Braised Fennel

This is an all time favourite originally picked up from a River Café cookbook. Like so many of the recipes I have prepared repeatedly my version is not necessarily recognisable as the RC recipe I started with. I also think that at some point I picked up a recipe from the guy who owns the French Laundry in California that somehow got worked into my own version.

Ingredients (for 4):

1. 4 medium size fennels cut into quarters. Clean up the end but keep the tough core as it will keep the fennel from falling apart during the cooking. Reserve the fronds and tops and chop finely;
2. 50 gr butter;
3. 1 glass or about 125 ml white wine;
4. 150 ml good quality chicken stock;
5. 2 tbsp EVOO;
6. 1 tbsp sweet vinegar such as cider or white balsamic;
7. 1 lemon;
8. Salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:

• Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pan under medium heat. Add fennel and caramelize the flat sides turn over and caramelize the rounded bit a little;
• Return the fennel onto the flat side and poor over the white wine. Let simmer until most of the wine has evaporated;
• Add the chicken stock and let simmer covered over low heat until the fennel is soft through or about 30 min (the chicken stock should come up to half the sides of the fennel);
• Remove fennel from the pan and set aside. Stir the vinegar into the remaining sauce and slowly add the EVOO while stirring constantly. You are hoping to emulsify the sauce;
• You can either pour the desired amount of sauce over the fennel or toss the fennel in the sauce. I prefer the former;
• Garnish with the chopped fronds and tops and squeeze some fresh lemon juice over just before serving.

Optional:

1. Before adding the wine, flambé 1 shot of brandy or pastis (not sure this does much for the dish but it is good theatre);
2. 1 large Onion chopped roughly added at the same time as the fennel;
3. Rosemary & Garlic added just before the wine (this was in the original River Café recipe);
4. Replace half the chicken stock with orange juice and use the rind of one orange mixed in with the fronds (in this case skip the lemon juice at the end).

Stewed Pork Shoulder

This is a great favourite of mine that I’ve been making for many years but I’ve long since forgotten where it came from. It may have been experimentation but I rather suspect it came from reading an old Raymond Olivier cookbook as there was I period when I cocked almost exclusively from his magnum opus. That was also when I really learned to cook meat. Unfortunately the only copy of that cookbook I’ve ever had access to is my sister’s. A few years ago I search high and low in Parisian bookstores for a copy but none was to be found.

The basic idea behind this recipe is a one pot meal whereby all the ingredients slowly simmer together until they have achieved a sort of balanced taste whereby everything taste similarly but has very different texture. You will also get a sauce that is the most extraordinary concentrations of taste.

Ingredients (for four people):

1. 1 ½ Kg boned pork shoulder;
2. 1 Kg pork bones preferable from the shoulder but any decent butcher will have other bones to share. It is important that the bones not be too big otherwise they won’t fit in your roasting pot;
3. 4 – 8 whole turnips clean, cut of the ends otherwise leave whole;
4. 3 large carrots pealed and cut into 4 cm pieces;
5. a bunch each rosemary & thyme;
6. 1 bouquet garnie;
7. A couple of bay leaves;
8. 6 large cloves roughly sliced garlic;
9. 1 large red onion sliced into thick disks;
10. 1 litre good quality chicken or vegetable stock;
11. 125 ml (normal wine glass) red wine vinegar, or a mix of red wine and some other vinegar. The other night I used vinegar made from a mixture of red berries that worked extremely well. Red wine also works but you will need a larger quantity to get the right amount of acidity. Don’t use balsamic as it completely changes the nature of the sauce;
12. 30 ml dark soy sauce;
13. Olive oil and a tablespoon of butter;
14. Salt and black pepper to taste.

Make about 12 deep incisions (at least half way through) into the pork shoulder and stuff with about half the sliced garlic and as much rosemary and thyme as will fit in there. In a very hot stewing pot brown the pork shoulder on all sides remove from the pot.

Lower the heat to medium and add about a tablespoon of olive oil, the onion and garlic and fry until the onion is soft. Add in the vegetables and butter fry until slightly caramelized. This step is not really all that important but it does make the veggies a little bit more interesting.

Add back the shoulder with the fat and skin facing upwards. Arrange the bones around the shoulder add in the bay leaves and bouquet garnie before pouring over the vinegar and boiling off the alcohol. Add in the stock, soy and season to taste.

Turn up the heat and when boiling transfer to a 160 degrees oven (set at under over). Leave in there for 4 hours. You can shorten the cooking time by raising the temperature but as the sauce will evaporate faster you will need more liquid.

Not harmed by adding olives particularly large black ones.

Serve with mashed potatoes.

Verre Dubai

Hilton Hotel Dubai Creek,
(17 June 2007)

This is Gordon Ramsay’s effort in Dubai. I vent there with business partners for Sunday dinner. I found the setting in a glass box on the mezz floor of the Hilton Dubai Creek a bit cold but at least the food and service where pure Ramsay.

I had:

• Yellow fin tuna two ways – marinated then seared and carpaccio with pickled white radish, soy dressing: no complaint here. While this was not exactly an inspired dish it was very good and since I knew the main course would be heavy a liked the lightness of touch that went into preparing it.
• Slow cooked pork belly, creamed Puy lentils, black pudding and pan-fried foie gras with braising jus: I have no idea what the foie gras was doing there other than justify the price but the rest was magnificent. It really is difficult to mess up slow cooked pork belly but this one was particularly good and the puy lentils and black pudding worked a treat.

Basically, another great Ramsay restaurant.