3-Star Insanity

I recently came into a little cash by way of a bonus from the Navy. Naturally, the first thing I thought to buy was some ridiculously expensive food with which to cook. I went after some ingredients that I had always wanted to work with, namely Wagyu beef, fresh truffles and good oscietra caviar. Here they are:

The thing with the beef is that you can only call it Wagyu beef if the cattle is raised in a certain part of Japan where they feed the cattle lots of beer and sake and stop to massage them every night and so on. With all of these techniques they use to raise them, they produce hat is widely regarded as the best beef in the world. The delicate marbling of fat running through it just makes the stuff melt in your mouth. Here's a close-up of what it looks like sliced through:


Anyhow, I decided the only way to really showcase these ingredients that I was lucky enough to have, was to go for some recipes by 3 Michelin-star winning chefs. I went for some recipes out of Gordon Ramsay's 3-Star Chef and Thomas Keller's French Laundry Cookbook. I normally don't like to go on and on about food (well, I guess I do) but....

WOW. These were good. It just goes to show what happens when you get good ingredients and put them to use in the right way. Enough from me, here's how it all went down.

Starter: Tartare of Beef with Oscietra Caviar and Marinated Red and Yellow Peppers
(appears in Gordon Ramsay's 3-Star Chef)


600 g beef fillet (in this case, Wagyu!)
1 tablespoon capers, drained and chopped
1 banana shallot, peeled and finely chopped
1 scallion, finely chopped
sea salt and pepper
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
2 garlic, peeled and sliced
2 thyme, sprigs
olive oil, to drizzle
4 tablespoons oscietra caviar
8 asparagus tips, blanched in boiling salted water
1 yellow pepper, roasted and cut into neat squares
1 or 2 black truffles, cut into neat squares
capers, handful, rinsed and drained
olive oil, to drizzle

Prepare the Marinated Peppers: Heat the grill (US=broiler) to high. Quarter the peppers and remove the core and seeds. Place skin side up on a baking sheet and grill for about 5 minutes until the skins have become blackened and blistered. Tip into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and set aside for a few minutes (the steam will help lift the skins). Uncover and peel off the skins, then finely chop the peppers and place in a bowl. Add the garlic, thyme, salt, pepper and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Toss well then cover and leave to marinate in a warm place for 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

For the Tartare: Trim the fillet of any fat or sinew, then cut into thin slices. Cut each slice into strips, then gather the strips together a few at a time and cut across into very fine dice. Place in a bowl and add the capers, shallot, spring onion and some salt and pepper. Mix through until evenly combined, then taste and adjust the seasoning.

To Shape the Tartare: Place a metal cutter on each serving plate and divide the beef tartare between them. Press down on the back of a spoon to level the meat, then tightly wrap each plate (with the metal ring still on top) in cling film. Chill in the fridge.

To Serve: Remove the cling film from the beef. Cover one half of the tartare with the caviar and the other half with the marinated peppers, then remove the metal cutters. Arrange the asparagus tips on top. Garnish the edge of the plates with the yellow peppers, truffle and capers. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and serve.

Main Course: Butter-Poached Lobster with Leeks, Pommes Maxim and a Red Beet Essence
(appears in Thomas Keller's The French Laundry Cookbook)


350 g potato , waxy variety (Yukon Gold, Maris Piper, Charlotte)
½ cup butter, clarified
kosher salt
450 g red beets, peeled, or one cup pure beet juice
3 tablespoons butter, prepared as beurre monte
½ teaspoon red wine vinegar
lemon juice, a few drops
6 lb. lobsters, 3 live lobsters, 1 1/2 to 2 pounds each
1-½ cup butter, prepared as beurre monte
1-½ cup leeks, thinly sliced, white and pale green parts only, blanched until tender, chilled in ice water, drained
2 tablespoons tomato diamonds
2 teaspoons chives, chopped
1 tablespoon brunoise, (combination of finely chopped carrot, celery, turnip and leek greens in equal parts)
¼ cup butter, prepared as beurre monte plus and additional tablespoon
salt and pepper

Make the Beurre Monte: Bring one tablespoon of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce the heat to low and begin whisking chunks of butter into the water, bit by bit, to emulsify. Once the emulsion is established, you can keep adding butter a little at a time and whisking it in, never adding more water. This recipe works for however much beurre monte you need to make (for this recipe, you'll need 2 cups plus one tablespoon). Make the beurre monte close to the time you'll be needing it and keep it in a warm place.

For the Clarified Butter: Place the butter in a 1-quart (liter) saucepan and melt it over low heat, without stirring. Once the butter has melted, it will have separated into three layers. Skim off and discard the foamy layer of milk solids floating on top. The clear yellow butter beneath it is the clarified butter. Carefully pour it off into a container, leaving the milky liquid behind. Keep covered and refrigerated. (If you have extra, you can freeze it and use it some other time.)

For the Pommes Maxim: Preheat the oven to 300F/150C. Peel the potato and slice it into paper-thin rounds on a mandoline. Toss the rounds with the clarified butter (not the beurre monte); they should be well-coated. Arrange them on a Silpat-lined baking sheet, overlapping the slices by half to form a solid sheet of potatoes, or lay them in overlapping circles in a large heavy ovenproof skillet. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake the potatoes for 45 to 50 minutes, or until they are crisp and golden brown. They may not hold together completely. These can be made several hours ahead and left at room temperature.

For the Red Beet Essence: If using fresh beets, juice the beets (you should have a generous cup). Reduce the beet juices slowly in a small saucepan to 2 to 3 tablespoons of glaze.

LOBSTER PREP:

Steep the Lobsters: Place the lobsters in a tight-fitting, heat-proof container. Cover with cold water. Drain off the water , measure it, and place it in a large pot. Bring the water to a boil and add a 1/2 cup of white vinegar for every 8 quarts (8 liters) of water. Pour the boiling water over the lobsters (in the heat-proof container) and let them steep for 2 minutes (if using 1 1/2 pound lobsters) and steep 3 minutes (for 2 pound lobsters). Remove the lobsters from the water, saving the water.

One at a time, with a glove or kitchen towel, hold the hot lobster, grab the tail and twist and pull to detach it. Twist and pull off the claws and return them to the hot water for 5 minutes. Reserve the bodies.

For the Tails: Hold each tail flat and twist the tail fan to one side; pull off and discard. Use your fingers to gently push the meat through the tail end and pull the meat through the large opening at the other side. Discard the shell. Lay the tail meat on it's back and cut lengthwise in half through the middle. Remove the vein running through the top of the meat. Lay the meat on a paper towel-lined plate or platter, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

For the Claws: After 5 minutes, remove the claws from the hot water. Twist off each knuckle to remove it. Hold the claw in your hand and pull down on the lower pincer. Push to either side to crack it and pull it straight off. Ideally, the cartilage from inside the claw should be attached to the pincer and the claw meat should remain intact.

Still holding the claw, crack the top of the shell with the heel of a knife, about 3/4 inch from the joint where the knuckle was attached. You want to go through the shell but not damage the meat. Wiggle your knife to loosen and crack the shell. If the shell does not pop off, it may be necessary to turn the claw over and repeat the procedure. Shake the claw to remove the meat (if it doesn't fall out, cut off the very tip of the shell and blow through the hole to release the meat).

TO COMPLETE: Preheat oven to 300F/150C. Bring the lobster pieces to room temperature. Place them in one layer in a large saucepan and add 1 1/2 cups of beurre monte. They should be almost covered. Place the pan on low heat and slowly poach the lobster in the butter for 5 to 6 minutes, just to heat through.

Meanwhile for the leeks, warm the leek rounds in a saucepan. Add the tomato diamonds, chives, brunoise and 1/4 cup (plus one tablespoon) of beurre monte. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

Reheat the pommes Maxim in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes.

Bring the beet glaze to a simmer and whisk in the 3 tablespoons of beurre monte, red wine vinegar and lemon juice.

Place a small spoonful of the beet essence on each plate. Top with a generous tablespoon of the leek mixture, a lobster tail and a claw. Break off a piece of the pommes Maxim and place it on top of the lobster. Serve to happy guests who probably have no idea what you went through to make this.

Dessert: Raspberry Compote with Tarragon Cream
(appears in Gordon Ramsay 3-Star Chef)


250 g raspberries
50 g sugar
200 milliliters double cream
200 milliliters whole milk
20 g tarragon, leaves only, roughly chopped
75 g sugar, plus an extra teaspoon
7 egg yolks
cocoa powder

FOR THE COMPOTE: Put the raspberries and sugar in a non-stick pan and cook over high heat for a few minutes, shaking the pan, until the fruit has broken down and the juices are reduced and syrupy. Top into a bowl and leave to cool completely.

Spoon a thin layer of raspberry compote into 6 to 8 small serving glasses, reserving about 2 tablespoons for serving. Cover the glasses with clingfilm and chill.

FOR THE TARRAGON CREAM: Heat the cream, milk, chopped tarragon in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon of sugar. As soon as the liquid starts to boil, remove the pan from the heat and set aside to infuse for 15-20 minutes.

Beat the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl until light and creamy, then pour in the strained cream mixture, stirring until smooth.

Pour the creamy mixture into a large, heavy-based saucepan and place over a low heat. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the custard is thick enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon. Strain the tarragon cream into a clean bowl and discard the tarragon. Leave to cool, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming on the surface. Cover with clingfilm and chill for a few hours or overnight to allow the custard to firm up slightly.

TO SERVE: Spoon the tarragon cream into the serving glasses to form a thick layer over the raspberry compote. Dust the surface with cocoa powder, then carefully drop a scant teaspoonful of the reserved raspberry compote on top. Serve immediately.