RECIPE: Kumamoto Oyster, Passionfruit Basil Mignonette

CHEF: Mehdi Chellaoui

FLAVOR:This simple mignonette recipe perfectly compliments the oyster by adding floral and sweet notes, yet still allows the delicate briny flavor of the Kumamoto to shine.

COMPONENTS:

passion fruit cachasa mignonette

kumamoto oyster

bed of sea salt

RHUBARB

SEASON: Early spring-Summer

USE WITH: strawberry, blue cheese, milk chocolate

WHERE GROWN: Northern U.S. and Canada

FLAVOR MAP:

from FlavorPairing.be:

INGREDIENT: passion fruit

WHERE TO BUY: manhattan fruit exchange in chelsea market @ $1.75/ea

RECIPE: sauce-passion fruit cachasa basil with oysters

INFO: wikipedia-passion fruit

FLAVOR MAP:

RECIPE: grapefruit sriracha mignonette

USE WITH: oysters

INDREDIENTS:

grapefruit segments and juice, 1ea

sriracha, or garlic chili paste, 1T

mint, 2T

mirin, 1t

METHOD:

combine all together

RECIPE: passion fruit basil cachasa

USE: with oysters

INGREDIENTS:

Passion Fruit pulp, 1 whole
Leblon Cachasa, 1 Tablespoon
Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 Teaspoon
Basil, chopped, 1 Tablespoon

METHOD:

Mix all ingredients together.

NEXT IN FOOD: MUST HAVE BOOKS

Harold McGee’s ‘Keys To Good Cooking’

Keys to Good Cooking: A Guide to Making the Best of Foods and Recipes is a must have for all serious cooks. It has all those valuable tips that you could only otherwise learn in a 4 star restaurant. Harold has effectively included the most important information missing in most recipes.If you applied the 80/20 principle to cooking, this is what you’d get.

Here’s an excerpt from “Keys to Good Cooking”

On wooden vs. plastic cutting boards: “It turns out that wooden cutting boards are good in a couple of ways — they’re porous so they tend to soak up juices from cutting meats and fish, for example, and that carries the bacteria down into the cutting board where they’re not at the surface anymore. And woods often contain anti-bacterial compounds in them so there’s kind of a natural antibiotic in the surface of the wood. Plastic cutting boards are easier to clean and are safer to put in the dishwasher, for example, but they also will tend to develop scars and bacteria will lodge in the scars and cause problems later. So I actually have a couple of each and use both. When a plastic cutting board develops scars, I replace it.”

Be sure to check out Harold’s classic, On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. It’s a must have if you’re interested in the science behind the food you cook.

METHOD: octopus in a crockpot, via the Mcgee method.

blanch a well cleaned octopus in boiling water for 30 seconds and drain.

lay the octopus in a crockpot on a bed of lemon, thyme, garlic, olive oil, and white wine (I used white vermouth).

for the the 2 pound octopus I used, 3 hours on the high setting (200F) was perfect. A 5 pounder will take about 4-5 hours to cook.

SEASON: WINTER

USES: can be eaten raw, made into preserves, sauces, and for flavoring

NAME: uni, sea urchin

SEASON: november- february

USE: the GONADS are often served raw, and can also be made into a sauce

QUALITY: uni is available in a, b, and c grades. a grade being considered the highest quality.

RECIPE: Tuna-Uni

AVAILABLE @: The Lobster Place in Chelsea Market for $7.95/#

TECHNIQUE: sous vide chocolate tempering

WHY? more hygienic, convenient, neat, fast, and awesome

TOOLS: vacuum sealer, infrared thermometer, circulator

METHOD:

1. vacuum pack dark, milk, and or white chocolate.
2. melt in water with circulator set to 115 degrees F or higher
3. once melted, place the bag of chocolate in cool water
4. agitate chocolate with hands periodically, cooling to 79-82 degrees
5. warm back to 89 degrees in warm water
6. chocolate is tempered

From dorkchocolate.com

RECIPE: tuna-uni

CHEF: jerrome abustan

COMPONENTS:

uni

yellowfin tuna

sesame yuzu vinaigrette

togarashi

sea salt

micro cilantro

METHOD:

Dice tuna loin, and toss with sesame vinaigrette. Form tuna in a mold and briefly torch the top. Finish with micro greens, togarashi, and uni.