The Analytical Kitchen » Beans

Easter/Autumn Menu

ben — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 12:09:34 +0000

Autumn. There’s a chill in the air. One might imagine animals brought into the barnyard, the hot breath of Robins (Erithacus rubecula) in the crisp morning, hedgerow fruits, composting oak and birch leaves, undergrowth, game, red Burgundy…

But Easter is at completely the wrong time of year in the southern hemisphere… In Sydney, Australia, autumn fits almost none of the above descriptions.

Despite recent tumultous temperatures, there is a chill in the air, and Burgundian wines are available (even if they come at a significant price)…

Salad of quail breast, aspargus, butter beans, Parmigiano Reggiano, baby lettuce

Salad of quail breast, aspargus, butter beans, Parmigiano Reggiano, baby lettuce

Butter and tarragon white wine vinegar dressing.

Christian Moreau‘s Chablis Les Clos 2008 paired well with this dish, showing lemon butter, freshly cut meadow flowers, and perhaps some quince. It possessed lovely and great length.

“Steak”

Baked watermelon, feta, mint

This was baked en papillote with a little butter and Sherry in a moderate oven for about two hours. The texture is very interesting, almost like lychee flesh, and it doesn’t really taste like watermelon at all. Hong and Kim pair it with feta, balsamic reduction and mint. Even just with feta and mint (here) it works well.

Autumn: Game, smoke and chestnuts

Quail legs, Eucalyptus-smoked baked potato, roast chestnuts, quail jus

Quail legs: pan fried

Potato: boiled, smoked in Eucalyptus leaves, then baked in olive oil with rosemary. The smokiness worked quite well, even if the texture of the mise-en-place-reheated potato wasn’t up to scratch. I was quite worried about them until the final roasting: having eaten too many mildly smoked (i.e., “is it actually smoked?”) components in restaurants in the past, and finding the intensity of my own smoking experiments insufficient in the past, I smoked the sh*t out of these potatoes. The result was that everything that came into contact with them became smoke tainted (the tupperware container that held the smoked potatoes over night still has a little taint after soaking for over a week). Smokiness is one thing, smelling like a bushfire torched everything in sight is another. Fortunately, after the roasting, they presented a smoky note that was distinct yet not overpowering.

Chestnuts: roasted, then marinated in Sherry and stock.

The Domaine des Croix Beaune Cents Vignes 2009 was far too young. The fruit was vibrant and has was some sweetness to it (2009, no doubt). The tannins were quite velvety, but the acid stood out a little, as did the pleasant lick of slightly vanillary oak in the finish. I do find Domaine des Croix wines a little sweet-fruited for what I look for in red Burgundy, but this probably just needs time to integrate and become more savoury and… autumnal.

Shin of beef and unadorned veg

Pressed braised shin of beef, blanched radish and griddled spring onion, beef jus, thyme

I have been leafing through the Noma cookbook recently, and the idea of unadorned root/leafy vegetables caught my interest.
Pressing (finely blended) slow braised shin of beef provides a good form; although I admit that the phallic presentation requires further work, and one mustn’t forget it does require some braising juices to keep the meat moist (no pun intended!).

Cheese and nuts

Poached pear-encased Stilton, spiced walnuts

Easter = Chocolate

Early grey cream, dark chocolate mousse, white chocolate mousse, chocolate brownie

(1) Perhaps hair driers are too warm to de-mould cold desserts.
(2) Is Dutch processed cocoa really worth it?
(3) Make sure white chocolate content is high when paired with dark chocolate, lest it’s presence be lost.

Australia Day Menu

ben — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:06:52 +0000

Australia Day means lamb, not so much because Sam Kekovich tells (Anglo?) Aussies it does. More because, of all the readily available meats available in Australia, lamb is possibly the best.

But before the lamb, a seafood starter. Every time I eat mussels, I think I should eat them more often, and at Christmas that was exactly how I felt… which prompted some mussels, cooked the classic French way (shallot, butter, garlic, white wine; parsley garnish), with some tagliatelle.

Mussels

French-style mussels with tagliatelle

Lamb Two Ways

Lamb Two Ways: Rack loin, fennel, anchovy-butter sauce; Middle loin, cannellini bean purée, rosemary lamb jus

Lamb: BBQed.
Fennel: baked with butter and white wine.
Sauce: anchovy melted into butter.
Cannellini bean purée: rehydrated; shelled; boiled with bay, thyme and garlic; puréed, reduced.
Jus: lamb stock, reduced with a hint of rosemary.

The rack loin is simply the loin meat from the lamb rack. The middle loin is the eye meat further down the back of the lamb. The middle loin was rather tough and I would not choose to serve it again.

I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that baked fennel is a bad idea – so much better fresh. It was the only problem with the flavours on the plate.

Lamb-Stuffed Aubergine/Eggplant

Lamb-stuffed aubergine/eggplant with Moorish spices and melted Manchego

The lamb dishes were served with four different Passionvale Cabernet Sauvignon wines: an unoaked 2009, an unoaked 2010, an oaked 2011, and a 2011 oaked Cabernet Shiraz blend.
They are wines which, it might be said, are definitively of their Hunter Valley roots, yet show a kind of Italian (or perhaps even French) sensibility, in that they have that Hunter Valley fruit profile that (for me) shows both black and red fruits (think inky blackcurrant, along with cherries of varying shades, and plum), yet aren’t just about fruit because they have a kind of blackcurrant bush or dried grass-like element that is both herbal and herbaceous, and a kind of lift that can run from Parma violets to polish. And on the palate, they are fresh (sometimes too fresh), aren’t afraid to show their tannins (though never in an aggresive way), and are unashamedly of the medium bodied (rather than the full bodied) mould.
The 2009 was actually preferred by the diners, surprisingly being the fuller and somewhat riper of the four. It’s acid-balance was better (even though it was the only wine of the four whose must had been acidified!) and perhaps as a result, it matched the food better, particularly the stuffed eggplant dish.

Cheese

Manchego, Beaufort, Amontillado and vanilla-poached apricot, English crackers

I wanted to poach (somewhat too-firm apricots) – but in what? Think Manchego, think Spain, think Sherry, and a little vanilla to lift it all. The Sherry imparted a slightly too woodsy character to the apricots (perhaps I used too much?), but otherwise this was a pleasant combination.

Fruit and sorbet

Mango, lychee, passionfruit, lime sorbet

Christmas Menu 2012

ben — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 11:30:40 +0000

White truffle custard, mushroom ragu

White truffle custard, mushroom ragu

From the first time I made Thomas Keller’s white truffle custards I served them with a mushroom “ragu” rather than Keller’s black truffle “ragu” of veal stock base. I feel mushroom and truffle is a good combo, and never looked back: porcini, chicken stock, perhaps a little vinegar, but no truffle (afterall, the custard is already truffled). I must try Keller’s version one day, but these aren’t bad nevertheless.

Vanilla-star anise buttered lobster, white wine mussels, lime oysters

Vanilla-star anise buttered lobster, white wine mussels, lime oysters

Lobster: warmed in a clarified butter that has been infused with vanilla and star anise.
Mussels: it’s hard to beat the classic French version, so I didn’t try – mussels steamed in a sauce of white wine, shallots and butter.
Oysters: just lime zest and a little lime juice.

Duck Salad

Duck Salad: duck confit, roast kumra, butter bean purée, crispy bacon, mâche, raspberry vinegar

Using only extra virgin olive oil to confit the duck at 90-95°C (195-203°F) yielded a soft texture. The bean purée was prepared by rehydrating dry beans, boiling the beans in herbs (rosemary, bay and thyme), purée-ing, and reducing the purée.
The combination was interesting, but I’d drop the kumra/sweet potato in future.

Lamb medallion, eggplant purée, mint salad, lamb jus

Lamb medallion, eggplant purée, mint salad, lamb jus

Essentially the same dish concept as this or this, which has become a standard for me. It perfectly suits the use of quality Australian lamb and eggplant/aubergine.
Eggplant: roasted to soft, then finished on the BBQ to add a smokiness before being being puréed, having a little yoghurt added, and reduced to the appropriate consistency.
Mint salad: young mint leaves, dressed in a little rice wine vinegar.
Lamb jus: a standard lamb stock, reduced.
Lamb: BBQed loin meat (only) from the rib – I feel it’s the perfect cut for this.

Cheese

Manchego, Comté, English crackers, fresh walnuts, quince paste

Like any quality ingredient, good cheese (and at over A$100/kg it better be!) needs little doing to it/accompanying it.

Carpaccio of summer fruits

Carpaccio of summer fruits

Thinly sliced white peaches and white nectarines, dusted in vanilla sugar ground to a powder, splashed with lime juice, and chilled, with a few cherry pieces for contrast. Stone fruit paradise. (Essentially, this is just a refinement of this previous execution, wherein the tangelo didn’t work.)

Strawberry and Rhubarb Trifle

Strawberry and Rhubarb Trifle: fresh strawberries, crème anglaise, stewed rhubarb, rhubarb jelly, ginger 'crumbles'

The height of British summer translated to a rainy Australian summer’s day.

Easter Menu 2012

ben — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 11:48:29 +0000

Salad of greens, fresh beetroot, green beans, walnuts, goat cheese

Salad of greens, fresh beetroot, green beans, walnuts, goat cheese

Discussions with others following the prep for this dish led me to realise just how time consuming the preparation of a properly exectured salad can be. And how typically underrated the skill in preparing salad is. Get the dressing balance off, and it shows. Use anything less than absolutely fresh ingredients and the discerning diner notices. Combine ingredients that don’t compliment each other and it weakens the entire dish. You get away with a lot less when it comes to salads. Could it be that the reason salads remain so underappreciated is because they’re often not well conceived or executed? When I list some of the best dishes I’ve eaten in France, that list invariably includes a salad… they just do salads well in France.

The dressing here was a light extra virgin olive oil and raspberry vinegar with a little salt. Diners never seem to be able to pick out the fruit in fruit vinegars; they add an elusive quality to a salad, and often a touch of welcome sweetness.

The salad was served with Christian Moreau‘s Vaudesir Chablis from 2009. The floral-vanilla oak increasingly overpowered the wine’s minerality, fruit (lemon, pineapple and nectarine/white peach), and attrative edge of vegetation, but it remained delicious, with its suitably austere yet balanced palate and long finish. It complimented the salad quite well. Interesting to note too, that a mouthful of greens+walnut+cheese prior to a sip of that Chablis was a far superior experience than if it followed a mouthful of salad that didn’t include walnut+cheese.

Braised pork belly, cauliflower cream, PX prunes, orange zest

Braised pork belly, cauliflower cream, PX prunes, orange zest

Peter Gilmore (Quay restaurant, Sydney) vac-steams a suckling pig, picks it apart, and remoulds within a piece of crispy pig skin. It’s then served with the cauliflower cream and Pedro Ximénez prunes, and it’s a great dish.
The above dish departs in two significant ways:
(1) The pork here is a ribbed belly cut. For pork belly dishes, I actually prefer cut from the top of the shoulder (à la British belly) or from the hind portion of the belly (no ribs). But the ribbed belly cut (with a firmer texture and less fat) offers something different, and greater textural contrast to the soft cauliflower cream and prunes.
(2) Peter Gilmore doesn’t make the simple addition of orange zest, which is my most humble contribution, but I must say that the addition elevates this dish to a whole new level; providing an aromatic lift that cuts through the pork (in the same way that the acidity of a traditional fruit accompaniment like apple might, yet without the acidity – which isn’t needed here because there’s little fat in the pork) and compliments the cauliflower and prunes well. It’s not entirely surprising, since orange is a classic flavour combination with pork, but the fact that it’s the zest offers something different – I don’t know why citrus zests aren’t used more!

BBQed lamb loin with beans

BBQed lamb loin with beans

In the absence of haricot, cannellini… and broad beans with the shell on (the horror), with a bacon and rosemary-flavoured stock, and mint oil.
The smooth, sweet cherry-fruited E. Pira Barbera d’Alba Superiore 2009 wasn’t a bad match, though it might have been a better match had it not been canvassed in oak.

Chocolate semifreddo

White and dark chocolate semifreddo, PX raisins, hazelnut vanilla fudge

Easter must include chocolate so…
The presentation clearly still needs work, but this was another rendition of the chocolate semifreddo (1 and 2). Here, dark chocolate semifreddo sits on white chocolate semifreddo. Between them lies a hazelnut vanilla fudge. Inside the dark chocolate semifreddo hide PX soaked raisins.

Visual recipes for the adept?

I don’t use recipes, except “in the pastry section”. Even then, I suppose I don’t use recipes as such: I just want to be reminded of the quantities, and a general guide for execution sequence, that I can quickly jot down, take to the kitchen, and follow with visual ease (without reading reams of text). Thus was born the visual “recipe”. Of course, it doesn’t include much of the detail (for example, folding the chocolate and pseudo-pâte à bombe mixture into the cream wouldn’t be done until it was cold, to retain the air in the emulsion), but it contains the essential information. Above is a “visual recipe” for the dark chocolate semifreddo in isolation.

Christmas menu

ben — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 09:47:53 +0000

Pheasant and Quail Terrine, beetroot salad, raisin purée

Pheasant and Quail Terrine, beetroot salad, raisin purée

Terrine: pheasant leg and breast, quail breast, chicken livers, prosciutto, seasoning, white wine.
Beetroot salad: grated fresh beetroot, dressing of red wine vinegar, lime juice, soy sauce and honey.
Raisin purée: plumped and puréed, plus verjus.

Paried fairly well with a very youthful, lemony and (unfortunately) only slightly toasty Roederer Brut 2005.

Scallop, baked pumpkin, fried chicken gyoza, green curry foam

Scallop, baked pumpkin, fried chicken gyoza, green curry foam (not shown)

Scallop: seared.
Pumpkin: baked in Sherry, garlic and ginger.
Gyoza: minced chicken, spring onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce; poached then fried.
Foam (not shown): essentially a Thai green curry sauce that’s heavy on the aromatics (i.e., coconut milk flavoured with shrimp paste, fish sauce, lemon grass, garlic, ginger, galangal and kaffir lime).

I was pleased with this dish concept, and it proved one of the most popular dishes of the day. The flavours are classically complimentary and the dish offers a variety of textures. The gyoza needs to have the sufficient crunch (not executed to perfection here), and it seems lecithin may be foam-challenged when it comes to coconut milk, but otherwise successfully executed.

Condrieu, Burgundy

Domaine Faury Condrieu 2008
Classic apricot, peach and florals (violets and wattle seed). It has a slight oiliness without being heavy or gloopy, remains relatively light on the palate, with balanced acidity and an almond kernel finish. Good Condrieu, and quite a good match with the scallop dish.

Prosciutto Mushroom, dill green beans, Bordelaise sauce

Proscuitto mushroom, dill green beans, Bordelaise sauce

Mushroom: slow baked with butter, garlic, thyme and white wine; formed into a cylinder wrapped in prosciutto.
Beans: fresh garden greens, poached and tossed in melted dill butter. (I recommend pairing dill and green beans.)
Bordelaise sauce: veal stock, red wine, shallot, marrow.

Domaine des Croix Beaune 1er Cru Bressandes 2006
Savoury cherry, almond, cherry wood and a little compost on the nose. Not a spectacular nose, but subtle and savoury. Well balanced, with pleasantly soft sandy tannins. Whole and gently expressive even if not impressive. Being neither fruit forward nor funky, and savoury in nature, this actually complimented the dish surprisingly better than many other Pinots might have.

Lamb Medallion, eggplant/aubergine purée, peas, mint, rosemary jus

Lamb Medallion, eggplant/aubergine purée, peas, mint, rosemary jus

Essentially a simplified version of this dish (or this dish). Execution suffered a little here. It’s important to have flavoursome eggplant/aubergine.

Tasmanian ‘Brie’, croutons, poached nectarine

Tasmanian 'Brie', croutons, poached nectarine

MSR Auslese Riesling

Accompanied by Reinhold Haart Wintricher Ohligsberg Riesling Auslese 2007, which was fairly ripe in its aromatics (pineapple, fig and suggestions of musky pink grapefruit), smooth and unctuous without being overly sweet; with the delineation, balance and focus of quality MSR Auslese Riesling. I typically feel the rind of soft cheeses competes with (even sweet) Riesling, but here, accompanied by the fruit (poached in white wine, sugar and lemon juice) and the croutons, it did not clash.

Elizabeth Falkner’s Lovelova: Persian pavlova, saffron meringue, cardamom cream, rose water strawberries

Persian pavlova, saffron meringue, cardamom cream, rose water strawberries, pistachios, rose petals

The saffron didn’t work here (though it’s possible the quality of the saffron was to blame), but otherwise a suitably delicate, light, summery dessert.