BRAVO, BOULUD
0 Comments | Sunday Telegraph, The; London (UK), Sep 5, 2010 | by Daniel Boulud
CHOP CHOP SALAD WITH PICKLED MUSHROOMS
SERVES SIX
Add lobster, prawns or squid to make this a heartier starter or a main course. Bunashimeji (beech) and enoki mushrooms are available at Waitrose at Pounds 1.99 for 150g.
For the pickled mushrooms
18 medium-sized shiitake mushrooms
2 heads hon-shimeji, buna-shimeji (beech) or enoki mushrooms
475ml (17floz) rice-wine vinegar
7 tbsp sugar
5 tsp salt
For the dressing
4cm (1 1/2in) piece fresh ginger, peeled
60ml (2 1/2floz) rice-wine vinegar
2 tbsp orange juice
40g (1 1/2oz) mayonnaise
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
6 tbsp grapeseed oil
Tabasco sauce, to taste
For the salad
2 heads romaine lettuce
1 cucumber
2 carrots
1/2 bunch radishes
1/4 head fennel
1/4 ripe watermelon
1 red pepper
1/2 bunch spring onions
1 avocado leaves from 1/2 bunch coriander
Trim and wash the mushrooms and break offthe individual stalks from the ‘heads’. Place in a bowl. Simmer the vinegar with the sugar and salt until they are dissolved, then pour over the mushrooms to submerge completely. Cover and marinate overnight or for up to four days.
Finely grate the ginger for the dressing and place in a blender with the vinegar, orange juice, mayonnaise and soy sauce. Blend to combine, then stream in the two oils while processing on low speed. Season to taste with Tabasco, salt and pepper.
Wash all the salad vegetables. Core the lettuce, and slice the leaves widthways into 1.5cm ( 1/2in) strips. Quarter the cucumber lengthways, then slice on the bias into diamonds. Thinly slice the carrots into ribbons. Thinly slice the radishes and fennel. Dice the watermelon into medium-size cubes. Deseed and thinly slice the pepper. Slice the spring onions on the bias. Peel, stone and dice the avocado. Toss all the chopped vegetables in a large bowl with the coriander, salt and pepper and some ginger-sesame dressing to taste.
Divide the salad between six chilled bowls. Garnish with three pickled shiitake mushrooms each, and four or five pickled hon- shimeji mushrooms. Drizzle with a bit more dressing and serve.
GRILLED SEA BASS WITH CRUSHED POTATO, FENNEL AND TOMATO AND A PRESERVED-LEMON DRESSING
SERVES SIX
For the sea bass
6 fillets sea bass, each
135g (5oz), skin on
90ml (3floz) olive oil
7 cloves garlic, crushed
7 sprigs thyme squeeze of fresh lemon juice
125g (4 1/2oz) sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, roughly chopped
For the potato about 400g (14oz) sea-salt flakes
1kg (2lb 4oz) Maris Piper potatoes, scrubbed
3 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp chopped chives
80ml (3floz) extra-virgin olive oil
For the fennel
2 bulbs fennel
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion, sliced
1 tsp fennel seeds
125ml (4fl oz) chicken stock
125ml (4fl oz) double cream
For the dressing
100g (3 1/2oz) finely chopped preserved-lemon rind
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp sugar
4 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp chopped chives
Put the fish in a shallow dish with the olive oil, garlic and thyme, and leave to marinate for two hours in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 180 [degrees]C/350 [degrees]F/gas mark 4 for the potatoes. Line a baking-sheet with sea-salt flakes and place the potatoes on top. Bake for 45 minutes to one hour, turning them over halfway through.
Meanwhile, prepare the fennel. Cut one of the bulbs in half, and shave one half thinly on a mandolin into iced water; set aside. Finely chop the remaining one and a half bulbs of fennel. Put the olive oil in a frying-pan over a medium heat and add the onion and fennel seed, plus a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until translucent. Add the chopped fennel and continue to cook, stirring until tender. Add the chicken stock and cream, and simmer until reduced by half. Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Adjust the seasoning if necessary, pass through a fine sieve and keep warm. This can be done ahead and reheated before serving.
In a small bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients, then refrigerate until needed.
Test the potatoes with a fork for tenderness, then remove from the oven, split and scoop out the flesh into a bowl while still hot. Roughly crush the potatoes with a fork, with the parsley, chives and olive oil. Season to taste. The potatoes should be well tossed but still contain large pieces. Keep warm.
Preheat a griddle pan to high. Remove the fish from the marinade, brush off any excess oil and season the fish on both sides with salt and ground white pepper. Grill skin-side down for one minute then turn it through 90 degrees to make crosshatched grill marks. After two to three minutes more (depending on thickness), flip the fillets and cook for two minutes on the flesh side
size 12 dress