Author: Suresh

Chicken ballotine with kale 

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Once the skin is crisped up, remove and keep for later. Not eating it immediately is the most technically challenging part of this whole dish” This is the easiest and (almost) foolproof way to make a stuffed leg of chicken (or ballotine), which is both delicious and beautiful. Ingredients 1 whole chicken, preferably free range Carrot, onion, garlic, bay for the stock A few stalks of kale Pumpkin (or any root veg) Method Always start with a whole bird. Using the entire chicken is not only far more economical than buying those sorry plastic-wrapped spare parts from the supermarket, but also allows for no wastage, either in meat or in flavour. You can use everything; Making multiple meals out of one carcass, and allowing the appropriate cooking techniques for each part. There is a reason that roast chicken is so technically challenging to do well – each type of meat on the bird cooks best at radically different temperatures and for  different times. And of course the bones make the most wonderful stock, which forms …

Bolenius

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Amsterdam, The Netherlands 1 Michelin Star since 2017 2nd visit : 20th Jan 17 Good, pleasantly quirky food with strong Dutch influence and focus on local vegetables (16/20) Bolenius is a small but perfectly formed restaurant located in the financial district of Amsterdam south, where it is heaving with suits during the week, but practically gave us the place to ourselves when we visited for lunch on Saturday. My first visit was some years ago and, rather unsurprising, was for a business lunch. I initially recalled the meal fondly (if not terribly precisely given the quantity of wine), but had since then totally forgotten about the place. That was until December of course when it popped-up as one of Amsterdam’s 3 new Michelin-starred kitchens. I know the other two awardees well and must admit that I, much like some other local diners, was a bit surprised by the choices (but that’s a whole different story), so was very quite intrigued to come back. The dining room itself is full of light and pleasantly unfussy, sitting on painted concrete floors …

Duck (or not) with Carrots

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A colourful and delicious dish which can easily be adjusted for vegetarians without losing any of the fun Really this is more about the carrot rather than the duck so, like much of my cooking (which I often need to adapt for my vegetarian wife), it works perfectly well either way just by adjusting quantities of pasta, substituting goats cheese for the protein, and of course adding a flower! The underlying sweet and buttery carrot puree gives a solid base on which the toasted crunch of hazelnut and the beetroot tuile sit, with sharpness from the pickled ribbons of carrot, earthiness from the burnt leek, and rich umami from the duck (or cheese if substituting). This is the first time I’ve tried to make this little biscuit, which is really for decoration as much as anything else, but is perfectly delicious too! Ingredients (Meaty/Vegetarian) As usual I forgo exact quantities – use what feels right to you, have fun, and see what happens! Duck breast / Fresh goats cheese Carrots Leak Beetroot, flour and oil …

De Librije

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Zwolle, The Netherlands 3 Michelin stars since 2004 38 on World’s 50 Best Restaurants 3rd Visit: Lunch Saturday 14th Jan 2017 Restaurants rarely get better than this : 19.5/20 Monkfish, fermented peppers and aubergine It was with some considerable joy that we returned, almost exactly a year after our last visit, to the temple of modern Dutch gastronomy in Zwolle, Northern Holland. The restaurant is housed in an impressive 18th century pile, an old prison building, and cohabits the space with its own boutique hotel. Many guest who book for dinner take the option to roll happily up the stairs into the luxurious accommodation above, or indeed as we had done last year, make a whole glorious weekend of it, enjoying the heady heights of dinner, breakfast and lunch with 3 Michelin stars. This is truly a labour of love; The celebrated power-couple of Dutch fine dining, Jonnie and Thérèsa Boer, still work every day in the restaurant which they founded together some 20 years ago and which rightfully commands an almost mythical status in Dutch …

Mushrooms en croute

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A satisfying and relatively straight-forward vegetarian dish of mushrooms and pastry, with a rich chive cream balanced by the tart earthy kick of lightly pickled beetroot. Perfect for an autumnal lunch, and easy to both scale-up and pre-prepare, so ideal for stress-free entertaining. Ingredients Chanterelles of similar seasonal mushroom Goats cheese Chives, garlic and capers Pre-rolled puff pastry Beetroot Salad leaves for garnish Method Really the most challenging part of this dish is the construction of the pastry box, but mastering this itself only really requires a quick measurement. Once you have decided how long you would like the base (I recommend 4 inches or so), it is simply a matter of cutting two thin ends of the same length as the short edge of the box, and two further longer sides which should be slightly shorter than the long edge to account for the corner overlap. (I originally planned to have a top to the box so you also see two lids in the picture). Bake in a pre-warmed oven at 200c/392f for around 20 mins or …

Introduction

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I would love to be able to say that my fascination with fine dining has always been with me, or that I can identify one Eureka moment when a single mouthful changed my life. But in truth the interest started slowly in my early twenties and has grown steadily over many years. a true passion for good food develops through the dedication of time – time focused on the contemplation of pleasure itself Certainly a trip around that time just outside of my hometown of London to the already world famous restaurant The Fat Duck, may have helped tip what had previously been a passing interest in dining over into something decidedly more focused. However, a true passion for good food, a deeply held love for both the cooking and eating of fine things, is something that grows within you and that must be nurtured. Learning to eat well is a skill like any other. It develops through the dedication of time – time focused on the contemplation of pleasure itself. With experience comes a …