season has started.

Today I show you more an Amuse, a teaser, than a full portion, but of course you can just make a full portion and serve it as a main course. I served it in Just Veg, our pure vegetarian restaurant.

I have mixed the mushrooms a little with White Shimeji mushrooms, they are very tender and soft in flavor, going well with the other ingredients.

Parsnip is of course one of my favorite vegetables, it is simply delicious. It is actually very close to carrots and Parsley, just the flavor of it is absolutely tremendous. I cook it this time as a puree, but one can easily roast it in the oven or use it like any other root vegetable.

So here is the recipe for 10 friends

Recipe
400 g (15 oz) Chanterelle Mushrooms
400 g (15 oz) Shimeji Mushrooms
75 g (3 oz) Shallots
75 g (3 oz) Butter
Salt
Pepper

500 g (1.1 lb) Parsnip
100 ml ( 3.5 oz) Cream
Salt
Pepper, white

Micro Herbs
Cepe Powder

Method
Peel the parsnip, put in a pot and add water till it is nearly covered. Salt slightly
simmer till nearly soft
Add cream, again till the parsnip is nearly covered
Simmer till parsnip is very soft
Blend in a Thermomix, till very fine
Put through a sieve, season if necessary

Clean the mushrooms nicely, wash them just before using them, never wash them too early
Heat the butter till slightly noisette
Add the finely cut shallots
Saute the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper

Plate the parsnip puree,than add the mushrooms
Garnish with micro herbs

Asparagus and Shiitake Omelette

You are absolutely right, I am on a complete Breakfast trip, but then I have to admit, I love Breakfast (and Lunch, and Dinner, and all the nibbles between the meals). But at the moment I am totally into Breakfast.

This Breakfast is very much with an Asian touch, the sauce served is with black bean sauce, chicken stock and then the omelet is topped with pickled cucumbers and soy bean. I haven't added any chili as I am not too much into spiciness, but if you like, just add some red chilies, it will not just look great but taste great too.

The breakfast is very easy to do, the stock can be prepared in advance and to make it easier, you can just cook the shiitake mushrooms in the stock and then pour over the omelet.

The asparagus needs to be quickly blanched, but make sure it is still nice and crisp when serving. I like to use as well white asparagus, it is just different and really, really nice.

The cucumbers are marinated a la minute, basically do them at the beginning, then make a cup of coffee, then prepare the recipe. By the time you want to serve the omelet, the cucumbers will be marinated to perfection

Of course you can always take this recipe and use it for a light lunch or even dinner, it is easily prepared and I usually keep the stock in small bags in the freezer, so it is always available

Recipe

Omelette
20 ea Eggs
100 g Shiitake Mushrooms
50 ml Vegetable oil
150 g Asparagus green
150 g Asparagus white
100 g Bean Sprouts

Pickled Cucumber
250 g Cucumber
25 ml Sushi Vinegar
25 g Sugar, white

Black bean Sauce
50 ml Vegetable oil
50 g Ginger
10 g Red Chili
50 g Black Beans
25 ml Rice Wine
250 ml Chicken stock
25 ml Light Soy Sauce
25 g Sugar white

Method
Peel the cucumber and cut in thin long strips
Mix vinegar and sugar
Add cucumbers and marinate for 15 minutes

Cut ginger and chili in julienne
heat oil and toss ginger and chili quickly
Add blackbeans, stir for another minute
Add all th other ingredients and bring to the boil

Blanch the aspargus
Heat oil and toss sliced shiitake mushrooms
Add eggs and stir quickly to form and omelette
When half cooked add some asparagus in the middle
Finish the cooking gently
Roll the omelette
Plate the omelette in a deep plate
Pour some broth on it
Garnish with pickled cucumabers and bean sprouts

Cheese Room at Soneva Fushi

I think it is time to brag a bit again. It has been a while since I last wrote about the resort I am working for as Executive Chef. This time I like to show you some photos of our cheese and cured meats room.

Like the chocolate room, the cheese room is always open and mostly it is included in the room price. Mostly meaning during breakfast and lunch you can go wild, but if you feel like a nibble some artisan cheeses and cured meats during dinner or late afternoon, then we charge a small fee.

I spend a lot of time with the sourcing of these cheeses and meats. We have one main supplier, called Vanilla Venture where we buy most of our products from, but from time to time I can find something else that is special and I will put it in the Deli Room.

From time to time we have as well the owner of Vanilla Venture coming out here to do some training with the chefs. This is really important as most of the cheeses are really special. They are made in small batches, many times from raw milk. One of my favorite cheeses is the Tomme that is made from Goats milk, something really special.

The same is for the cured meats. We don't just have Parma Ham, no, we have different types of Pata Negra, the famous Spanish ham, we have the Ham from Bayonne, one of the best available, everything is local, the meat, the herbs and even the salt for curing comes from the River that is in that region.

Of course we have Asagio Speck from South Tyrol, a cured ham that is smoked as well for a wonderful intense flavor. We have about 5 types of salami, from Italy and Spain, I could not tell you which one is the best, they all taste fantastic

We have the possibility that you cut your own meat or we have a couple of plates of pre-cut delicacies. One of them I just have to mention is the Truffled Mortadella....it is just so sexy, the smell of the truffles, the finesse of the meat, all just too good to eat!

Then of course there are all the condiments, the olives which we marinate ourselves, the Kumquat jam, the Membrillo, a Spanish quince pate and of course the freshly baked bread. Now I am sure you can imagine why I have a daily quality control here in the Deli Room, just have to make sure all the meat and cheese is top!

I think I can say that the chocolate and the cheese room are something absolutely unique here in Maldives. I have not heard about any hotel that has something similar. This is why Soneva Fushi is well known for the food, it is not just the cooking, but as well the special offering we have here for our guests.

Piedmont Cheese Risotto with black truffle and Coffee Powder

You might think now that the chef has gone completely crazy with serving a risotto with coffee powder. So I challenge you: try it out for yourself and find out how delicious it tastes.

The dish is quite complex, all the different cheeses make it extremely creamy. The beef carpaccio on top gives it a different dimension. Of course if you want to do the risotto vegetarian, you can leave the beef away and instead of the chicken stock you take a very good vegetable stock.

Then the fresh black truffle and the coffee powder, just normal coffee powder will do. It does sound strange, but it really goes so well together.

This recipe is actually made by Igor Macchia, he is the guest chef that is with us at Soneva Fushi for a bit more than one week. So far it has been great fun to work with him, I love the type of food he serves, simple, straight forward but with a lovely difference of unusual flavors. He has a one Michelin starred restaurant close to Torino in Italy, here is the website of his restaurant La Credenza. He is the co owner of it and all I can say is go into the gallery and see the amazing food pictures and if you are by any chance in the region, I think it is a must to book a table and try out the amazing food he cooks

But here is the recipe for the risotto

Recipe
25 G (1 oz) Onion
25 G (1 oz) Castel Magno Cheese
25 G (1 oz) Toma Cheese
15 G (0.5 oz) Parmesan Cheese
250 G (9 oz) Carnaroli Risotto rice
60 Ml (2 oz) White wine
25 G (1 oz) Butter
1.5 (1.5 qrt) Chicken stock

Method
25 G (1 oz) Beef Fillet
25 G (1 oz) Black Truffle
25 Ml (1 oz) Olive oil
Coffee Powder
Truffle jus

Heat olive oil, add chopped onions and rice
Cook for three minutes
Add wine and start cooking with chicken stock
Cook for around 16 minutes
Add all cheese and butter, season with salt and pepper

Cut the beef fillet thinly for the carpaccio
Freeze the carpaccio, then cut out with a round cutter

Powder the bottom of the plate with coffee powder
Top with the risotto
The top with carpaccio and finely sliced truffles
Garnish with a little truffle jus

Fig. Pear and Witlof Salad with sustainable Foie Gras

It is Valentines again and we are cooking away a storm. Valentines here on our romantic island is something special. The couples are going first to the sandbank for a glass of Rose Champagne and some Canapes before going to Turtle beach, our most romantic beach on the island.. There they are served a 3 course menu which we cook straight at the beach. A short stroll later they are at Cinema Paradiso, our outdoor cinema for a romantic movie and a chocolate themed dessert buffet. Could it get more romantic than watching a movie under the stars? No, I don't think so, but then again, I live here on the island and love the island every moment of the day

So what are we cooking tonight? I will of course share all the recipes, but want to start with the one starter, a combination of organic lettuces, fruit and meat. We got some sustainable foie gras and made a terrine out of it, then we rolled the terrine and coated it in pistachios. We have received some amazing cured ham from Bayonne in France, it is so subtle in taste, just gorgeous. Of course we take some local lettuces and then some fresh figs, the fruit of love.

The Bayonne ham is a lovely and subtle ham from the French Atlantic coast, very close to Spain. The pigs have to be from the region, the spices, the salt, all is from the region. It has a very mild flavor which I love, it is not so overpowering and salty and combines very well with the other ingredients

Everything gets carefully arranged on a glass plate, it has to be a work of art. We made a balsamic and honey reduction and took some really amazing extra virgin olive oil, we tossed the leaves in it, ah, the combination of the freshness with the richness of the foie gras and the slight saltiness of the ham are just going so well when combined and enjoyed

We take great care of getting certified sustainable foie gras....no, again I am not going into the discussion about foie gras, but trust me, we go through great length to make sure we get the best product which is as friendly to teh geese as possible. I am not giving you the recipe for the foie gras terrine again as it is already in my blog.

The bread is more there to give the dish some extra texture, it is a thinly cut toast bread which is baked in the oven till dry, crisp and golden in color

The recipe is enough for 4 friends

Recipe
100 g (3oz) Bayonne Ham
4 each Figs
2 each Pears
60 g (2 oz) Assorted lettuces
100 g (3 oz) Foie gras terrine
30 g (1 oz) Pistachios
50 ml (2 oz) Olive oil
60 ml (2 oz) Balsamic Vinegar
10 g (0.5 oz) Honey

Method
Firstly reduce the Balsamic till only one third left, add the honey then cool down
Cut the ham is thin slices
Mush the terrine up a bit, then roll in a plastic wrap to a long sausage, cool in the fridge
Chop the pistachios, then roll the terrine in them, after that cut the rolled terrine in 1 cm thick slices
Arrange the ham on the bottom of the plate, then top with the pears
Mix the lettuce with a bit balsamic and olive oil, dress nicely on top of the pears
Garnish with the figs and top with a bread wafer

Saffron and Goats Cheese Tortellini with Asparagus

Now we are doing a nice and light pasta dish, it is vegetarian and extremely tasty. It is Tortellini which are filled with creamy goats cheese and cream cheese. I make a green and white puree out of the asparagus, then have some al dente Asparagus and to top it off I will serve some raw Asparagus chips. At the end we drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on it and some finely sliced black truffle, it just gives the edge to it and makes this already great dish a little fancier.

As usual truffles are totally optional, you really don't need them to create a great dish. Please don't substitute them with truffle oil as otherwise everything will taste and smell of the oil, just use a really good extra virgin olive oil, which will add to the flavor instead of overpower all the subtle flavors.

I like colorful dishes, the eye eats as well. The asparagus goes so well with the bright yellow of the tortellini and for me the truffle doesn't just give a colorful accent, but is as well very tasty.

This dish will be on our menu in Restaurant 9 as from December 18, so the first menu changes there. I will have most probably every other week a new change till the whole menu is changed, then I will start again and change more, all the times

Recipe
250 G  (10 oz) Saffron Pasta dough
100 G (3 oz) Goats Cheese
50 G (2 oz) Cream Cheese

500 G (1 lb) Green Asparagus
500 G (1 lb) White Asparagus
50 Ml (2 oz) Olive oil
10 Ea Red Cherry tomatoes
10 Ea Yellow Cherry tomatoes

50 G (2 oz) Black truffle
1 Pun Micro herbs

50 Ml (2 oz) Olive oil

Method
Roll the pasta dough out thinly, cut in rounds
Fill with fresh goats cheese and form tortellini
Blanch in salt water till al dente, then put in ice water

Take half of each asparagus and boil till soft
Put the green asparagus straight in ice water to preserve the color
Blend them individually, season and mix up with olive oil

Blanch the other asparagus till al dente

Blanch and peel the cherry tomatoes

Cut some fresh white asparagus in very thin chips
Keep them in cold water to crisp them up

Put the hot puree on the plate
Top with the tortellini
Garnish with asparagus, chips and truffle
Then at the end put some micro herbs on top

Reef Fish Carpaccio with Madras Curry infused oil

We are going absolutely wild here at the hotel and having so much fun. We are looking at all the recipes in the different restaurants and I am busy compiling all of them into one single file. This is not an easy task and it will take some time, but all the chefs are helping and making sure their recipes are in and the photos are up to date. That means we are cooking and tasting and changing and photographing and having huge fun.

Today we did a new dish, something we want to serve on our special sand bank dinners. it is a reef fish carpaccio with Madras curry infused oil. It is a bit of a fusion dish of local fish with hints of India which is so close to us and of course I have a lot of Indian chefs working here.

It is actually really simple to do, if you cant find reef fish, try to get any white and firm fish, even a halibut would go really well because it has a delicious flavor.

We serve it with a little salad, brunoise (little cubes) of vegetables, cooked lentils and a slightly spicy curry infused oil which I take as well for the vinaigrette. I like to finish off the dish with some micro herbs, but that is optional

Recipe
600 G (1 lb, 5 oz) Reef fish fillet, white
20 G (0.75 oz) Sea Salt
10 G (0.3 oz) Black Pepper
50 G (2 oz) Radiccio salad
50 G (2 oz) Frisee salad
50 G (2 oz) Lollo rosso salad
30 G (1 oz) Micro Herbs

10 G (0.3 oz) Curry powder
1 Ea Cinnamon stick
1 Ea Star anise
1 Ea Cardamom
1 each red chili
100 Ml (3 oz) Oil

30 Ml (1 oz) Sherry Vinegar

30 G (1 oz) Lentils, pink
70 G (2.5 oz) Carrots
70 G (2.5 oz) Celeriac
50 G (1.8 oz) Lotus Root

Method
Add spices to the oil, heat up and simmer for 10 min
Keep the spices in the oil over night, then strain
Use some of the oil for the vinaigrette

Mix half the oil with the vinegar for the dressing

Roll the fish in plastic, nice and tight and freeze
Cut the fish thinly and plate on baking paper, then add another sheet on top, cut in a perfect square
Plate in the middle of your plate
Sprinkle gently with salt and pepper
Mix the lettuces and toss in a bit vinaigrette

Sprinkle the carpaccio with the blanched brunoise of vegetables Cook the lentils al dente and sprinkle as well

Drizzle with oil and vinaigrette, garnish with Deep-fried lotus root
Serves 10 friends

Poached Egg in white Truffle Sabayon

Yes I know how to do a poached egg, but to combine it with potatoes and truffle Sabayon, that is something different. It is sort of an Egg Benedict where the muffin has been changed to pureed potatoes and the Hollandaise Sauce has changed to a Sabayon.

The dish has a lovely richness and some decadence if one uses real white truffles as a garnish. Just to tell you little bit about white truffles. These grow only in the Alba region of Italy and are the most prized and sort after mushrooms. The average price for 100 G in whole sale is around 200 Euros, so 2000 Euros per kg. which is around 2750$. This is a lot of money. Depending on quality and size the price can even go up a lot.

The highest ever fetched price at an auction was in 2010 when Stainley Ho paid 330'000 $ for a truffle of the size of 1.5 kg......wow, now that is ridiculos

So anyway, if you want to just give a little extra fanciness and have Dollars to spare, go for the real thing.....the smell alone is already so erotic you will love it, much more subtle and at the same time pungent than the oil. You can see that I love white truffles

But lets get going to the recipe, it will be enough for 4 friends

Recipe
8 Ea Eggs
450 G Potatoes
150 G Butter
120 Ml Cream
150 G Mushrooms
4 Teasp. White Truffle oil
 Micro herbs

 White truffles

Method
Poach four of the eggs
Peel the potatoes, boil and mash, then add cream and butter
 Saute the mushrooms
 Make a sabayon with the 4 egg yoks, add oil in the last minute

Plating
Put the potato puree in the bottom of a glass
Add the sauteed mushrooms
Top with the poached egg
Pour the Sabayon carefully around
Garnish with micro herbs and as much white truffle as you like or can afford

Chanterelle Cappuccino

It is getting colder in the northern Hemisphere, so it is a good time to do some soups again. I already did quite a few of them, but being a "soupoholic" I can never have enough recipes

This time I am making a Chanterelle Cappuccino with some rabbit fillet and a little salad. This is mainly because the under plates are nice and big and had space for some extra garnish, and it goes really well with the soup.

Chanterelles are wild mushrooms. They are yellow in color and absolutely amazing in taste. They are usually harvested wild in the forests in autumn and go great with game, as a soup or just fried with garlic, onions, butter and herbs and then served on toast

The soup is really easy to make, the mushrooms get quickly washed as they are usually still full of soil and if they are not washed properly you will have all the sand between your teeth and believe me, this is not a nice experience. At the end either top it with a milk foam or a bit soft whipped cream that is seasoned with salt and pepper and if you wish flavored with a little truffle oil. 

Of course this soup can be made as well with other mushrooms, Cepes go really well or just plain button mushrooms. I like as well the traditional wild mushroom mix with everything you can find on the market

So here is the recipe

Recipe
300 g (11 oz) Chanterelle Mushrooms
100 g (3 oz) Onions
20 g (0.75 oz) Garlic
50 g (2 oz) Butter
80 ml (3 oz) White whine
500 ml (half pint) Chicken stock
100 ml (3 oz) Cream
Salt, Pepper

4 ea Rabbit fillets
Sesame Seed
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Herbs, assorted
Lettuce leaves
Balsamic reduction

Method
Clean the Chanterelles well in cold water, rinse well and pat dry
Peel and chop the onions and garlic
Saute onions and garlic in butter without color
Add the Chanterelles, saute a little longer
Add whitewine
Bring to the boil, then add chicken stock
Simmer for 20 minutes
Blend and strain
Put back in a pot, add cream and bring to the boil, season to taste

Season the rabbit fillets and fry them in olive oil till nearly done
Roll the fillets in the sesame seeds

This is enough for 6 generous portions

Capsicum Soup

This time I like to share an old recipe of mine, something we did when I was still Executive Chef on "The World" There in the fine dining restaurant we had every week a different menu, just for 3 to four days in the evening. It was a lot of fun creating these menus, all the time with local products, freshly bought on the market.

Over time you will get a lot more of these recipes, it is because I found my old photos from the nearly 2 and a half years on this wonderful ship and I like to share with you a bit about the travels, the exotic destinations we went and of course about the food

This soup we made because I found these most amazing little mini Capsicums, or mini Red Peppers on the market. There were so wonderfully sweet and tasty. We simply roasted them with a little salt, pepper and olive oil in the oven, then opened them in the bottom carefully to get the pips out, then we peeled them and used them as a garnish for the soup, together with a roasted Prawn Tail and some grilled Zucchini.

To prepare the soup is really, really easy. I don't even roast them in the oven, I simply take out the pips, cut the green stalk away and then cook them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper till very soft. Then the whole thing gets blended and strained to make sure there is no skin. Like this you will preserve the beautiful red color of the Capsicum

Recipe
1 kg (2 lbs) Capsicum, red
250 g (10 oz) Onions
50 ml (2 oz) Olive oil
10 g (0.3 oz) Salt
Pepper
100 g (3.3 oz) Butter

10 each Mini Red Capsicum (if you can find them on a farmers market)
50 ml (2 oz) Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

250 g (9 oz) Baby Zucchini or Baby Marrows
30 ml (1 oz) Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

10 each Prawn Tails, peeled
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Method
Clean and cut the Red Capsicum
Cut the onions in small dices
Saute both in a little Olive Oil, without color
Add water that it is just covered
Season with Pepper and Salt
Simmer gently for 30 to 45 minutes
Blend and strain
Season to taste
Just before serving add ice cold Butter and mix the soup up

Mix the Baby Capsicum with Olive Oil and Seasoning
Roast in the oven till soft
Carefully peel and de-pip them

Heat the olive oil, saute the Prawn Tails, season to taste

Cut the Baby Zucchini in fine slices with a truffle cutter or similar, they should look a bit like noodles
Heat the Olive Oils and briefly fry the Zucchini in the oil
Season to taste

For the plating, garnish everything in the soup plate, then serve the soup separate

This should be enough for 10 Friends

Foie Gras on creamy Asparagus

Now we go with the next recipe of this little series about Asparagus. This time I combine it with creamy asparagus and then olives and tomatoes, a little unusual, but really tasty. I got this idea from a master chef in Switzerland, he had a top rated restaurant in Basel and made a very similar dish and it was so good that I remembered it even so many years have passed

The tomatoes and olives are really important for this dish as otherwise it would be just too rich with the foie gras and the cream, so I just sautee a little shallot with olives and tomato concasse in a bit olive oil, I then add it around the finished dish and the acidity just breaks the other flavors and makes the entire dish even rounder

It looks like I have a lot of time to write at the moment, but believe me, at work it is hectic, we have one of the busiest month in the history of the hotel, we had huge functions, then special a request for a function that was 4 days, special tea breaks, dinners, lunches all for an African Beer Award, so yes, every coffee break was designed to be more of a beer break, so we served assorted pies, meat balls, cold cuts and more.....this is an event I might even write a Blog about.

Then we had some VIP's in house....nothing special just some governors (Nigeria, Congo), presidents (Lebanon) and former presidents (Brazil).....they keep us on our toes that is for sure and then we had a whole lot of small functions.

Amongst all that we prepared to change the Pool BBQ menu which will be implemented as well just before Easter, so everything comes together, the Asparagus promotion, the new Pool menu and Easter...... the fun never stops

Anyway, enough of all the talking, here we go with the recipe

Recipe
600 G Foie Gras
500 G White asparagus
200 G Green asparagus
200 Ml Cream
50 G White wine
20 G Sugar
25 G Butter
10 G Salt

200 G Tomatoes
100 G Olives black
100 G Onions
5 G Salt
2 G Pepper
50 Ml Olive oil
100 Ml Balsamic vinegar
20 G Honey

Method
Peel the white asparagus
Cook it carefully with white wine, sugar, salt and water
Cut the green asparagus and blanch
Cut tomatoes in concasse
Cut Olives in julienne
Cut onions in brunoise

Saute the onions in olive oil without color add olives, tomatoes and parsley
Season to taste, just saute quick
Make a creamy sauce from the stock of the white asparagus
Add the white asparagus to it, heat it nicely

Plate the asparagus in the middle of the plate
Fry the foie gras a la minute

Dress with the olive ragout
Add a little Balsamic reduction around

Asparagus Terrine

Spring is coming, even so Europe just got another cold spell and a lot of snow, but yes spring is coming. With spring there is something else coming, one of my favorite vegetables, asparagus. I know nowadays one can buy asparagus the whole year round, but for me, April and May are the traditional Asparagus month when the fresh white asparagus is coming on the market. I love white asparagus, it has the wonderful taste, not as strong as the green asparagus, but lighter, more delicate and deeper. The queen of vegetables!

So what is the difference between green and white asparagus? Just the color, white asparagus never sees the sunlight, so there is no photosynthesis. When the asparagus grows it gets covered with mulch and black plastic. It does help to keep the flavor delicate and the asparagus stems tender.

We will have now a mini series of asparagus dishes, basically every dish except the asparagus soup, as I have made already a Blog with the recipe. I want to start with....yes you are right, another terrine. I admit, I love terrines, I love making them it is just something that is time consuming but at the same time relaxing. This terrine is gelatin based, so everything gets put together and then chilled in the cold room.

If you like to see photos of the entire menu, feel free to check out the Country Gourmet Traveler Face book site, there you can have a preview on the recipes to come.....or if you are patient enough, the recipes will feature soon here.

Recipe
750 g Asparagus white
750 g Asparagus green
300 G Parma ham
300 ml Asparagus stock
18 Ea Gelatin

1 Kg Potatoes
50 G Parma Ham
50 G Spring onions
50 Ml Oil
750 Ml Chicken stock

Method
Cook the white asparagus till soft in the traditional way
Blanch the green asparagus till soft, then chill in ice water
Cut the Parma ham thinly

Lay out a terrine form with plastic wrap
Then put a layer of Parma ham all around

Soak the gelatin in cold water
Then melt it in the warm asparagus stock

Put one layer of asparagus in the terrine, always
alternating white and green
Then add some gelatin
Repeat till the terrine is full
Close with a layer of Parma ham
Cool in the fridge over night

Cook the potatoes in the chicken stock
Take the potatoes out, cut in cubes and add them back
in the stock to marinate
Fry some Parma ham in the pan with a little oil
When hard and crisp take out and cool
Crumble the Parma ham

Make a salad with the potatoes, stock and balsamic
Mix in the spring onions at the end

Plate a slice of terrine on a large white plate
Add some potato salad, sprinkle with the Parma ham powder
Garnish with garden leaves like frisee and rocket
Add a slice of Parma ham to it

Smoked Salmon Mille Feuille

We had some special guests in the restaurant today and they wanted to have something different. As a starter they requested smoked salmon, something rather common, but nice to work with. It is very versatile and can be paired with so many things.

I decided to go with Pumpernickel and cream cheese. Both are very traditional ingredients for smoked salmon. To make it a bit different, I simply layered the read with the flavored cream cheese and the smoked salmon. Pumpernickel is a traditional German bread made with rye, sometimes rye flower and often with whole rye "berries" which is the rye before it is ground, but then cooked, it is cooked very slowly, for about 198 to 20 hours on a fairly low temperature (120 C or 250 F) to give it the special texture and color. It actually tastes slightly sweet.

Then I gave a little bit of smoked salmon on the side, a small, crispy salad and just some vinaigrette. This is a starter that is so somple to prepare, but is really effective with the guests, my guests loved it.

So without much further ado, here is the recipe for this simple but delicious starter

 

Recipe

300 g (11 oz) Cream Cheese

30 g (1 oz)Garlic

30 g (1 oz) Parsley

1 pinch of Salt

1 pinch of Pepper

600 g (11 oz) Smoked Salmon

1 pack Pumpernickel

30 g (1 oz) Frisee lettuce

30 g (1 oz) Red Oak

30 g (1 oz) Lollo Rosso

30 g (1 oz) Chicory

60 ml (2 oz) Olive oil

25 ml (1 oz) Balsamic Vinegar

 

Method

Mix the crem cheese with the chopped herbs and season

The take a pumpernickel, add some cream cheese and then a layer of smoked salmon

Repeat this till you have used up all the Pumpernickel

 

Keep the Mille feuille for 2 hours in the fridge to settle

 

For the plating cut the Mille-Feuille in triangles

Then add some more smoked salmon on the side

Garnish with the salad, add the dressing

 

The recipe is enough for 4 friends

Cured Salmon

I have been away for a while, but now I am back in full swing with new recipes and tips, some more about travel and other interesting stuff.

One of the first things I did when coming back to work is some cured salmon, or Gravad Lax. This is a wonderful way of marinating fresh salmon, the flavor comes out beautifully and it is extremely versatile. I like to serve it with a honey-mustard dressing, rocket salad and beetroot.

Just a bit about the history of the cured salmon. It was originally done in the middle ages as a way of preserving the salmon as it is a seasonal fish. The fish was simply salted and buried in the sand to ferment. Of course the flavor of the fish was not even close to what we have today, it was a very strong smelling fish, but it gave food to the people in hard times.

Presently the salmon gets cured with a lot more ingredients, the other main ingredient is sugar, but then one uses as well juniper berries, black pepper, mustard seed and dill.

 

I tasted some absolutely amazing cured wild Norwegian salmon when I was in Bergen, Norway. There is one of the most amazing fish markets in the world, it has become very much a tourist attraction, but it is still authentic and a must for every traveller going to Norway. It is amazing the array of fresh fishes one can get there. One is welcome to sample and it is possible to buy some and eat right there. I was fortunate enough to be there early in the morning while working on one of the cruise ships and we had at around 7.30 in the morning tasters of cured and smoked wild salmon on freshly baked bread......with a glass of Aquavit....... yes the day started well. The combination is absolutely wonderful and I was hooked on the wild salmon. Of course I went wild in buying and all the residents on the ship were able to sample the salmon for the next couple of days while back at sea.

Recipe
1 Ea Salmon Fillet
50 G Salt
50 G Sugar
15 G Pepper black coarse
10 G Juniper berries
10 G Caraway seeds
10 G Mustard seeds
2 Ea Lemon rind
2 Ea Orange rind
250 G Dill fresh

100 G Onion

100 G Beetroot

50 G Pommery mustard
20 G Honey
30 Ml Cider Vinegar
75 Ml Oil

100 G Rocket

Method
Remove all the small bones from the fillet
Leave the skin on.
Sprinkle with all the ingredients, starting with salt and sugar
Crush the juniper berries slightly
At the end cover generously with freshly chopped dill.
Leave for three days in the fridge, then slice and serve.

The more salt and sugar used, the faster the salmon will cure.

Roast beetroot in the oven with the skin till soft
Cool, peel and cut in cubes

Slice onions in fine slices

Mix all other ingredients to a nice Dressing

Garnish with rocket salad and toasted brioche bread

Burns Dinner in Ghana

The traditional Haggis

It sounds strange doesn't it? Yes it is strange, but we made it happen. The Caledonian Society of Ghana organized a proper Burns Dinner with everything that goes with it. We even got the best Haggis available, got it through unknown channels into Ghana.....OK, it was all official, but we had to get it in via a private source as it would have been far too complicated and expensive to get it from one of my suppliers

The on top of it we have the BBC here filming the whole event and it will be broadcast at the next Commonwealth Games which are to happen in Scotland. They want to show how Burns Dinner is celebrated in other countries and I think Ghana is really an exotic country compared to Scotland.

Haggis is something really special, it is sheep's stomach that is filled with oats, lard and sheep's offal, including the lung, so it is an acquired taste. Many countries in the world are not selling the original Haggis as there are parts of the animals in it that they deem not good for human consumption, like the lung. Yes, you hear right, a good haggis contains lung. It might sound awful to you, but if lung is prepared nicely, it is actually very good. I had many years ago a "Rahm Beuschl" in Vienna, which is Lung in a creamy sauce and it was really delicious

In the US you won't find the traditional Haggis as it is not allowed to sell lung....yes not fit for consumption by humans, so don't even try to find it, and don't try to get it in like we did in Ghana, no, customs will not be as lenient as they are here

I remember last time I wrote about Burns Dinner I gave the recipe for the Cook a Leeky Soup, I Think this time I give you a really easy recipe of the oats cookie we served with the cheese course, something really simple and it goes so well with the cheese.

The Haggis after the traditional cutting

Oats was something that was always plentiful in Scotland. Wheat doesn't grow that well this far north, but oats being sturdier still grows nicely in the south of Scotland and is used in many dishes, even the Haggis

 

The dinner always starts with the traditional presentation of the Haggis. I was asked to be the one bringing it in the dining room, of course walking before me a bag piper. Then there is a bit of talking going on before the haggis gets officially cut. (We pricked the haggis a bit to prevent it to spit the hot fat while being cut). The the wet part starts, I had to drink a glass of whisky, yes just had to down it and then kiss the bottom of the glass. After that I happily brought the Haggis back to the kitchen and we started serving the food

Scottish Trifle

Of course we had a taster of the Haggis and everybody really enjoyed it, contrary to the expectations, it was lovely moist, a little spicy and full flavored, most probably one of the best Haggis I had.

We served the soup and then the main, after I was called in the ball room to have a glass of 18 year old Glenfiddich.....pity to just drink it ex, but that is the way to do it. The table who called me was as well here at our last dinner that was organized by the Caledonian Society, so it was great to see them again.

Then we sent out dessert and cheese, all went smooth and the party went on till nearly 4 AM, yes the know how to party

Oatmeal Cookies

Foie Gras and Chicken Liver

One is French the other English? No, of course not. But calling goose liver Foie Gras just sounds more elegant. They are basically both livers, one from the chicken and one from the goose. But there is one huge difference, the goose liver is from a force fed animal. At least partly force fed. Already the ancient Romans enjoyed catching the geese when going south in late autumn, their liver big and fatty for the long journey.

Of course there is no comparison to the goose liver of today. Today, the geese are fed till the liver has a size that nearly fills the entire stomach cavity, not good, I admit. So the goal is to find a producer that produces the liver more natural, they are a lot smaller, but still have this lovely flavor.

I like to combine goose and chicken liver. There are several reasons for it, one is that they are both different in taste, but still compliment each other. And then there is of course a cost factor, it is a lot cheaper to do a goose liver terrine and then stretch it a bit, but still have it full of flavor

The recipe is actually totally easy, I got it from a great chef in Switzerland a couple of years ago and I am still doing it regularly.

250 g Foie Gras
250 g Kg Chicken liver, cleaned
250 g Butter
3 Eggs
25 ml Brandy or Cognac

Clean the foie gras and cut in 2 cm pieces
Blend the chicken liver, then strain through a fine sieve
Melt the butter, add to the chicken liver
Beat the eggs and add to the mix
Add Brandy and season to taste......yes you should taste the mix before cooking it, sounds terrible but can avoid that your terrine is too salty or lacks salt

Lay out a terrine form with plastic wrap
Pour the mix in the terrine form, then add the foie gras pieces
Cover and poach carefully at 80C for about 45 minutes.

Cool in the fridge, un mould and slice

Serve with a little port reduction and a crispy salad

Chicken Galantine with wild Mushrooms

This is the second time I am writing a blog about Chicken Galantines. Last time I showed step by step how to make one....and yes, it is still a lot of work till it is done but it is so worth the while.

This time I just want to show you a different variation of the Galantine, with dried fruit and wild mushroom salad. It goes with our wild mushroom promotion which has just started and I am sure it will be a great success.

Terrines are great starters of a menu, they are delicate and often involve a lot of work, labour of love I call it.

This time I had about 6 of my chefs with me, so we made a whole training about the Galantine and now they made their first ones themselves....I am very happy because slowly the standard is getting better and better here.

But now I got the recipe for all my readers

Galantine
1.3 Kg Chicken whole
0.3 Kg Chicken breast
0.015 Kg Salt
0.005 Kg Pepper
0.05 Kg Pistachios
0.1 Kg Cepes
0.1 Kg Chanterelles
0.01 L Cognac
0.3 L Cream

Salad
0.1 Kg Cepes
0.1 Kg Chanterelles
0.2 Kg Oyster mushrooms
0.1 Kg Trumpet mushrooms
0.05 Kg Shallots

Dressing
0.05 L Olive oil
0.05 Kg Walnuts
0.1 L Cider Vinegar
0.2 L Olive oil

De bone the chicken carefully, leave skin intact
Blend the chicken breast with salt and pepper
Add ice cold cream continuously till it is a smooth mix
Take it out of the blender, it has to stay cold at all times
Cut cepes and chanterelles, saute quickly in olive oil
Add mushrooms, pistachios and parsley to the mix
Season and add Cognac at the end
Roll the galantine in plastic and tinfoil to form a sausage
Poach in the oven for about 45 minutes till cooked

Clean the mushrooms, saute quickly with shallots and olive oil
Chop walnuts, add vinegar and oil
Let rest over night

Serves 10 portions

Roast Vegetable Terrine

I love making terrines and will do more in the near future, but today I made one that was really fun to do. It is a roast vegetable terrine. It was a bit more work as I really wanted to get the right flavor out of each vegetable, so I did several different cooking methods. The pepers were roast int he oven with olive oil, salt, ppper and fresh thyme, the egg plant was dep fried,, as it makes it beautifully soft and the zucchini were grilled. I grill only one of the vegetables as I don't want the char grilled flavors to take over

Then after layering all the vegetables in the terrine form and pressing it gently, I cut the slices and see the different layers.....that moment is really one of the best, to see that a terrine came out exactly the way one wanted it.

I serve it with a balsamic emulsion and a little crisp salad. The balsamic gives it the acidity needed for a balanced dish

0.25 Kg Leeks
0.75 Kg Red peppers
0.75 Kg Yellow pepper
0.75 Kg Zucchini
0.75 Kg Eggplant
0.15 Kg Parmesan grated
4 Leaf Gelatine leaves
0.01 Kg Salt
0.005 Kg Pepper
0.01 Kg Thyme
0.05 Kg Balsamic Vinegar
0.1 Kg Olive oil
0.005 Kg Salt
0.002 Kg Pepper
0.05 Kg Frisee
0.05 Kg Rocket
0.05 Kg Lollo Rosso

Marinate the peppers with olive oil, salt and pepper roast in the oven at 190 C for 10 minutes
Put in a container and cover with plactic
Cool down a bit, then peel and de pip
Use the juice to do the gelatine mix
Blanch the leeks and put in ice water
Cut the eggplant and zucchini about 5 mm thick deep fry the eggplant, grill the zucchini

Cover a terrine form with plastic wrap put in a layer of leeks coverin all the sides
Then start putting in layers of the vegetables
Always put a bit parmesan and gelatine mix between the layers

Makes 1 terrine or 20 portions