San Daniele Bites

One really shouldn't have to tamper with a fine slice of San Daniele. But I found myself with a little more than I needed today and decided to have some fun with it. Can't wait to include this at my next tapas party. You could of course use regular prosciutto, but I'd insist on buffalo mozzarella.

san daniele prosciutto

buffalo mozzarella

EVOO

unami paste (Laura Santtini's is excellent)

snipped chives (optional)

1. mix 6-7 tblsp of EVOO with 2 tsp unami paste
2. slice mozzarella into thick matchsticks
3. roll pieces of mozzarella up in slices of San Daniele
4. drizzle unami oil into a small rectangular serving dish
5. place San Daniel rolls in dish, drizzle extra unami oil on top (make sure covered and surrounding by the oil)
6. sprinkle chives over the dish, let marinate overnight
7. serve relatively cool

Foie Gras Astrance

Pascal Barbot's staple foie gras appetizer on his menu forever. What's lovely here is that he manages to lighten up this dish with his touches of dressed pedestrian mushrooms so that you almost forget about the foie gras. Very nice balancing of flavors so that not one ingredient dominates.

cep powder

2 tblsp of lemon puree

verjus-marinated foie gras

1 lobe of foie gras

1 liter verjus

20 gr melted butter

4 tsp maple syrup

3 sheets pate a brick

maldon sea salt

ground black pepper

champignons de Paris galette

12 very large white mushrooms (reserve a few)

juice of a lemon

zest of an orange

green apple

hazelnut oil

maldon sea salt

ground black pepper

1. marinate the foie gras in verjus for three hours in the fridge
2. preheat oven to 325 f; combine warm melted butter and maple syrup, brush one sheet of pate a brick with the maple butter, top with another sheet and repeat with another
3. cut a 12 c circle from the sheets of pate a brick and place on a parchment-lined sheet pan; top with a second piece of parchment and a second sheet pan to prevent rising; bake ten minutes until crisp; set aside
4. drain the foie gras; slice and season with maldon sea salt and pepper
5. slice green apples with mandolin, leave skin on
6. for the galette, rub the mushrooms and green apple with lemon juice; using a mandoline, cut the mushrooms into thin slices; toss the remaining mushrooms with lemon juice, orange zest, hazelnut oil, maldon sea salt and pepper
7. to serve, place on layer of seasoned mushrooms on the disc of a pate a brick with a slice of foie gras and green apples; repeat using the remaining seasoned mushrooms and foie gras
8. top the final slice of foie gras with the reserved, unseasoned mushrooms; sprinkle with cep powder; slice the galette into four slices and serve with lemon marmalade

Oubaek Bearnaise

From Oubaek in Copenhagen. The chef made Bearnaise sauce cool again, spawning a steakhouse chain whose claim to fame is this very sauce. But we had it at the source and I think I managed to squeeze its secret ingredients from a nice young lad serving us! Apparently the trick is to make a tarragon essence containing various seasonal vegetables that gives the vinegar going into the sauce a bit more complexity and presence.

tarragon essence

250 gr freshly clarified butter, cooled to tepid

4 egg yolks

2 tblsp snipped chervil

juice of 1/2 lemon

maldon sea salt

10 peppercorns, crushed

tarragon essence

2 tblsp white wine vinegar

3 tblsp snipped tarragon

30 gr chopped shallot

2 tblsp of chopped parsnip, carrots, celery

1. to make the essence, combine the wine vinegar, vegetables, snipped tarragon, the shallot and pepperorns in a small, heavy-based saucepan and reduce by half over a low heat; set aside to cool
2. combine essence, egg yolks and 3 tblsp water; set the pan over a low heat and whisk continuously, making sure that the whisk reaches right down into the bottom of the pan
3. as you whisk, gently increase the heat; the sauce should emulsify slowly and gradually, becoming oil after 8-10 minutes (don't let it get hotter than 65 c)
4. turn off the heat and whisk the clarified butter into the sauce a little at a time
5. season with salt and pepper, pass the sauce through another sieve into another pan; stir in the rest of the tarragon, the chervil and lemon juice
6. check for seasoning and serve at once

Morito Green Sauce

Easily going to become part of my repertoire, having had it for a second time poured over their delicate salt-baked baby potatoes. Needs to be consistency of heavy cream.

1 green banana chile

handful coriander leaves

1/3 garlic clove (mashed with mortar & pestle)

few tblsp of EVOO

maldon sea salt

1-2 tsp muscadet vinegar

1. in a blender, mix chile and EVOO; add coriander, garlic, salt
2. add more EVOO so that sauce develops proper consistency
3. add some vinegar for a little zing

Copenhagen Observations

February in freezing Copenhagen may not be everyone's cup of tea. But if you're inside eating or sipping a local brew, what does it matter?

• Noma: still collecting my thoughts here, much has already been said and not really sure what to add. It did not disappoint.
• Schonneman Restaurant: a very close second to Noma; classic Danish cooking at its best counting Rene Redzepi as a regular (and even naming a smorrebrod after him). The best I had was fried herring sandwich and Michelle a caramel herring sandwich, both washed down with seemingly free-flowing local Akvavit and various snaps including one made from rosehips. The Rene Favorite sandwich consists of smoked halibut with creamed cucumbers, radish and chives served on a caraway bread.
• Formel B: very fine dining indeed with standouts including cream cheese ice cream with blood orange sorbet, turbot and veal tails, caviar with jerusalem artichoke ice cream.
• Oubaek: classy comfort food at this modern and cozy bistrot; chef Rasmus Oubaek has perfected bearnaise sauce, probably the best I've had. Had an excellent local brew called Beer Geek Breakfast.
• Nimb Brasserie: good standby, but best of all is the Nimb hotel bar on the first floor with its black ink murals and grand fire place. Favorite dish was the first one that came with the bread: a cheese spread using Rygeost (smoked cheese).
• Helges cheese shop: you can get Denmark's best cheese of 2010 here, Vesterhavsost.
• Summerbird chocolate shop: you can get their famous chocolate-covered almonds with licorice dust and the best flodeboller.

Creamsicle Revisited

From Formel B in Copenhagen. I was completely taken by this dessert, which reminded me of all those creamsicles I devoured as a kid.

blood orange sorbet
cream cheese ice cream
blood orange pearls
blood orange gelatin

cream cheese ice cream
philadelphia cream cheese
cream
vanilla
sugar
egg

blood orange sorbet
juice of blood orange (or ready-made puree)
sugar
water

1. make cream cheese ice cream using ingredients
2. make blood orange sorbet using ingredients
3. make blood orange pearls and gelatin cubes
4. on a small plate, place a scoop of ice cream and sorbet, with pearls and gelatin cubes scattered about

Gravadlax & Beet Tartare

Just popped into my head now. Beets the heck out of me.

Jean-George's beet tartare

my beet-cured gravadlax

pumpernickel

butter

beet tartare

two beets

half chopped shallot

3-4 chopped cornichons

dozen chopped capers

a couple drops tobasco

chopped parsley

1. make beet tartare by mixing everything in a blender but not too finely, let set overnight
2. serve with gravadlax and buttered pumpernickel

Tuna Tartare Tapa

This is my take on the Barrafina recipe, the main difference being that the tuna is seared and sliced rather than eaten raw and cubed tartare style. This is a more rugged version which would happily find its home at a tapas party.

tuna steak (2 inches thick)

EVOO

maldon sea salt

ground pepper

chopped coriander leaves

chopped chives

sesame oil

sesame seeds

soy sauce

avocado veloute

avocado

EVOO

juice of lime

maldon sea salt

coriander stems

1. make sauce with EVOO, a tad of sesame oil, a tad of soy sauce, maldon sea salt, sesame seeds and chopped coriander leaves/chives
2. place avocado veloute ingredients into a blender and mix until very smooth and velvety so that you can scoop with a spoon
3. lightly coat the tuna steak in EVOO, then ample salt and pepper
4. put pan on high heat, sear on both sides 30 seconds each
5. place in fridge for a couple hours until chilled
6. slice tuna thinly (but not so thin that it falls apart)
7. place tuna on a serving dish, smother with sauce
8. serve on plates, with spoonfuls of the avocado cream on the side
9. instruct guest to squeeze a tad of lime over the whole lot, then dig in