I don't like to be noticed, I'm much too insecure. I shun make up or jewellery or accessories or clothing that will make someone look my way. But when it comes to cooking I free my inner kugel. Other kugels page through a magazine and notice the handbag with ridiculously elaborate tussles or buckles or blingy stuff and whatnot. Me? I notice the dish with ridiculously elaborate mousses or foams or drizzly stuff and whatnot.
My kugel style cooking isn't new. I remember the first official dinner I cooked for my family. Not a meal, a dinner. (The difference being that if I cook you a meal a thank you will suffice but if I cook you a dinner I require oohs and aahs.) I think I was around 12 years old at the time and I made Smoked Beef with Champagne Sauce. Which would be an unusual dish even today with food fusion being all the rage. But in the 80's? I would give anything to remember what magazine had the balls to print such an outrageous recipe back then, but hats off to them, and hell, to me, for leaping into the future! (And hats off to my family for eating it. No wonder my brother used to beat me up...)
So I thought I'd start off the year with an extravagant little Food & Home dish with lots of bling. It also seemed like a good way to hone my culinary skills, kick things up a notch. Of course, when I made that ambitious decision, I didn't quite anticipate what a pain in the ass it was going to be. It really is annoying to prep four items and you still don't have something solid on your plate. Then again, my fellow kugel schleps her way through manis and pedis and waxes and she still might not get something solid on her date... Oy vey!
xx
xx
J
CHICKEN BREAST AND ASPARAGUS WITH PEA MOUSSE,
YOGHURT MOUSSE AND TRUFFLE SAUCE
Pea Mousse
100g Frozen peas
1 Leaf gelatin
1T Mint leaves
2T Cream
1/2t Lemon juice
Cover the gelatin leaf with water and soak for 5 minutes. Blanch the peas in 125ml boiling water for a minute or so. Add the mint and process until fairly smooth. Strain and discard the dregs. Stir the gelatin leaf into the strained liquid until dissolved, season and add the lemon juice and cream. Chill for a couple of hours until set.
Yoghurt Mousse
100ml Bulgarian yoghurt
100ml Cream
1 Leaf gelatin
Cover the gelatin leaf with water and soak for 5 minutes. Stir into 1T of hot water until dissolved then add the yoghurt and cream. Chill for a couple of hours until set.
Lemon Pith Pectin
I have remade this according to the recipe three times. The recipe makes NO sense. I even emailed them last year - no response. This is my version of a crappy recipe with a good taste.
2 Lemons
4T Sugar
Use a peeler to get rid of the zest, cut off the pith and chop up. Squeeze out all the juice from what's left of the lemons and add the pips and entrails to the pith. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil then drain and rinse well at least three times to get rid of most of the bitterness in the pith. Bring back to the boil with the 400ml of the water and 2T of the sugar. Simmer for about half an hour then drain, separating the pith from the pectin (the liquid) but keeping both. Bring the pectin to the boil. Add 2T of the pith and the other 2T sugar and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Process until smooth and taste. If necessary add a little bit more sugar but it's supposed to be a lovely fresh mix somewhere between bitter and tart.
Truffle Sauce
75ml Chicken stock
1t Truffle oil
2.5T 2% Milk
Bring to the boil then set aside until you need it.
And the Rest
4 Chicken breasts with skin
2c Watercress
24 Asparagus spears
4 Slices ciabatta toasted
Sear the chicken breasts. (I've at last figured out how to prevent chicken from sticking to the pan. You have to let it kiss the pan first. So get the oil very hot and make sure your chicken is firmly on a fork. Then just touch it to the oil. Do it very quickly - like you'd kiss your creepy uncle, not like you'd kiss Robbie Williams. Do the same with the other side. After that it won't stick.) Fry the chicken breasts on medium heat until done. Be careful to keep the skin intact but make sure you brown it nicely. Slice the bottom half of the asparagus spears into rounds then blanch them for a few minutes in boiling salted water. Drain and refresh in ice water. To assemble put some leaves on the plate together with the ciabatta and asparagus. Slice the chicken breast, fan and lay on top of the leaves. Put spoonfuls of the pectin on the sides as well as a scoop of each of the mousses. Foam the truffle sauce with a milk frother and drizzle on the plate. Mazel tov!
YOGHURT MOUSSE AND TRUFFLE SAUCE
Pea Mousse
100g Frozen peas
1 Leaf gelatin
1T Mint leaves
2T Cream
1/2t Lemon juice
Cover the gelatin leaf with water and soak for 5 minutes. Blanch the peas in 125ml boiling water for a minute or so. Add the mint and process until fairly smooth. Strain and discard the dregs. Stir the gelatin leaf into the strained liquid until dissolved, season and add the lemon juice and cream. Chill for a couple of hours until set.
Yoghurt Mousse
100ml Bulgarian yoghurt
100ml Cream
1 Leaf gelatin
Cover the gelatin leaf with water and soak for 5 minutes. Stir into 1T of hot water until dissolved then add the yoghurt and cream. Chill for a couple of hours until set.
Lemon Pith Pectin
I have remade this according to the recipe three times. The recipe makes NO sense. I even emailed them last year - no response. This is my version of a crappy recipe with a good taste.
2 Lemons
4T Sugar
Use a peeler to get rid of the zest, cut off the pith and chop up. Squeeze out all the juice from what's left of the lemons and add the pips and entrails to the pith. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil then drain and rinse well at least three times to get rid of most of the bitterness in the pith. Bring back to the boil with the 400ml of the water and 2T of the sugar. Simmer for about half an hour then drain, separating the pith from the pectin (the liquid) but keeping both. Bring the pectin to the boil. Add 2T of the pith and the other 2T sugar and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Process until smooth and taste. If necessary add a little bit more sugar but it's supposed to be a lovely fresh mix somewhere between bitter and tart.
Truffle Sauce
75ml Chicken stock
1t Truffle oil
2.5T 2% Milk
Bring to the boil then set aside until you need it.
And the Rest
4 Chicken breasts with skin
2c Watercress
24 Asparagus spears
4 Slices ciabatta toasted
Sear the chicken breasts. (I've at last figured out how to prevent chicken from sticking to the pan. You have to let it kiss the pan first. So get the oil very hot and make sure your chicken is firmly on a fork. Then just touch it to the oil. Do it very quickly - like you'd kiss your creepy uncle, not like you'd kiss Robbie Williams. Do the same with the other side. After that it won't stick.) Fry the chicken breasts on medium heat until done. Be careful to keep the skin intact but make sure you brown it nicely. Slice the bottom half of the asparagus spears into rounds then blanch them for a few minutes in boiling salted water. Drain and refresh in ice water. To assemble put some leaves on the plate together with the ciabatta and asparagus. Slice the chicken breast, fan and lay on top of the leaves. Put spoonfuls of the pectin on the sides as well as a scoop of each of the mousses. Foam the truffle sauce with a milk frother and drizzle on the plate. Mazel tov!
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