Experiment / Recipe: Squid Ink Charcoal

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

I was doing a little flavour profiling the other day - aka dicking about in the kitchen -  I’d been trying out an idea with black ribs for a course called “rack and black 2.0”. Still needs work, but one of the elements uses squid ink to introduce the black element.

rack of rose veal w/ black ribs

black ribs w/ pa amb tomàquet

Anyway, the result were OK but nothing to write home about so I settled into a glass of wine and catching up with Masterchef. It was the heat where the contestants had to cook for Michael O'Hare (The Man Behind the Curtain).  The task: to make a dish from his restaurant (obviously). A dish that caught my eye (mostly because I had most of the ingredients in the kitchen) was a dish with Iberian pork (two ways), an edible eggshell filled with egg yolk (Onsen tamago style) topped with squid charcoal.  It looked unusual, really tasty I’m sure & the pork looked spectacular!

Anyhow, I’ve never made and edible egg shell or squid charcoal, and since I had the ingredients for for the squid charcoal I had a stab at it! 

Here's the recipe and the results . . .  

ingredients 

for the veal stock (makes 250 - 400g)

2 sides veal ribs (sliced into ribs, browned)

1 onion (quartered & charred)

2 star anise

20g ginger (sliced & charred)

1L water

season

~

Brown off the veal ribs.

Char the ginger & onion.

Put all the ingredients on to boil then turn down to a simmer.

Simmer for 90 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid and reduce for another 90 minutes.

Keep going until it coats the back of a spoon.

Remove the ribs, and store for later use.

Remove ginger and star anise, then blend the onion in with an immersion (stick) blender.

Strain.

for the squid ink stock (makes 440g)

90g squid ink

350g veal stock (or a good gelatinous or white stock)

~

Add the ink to the boiling veal stock, mix well and put aside until needed.

for the squid ink charcoal (makes ~180g)

155g old bread

170g squid ink stock

200ml milk (semi skimmed)

6g salt (will depend on how salty your stock was)

~

Blitz the bread and the squid ink stock until it’s homogenous. It will be thick enough to roll into balls.

Loosen the mix with milk, and season. 

Spread a layer 2mm thick onto a silpat / heatproof baking sheet, and bake 100C / 3hrs. 

(145g for a 24x18cm baking sheet - 1g/ 3cm2 - made 50g)

It’s more of a dehydration process than baking.

Once it’s brittle, it’s ready!

I kinda forgot I had the first batch in the oven and ended up with a sheet of actual charcoal . . . oops!

Best to check it every hour!

A quick re-run gave me a very passable result:

Next week . . . prince party nougat (beetroot, orange & pistachio. . . delish)

Recipe: Beef Pho - Vietnamese National Dish - Noodle Broth (rated 18)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

Firstly let me begin by explaining the 18 rating. This recipe has been simplified so that an 18 teen year old with relatively little skill or interest should be able to produce a pretty decent rendition with an “am I bovered” amount of effort! (but proper good!! - chuck it all in the pot - 3hrs gaming - noodle dreams - lush)

short rib - cow rib init - cut into 4

ingredients for the beef pho (serves 6)

for the stock

3L water

2 chicken stock

75g  ginger (cut into 4 slices & charred)

2 large onion (cut into 8 & charred)

6 star anise

2 cinnamon stick

25g rock sugar (or brown sugar)

12 small oxtail segments (2pp)

3 short ribs (1/2pp) (what are short ribs? see below)

100ml fish sauce (to taste)

40g lime juice (1 or 2 limes)

for the pho 

600g fresh noodles (100g pp)

or 3 cucumbers (shredded)

500g sirloin / ribeye (80g pp medium rare)

2 large steaks

for the garnish

10g thai basil (4 leaves pp)

20g coriander (10 clovers pp)

4 spring onions (cut into rings)

1 red onion (cut in half, then semi circles) 

2 chillies (cut into rings)

fish sauce (tsp pp)

1 lime (1/6 each)

apparatus / equipment

knife

large boiling pot

method

stock

Put all the ingredients into a boiling pot, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to simmer. (Volume knob to 3 or 4!)

Simmer for 3 hours. Take the steak (for the pho component) out of the fridge so it’s at room temp when you cook it.

Salt it (a couple of pinches of salt on each side - evenly distributed) and leave it in a takeaway box. (or similar)

pho 

Just before the stock is due to be ready. Remove the short ribs and place on a chopping board. 

Cook noodles for 2 minutes in boiling water, then strain and place in hot serving bowls.

Add some oil (a glug - pour for 1/2 second) to the steaks and turn them to cover them with oil. Place them into a hot pan. Turn them once the underside is brown, 2-3 minutes max. Remove and place on a chopping board once the other side is brown. Leave them there (to rest) while prepping the garnish & assembling the pho.

to serve

Remove the meat from the short ribs by cutting along the flat part of the bone. Slice the meat thinly.

Prep the garnishes as shown. Share out the oxtail and broth into bowls, slice the steak and garnish!!

Good to go!!

If you can be bovered: stock

Boil the meat separately before you start for 5 minutes, and discard the water it was boiled in. 

(Will result in a clearer broth as it forces a lot of scum to the surface - out of the meat)

Char the ginger and onion on a griddle pan, this adds a nice flavour giving a more complex broth.

Skim scum off the broth constantly as it’s cooking.

thinking ahead (aka for when you really can’t be bovered)

Put the stock including oxtail and sliced short rib in a resealable plastic bags. 600g / bag.

Bust it out of the freezer when you want a pho!

Nuke it for 10mins (800W microwave). Make the noodles and steak while it defrosts!

Great hangover cure with minimal effort!

what could go wrong? (notes)

I couldn’t be bovered and I ended up eating 40p quick noodles. (Ahem, for the rest of my life!)

sirloin steak - medium rare

oxtail - niblbes

Recipe: Cherry Pie, Chocolate Tart, Super Simple 5 ingredient BLISS!

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

This is the kind of recipe that’s I love writing about, those little triumphs in the kitchen that can really take the edge off a crappy day. Not just the relaxation and distraction of creating, but the “phoenix from the ashes moment” of having created something really very nice out of leftovers (and bits and things).

After the the supper club last week we had some left over cherries, I’d bought a box to go with the petit fours:

I new I’d have a busy week ahead, and I could just imagine them, the following Saturday, in the same bowl on the kitchen table, with a giant bloom of mould growing on them. So I had a look around the kitchen this is what I found: mascarpone cheese, a roll of flaky pastry, and a lemon.

Well pastry screams PIE (and smiles!) so I hunted around for a tart tin but the only thing I could find was this dingy sized pyrex dish which would have made a half decent glass bottomed boat! Kept looking . . . muffin tray? Maybe, could make 12 mini pies . . . kept looking and found a rather dinky pyrex dish, not exactly the tart tin I was looking for but about the right size, the sides were too high but, mheh, yeah, I reckon it’d do, so I rolled with it.

Found some sugar for a stock syrup, and an egg . . . right ready for action!

ingredients (serves 6-8)

for the cherry pie

375g flaky pastry (1 pack / pre rolled)

400g cherries (stoned)

400g stock syrup (200g sugar & 200g water)

250g mascarpone cheese

300g chocolate spread

1 egg

4 sheets (gelatine)

1/2 lemon (juiced)

3 star anise (optional)

pinch of cinnamon

for the garnish

soured cream (something sharp, to complement the sweet tart).

apparatus / equipment

22cm pyrex dish

pastry brush (or a bit of kitchen towel works well)

method - quick version 

Blind bake the pastry @ 180C for 20min. Seal it with beaten egg.

Mix the chocolate spread and mascarpone cheese until smooth and spread it onto the pastry for the bottom layer.

Soften the stoned the cherries in a stock syrup and infuse with star anise and cinnamon for at least an hour.

Once infused, strain, and place the cherries on top of the chocolate to create the middle layer. 

Add gelatine to the syrup, reduce by 1/2. cool and pour over the cherries. Allow to set.

DONE!

method

This is so simple! That’s what makes this cherry and chocolate tart even better. Turn the oven on to 180C.

Butter the pyrex dish, and unroll the pastry onto it. Lift the edges so the pastry can be pushed right to the bottom without tearing. (specially if it’s deep) I reckon a loaf tin would would work too. It would result in more of a terrine style pie.

At this point I’d normally line it with baking paper, and add some ceramic balls to blind bake the pastry. But, as I said, I was doing a bit of free styling in an unfamiliar kitchen. So no baking balls!! I did brush the pastry with a beaten egg though to water proof it from the filling. Bake for 20mins @ 180C

While the pastry is in the oven, put the water and sugar into a sauce pan and put it on full on the hob. Add the star anise and the cinnamon. While that comes to the boil, wash and stone the cherries. Add them to the boiling syrup (taking care not to splash yourself) and as soon as it’s back up to the boil take it off the heat.

Put the gelatine into some cold water, leave it for 5 mins then squeeze it of excess water and add it to the syrup.

Next, mix the mascarpone and the chocolate until you have a smooth and creamy chocolate pate.

Spread the mix into the bottom of the pastry lined dish. Then sieve the cherries, keeping the syrup, and place them on top of the chocolate. Then put the whole tart in the fridge to set. (Best to cover it in cling film so it does’t take up any weird flavours like kippers or blue cheese)

Reduce the the syrup by half, then add the lemon juice, allow to cool and pour onto the tart. (after removing the cling film obviously) Return to the fridge to set.

to serve

Once set, cut into slices and serve as is, or with a scoop of soured cream, or maybe a lemon ice cream

Sooo good! So so good!

thinking ahead

You can make this a few days in advance and keep it in the fridge no problem.

what could go wrong? (notes)

“I tried to warm up my portion of tart” - DO NOT do that unless you want a pool of chocolate sauce with a bunch of angry cherries looking up at you!! Last thing you want!

“My gelatine turned into gloop and I could’t get it out if the water!” - Soak the gelatine in COLD water NOT warm water.

techniques used

Patience (required for the setting of the tart)

variations

I reckon this would be pretty good with a mix of soft fruits, strawberries, blueberries etc

Use agar to make the veggie version of this, or reduce the sauce a little more and don’t use a setting agent at all!!

ENJOY!!

Experiment Recipe: Shin of Veal

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

After 6 months being bounced around from one place to another, I've finally found somewhere I can cook!! You have no idea how much that means to me!! I didn't until this week! To be able to cook in a kitchen without being frowned at for one reason or another, gorgeous aromas emanating form my sauce pan or stock pot . . . hmmmmm; I have to say, it's nice to be able to get back to experimenting in the kitchen, vey nice indeed!! 

On that note here's and experiment I did the other day, with what looked like a rather large lamb shank, actually veal.

As you can see from the components (carrots, cabbage, potatoes), there's lots of very standard things in this experiment. It's is really about the veal shin, and how is comes out after braising. I've treated the rest of the accompaniments very simply. So if worst come to the worst, we've got some nice veggies and things to eat, think I might make a giant yorkshire pudding too, you know, just in case!! He he . . . 

Now that's a yorkshire pudding!! (The pyrex dish is 12" long)

ingredients (serves 4) 

for the veal & gravy

2 shin of veal (seasoned and seared brown)

3 onions (charred)

1 leek (cleaned and cut unto 2cm lengths)

2 star anise

2 chicken stock cubes

2L water

4g flavoured salt

for the carrots

4 carrots (pealed, and cut into 1/3's)

50g butter

1 tsp flavoured salt 

2 star anise

flavoured salt

300g salt

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

for the savoy cabbage

1 savoy cabbage (outer leaves off, but into 1/4's)

for the potatoes

8 medium desiree potatoes (cleaned, 1/4's skin on)

or jersey royals at this time of year

apparatus / equipment

Frying pan.

Large braising pot.

method

veal

Coat the meat in a thin film of oil - so the salt sticks - then sear it in a pan to brown the outside.

Once browned put it in the pot where it will be braised.

Peal and halve the onions, then add a little olive oil to the same pan and put the onions in flat side down, cook on a medium high heat until the flat sides are charred, then add them to the pot.

Add 2L water, bring to the boil and set to simmer 3hrs

carrots

Put all the ingredients in to a small pan, bring to the boil then set to simmer for 30-40mins

flavoured salt

Measure the ingredients and then mix well until a evenly distributed seasoning is created! Job done!

savoy cabbage

Boil in salted water, drain, leaving it as dry as possible, allow it to let off steam on a tea towel. The leaves of  a savoy cabbage will are all crinkly and will carry a lot of water, you want that to be lovely gravy instead of water, so get them as dry as possible.

You don't want lots of water diluting the gravy . . . . eeeeuuuwh!!

potatoes

Boil them in salted water, a 1.5inch diced potatoes take approx. 6-8mins (after the water starts boiling) to cook. Depending on the size of course!

thinking ahead

Put it on at lunch time, it'll be ready for tea time with very little effort!

to serve

Put each thing into serving trays and let people help themselves!!

verdict - ahem I mean conclusion:

Gorgeous!! The the meat falling off the bone and the tendon was super soft and unctuous! I bought 1 shin to experiment with, but 2 would be better for 4 people. 

RECOMMENDED!!

Ski Series - Recipe: Banana Tatin w/ Banana Creme and Passion Fruit Sorbet

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab 

Banana Tatin w/ Passion Fruit Sorbet & White Chock Whisky Sauce - Verbier version

I cobbled this recipe together one evening, sat on the balcony listening to the chatter from the balcony above, and looking over the resort, it was the first week and I hadn't really got a complete menu together, and was stressing out a bit. I've kinda constructed it out of all the desserts I'd made before, and a leftover sauce (whiskey and white choc) I had from the previous night! The flavours go well together, and I developed it a little further for the foodlab menu.

Banana Tatin w/ Passion Fruit Sorbet & White Chock Whisky Sauce - ferdiesfoodlab version

apparatus
swiss roll tin,
ice cream machine / food processor / alpine mountainside

for the banana tatin - (Bake 10-15m @ 200C / G6) 
4 bananas (cut into rounds 2.5 cm long) see tip on ripeness (6 pieces per banana serves 8 @ 3pp)
300g puff pastry cut into 5x5cm squares (35x23)
100g sugar
100g butter
2 tbsp water (optional)

for the banana crème
400ml crème anglaise (custard)
75ml whiskey
125ml white chocolate (broken into small pieces or grated)
banana offcuts from the banana tatins
 
for the passion fruit sorbet 
200ml orange juice
150g sugar
4 star anise
50ml glucose
1 1/2 gelatine leaves
500ml passion fruit juice

banana tatins
Peel the bananas and cut off 3cm from each end. Keep the offcuts for the banana creme, then cut the remaining bananas into six pieces each; each piece should be 2.5cm / 1inch approx.

Pre-heat the oven and put the swiss roll tin in. TIP - This is so it's hot when the caramel hits the tin and the caramel remains liquid.

Lay the banana rounds out flat and cover each with a square of pastry. If you like, trim them so they're neat and round. Personally I like them a little scruffy, and I love a bit of extra pastry ; ) Put them into the fridge until required.

Next make the caramel, put the sugar into a pan, spread evenly and take to a light brown caramel, don't stir it, simply shimmy the pan a little to move it around if required. Remove swiss roll tin from the oven and pour the caramel into it, then add in the tatins banana side down.

If you want to do then sliced lengthways do them at 180C/G4/20-25m.


banana crème
Warm the custard to 80C, then turn off the heat and add the white chocolate, stirring until smooth, then add the whisky.
To make the banana creme, blend the ends of the banana with a dash of milk or cream and then add into the white chocolate and whisky custard blend until smooth. Job done.
 
passion fruit and star anise sorbet
Mix the orange juice, sugar, star anise & glucose in a pan and bring to boil, then simmer for 5mins.
While the juices simmer, soak the gelatine in water, until soft. Remove, and squeeze out the excess water.
Take the mix off the heat and stir in the gelatine until completely dissolved.
Add passion fruit juice, and cool.
Chuck it in an ice cream machine until it's at the desired consistency, or if you happen to be in the Alps, pop the lid on and put it in a drift outside, stirring frequently until set! Then move to the freezer.
Put in fridge for 10 mins before serving so that it softens!!

to serve
Spoon the banana creme onto a plate and spread it in a smooth line, dot with passion fruit. Place a banana tatin at one end and a quenelle of passion fruit sorbet at the other. Serve immediately.

tip: At the start of making the caramel, adding a couple of tablespoons of water helps.  You can add more if you want, it will evaporate off during the process. Spread the caramel mix out evenly to start, don't stir the caramel after that, crystals on the spoon can cause the mix to crystallise.

tip:  If cutting the banana lengthways, a less ripe banana will hold together much better, and complement the  caramel. This is less important if you're cutting it into rounds since they don't present any "falling apart problems" when serving and the sharpness of the mango balances the dessert.

Ski series - Recipe: Rice Pudding w/ Crunchy Sugar Coating

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab 

 

This was another left overs one but came out rather tasty! Big smiles all around except for a 5 year old who flicked a big spoonful of it into his dad's eye, and came very close to . . . .  well what would you do with him? Anyway, given that kids are pretty choosy, I'll take that comment on the chin, or in the eye!! ; )

ingredients (serves 12)
for the rice pudding
2.5L     milk
12     star anise
1kg     pudding rice
1     orange (zest)
450g caster sugar
0.5L     cream

to serve
brown sugar
raspberry syrup

garnish
star fruit
kiwi
physalis peruviana (inca berry)

apparatus
big pot
blow torch
ring mould to serve

rice pudding
Bring milk to boil w/ star anise and then leave to simmer and infuse for about 20 mins.
Add the rice and sugar, bring to the boil and then simmer for 20mins with a lid, adding the orange zest after 10mins.
Check occasionally to make sure it's not dried out. (Add a little more milk if it has!)
Once the rice is cooked, add the cream and mix it through the pudding, heating until it starts to bubble and mixing slowly to get the cream evenly mixed into the pudding.

Don't forget the mix needs to be stiff enough to keep it's shape when you lift the ring mould.
Decorate the plate with syrup then place the empty ring mould. Fill it with rice pudding, flatten the surface a little and coat it with brown sugar.

WARNING: The ring mould will get very hot so remove it before caramelising. Just because it doesn't glow doesn't mean it won't burn!! (As my hostess found out!! - Soooorry, my bad!)

Next set to it with a blow torch until the sugar starts to bubble and caramelise, spread the heat evenly so as not to burn the caramel.

To make fruit syrup put equal amount of sugar and water into a pan and bring to the boil, add the desired fruit and leave to simmer. Don't disturb the fruit once it's in, simply pass through a sieve when the syrup is of the desired consistency and flavour, and it will remain clear.

Recipe: Herefordshire Beef Pho w/ Brandy de Jerez Digestif

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

First day's rest for the festive season! Wake up in the morning, slowly, don't have anything to do today. I love that feeling - holiday! - without a care in the world, no responsibilities to deal with and a bit of cash to spend on a good time! Yeay! What to do? Potter about, make a coffee and call friend, "you fancy hanging out?", "yip : )", "cool, I'll come get you, we can do a little shopping for dinner". "You had breakfast yet?" "No? OK we can grab that too". Quick look in the fridge and larder, what have we got? Some oxtail, onions, lemons, ginger, lemon grass, chillies, bottle of Prosecco : ) hmmm and idea begins to form involving slow cooking oxtail. A little piece of fillet steak, some noodles and some coriander will be all I need.

Unbeknown to me, there were secret elements that had been bought for our consumption, so we picked up a poppy and sesame seed baguette from Des Lys Boulangerie which is a cracking spot by the way, and a few other little bits for our dinner and Champagne brunch!

By this point we were starving. Luckily, almost before I'd managed to start browning the oxtail, a rather lovely combo dip of truffle oil and 25 year old balsamic reserve found its way onto the table with a very enticing, seeded French stick. After a little toning down of the truffle flavour to make it a little subtler the combo was a cracking start that went very well with a glass of Prosecco. Aperitif darling? Why I don't mind if I doo!

Bits on the griddle done, oxtail for the pho on the bubble, I got on with brunch but I found myself being distracted by another festive treat: a little brandy de Jerez!!!!

How could I not indeed!! "Rude not to!! Would you like one?" I inquire, to be greeted by a charming smile and a decisive "I think I'm going to have to try some, quality control you understand." A few giggles later and breakfast was on the table, sorry, err . . brunch was on the table and our oriental dinner was bubbling away nicely on the stove, as we settled in for a movie!

I have to say that a strong coffee with a touch of Jerez brandy makes for a fabulous digestif.

The pho that we had later was close to the original but the response it got: "surprising fusion of flavours and freshness it all went together so well!!" and the fact that it had disappeared are good enough signs to me that it's a keeper!!

note for the purists: I put this post up because folks complained they couldn't get half the ingredients where they lived! This recipe is basically as close as you can get to a Pho with plain old supermarket ingredients. If you can make it in Hereford you can make it anywhere!!! It's missing a few of the light fragrant notes from the specialist leaves namely the Thai basil, but the fine Herefordshire steak more than makes up for that!!

Here's how I made it . . . .

ingredients (serves 4)
for the pho
1 oxtail (cut into slices)
1L chicken stock
300g finest Hereford fillet steak
1 red onion / 4 shallots (finely chopped)
2 birdseye chillies (deseeded)
3 star anise
1 lemon (halved)
1 large piece ginger (3 thumbs - halved)
2 onions (halved)
200g pak choi
30g rock sugar (optional)
600g noodles (I like the flat rice vermicelli (ribbon noodles) - but you can use what ever you want)

for the garnish / accompaniment
10g fresh coriander (torn)
2 bird's eye chillies (sliced rounds)
dash of fish sauce
2 spring onions (julienne)
1 lime (quartered)
2 handfuls of bean sprouts
fish sauce

equipment
griddle pan
4 large soup bowls

 

method
In the broth pot, add a little oil and brown the finely chopped red onions / shallots, and star anise. Whenever you want particular spice flavours to come through more in a dish they should be added first: the roasting will bring  the flavours out more prominently 'Thanks Atul Kochhar for that tip', it's made a great difference to a lot of my food over the years!
Next, put the lemon, ginger, onions, and lemon grass on a griddle pan and char them until they have dark lines running across them, this will give you extra depth of flavour.

They need to be browner than this much browner!!

Brown the oxtails in a pan to get that Maillard reaction going. Once brown all over add them to the broth pot, deglaze the pan with a little chicken stock and add it to the broth pot. Add the griddle contents to the broth pot and deglaze that too, adding to sauce to the pot -  loads of flavour.

Add enough chicken stock to the pot to cover the meat by at least an inch (2.5cm), and at least a tablespoon of fish sauce, then bring it to the boil and allow it to simmer for 3-4 hours, keeping it topped up with stock. If you'd like a lighter, more traditional broth add water and sugar to loosen the broth; if you'd like a more wintery broth simply add stock.

thinking ahead
The broth can be made in the morning and reheated for dinner when you need it, the veg, beansprouts, pak chi, coriander etc are always added at the last minute so they don't spoil.

what could go wrong?
My broth isn't clear!! Well that depends on your point of view. I like my oxtail browned before it goes in so it has more flavour, if you're a clear broth only sort, then you can boil the meats that are to be braised for 15min, then rinse them under cold water and continue with the recipe.

to serve
Bring the broth to a simmer.
Cook the fillet steak to the doneness you like (I like mine closer to rare than medium), rest it for about 4mins and then cut it into fine slices. Add the pak choi to the broth, let it warm through while the steak rests.

Warm the bowls and share out the noodles, fill generously with oxtail and broth and dress with slices of fillet steak. Serve with a side plate of the garnishes and accompaniments so that people can season to their taste.

variations
Pho varies from place to place and the ingredients certainly aren't restricted to oxtail for the slow braising. Cuts such as flank, brisket, and rib (cooked bone-in and sliced later) can all be used, and for the rare beef, sirloin, hanger (onglet), and rump can all be used hanger is my personal favourite it's so tasty! You can also make Pho with chicken - happy days for those who don't eat red meat! I garnish mine with crispy chicken skins - nice!

Enjoy!!