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For some time now, chefs have been portrayed as
artists, and I must admit that it’s a title that doesn’t quite fit as far as
I’m concerned. Sure enough, to present your food or paint a picture on a plate,
an artistic streak helps, but it won’t make you a better cook or turn you into
a culinary genius. With a large amount of common sense and a little
understanding of kitchen science, you’re more likely to succeed.
Chefs that have the ability to be totally unique and
original, whilst maintaining some kind of understanding with flavours and
textures, might attain cult status and something close to true artistry, but
they never forget taste. Taste has nothing to do with art and everything to do
with science.
What Einstein Told His Cook
Two of my favourite books are both about the science
of food. I’ll never read them from cover-to-cover, but they are a great treasure trove of information on the history and science
behind food, cooking techniques, ingredients, physiology and diet.
They have also given me a greater
appreciation of what I'm doing in the kitchen. Does
the alcohol really boil off when we cook with wine? Are smoked foods raw or
cooked? Are green potatoes poisonous? Everything from milk, its components and
why it curdles, to meat and how animals are slaughtered and why they are hung,
is discussed thoroughly in an easy to understand way without being too academic
and long-winded.
At the end of the day, cooking is all about blending
flavours, chemical reactions, playing with textures and the energy of heat. To
achieve the highest standards, one must follow rules; with the help of
chemistry you can cook a vegetable to perfection and the whole thing about art
is that there are no rules, no boundaries, its about emotions, and while a
truly gastronomic experience can move and effect people in many ways, for me,
it doesn’t make it art, because the highest scientific principals had to be
followed and adhered to make it happen.
Much has been written about the so-called “new
sensation” that swept through the culinary world over the last decade called
molecular gastronomy. This movement applies the principles of chemistry and
physics to cooking. By examining how foods react to different cooking methods
and which foods combine well on a chemical level, chefs are able to experiment
with new food combinations and methods to create unusual menus with stunning
results. That’s the theory at least. In the wrong hands it can be a complete
disaster!
CHOCOLATE &
BASIL “CREMOSO” WITH MANGO AND POLLEN
This is a
complex dish in some ways. The flavour combinations may sound unusual but they
really do work. It is now a classic recipe at Simply Fosh.
Ingredients:
for 4 persons
For
the Chocolate “cremoso”:
250ml cream
125ml milk
300g milk
chocolate
100g dark
chocolate
10 basil
leaves
60 sugar
10g egg
yolks
Whisk the egg yolks & sugar in a bowl until light
and fluffy.
Bring the cream, milk and basil leaves to the boil and
remove from the heat. Pour the warm cream over the egg yolks, return to the
saucepan and cook over a gentle heat until the mixture starts to thicken.
Remove from the heat.
Break up or chop the chocolate and add to the warm
cream.
When the chocolate has dissolved, whisk well and pass
through a fine sieve.
Pour into a plastic container and leave in the fridge
to set.
Mango-Pollen sorbet:
500g Mango
puree
25g
glucose
25ml white
balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon
of pollen
Bring to the boil the mango puree, white balsamic and glucose. Remove
from the heat and whisk in the pollen. Pass through a fine sieve and churn in a
sorbet machine until smooth.
Basil Jelly:
50g basil
leaves, Blanched
150ml water
15g sugar
1.5 Gelatin leaves
Soften the gelatine in cold water.
Bring the sugar and water to the boil. Squeeze gelatine dry and add to
the sugar syrup. Remove from the heat and whisk until the gelatine has
dissolved. Add the basil leaves and puree with a hand blender. Pass through a
fine sieve; allow to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours and cut into small
squares.
To
serve:

Using a hot spoon, place a spoonful of chocolate
cremoso in the middle of 4 plates. Sprinkle with a little flor de sal. Place a
couple of basil jelly squares around the chocolate with a few basil leaves and
a sprinkling of pollen. Finish with a little fresh mango & a spoonful of
Mango-pollen sorbet. Serve immediately.
Bomba' Rice with Smoked eel,
Mango
& Fresh herb Chlorophyll
Ingredients: Serves
4
150g
Spanish “Bomba” rice
750ml Chicken stock
125ml white wine
½ Medium onion
(finely chopped)
2 Garlic
cloves (crushed)
1tspn Fresh thyme
100g butter
75g freshly
grated Manchego cheese
2 tbsp Olive oil
Seasoning
To garnish
100
g smoked
eel fillets
1
fresh mango
Chlorophyll of fresh herbs
250g fresh
green herbs (Parsley, chives, basil)
100g spinach
500g water
Bring the water to
the boil.
Cut off the stalks
of the herbs and spinach. Boil for 2 minutes.
Liquidise in a food
processor until all the fibres have broken down and strain through a fine sieve
into a saucepan.
Slowly bring the
liquid to the boil. The rising temperature will bring the chlorophyll to the
surface. Strain the liquid through a muslin cloth and remove the chlorophyll
from the cloth. Season to taste.
For the “Bomba
Rice”, bring the chicken stock to the boil and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Melt the butter in a
heavy-bottomed saucepan and add the chopped onion, crushed garlic and fresh
thyme. Cook gently and allow the onions to soften without colouring them. Add
the rice and stir to coat well. Increase the heat and add the white wine and a
large ladleful of chicken stock. Stir with a wooden spoon until all the liquid
has been absorbed. Add more stock and continue to stir until all the stock has
been absorbed and the rice has softened.
Add the grated
manchego cheese and stir in the olive oil. Season with salt & pepper.
Chlorophyll of fresh herbs
250g fresh
green herbs (Parsley, chives, basil)
100g spinach
500g water
Bring the water to
the boil.
Cut off the stalks
of the herbs and spinach. Boil for 2 minutes.
Liquidise in a food
processor until all the fibres have broken down and strain through a fine sieve
into a saucepan.
Slowly bring the
liquid to the boil. The rising temperature will bring the chlorophyll to the
surface. Strain the liquid through a muslin cloth and remove the chlorophyll
from the cloth. Season to taste.
To Serve.
Place a large spoonful of creamy rice over 4 plates. Garnish with a
couple of squares of fresh mango, smoked eel, fresh herb chlorophyll & some
wild leaves.
Serve immediately.
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