Fish & seafood...once again

As I said before in one of my postings that I love to cook [and eat too] Salmon, and this time, I am cooking[and ate thereafter] some Norwegian Salmon, which I brought yesterday. And yes, one more recipe for you, the oyster ravioli I cooked last week.
So the menu for you, will be :

Oyster Ravioli

Fin de clair oysters, seaweed caviar

-

Panfried Salmon

Orange braised Fennel, Tartare of confit tomato & mustard beurre blanc

First we come to talk about the oyster ravioli:-
I wrote somewhere before, about a menu for your date, where I advised scallops & oysters for ravioli & this time, I am making it without any scallops. Just poaching the oysters in fish stock for only 30 seconds & then stuffing them in thin pasta sheets. Traditionally, oysters in their very raw form is eaten with few drops of lemon juice---squeezed freshly[though, purists will have it as it is].So the for the accompaniments for this pasta, that is the sauce is lemony, but without any tartness from the lemons/lime. I am using a reduction of cream, fish stock, the juices from the oysters[which was reserved after shucking the oysters] & all these have been infused with lemon & lime zest...interesting..isn't it?
Oysters & caviar are considered to be good partner & signs of luxury[hell, both are aphrodisiacs too!!!]. A little touch of mock caviar around the white creamy sauce & the ravioli looks good ain't it? A couple of parsley sprig or chervil here and there..makes it simple & sexy!!!



Panfried Salmon 
I was really craving to have salmon, since I dont remember when was the last time, I had a proper cooked salmon[I think it was in February this year, even that was cooked by me]. So this was the time, when I wanted to have salmon badly, accompanied by three key ingredients-fennel, tomato & mustard which I felt, should go well together, alongwith the salmon. The salmon was usually panfried with olive oil & then basted with butter. Fennel got a classical treatment--braised with orange juice, honey & star anise. I made a tomato confit & then chopped it up to make a tartare, mixed with balsamic vinegar & some chopped shallots--seasoned of course. For the sauce, it was beurre blanc with some dijon mustard. Whoever said that mustard is a good accompaniment to fish, I must say that he is bloody correct about it. In Bengal, we cook fish with mustard paste albeit, mustard oil is the cooking medium...dont we? Fennel is definitely, a sweet compliment to any fish.

Recipes????Send me mail :)

Bienvenue au French Cuisine

Bienvenue au French Cuisine


Date: Some unrecorded date of December, 2010
Place: Kitchen, in some anonymous hotel
Time: Around 2000 hours

The Chef was teaching me how to make a proper wild mushroom soup, since my previous attempt was disastrous & was intimidating to him. He was sautéing the porcini mushrooms in a pan & after sautéing them, he was deglazing the pan with chicken stock & was reserving them separately. “Once you deglaze the pan, you get the juices, bits left behind in the pan & you don’t lose any flavor”, he was telling me. Well, kind of flashback for me, since this is what we learnt in culinary college; “deglaze” with wine, stock or water or whatever, one of the many basics in the French cuisine. The same thing perhaps we do at home, specially using the same pan or wok, when my mother makes the fish curry, after frying the fish. And yes, I thought, I should revisit all the basics of French cuisine. In college, we made all those classical French cuisine [or haute cuisine] “Poulet sauté champignon” or “Tournedos ala portugaise” or simply, the “Poisson meuniere” [substitute of the most popular Sole Meuniere, since Sole is difficult to procure in India].

However, in between the cuisine of Italy seemed to be more attractive & simple than the complex haute French cuisine, when I’d satisfy myself with pasta, risotto, antipasti & all Italian desserts, tiramisu & pannacotta primarily, for example.
But The Chef’s training just reminded me, why I should start focusing again in French cuisine & for the time being, stay separate from la cucina italiana. All the good things in French Cuisine – foie gras [which I have eaten more than I have sliced], butter [And I love a good, buttery mashed potato], fruits de mer [and I love seafood], demiglace, the tenderloin, croissant and dozens of other French cuisine essentials.

Seeing Anthony Bourdain:No reservations & its 1st & 100th episode [both being shot in Paris, by the way], just evoked the feelings of cooking French, not necessarily, haute cuisine, but putting the old ones in a new way, in a simpler way, using different ingredients, substituting fresh tomatoes with sundried ones or cherry tomatoes, for example or the simple button mushroom with some Chinese black mushrooms or shitake mushrooms. I remember once cooking poulet sauté chasseur [i.e. hunter’s style] in one my employment in India, when I used to handle the western kichen, alone for 15 hours a day & sometimes for 16 hours!!!There we needed to cook for 60 reservations for the lunch & dinner buffet, apart from the ala carte orders. Preparing two vegetarian options & two non-vegetarian options apart from the soup[ either veg or non-veg, after consulting with the Chinese kitchen], was really a pain in the ass…sometimes, cooking the same old & boring “crumb-fried fish”, or vegetables in thai red or green curry & sometimes, when time permitted tried cooking the French classics in my way. Poulet sauté chasseur, also known as “Pollo cacciatore” in its Italian form, is a chicken dish, cooked with white wine, shallots, mushrooms, tomatoes & the demiglace of course[i.e. components of Chasseur sauce]. So I changed the form of mushrooms & tomatoes in this case-I used Chinese shitake mushrooms, which gives a meaty & earthy flavour, compared to the less fragrant button mushroom. I used sundried tomatoes in this case, instead of fresh tomatoes, per se. Well, the results…even the executive chef was wondering what was I upto but he couldn’t say anything else. Yes, it was good & better than what I expected..it was robust!!!
Again, mostly French foods are named as per their garnishes, for example, Poisson clamart, where clamart stands for green peas or printanier, which are spring vegetables; thus giving you scope with names & putting the vegetables or sides accordingly. I remember once cooking at home, “Poulet Roti Forestiere”, here forestiere stands for the bounty of forests, primarily mushrooms and potatoes [ideally parmentier potatoes, small dices of potatoes, by the way], bacon apart from that. But, I was a little flexible with potato-- I used pureed potatoes, mushroom ragout & bacon bits.
And that few days before I made a classic, typical from Provence [South France], Marseille to be exact. And it was Bouillabaisse, commonly known as the Mediterranean fish soup with saffron. The fish used is rock fish, rascasse or known as “scorpion fish” is the ideal fish for making this soup, but if I don’t have access to this fish, can’t I enjoy having other fishes from the Mediterranean, which are also added? I will not get into details how it is made in Marseilles, but I will tell my way I made it & here is the recipe. But make sure, you have enough baguette & rouille to finish up the soup. Don’t make it small portions, make at least 4-5 portions & entertain your guests with this soup—no guests??? Well, freeze it then & consume within a month, the way I do…



My Bouillabaisse [For 6]

Ingredients:

For the basic broth

Assorted Mediterranean small fishes- 1.5 kg [I used baby sea bass, large prawns, red mullet & seabream—you can use John Dory, turbot, monkfish tail, if you get]

Olive Oil -200 ml

Leek-1, white part only, thinly sliced

Onion-200 gm, roughly chopped

Garlic- 6 cloves, crushed

Fennel Bulb- 1 whole, roughly chopped

Very ripe Tomatoes- 400 gm, roughly chopped

Bouquet Garni- 1

Fish Stock- 3 liter

For the Soup:

Assorted fishes, the same ones used to make the broth- 1 kg

Garlic-1 clove, finely chopped

Basil- 1 sprig, finely chopped

Tomato – 2 pieces, peeled, deseeded & chopped

Saffron- 1 generous pinch, soaked in 1 tbsp hot water

Olive Oil- 100 ml

Fennel bulb- ½ bulb, finely chopped

Seasoning- to taste

Cayenne Pepper- to taste

Rouille- as required

Baguette- as required



Method:-

The Basic Broth:

1. Gut the fishes, clean & chop them roughly. Devein the prawns but don’t peel. Keep the heads intact of all the fishes, but remove the gills.

2. Heat the oil in a stockpot & sauté the leek, onion, fennel, garlic until lightly colored. Add in the chopped tomatoes, followed by the fish & sweat the vegetables & fish for about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Add the fish stock, bring to a boil & then lower the heat & simmer for about 40-45 minutes. Remove from the heat & leave it to stand for 20 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.

4. Pass the fish through a foodmill/ mouli or through a drum sieve, rubbing with the back of a ladle. Discard the bones & other debris. If you want to make it more refine, pass it through a fine sieve. Now this is the broth or the base for making the soup, which will carry quite sweet flavour. If you want to have it as it is, you may or finish with a touch of cream. For the Soup, see the next step.

The Soup:

1. Clean the soup for garnishes-cut them into fillets, deboned & cut into bite sized chunks.

2. Heat all but 25 ml of olive oil & sauté garlic, tomato, fennel until lightly colored & add in the broth & bring it to a boil. Add in the reserved fish chunks, saffron & season and simmer for 5-6 minutes until the fishes are cooked.

3. Serve with the reserved olive oil, drizzled on top & with enough baguette & rouille[mayonnaise with garlic, cayenne pepper & saffron] sauce on side.



In Marseille, also known as the fishermen’s stew/soup, since they made the stew out of the fishes they couldn’t sell [the ugly scorpion fish being the typical addition] is served in two ways—the broth in one bowl & the fish chunks on the other, but I deviated from it. Former Chef Marco Pierre White went a step further---he reduced the broth further & named it as “Bouillabaisse sauce”…isn’t that creative??

[Note to Self: Make plans to visit France—this year or next year, especially Paris, Lyon & Provence.]

There are more to come..and for the time being Bon Appétit…

Fish & Seafood

Let me be honest with you here. I love to cook fish & sometimes I am afraid when I am told to cook fish. Fish—the easiest thing to cook & “overcook” at the same time,and that’s why I am afraid to cook. Sometimes, I am afraid…if I undercook.



Since I hail from Kolkata, Eastern part of India with river Ganges flowing through, fish plays an important part of any Bengali family[and our family too]. From marriage to death…it’s all about fish. As a matter of fact, Bengalis are famous for having fish in their diet & the unapologetic & the tastiest “Bengali Fish curry” or in a bengali’s lingo, “Maacher Jhol”. I am sure there are at least of dozens of variations of this famous curry from its thin version, which is being cooked for daily meal to the thick version, meant for a festive occasion & mostly thickened with mustard paste—making it a little pungent & spicy.



But this is what I like now, never before..when I was a child. I used to loathe fish curry—if it contains any bony fish. That’s why Hilsa, a bengali’s favorite never made it to my favorites. I always preferred fish like bekti/baramundi [a freshwater version of seabass], pomfret & later Rohu, a fresh water carp. So I used to indulge mostly into crumb fried fish, made at home by my mother. My father used to buy the prized fillets of Bekti in the morning & mostly on every evening of monsoons, I used to savour those freshly made fish fries with a little tomato ketchup. A mouthful of heaven….



There is yet another Bengali fish preparation, perhaps rendered from the Parsee Cooking, “Patrani Macchi”, & renamed in Bengali as “Maacher Paturi”. In its simplest form, it is a fish marinated with mustard & other spices & then wrapped in banana leaf [like the pate en croute, banana leaf in this case??]& then steamed till done.





Going out of Kolkata was a blessing in disguise in some way as I had the opportunity to try more & more seafood & fishes. Ok, I cleaned a lot of octopus when I was in Kolkata, but I never tried any[ when I was a simple trainee..back then!!] or may be cut the squids or calamari. I did marinate a lot of lobsters but failed to taste, how they taste like!



My first point was Mumbai, when I was working in a five star deluxe hotel. Which means, access to the world of seafood, especially if they have a restaurant serving high end clientele. If anyone asks me my favorite fish, I may say “Salmon” without a single thought, despite it being fatty & for lean fish, it can be as simple & as prized as “Sea bass”.

Well…then I tried squid, especially its deep fried version coated with semolina & served with saffron mayonnaise and one early morning savored Lobster curry & in spite of sitting in a room with low temperature started feeling the heat & believed that why seafood are often referred to as “aphrodisiacs”.



Dubai…perhaps here, I tried the oysters first in my life. Though, I am being picky about my food..I had to try oysters. With my eyes closed and when I put it in my mouth, it just reminds me of sea. Even, the very smell of the sea…it reminds me of oysters …and then octopus & then a hell lot of seafood—snails, scallops [my favorite], mussels [the least favorite], clams, langoustine aka Dublin bay prawns & more and more lobsters. Didn’t I tell you why I love seafood risotto so much?



You call it King of all fish stews or soups, but I was being moved by bouillabaisse for over a while, until I made it at home & had for my dinner..just few days before. The recipe recommends using rascasse or scorpionfish, but what if I don’t have any?Wont I be able to make without that one? …Well, I used seabream, sea bass, red mullet—expensive fishes & also prawns for the sweetness & when I was having it some baguette & rouille, I was wondering then..which is the best fish stew or soup???Is it the Bengali fish curry or Bouillabaise? Perhaps both are best in their own right..

Pasta..fatta

Pasta....


I recollect my first pasta making & eating too, thereafter. It was some evening during summer of 1998, when I had nothing to do. In the morning, I already saw how to make pasta in one of the shows aired by the then “Discovery Channel” & the program was intimate escapes—a show I tried not to miss. The host, a lady was travelling across Italy & in one of the shows, there was a sneak-a-pick showing how to make a pasta.

Voila…I had everything in the kitchen—flour, eggs, salt, oil, garlic & the notorious tomato ketchup. So I started with an assumption of 100 g of flour & 1 egg. I was not too happy with the result since the pasta was tough. I gave up…

Once I joined the hospitality institute & in the same time, the pasta craze came up with the introduction of “pasta treat” by Sunfeast—a cheap imitation just like Maggi, but I savored it well…until, La Cucina Italiano [i.e. the Italian cuisine] came up. It was a craze for me, when I couldn’t think of any other kitchen but Italian. The language, the eating habits and almost everything was backed by passion for Italian food. Pasta, desserts, mains, appetizers [antipasti in their lingo]—I am not a bigtime fan of pizza by the way, unless, it is thin crust & topped with loads of pork cold cuts!!


Perhaps the most challenging work was convincing a friend who disliked mushrooms, that it is a good combination of mushrooms & fusilli. Yes, he liked it...to the extent that he also left me a thank you note & a note of praise in Orkut [a social networking site by Google].



“This pasta is too dry…add some sauce,” a friend told me long back, when I was cooking pasta for a guest. Come on dear…let the guest taste the pasta. He is not spending some 70 AED for goddamn pasta loaded with sauces & sauces [quite natural when cooking for an Indian palate]. The sauces [which can be from simple butter & sage sauce to the elaborate ragout of Bologna] actually, are meant to complement the pasta, should not be overpowering itself. “No. put some more stock,” came a calling from another colleague. I was telling myself, “Ok…but when I become the boss; I will cook the real way.”
What is my favorite pasta, if I am asked? Well. It’s hard to say. I like fettuccine [more if it is fresh/homemade], fusilli, penne, spaghetti [but never with Bolognese!!!]. I am a fan of Lasagna also [About which I will write separately].Sauces? I am a fan of the meat ragu [I wrote about it before, In search of the perfect Bolognese—please go through the archives]…Alfredo sauce, with some wild mushroom popped in, Carbonara sauce..but my least favorite is “Tomato Basil Sauce”.

Cooking Sous Vide & cooking slow.. Part II

My previous experiment on Sous vide cooking was with Pork---mostly cooked & served well-done, due to the fear of trichinosis. Even, I prefer well-done, well-done to the extent, mostly dry--however, my tests on cooking pork, sous-vide changed the complete outlook towards cooking Pork--well-done & juicy too...& the subtle tenderness.
But this time, I wanted to cook beef. I always wanted to cook short-ribs--abundant fat, meaty & tender & the resultant meat will be juicy. Using the sous vide technique, I tried cooking short-rib. However, my concept was reproducing something from French cuisine & then do a contemporary presentation. So, it was "Boeuf Bourguignon"--braised beef cubes[short rib cubes] in red wine--wine ideally from Burgundy---with an array of root vegetables & also mushrooms--to be served with noodles/pasta or even spatzle--the german dumplings.

I used the sous vide technique cooking short ribs of 200 gm each & using a marinade---Yes, an unusual marinade which is also its braising liquid[Yes, like Sauerbraten]. Its actually a reduction of "Red wine", I used Cabernet Sauvignon, root vegetables[carrot, onion, leek, celery, shallots] an assortment of herbs[rosemary, thyme, parsley], spices[black peppercorn only!!], mushroom trimmings[I mean wild mushrooms], jus[yes, homemade] & finally salt[ yes, a very good salt, not your shitty table salt, but invest in good salt--Maldon salt or any Kosher salt-- I used Fleur de Sal].

The cooking process
The braising liquid, aforesaid, was slipped into individual ziplock bags--with 200 gm of trimmed beef shortribs & properly sealed--taking out as much air I could [I dont have a vacuum pack machine at home] & allowing them to swim in a hot water bath of 55.1 Deg C--Remember, my desired internal temperature is 55.1 deg C--the medium-rare texture of the meet. However, short rib has a lot of collagen, for which one might opt for a temperature above 60 Deg C--for the collagen & fat to dissolve & make the meat more delicious. The cooking process was for entire 24 hours.
After cooking, repack the beef in the same liquid & keep until to ready to use-refrigerated.
The finishing touch
Beef Bourguignon is served traditionally, with an array of root vegetables & vegetables of the earth--mushrooms, spinach as I said before. So before service[yes, for my own service], I seared the meat in a hot pan [to caramelise, thus improving the taste] & cooked the sides.Et Voila..Beef Bourguignon ala Sous vide..is ready!!! :)

The Trauma.... Part I

The Trauma...Part I
In college....

Date: May 27, 2006
Time: Roughly around 13:30 hrs
Place: IHM, Kolkata

Indranil came to me, "Gaurav, the ATKT results are out [ATKT-->if you get a back in any of your subjects, in this case, it was for the first year]".
I asked him, "Is it???What is my marks??Did I pass???" I was worried. This was a do or die for me. Even I fail in one or two subjects in second year, it will matter less--but if I fail again in the first year paper--I'll lose a year in college...a year drop-out in college.

I rushed to the notice board, to see my marks...keeping my fingers crossed.
The result read 35 out of 100. I verified again, "35".
Oh shit....that means I flunked!!!!
I went to Soumitra sir, aka Sammy and came back without any rays of hope. Then I ran to Raja sir...I assume he understood my condition..empathised, but without any rays of hope again. I was praying to God...I dont want to lose a year. People say "If you want to know the value of year, ask a student who lost one year...", it is so true...!!

Now what to tell my parents???That I will be a drop-out..for a person, who has never been a drop out before...who were always in good books. But I had to tell...I was too afraid of the consequences.

Having lost one year [since I passed in the second year papers...but couldn't attend college for 1 year, until I pass in "Hotel Engineering" through re-test] I had nothing to do at home. What to do??I cannot be a fulltime astrologer [a hobby then, when I was growing strong] since my parents will never approve it. I was taking suggestions then. Callcentres or BPOs...a place where I can improve my communication skills & make some quick money. So I started applying....
First one was "Hutchison Essar", now "Vodafone". Pay was comparatively low..but beggars cant be choosers. I was selected for the personal interview. I couldn't tell them that I flunked in my exams & I said, "My classes will be started from date X". The HR asked me, "How will you work then, if you have to attend classes ...I know the classes of hospitality management--you'll have some vital practical & theory classes". My application was not forwarded.

Next one was "Dell", located in Hydrabad, which means, I will have to relocate from Kolkata. I had no problem in relocation, since they were providing accommodation. I passed in the preliminary test & then I was selected for the personal interview. After a brief introduction about myself, the interviewer asked me, "Gaurav, what would you like do after completion of your course??". I proudly said, "I want to join hotels as a chef!!". I messed it up...bigtime!! Eliminated immediately.

One more hope...and it was with Wipro. I was eliminated in the second round. I was getting frustrated ....Tried at 3 places with no success. I went to visit my the then mentor, Mr. Raja Sadhukhan a lecturer in our college. "Sir, what to say in the interviews, that I am still in college??", I asked him. His prompt reply, "Tell them you are a college drop out & not going to attend anymore", he added, "Who is going to check that??".

There was a ray of hope when Ma Foi consultants called me up for a possible employment with HSBC. HSBC BPO was perhaps the best BPO in the city, offering a decent pay, benefits & facilities. I passed in the qualifying rounds & then headed to HSBC GSC[in Salt Lake]. The first round was a group discussion, followed by a rapid fire round, & then an interview with the HR & final round with Card Services, to see if I am fit to be a sales agent. I guess I couldn't make enough ....& after two days, Ma Foi called me up & said, "Congratulations Gaurav!!You have been offered a position of Customer Service Executive in HSBC GSC[Group Service Centre]." I was feeling great. One issue has been solved,securing a job. But next problem..what shall I tell people, that I have lost a year in college. My social life started shrinking & rarely I used to go out. I was afraid people will ask me that inevitable, unavoidable question, "Your classes, campus interviews, college etc". Though, I was selected by HSBC, but was not given any date of joining. Everyday seemed to be too big for me to live. Getting up in the morning, followed by astrology reading in the forums & then studying for the retest, chatting with friends online...then sleep!!! A regular boring schedule, often interrupted by visiting a pub, drinking alone & then getting the hangover. My savings started decreasing, often spent on buying some books on astrology. Gradually, I turned out to be an unsocial creature, my only company was my best friend, Samrat...till I joined HSBC on Sept. 12, 2006.

This was a traumatic period of my life..a period I dreaded the most.People who have gone through such stages can only empathise with me...& can feel it...
 But I was not aware that there were many more to come [& more in future] & I will write on this ...soon.!!

Belated Valentine's Menu....

It was difficult for me to make out sometime & write a new menu for the day dedicated to lovers [I wonder sometimes, if there was a day dedicated only for the singles]. One of my last menus, dedicated for the partners was cook for your dream date--fortunately, one of the followers of this blog, tried this out for her husband [she lamented poorly, if she had tried this out for her lover...before getting married...]and thanked me...and now its time for others I guess...to try out something. Since this year, I didn't work on Valentine's day--I announced an open offer...I will cook for a couple...3 course menu @ only DHS 500!!! Unfortunately...I never got a chance to cook for, but for myself!!

Anyways, the menu that I have planned doesn't have too much of the so called "red" for valentine's[as other people depict]. I understand that "red" is the color of passion, but does that mean all your food has to have something in red???Can't you express your passion through, oysters, lobsters, passionfruit [aphrodisiacs in other words]???

Here is my offer...

Beetroot Salad with Hazelnuts & Raspberry

Lemon Dressing, Pureed Pistachio

-

My Surf & Turf

Lobster Ravioli, Slow-cooked pork belly, Wild Mushroom Jus, Asparagus

-

Passion

Warm Passionfruit Curd, Passionfruit & Milk Chocolate Jelly, Passionfruit Pumice Stone

Stories behind each foods...
Beetroot Salad
I saw this salad in one of the episodes of "No reservations" by Anthony Bourdain. Beetroot & Raspberry may sound odd---but combines well.
My Surf & Turf
It just came to my mind....I had some slow cooked pork belly lying with me...cooked sous vide at 70 Deg C for 8 hours. How about making a lobster ravioli & serve with it?? It goes well too..
Passion
It needs a lot of mise-en place, lots of running here & there.It needs patience. But the end result is well-worth. I made a jelly of milkchocolate with passionfruit & you may ask why. Well, the answer is to cut down the tartness of the passionfruit.I tried it once, making it in a professional kitchen. It is really good. The pumice stone???Well, I borrowed this idea from the concept of frozen foam.

Enjoy reading.... :)