Fine Dining for You
To make the porcini mushroom powder, take a whole packet of dried porcini mushrooms and grind to a powder in a spice grinder. Store in a sealed glass jar and use to strengthen the mushroom soup flavor, sprinkle over baked potatoes, stir into mushroom risotto, serve with scrambled egg, etc.
3 onions, coarsely chopped
1 leek, coarsely chopped
2 celery sticks, coarsely chopped
6 carrots, coarsely chopped
1 whole head garlic, split in half
1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges
4 white peppercorns
4 pink peppercorns
½ bay leaf
4 star anise
8 cups/1 liter cold water
1 sprig each of tarragon, basil, coriander, thyme, parsley and chervil
½ cup/125 ml dry white wine
Place the prepared vegetables, the lemon wedges, peppercorns, bay leaf and star anise in a large pot. Add the water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and add the herbs and submerge it. Set aside to cool and to allow the herbs to infuse the stock. Pass the stock through a double layer of muslin and leave to cool. Pour small amounts in suitable containers and freeze for up to 2-3 months.
60 seconds, the temperature is about 160°C/320°F (low)
40 seconds, the temperature is about 180°C/356°F (moderate)
20 seconds, the oil is about 190°C/374°F (hot)
5 kg/11 lbs lamb bones
2 pig’s trotters, cleaned thoroughly and split in half (ask your butcher to do it for you)
50 ml olive oil
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
4 carrots, roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
6 liters/12.5 pts/ cold water
5 medium size ripe tomatoes, cut in quarters
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
Place the lamb bones and the trotters on an oven tray and cook in the preheated oven until browned all over. In a large stockpot, heat the oil and lightly fry the onions, carrots and celery, then add the lamb bones and trotters. Add the water, and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer gently over low-medium heat, regularly skimming the brown foam that forms on the surface. Simmer for 5 hours, then remove from the heat. Cool to room temperature, then strain, do not press down on the solids as this will cause the stock to become cloudy. Cover and refrigerate until cold, then remove the fat from the surface. Refrigerate for up to 2 days or frozen in smaller containers for up to 3 months. Discard the solids.
Marzipan is an almond and sugar paste used to ice cakes and other pastries, and sculpted into a variety of shapes to be eaten as candy or used as cake decorations. It is simply a mixture of almond paste, powdered sugar, and a moistening agent such as water, corn syrup, glucose, fondant, or egg whites. After the ingredients are mixed, marzipan reaches a consistency of dough or soft rubber and can be rolled, shaped, cut, or molded.
To make your own:
This recipe will cover a cake of about 20-22 cm/8-8.6 in.
500 g/17.6 oz sifted icing sugar
450 g/1 lb ground almonds
2 egg whites
½ teaspoon/3 ml vanilla flavoring (optional)
1 teaspoon/5 ml lemon juice
8 to 10 lemons, un-waxed and scrubbed thoroughly
1 tablespoon/15 ml kosher salt for each lemon
1 wide mouth jar with lid big enough for all the lemons to fit.
Sterilize the jar in boiling water for 15 minutes. Add a tablespoon or two of salt on the bottom of the bottle. Cut each lemon in quarters (but not right through) so that the pieces are still attached at the stem end, then stuff each lemon with a tablespoon of salt and squeeze it closed. Place each lemon in the jar, pushing down on them and squeezing them to release the juices. Fill the jar but leave some headroom. The lemons should be completely submerged in juice. If you can’t get enough juice out of them, squeeze some additional lemon and top up the jar. Add more salt on top, then seal the jar.
Let the jar sit at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, turning it over every day. After 3 days, put the jar in the refrigerator and continue turning it upside down every other day or so. The lemons will be ready in three weeks when the rinds have softened. Before using, scoop out and discard the pulp, and rinse the lemon peel under the tap to get rid of the salt. These preserved lemons will keep in the refrigerator for six months.
1 preserved lemon, finely chopped OR 1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 bunch fresh coriander, including stalks, chopped
2 small hot green chilies (or more if you like it stronger)
1 teaspoon/5 ml salt
2-3 garlic cloves
½ cup/125 ml fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon/15 ml coriander seed, toasted and ground
1 cup/250 ml olive oil.
In a pestle and mortar grind the lemon, coriander and chilies, then add the rest of the ingredients, pouring the oil in in a steady stream. Once you have reached the desired consistency, set aside for for an hour or two to allow the flavors to develop.
Fill a bowl with ice cubes and water. Blanch a bunch of chives in boiling water for 30 seconds, then drain immediately and put in the ice water. Drain, then with paper towels squeeze out the excess water. Chop the chives (about a cup full) and add to a processor with one cup of extra virgin olive oil, peanut oil or sunflower oil.
Blend for 2 minutes and let infuse for a few hours, then strain through a fine sieve. Transfer the oil to a plastic squeeze bottle if you like. The oil can be refrigerated for up to a month. Bring to room temperature before using.
As used in Quail egg and prawn set in aspic molds
Clarified stock is used for clear soups and savory jellies. During the clarifying process a certain amount of flavor will be lost. To avoid this, add additional finely chopped aromatic vegetables (vegetables, celery, leek, parsley, etc) together with the specified amount of gelatin to the stock. Then add lightly whisked egg white (2 or 3 depending on the volume of the stock) and bring the stock up to the boil. The egg white will start to form a crust on top to which all the impurities (that make the liquid cloudy) in the stock get trapped. Do not stir the stock at all. This process will take about ten minutes after boiling started, then turn the heat of and carefully remove the crust. Through a sieve lined with double cheesecloth and over a large bowl, slowly ladle the stock through. Do not squeeze the cheesecloth or force the liquid through. The stock is now clarified. Seasoning are added then to flavor the aspic according to the recipe of the dish you are preparing.
4 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 small clove of garlic, roughly chopped
1 sprig of thyme
4 tablespoons/60 ml extra virgin olive oil
a pinch of sugar, optional
Preparation method
In a food processor, blend the tomatoes and garlic and strain into a small pan. Bring to the boil and add the thyme. Turn the heat down and simmer until the liquid is reduced to half. Remove from the heat, strain the juice again and leave to cool.
Whisk the olive oil, season and add a pinch of sugar if necessary.
Fine Dining for You 