Something I did about 10 months ago but never really wrote about was an inverted poached egg………………

When decontructing a dish there are many things you need to think about in order to make it good and of course so the guest doesn’t get too confused while eating it, Make it understandable:

• If you are Trying to remind your guest of something they have eaten before but in different format than they need to get it without being told.
• If you are coming with a New flavor profile then put it into a technique they understand and the reverse is if you are coming with a new technique then have flavors they understand. If you come with a totally new technique and a new flavor profile you will confuse the guest and possibly alienate them for the rest of the meal.

In this particular dish I have combined the famous Tortilla Espanola and the traditional poached egg…………….

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Well it’s Brussel sprouts season again and let’s just say i’m happy about this!

You might remember the story I wrote last year about them but just in case you didn’t get to see it let me do a recap with some added goodness.

Last year when cooking brussel sprouts for my dinner I found a way of cooking them that was amazing! It is the most simple and time efficient method of cooking them but the proof is in the pudding and let’s just say I have converted a record amount of people who tell me they hate them.

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Sometimes some tests can go really well and only take a few days, other times you can be stuck on something and the test can last for years without a result. After only 3 months of marinating the flowers then 3 days of work I have my first result!

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This morning we received some amazing king crab which is produced by one of the best pre-cooked seafood companies in Spain. It is pure meat from both the Legs and the body. So I set out with the aim of producing 2 different plates using the same flavor profiles to use in our 2 Michelin Star restaurant and the other for El bulli Catering which is the catering side of our business.

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You may remember a story I wrote about a year ago when I created a dish based on very long braised tendons in a sechuan style.

I start by cooking the beef tendon for 18 hours which at this point they are soft like pure gelatin. I then clean them and press them into a terrine so there are no air gaps. When it’s cold it becomes very hard and almost the feel of one of those Super balls you used to bounce when you were a child. When this terrine heated up it is very soft and sticky in your mouth, basically a great heavy dish for winter.

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Quite some time ago I wrote a story about a Melting courgette flower I have been doing for the last 3 years. The original was filled with a anchovy mousse, when you broke through the paper thin crispy tempura it would come running out as a liquid filled with bubbles. This together with the Kalamata olive oil was my perfect idea of a flavor combination as it was full power without loosing any of the subtle flavors.

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A few weeks ago I wrote a story about Mediterranean Red Mullet (Salmonete) and my absolute love for the fish. Well finally I have found a dish to do it justice!

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C.F.P = Casino (De Madrid) Fried Pigeon.

By this stage some of you may of already stopped reading and the rest wondering “What was he thinking?”

I was taught a long time ago ”Nothing is as it seems”! This case is no different.

Ok, from the start……………… It is almost the season for wild quails here in Spain, so I took a box of wild pigeons from France to work out a new plate so when the quails arrived I would only need to make some minor taste balance adjustments so we can make the most of the 1 month season without wasting a day. In the process of searching for a new idea for the quail plate I ended up finding something amazing for the Pigeon! I started off wanting to do a play on the very famous Duck dish from France “Duck a l’Orange” but exchanging the duck for the quail and changing the Orange for an infused fanta (yes that’s right, the soft drink). First this was met with some pretty stiff apprehension from the Spanish as they relate this soft drink to a drink for small Children and not something you use in a Michelin star restaurant. Just on this point, this is a concept called “Supermarket cooking”, the person who taught me this was my friend Paul Pairet. He would very often include many things people associate with things you would find in the supermarket but using them in high Gastronomy, I utilize this theory a lot to show humor in an otherwise very serious meal.

Sorry now back to the topic, For the most tender result I decided to use an Asian method to poach the pigeons. This method is basically to thread a string through the necks of the birds and lower them into the boiling stock which in this case was the fanta with many aromats, herbs and Asian sauces. You dunk the string of birds into the boiling stock and leave them only a few seconds before taking them out, bring the stock back to the boil and repeat the process 3 or 4 times depending on the type of bird. The final time just leave the birds inside and remove from the heat. After 10 – 12 minutes remove the birds and Chill overnight.

So now I have the birds cooked, What’s next? I want a very crispy skin without overcooking the very tender Pigeon. Here’s where I found a little technique I am very surprised I didn’t find before. I basically took some dehydrated pork skin and blended it into 3mm crumbs. Then same like you would do to crumb something; lightly dust in flour then into an egg wash then I attached the pork skin like I would do with Crumbs. When fried the result is amazing! The skin puffs up and becomes white and the crunch is something you just don’t get with roasting birds normally.

To keep with the Asian theme, I put some fermented black garlic paste underneath the tenderloin before frying. This gives it many opposing reactions in your mouth, to highlight this I have also put some orange reduction on the top as well as some fresh spring onions.

I love the very figurative form and I would not put anything else on the plate, all the flavors are contained within the puffed pork shell.

I did the story on Friday about reforming oysters, but I don’t think I went into the combination of Oysters and cucumber or the natural foaming of cucumber in depth enough.

So to start from the beginning, we all know that there is a very particular flavor of Iodine within shellfish, and oysters are definitely the most obvious. When you juice a cucumber the flavors are much stronger due to the absorption into your sensors and if you juice it at a low enough temperature you do not loose any of the volatile molecules so you get the full aroma as well. When you taste this juice there is an unmistakable taste of Iodine, so with the presence of iodine in the 2 components they are a perfect fit (although this is not always the case).

So to strengthen the link between the 2 I wanted to make a foam of Cucumber so it is more the aroma you are getting from the cucumber and the taste from the oyster. This way it can be balanced perfectly without loosing one of the flavors. So something that I discovered (and later realized when I searched the Internet that it has been done before) is that cucumber will naturally foam and hold the air for a very significant period of time. But the thing is you cannot foam it too many times and it has to be very cold to work best. I use food additives in my cooking all the time but when I discover a way to do something naturally it is always so much more rewarding as it is something already within the product waiting to be discovered.

If I told you that it was possible to totally puree oysters then reform them would you believe me?

Well last week I found a technique to do just that! I am not sure if it is a technique which has been done before but it is something that actually happened by accident and only through an observation. It is pure oyster and when exposed to a certain very low temperature it reforms and makes the texture of a baked custard or creme brulee. But it is the mouth feel and flavor that is so much affected. Every person to taste it so far has commented on the full mouth flavor of oyster with more obvious flavors of Zinc (which oysters are high in). The flavor lingers in every part of your mouth for about 5 minutes after you have eaten it.

I put cucumber as it has a very distinct iodine flavor which perfectly pairs with the oyster, I decided to do it in the form of a natural (additive free) Air as this will lift the aroma into your nose first so it doesn’t get lost behind the oyster. Then I have taken a bit of a Japanese angle; Japanese Pepper leaf, Pink pickled ginger, Mirin, Fried peanuts (to also give texture), Yuzu, szechuan pepper oil and black pepper.

So the Famous sandwich was finished this week.

It holds a great deal of sentiment as it represents a chapter in my life when I was living in London, plus it has taken 3 years to get to a stage where I could serve it in the restaurant. I had a pain in the ass stalker attack me about this dish about 2 months ago and it is with pride that I say that it has been served  to the top Gourmet of Spain (and friend to most of the best Chefs in the world) and also a very tough critic and they both gave it outstanding reviews.

It is very honest and using very basic techniques, the trick is in the balance, proportion and execution. I wanted it to bring back memories of the worlds best Sandwich……… Bacon, Tomato, Avocado and mayonnaise! The objective has been achieved.

The bread crisps are only 1.5mm thick but 10x4cm is size, this is a very delicate job to coat with the best Spanish Extra virgin olive oil and sea salt then baked until golden and crispy between 2 heavy baking trays. The avocado is seasoned with Jamón Iberico (La Pata Negra) fat and points of Tomato reduction. The trick of this dish is in the heavy flavors but light presentation (using vienetta ice cream as the inspiration), so something that seems big is actually very little in weight. To top it off I made a “Hellmans” mayonnaise sorbet and a green tomato pulp (as the acid will cut through all the heavy fats) but unfortunately for this photo I could not get any green tomatoes:-(

There you have it……… My homage to the Sandwich I ate on the way to work every morning for a year and a half when I was living in London!

More than a year ago I created a new meat called Ibericon, in short it is Pressa Iberica (A very highly marbled part of the neck of a black Spanish pig which only eats Acorns) and a very low temperature bacon which gets “Glued” together. Here in Spain it was not my biggest success as they do not believe in eating Bacon in a Michelin star restaurant, they have the belief that its a cheap breakfast item. I personally love to use it in certain places as in small doses it has such a particular flavour that lends itself to many things. So me being stubborn I stopped all testing on this plate as I refused to change it.

That is until now, after being in Singapore a few weeks ago I have now regained my Asian taste buds. So I was thinking to change the bacon for a fresh Pork belly which was scalded then painted with a mix of Chinese 5 spice and sweet soy. I air dried this for 3 days then cooked it at a very low temp to keep it tender then blasted it for the last moments of cooking to burn the marinade (as the bitter balances the fat).

To cut a long story short, I then did the same process with sticking the Pressa Iberica and cooking the whole thing in Vacuum. I had some of my teriyaki sauce in the fridge which I have been ageing for about a year now, so I laquored the meat and I must admit it is far superior than the version I did a year ago. This was then confirmed by my Spanish colleagues. Finally Ibericon might make it’s well deserved debut in Spain.

Something I am very crazy Passionate about is Foie Gras terrine’s. The reason is Foie Gras is such a delicate product and to achieve the perfect terrine takes a lot of effort, practice and strong knowledge of cookery, both basic and modern techniques are necessary. In 7 out of 10 places you order Foie Gras terrine you are sure to get an average to bad result. This is because there are so many crucial points to pay attention to and often in a busy kitchen 1 or 2 steps are missed or overlooked and the result tells this story. One of the most important points of making a foie gras terrine is you need to make it when you have a clear mind and the time to dedicate only to the terrine, it MUST be made with Love and absolute attention! For all those Chefs out there who spend their life buying pre-made terrines that come off an assembly line (Rougie for example) take some time and learn the skill as the satisfaction is an amazing feeling and the result can slightly vary each time depending on the time of year, quality of Foie gras, weight, etc. The perfect terrine (according to me) is one where you can see all the individual lobes arranged on top of each other when you cut a slice but stays firmly together. So here are a few points (without giving too much away) to help you next time to attempt a terrine:

1. Always work with Gloves and some silicon paper on your chopping board as Foie gras is a fat like butter and will take even the slightest of smells (as flavor is made up of up to 80% aroma this makes a huge impact).
2. Select all the lobes very carefully; Duck foie gras should be about 500 – 550 g and goose around 700g and springs back when you press your finger in. An over weight lobe has been produced with profits in mind but will all melt away on cooking as the cells can’t handle the amount of fat and the result will be a dry terrine.
3. Give the Foie Gras enough time to temper (become room temperature) wrapped in some baking paper, this way the veins will come out much easier.
4. When de-veining make sure you know what you are doing first of all, and second that you make cuts and not “paste” the Foie Gras as cut foie Gras will melt less in the cooking process. For a terrine it is best to only take the primary and secondary veins from the large and small lobes to not disturb too much and melt during cooking.
5. Marinating in Sodium Nitrate (saltpetre) will keep the terrine Pink.
6. Dry sufficiently before seasoning
7. When seasoning work out the quantities of each that best suits your taste, every chef has a proportion that he uses religiously (and please don’t forget to season as this is a mistake I made only once as a Apprentice and I will remember this lesson forever as I was punished Harshly, and for good reason).
8. Arrange in terrine mold ensuring no air gaps, a well built terrine is half the battle. Vacuum pack in the terrine to eliminate the last of the air.
9. Allow to set over night in the fridge.
10. Cook in a steamer at 80 degrees until your desired core temperature (this you will have to work out for yourself as I can’t do all the work for you).
11. Press after cooking firm enough to bring together and expel the small parts of fat and blood but not too much to make it dry, reserve the fat and use for another purpose later. Chill over night then remove from terrine.
12. Keep out of the light as much as possible using aluminium foil.

Ever since I watched “The Bee Movie” I have been dreaming of things to with Honey. The first thing I did was a Honey and olive oil chewy candy which had an inside which basically melted when you bit into it. It has been a while since I have worked on any more items on the subject of Honey. On the back of the success of the Choco-Gras Aero, I thought to use a similar technique to achieve a soft honeycomb Gel using Agar agar. Well it worked! As honey is very aromatic, when you bite into it the bursting air pockets push the volatile molecules which contain the aroma into your nasal passage, this is a benefit I did not factor in. So now I am drying them at a very low temperature for the next 2 days to see if I can keep the structure intact but take away all the liquid, this will give me something that is as light as violet crumble but made with basically pure honey. I’ll keep you posted.

About 2 years ago when I was Chef de Cuisine of Al Mahara in Burj Al Arab I created a dish with a flavour profile that I love. When I was travelling through Greece I was eating Courgette flowers by the plateful, from this point I was addicted! The best way to eat them is fried in Olive oil and served with some good anchovies and kalamata olives. So I tried to combine all of these things in a way that it would be suitable in a top end restaurant. I discovered a technique where I could fill the flower with an anchovy foam and fry it, when you cut into the flower it basically spills a warm and flowing liquid filled with bubbles. The tempura used is from a siphon which leaves a very thin and translucent, crispy coating. I made a black kalamata olive oil which catches the foam and mixes nicely. It’s still one of my favorite tasting dishes!