I like a challenge, and I like to cook.
I’m looking for recipes that are really quite tough and/or time-consuming, but don’t involve specialist equipment (cheese and sausage-making are therefore out).
In the past I’ve made my own demi glace, I like making bread from scratch, I made my own wedding cake (38 eggs and 2 kilos of chocolate were involved!), that sort of thing.
Anyone got any suggestions?
Two words: Heston Blumenthal.
He does the cookery pages in the Guardian on a Saturday. He owns a two Michelin star restaurant in England called the Fat Duck, and is very interested in the science of cooking. His recipes appear to make no concession to people cooking at home. So if you’re looking for a challenge, I think Heston’s your man.
You can find them on the Guardian web-site, so I won’t post them here for copyright’s sake. However, to give you a flavour as it were:
Ox cheek (or oxtail) stew
1st step
Make a brine by dissolving the salt in 1.5 litres of water. Immerse the meat in the brine and leave in a cool place for 24 hours. Wash the meat under running water for a couple of hours (if you just soak it in cold water, it will end up too salty). Once rinsed, drain and leave to dry for a couple of hours. Thoroughly pat dry.
Some later step
Bring to the boil, skim and lower the heat to 80C (if you don’t have a thermometer, make sure the liquid is hot and no bubbles are rising to the surface. Cook for at least seven hours, longer if possible.
Or how about this one!!
Poached Anjou pigeon breast, a pastilla of its leg with cherries, pistachio, cocoa and quatre épices
Confit the pigeon!!
Place the pan on a low heat and bring up to a temperature of about 70C. This can also be done in the oven, provided you are confident of its accuracy. Cook at this temperature for about six hours, then remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.
Once cool, lift the legs and gizzards (if using) from the fat.
Make the pigeon nuts!!
Pigeon nuts
These bring to the dish not only an extra texture, but a new taste, too. Cocoa nibs are unprocessed chocolate, and might be hard to get hold of - try a good deli, or a specialist supplier via the internet.
15g peeled pistachios, cut in half
Half a tsp quatre épices
15g cocoa nibs (or good cocoa powder)
1 tsp caster sugar
2 tsp honey
Salt and pepper
In a large pan, toast the pistachios with the spice over a medium to high heat for a few minutes. Add the cocoa nibs, then the sugar. Stir until all of the sugar has crystallised into small lumps on the nuts. Add the honey and cook out enough so that the honey caramelises. You’ll need to cook it for a good few minutes, otherwise the mix will not be crisp enough.
And wait for the assembly
The assembly
The breasts are quickly cooked on the surface with a blowtorch, and then placed in a sealed bag with a little pigeon stock and cooked in a water bath for around 45 minutes at low temperature. Rest for 10-15 minutes before serving. Fry the pastilla in a little confit fat until golden and crisp. Mix the cream with a stick blender. Garnish with pigeon nuts, some grelot onions and baby long turnips
Good luck
Philly
Blimey! That sounds mad. And worth trying. The pigeon/sweet thing is a bit North African, isn’t it.
I’ve been aware of the amazing Mr Blumenthal for a while. Inventer of chocolate caviar shudder. I do use his method to cook steak, though, and it rocks.
I’m going to try this! Thanks.
Pigeon nuts? I wonder how many pigeons you have to use to get a full serving of nuts.
Now I’m thinking where on earth would I get pastilla in Dublin. Grrr.
Here you go…
A stuffed chicken, stuffed in a duck, stuffed in a turkey. Takes 9 hours to cook, but it is oh-so-good.
Trust me on this.
Julia Child has some great 3- and 4-page recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Some intriguing ones appear to be Lobster Thermidor, Cassoulet, and Fish Souffle.