Mission: Cook! (25 page)
One brilliant sunny day,
Don
Michel himself showed up in the kitchen on my ship, the SS
Meridien.
“What
the fruitcake
are you doing here?” he said. “I'm your chef,” I said with a smile. The look on his face, of artfully practiced contempt and instinctive skepticism, was mixed with, maybe, a hint of paternal pride, and it made my day.
The next few recipes are well served by the foundations I learned at the Waterside Inn. I hope you enjoy this small catalog of applied knowledge.
SERVES
6
TO
8
1 pound potatoes (about 3 large), peeled and cubed
6 cups chicken broth
4 medium leeks, trimmed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2
/
3
cup crème fraïche or sour cream
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Vichyssoise serves in the public consciousness by its use in the movies and in literature as the ultimate representation of elegant dining. So in honor of true elegance in dining, as taught to me by the Brothers Rouxâ¦ladies and gentlemen, I give youâ¦the queen of all soups.
Put
the potatoes and broth in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
Make a slit along the length of each leek and rinse well under cold running water. Slice thinly.
When the potatoes are barely tender, stir in the leeks. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally. If the soup appears too thick, thin it down with a little more broth or water.
Puree the soup in a blender or food processor, in batches if necessary. Or better yet, use a handheld blender (known in some circles as a “boat motor”) and puree it right in the pot. If you would prefer a very smooth soup, pass it through a coarse sieve. Stir in most of the cream (reserving some for garnish), cool the soup, and then chill. To serve, ladle into chilled bowls and garnish with a swirl of the reserved cream and chopped chives.
A Note on Rinsing Leeks
If vegetables lived in a feudal society, a leek would be “King of the Sand Castle.” So you must rinse, soak, rinse, soak and rinse, and soak some more until you are sure no sand remains. Agitate the leeks in a bowl of cold water and let the sand fall to the bottom. Lift the leeks out by hand (as opposed to draining in a colander) so the grit stays at the bottom of the bowl. Then thoroughly cleanse the bowl between soakings.
I
HOPE YOU ENJOY THE FOLLOWING TRIO OF ENTRÃES, EACH FEATURING
more than what immediately meets the eye.
SERVES
4
FOR THE ROASTED APPLES
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 Fuji apples, peeled, cored, and each cut lengthwise into 8 wedges
12 to 16 peeled whole chestnuts, fresh or frozen
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
FOR THE CELERY ROOT PUREE
1 (1-pound) celeriac (celery root), peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
FOR THE CALVADOS DUCK SAUCE
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced unpeeled Fuji apple (about 1 apple)
¼ cup sliced shallots
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup Calvados or good-quality brandy
6 black peppercorns
2 thyme sprigs
1½ cups dark chicken stock
FOR THE DUCK BREASTS
4 boneless, skinless duck breast halves, about 6 ounce each, butterflied (see Note about butterflying)
24 thin slices bacon
¼ cup grapeseed oil or olive oil
PREPARATION AND COOKING TIME
Several of the elements of this meal can be prepared in advance to varying degrees and are thus noted in the description. Allow 1
3
/
4
to 2 hours if you are preparing everything before mealtime.
(This encompasses times during which preparation can be done whilst some of the cooking is under way.)
A treat for the senses with warm beckoning aromas and a visual surprise inside.
PREPARATION AND COOKING TIME (ESTIMATES)
| Butterflying duck breasts | 15 minutes |
| Prep time for apples | 10 minutes |
| Roast time for apples alone, overlaps with prep time for chestnuts and celeriac | 20 minutes |
| Remaining roast time for apples with chestnuts added (10 minutes), overlaps with remaining cooking time for celeriac (10 minutes) during which you can begin sautéing the ingredients for the duck sauce | 10 minutes |
| Whilst duck sauce is simmering for 25 to 30 minutes, remove the apple-chestnut mixture from the oven and puree the celery root (10 minutes); start assembling duck “packages” | 30 minutes |
| Begin cooking duck on the stovetop | 8 minutes |
| Whilst duck is in oven, strain duck sauce and begin plating | 15 minutes |
| Total time | 1 3 / 4 to 2 hours |
Preheat
the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the butter, water, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add the apples and toss to coat. Spread the apples out on a rimmed baking sheet and roast, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes. (During this time you may want to begin cooking the celery root as described below.) Add the chestnuts and roast for 10 minutes more, or until the apples and chestnuts begin to brown and the butter and water have been absorbed. Remove from the oven, toss with the thyme, and set aside to cool.
To make the celery root puree, put the celery root into a large saucepan with generously salted water to cover and add 2 tablespoons of the butter. Bring to a boil, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the celery root is soft when pierced with a knife. Drain, then transfer the celery root to a blender with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Puree until smooth and season with salt if necessary. Set aside for up to 1 hour at room temperature and rewarm before serving.
To make the duck sauce, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the apple, shallots, and garlic, and cook for about 6 minutes, or until they begin to caramelize. Add the Calvados, increase the heat to high, and cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Add the peppercorns, thyme,
and chicken stock, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, or until thickened to the consistency of a heavy cream sauce. (Whilst the duck sauce is simmering, you may want to begin assembling the duck breasts as described.) Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan. Refrigerate for up to 2 days and reheat before serving.
To prepare the duck, increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Working with 1 breast at a time, spread a butterflied breast, skin side down, on a work surface. Place 4 apple wedges down along the center and fill in between with the chestnuts, using about 4 per breast. Fold the breast meat over onto itself to form a roll. Place 4 overlapping slices of bacon lengthwise on the work surface and place 2 slices perpendicular to the 4 slices so they overlap by 1 inch to form a cross. Place a duck breast in the center, parallel to the 2 bacon slices, fold the bacon over the duck, then roll it up to make a neat package. Repeat with the remaining breasts and bacon. (These can be assembled in advance and refrigerated for up to 8 hours.)
To cook the duck, heat the oil over medium heat in a large ovenproof sauté pan. Carefully place the bacon-wrapped duck breasts in the pan and cook on all sides for about 6 minutes to render and brown the bacon. Drain off most of the fat from the pan and put into the oven to finish the cooking, about 15 minutes for medium-rare. Remove the pan from the oven and let the duck breasts rest for 5 to 8 minutes.
PRESENTATION
To serve, place a ½-cup mound of celery root puree in the center of 4 warm dinner plates and spread out with the back of a spoon into 4-inch circles. Trim off about ¼ inch from the ends of each duck breast and then cut each breast crosswise in half. Place these two halves of the duck “roulade” in the center of the celery root puree and spoon a little of the sauce over. Drizzle some of the remaining sauce around the puree.
A Note on Butterflying Poultry
The butterfly cut allows the flesh of the poultry breast to be of a thinner, more uniform thickness, which is conducive to stuffing and rolling as in a roulade.
Place the breast on your work surface, skin side down (it is usually already skinned at this point, but this means to put the curved side of the breast “face-down”. With a sharp knife make strategically placed incisions (without cutting all the way through the breast), which will allow you to spread the flesh open to a “single” contiguous thickness of about ¼ to
3
/
8
inch thick.
SERVES
6
Six 6-ounce boneless chicken breasts, skin on
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 slices prosciutto
18 leaves fresh spinach
24 pieces sun-dried tomato
3 to 6 whole eggs, or as needed
1 to 2 cups half-and-half, or as needed
2 cups flour, or as needed
2 cups Italian flavored bread crumbs, or as needed
1 quart canola oil
Mashed potatoes, as an accompaniment
FOR THE TOMATO DEMI-GLACE
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
¼ cup red wine
2 cups beef stock
¼ cup tomato puree
1 cup demi-glace (brown sauce)
½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
EQUIPMENT
A large cutting board
Plastic wrap to cover the cutting board
A meat mallet
A deep fryer
Chicken cutlets and a few key ingredients translate into a memorable entrée with a spiral-designed stuffed interior. Prepare earlier in the day, and freeze to make it easier to handle.
Before
you proceed, realize that your objective in butterflying the chicken breasts is to be able to flatten them with the meat mallet so you will have a single piece of chicken breast for each serving that is thin enough to accommodate a layer of stuffing, which can then be rolled up (into your roulade).
