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All recipes serve eight Shrimp lollypops
with almond pesto 1 cup of roasted slivered almonds The lollypop Will make 16 pieces 500g peeled and de-veined shrimp For the sauce Combine the almonds, sambal, cilantro, basil leaves, fish sauce, limejuice and peanut oil in a blender. Puree to make a smooth paste adding a little water if necessary, to achieve a pancake batter like consistency. Season and leave to rest for thirty minutes at room temperature. For the lollypop In a food processor combine the shrimp, shallots, chilies, coconut, brown sugar, lemon grass, lime leaves and limejuice. Process until pureed. The mixture should be thick, as it has to adhere to the lemon grass stalks. Season with salt and pepper. With wet hands, mold the shrimp
mixture onto the satay skewers, leaving a handle at the one end. Ahi tuna tartar with grapefruit and avocado guacamole, salmon caviar, lemon grass cream, leek puree and lobster oil Lobster Oil ¼ cup safflower oil Crush the lobster heads. Put the oil and lobster heads in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook gently for 45 minutes. Any shrimp or other crustacean shells can be added to compliment the finish oil. Take off the heat and let stand until cooled to room temperature. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve, pressing down on the shells. Strain again through a fine-meshed sieve lined with two layers of cheesecloth. Keep the oil in the refrigerator, but do bring to room temperature before using. Leek Puree 2 leeks, cleaned Trim off the roots and the green portions of the leek. Split the remaining leeks and cut into 1-inch chunks. Put the leeks, stock, and chicken breast in a large saucepan or pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook 40 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid. Pull off the chicken skin; de-bone the breast. Roughly chop the meat. Put the leeks and chicken pieces in the bowl of a food processor with some of the reserved liquid. Puree until smooth, adding more liquid as necessary. The puree should be firm enough to hold its shape. Set aside. Lemongrass Cream 1 cup of strong chicken stock Put the cream, stock, lemongrass pieces, and shallots in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Strain the cream through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl. Continue simmering if needed until desired consistency is reached, then cool. The cream should be just slightly thicker than syrup. Cover the cream with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator. Temper the cream prior to serving Fried croutons 8 thin slices of baguette Spread the croutons and lobster oil in a large non-stick sauté pan or skillet and place over medium-high heat. As the croutons toast and darken, turn them with a spoon to toast both sides. Remove from heat and drain on a paper towel. Tuna tartar 300 g tuna belly, lightly minced Guacamole 12 grapefruit segments diced Mix all together and season with the limejuice before serving. Add enough salt to season Garnish ¼ bunch of minced chives To serve Spoon a small mound (tbsp) of leek puree to one side in shallow soup plates. Spoon lemongrass cream around the puree to barely cover the bottom of each soup plate, and drizzle a little over each mound of puree. Place a crouton on top and garnish this with salmon caviar. On either side of the central tower, place a small amount of the tuna tartar and place two small mounds of grapefruit guacamole in between each, to create a clock face effect. Drizzle the remaining lobster oil around the perimeter of the cream. Sprinkle a few minced chives over the cream. Soft shell crab sandwich with green gazpacho, fried tomato, dressed greens and tartar sauce 8 soft shell crabs stomach removed and discarded. Lay the crabs out on
kitchen paper to dry Green Gazpacho 2 slices of quality white bread such
as Calabrese, with crust removed Soak the bread in the stock for about ten minutes Place the nuts, garlic in a blender and pulse until the nuts are finely chopped. They are not meant to become a paste. Remove from the machine then add the grapes, cilantro and tomatillas and puree Squeeze the excess stock from out of the bread and add it to the blender along with the vinegar and oil. Put the nuts back into the mixture. Thin down with reaming stock if necessary. It should be the consistency of 35% cream. Strain the soup and adjust the seasoning. It will be served at room temperature. Tartar sauce (bottled variety is fine to save some time) 1 egg yolk Place the yolks and mustard into a stainless steel bowl. With a balloon whisk, slowly add the oil while whisking vigorously. Once all the oil is incorporated add the remaining ingredients then season with salt and pepper. This sauce will be spread on the pita breads Cooking and assembly Spread each pita with a light coating of the tartar sauce. In a large preheated sauté pan, add oil and let it get hot. Dip each soft shell crab in seasoned flour and fry for a few minutes on both sides until brown and crispy. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and keep hot in a warming oven. In a flat soup plate add about 80-100 m of the gazpacho and run it across the bottom of the bowl. Place one pita in the centre and place one slice of fried tomato then a soft shell crab on top. Finish this with a few leaves of tossed salad of your choice. Arugula works well because of the slight pepper quality it contributes. Sprinkle a few fried capers around the gazpacho Pan seared fennel pollen dusted salmon with shitake mushroom and tomato water risotto, pinot noir reduction and sweet and pea and tarragon emulsion. The risotto
15 m olive oil The tomato water is best made in the peak of the summer season. It involves pulping ultra ripe tomatoes, curing them in sea salt and leaving them to drain through cheesecloth for several days. What drips out from the hanging ball of cloth is pure crystal clear tomato essence. I have served shots of this as an amuse bouche. The flavour concentration is unbelievable. However, in the winter, one might have to find an alternative. I have made this with chicken stock bolstered with a tsp of estratto conserva or tomato paste. Heat the stock or tomato water Melt the fats over medium heat and sweat the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes to soften, then and the rice and cook until it is coated. Add the boiling liquid in ½ cup increments until the rice has reached the desired degree of doneness and it remains slightly creamy, but firm enough to mound on the plate. Sauté the mushrooms and add to the risotto along with all remaining ingredients. Pinot Noir reduction For this sauce one needs some good quality and highly gelatinous brown veal stock. If time does not permit it to be homemade, there are several good products on the market one can substitute. 20 g
butter Melt the 20 g butter and sweat the shallots. Add the wine and reduce by ¾. Add the veal stock, and depending on its strength, reduce by half. This sauce will never be “thick”, however, it should start to loose its watery viscosity as it reduces. Season and finish by removing from the heat and whisking in the ice-cold butter piece by piece. The green pea and tarragon emulsion Take a cup of frozen green peas and cover them with chicken stock. Add a few leaves of tarragon and simmer for about ten minutes. Puree in a blender and thin down with more stock if it is too thick. It should be the consistency of 35% cream. Just before serving, a quick hand job with a hand blender will create a foamy texture. Assembly Dust eight nice salmon supreme with fennel pollen, sea salt and black pepper. Heat a large non-stick sauté pan and add just enough oil to barely coat the bottom. The pan must be really hot before the oil goes in. Sauté the fish a few minutes on each side. I like mine no more than medium rare. Place a spoonful of the risotto on a preheated palate. Place the salmon on top. Pool a ring of the Pinot reduction around the rice leaving a few areas of the plate bare. Fill the voids with the pea emulsion Pacific Rim duck confit with Asian stir fry and soy ginger duck glaze Although I used duck confit for this dish, grilled or pan seared duck breast will work nicely. Confit is amazing, but its preparation is long and not that easy to explain. 8 Brome lake duck breast or other lean duck, trimmed of as much surface fat as possible. Cut a criss cross pattern in the skin to help render the fat while cooking. Salt the duck skin lightly as this will assist in removing some of the excess moisture. Marinate in the following for about four hours 2 tbsp of crushed Szechwan peppercorns, 2 dried minced chilies, 2 tbsp of minced cilantro leaves, 1 tsp of red curry paste, 1 tbsp of light soy and 1 tsp of oil. For the stir-fry, use whatever vegetables you like. I took some Napa, Bok Choy, onion, carrot, bean spouts and some rice noodles. The vegetables Shred the cabbage and julienne the
onion and carrot. The stir-fry sauce ½ cup non-sweetened coconut milk Duck glaze Duck carcass chopped and as much fat
as possible removed Brown the bones and mirepoix in roasting pan in a hot oven. Remove the contents from the roasting pan and pour of the duck fat. (This is yummy for frying potatoes so keep it in the fridge for a raining day) Deglaze the pan with the white wine and cover the bones and mirepoix with water and the deglazing liquid. Add the other aromatics. Keep the bones just barely covered at all times with water. Simmer for a couple of hours and strain. Start to reduce the sauce and simmer it with 2 star anise Simmer until the aromatics can be clearly tasted. Strain and thicken ever so lightly with a little cornstarch dissolved in rice wine vinegar Assembly Pre heat large sauté pan. Dry the marinade from the duck and lay it skin side down into the pan. It will render enough fat to fry and during cooking some of this fat may need to be removed. Cook for about five minutes then turn the duck over. Again I like medium rare. Anything more and the duck can be tough. Once done, it will feel firmer, but still spongy to the touch, remove and keep warm. Heat another pan and add some of the reserved duck fat Quickly toss the stir-fry vegetables for a few seconds. One they start to barely wilt, add the drained noodles and allow those to soften, stirring constantly. Add the coconut liquid and mix in. Place a portion of the “Phad Thai” in the center of a warm plate. Slice the duck breast in seven or eight nice slices and lay over the top. Pool the duck sauce around the perimeter of the plate. Garnish with a few leaves of cilantro Roasted rack of lamb, wild mushroom compote, and goat cheese potato croquette, morel essence This dish I kept simple to really allow the wines to shine Depending on the portion use two or three or cutlets per person. A fresh rack should give you eight to nine bones. Season the racks with salt, pepper, minced garlic and rosemary. Depending on size and temperature, roast them at 425 for about 12 to 15 minutes. Let them rest before carving. Sauté any fresh mushrooms you can get your hands on in a little butter and finish them with freshly minced parsley. I used dried morels; keep the liquid for the sauce, crimini and some chanterelles. I made the sauce in a similar fashion to the duck only I used lamb bones to make the stock. It was strained and reduced with the water I used to reconstitute the morels. Once it was reduced to a syrupy consistency, I stabilized it with some pureed Foie Gras trimmings mixed with a little fresh sweet butter. The goat cheese was a simple mash of Yukon gold with some olive oil, buttermilk and plain goat cheese.
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