Jasmyne Tea: Books

As I have expressed in the past, one of my idols of the kitchen is Heston Blumenthal being both a scientist and a chef. Ever since Jasmyne bought me his book 'In Search of Total Perfection' for our anniversary back in October last year I have been wanting to give his Hamburger a shot.

Although I'm almost bed-bound due to a bad strain of the flu (thank you Jasmyne), I pushed myself to put it on the plate for Jas and I last night after planning it for weeks. I had amended a few things due to the unavailability of some ingredients, but it still produced one of the best burgers I have ever had, and most definitely the best I have had at home.

My parents recently went on a day trip to Berrima and took Jas along with them, returning with, amongst other things, Truffle-infused Evo Oil (a post that should be up soon). I've been wanting to try cooking Heston's potato chips that are cooked with a three step process. Jas and I have also been wanting to try parmesan and truffle-oil chips for some time too, so I decided to fuse these two desires into a side dish that perfectly complements the hamburger. They are nice and soft and fluffy on the inside and crisp and crunchy on the outside. The coating of truffle oil and parmesan cheese balances just perfectly.

The burger itself is a brioche roll enclosing a nice balance of different beef cuts with some sauces, poached onion, lettuce, tomato and the Australian touch, beetroot. The roll is just excellent and why all burgers are not served like this astounds me. The beef, which we cooked medium to well, was succulent and juicy and tastes so good that it could have been eaten alone.

The prep for this dish is about 2 days but is mainly just incubation steps and only requires about an hour cooking once prepared, so here we go:

The Perfect Burger (serves 4)

Ingredients

Brioche Pre-ferment

200g High Quality '00' Flour
1/4 tsp dried yeast
200mL cold water

Brioche Dough

350g Pre-fermented batter
5 Egg yolks
30mL luke-warm water
200g High Quality '00' Flour
50g Caster sugar
2 tsp Bread Improver
3g Ground sea salt
7g Dried yeast
30g Browned butter
15mL Nut oil
15g Vegetable shortening (at room temperature)
1 egg, lightly beaten
Sesame seeds (as required)

Meat Patty

300g Chuck
10g Ground sea salt
400g Spare-rib meat
300g Brisket

Burger Assembly

80g Unsalted butter
4 Sliced brioche rolls
8 Cheese slices
4 Meat Patties
Tomato sauce (as required)
American mustard (as required)
Whole-egg mayonnaise (as required)
Dill-pickled gherkins, sliced (as required)
Vine-Ripened tomato, seeds and pulp removed, sliced
Brown onion, thinly sliced and blanched in boiling water for 30 seconds
6 Leaves of Iceberg lettuce, sliced
Can of sliced Beetroots

Procedure

Pre-Ferment

Put the flour and yeast in a large mixing bowl.
Gradually pour the water into the bowl, while mixing a beater with dough hooks on low speed, until all the water is added and a very liquid batter has formed.
Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula and cover the bowl with cling film, then a clean tea towel, and leave to ferment in a cool place for 24 hours.

Brioche Rolls

Combine the pre-fermented dough with the egg yolks and water with a beater with dough hooks at low speed. Mix until the dough is homogeneous and liquid again.
Sift the flour, sugar, bread improver, salt and yeast into a separate bowl.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet gradually while mixing with the dough hooks at a low speed until combine. Then increase the speed to medium and mix for 2-3 minutes, until the dough looks very sticky and wet.
Brown the butter in a pan over medium heat until it develops a nutty aroma. Strain and discard the solids, then add to the batter mixture once cooled, followed by the oil and vegetable shortening.
Mix at medium speed for 4 minutes until combined, let the dough sit for 10 minutes and then mix for a further 4 minutes.
Cover the dough and place it in the fridge to set for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, line a baking tray with baking paper and create 4 rings out of aluminium foil, 1 cm wide and 12 cm in diameter.
When the dough is chilled place the rings onto the baking tray and transfer 1/4 of the dough into each ring (about 150g per portion). Using wet hands, shape the dough to fit the rings.
Cover the tray with cling film and leave to prove for 2 to 2.5 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 225°C and if required reshape the dough with wet hands.
Place a ramekin of water in the bottom of the oven (the steam with prevent the buns from cracking and developing a thick crust).
Bake the buns for 7 minutes.
Meanwhile, create a egg wash by combining the beaten egg with a pinch of salt.
Remove the buns from the oven and one at a time, brush the tops with egg wash and cover with sesame seeds.
Return the buns to the oven for a further 7 minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack.

Meat Patties

Cut all the meats into 3 cm cubes. Combine the chuck with the salt and toss to coat the meat in the salt. In a separate bowl combine the spare rib and brisket meats. Refrigerate the meats for 6 hours.
Grind the spare rib and brisket with a 3 mm plate, then combine with the chuck meat and mix well.
Double-line a long tray or plate with cling film and position under the mouth of the grinder.
Pass the meat mixture through the grinder with a 8 mm plate. As the meat comes out of the grinder lay out the strain of meat onto the cling film from one end of the tray to the other. Try to keep the strains parallel.
Wrap the meat up tightly in the cling film to create a log, twisting the ends. If air bubbles are present, use a pin to release as much air as possible. Continue to twist the log until it is about 12 cm in diameter.
Wrap the log in another layer of cling film to hold the log together and refrigerate until needed.
When ready to be cooked, cut the log into quaters using a sharp knife. Place the patties onto baking paper and press down into the required shape and size. Cover with a second sheet of baking paper and refrigerate until needed or freeze if you have any excess.

Assembling the Burgers

Brown the butter in a pan over medium heat until it develops a nutty aroma, then strain and discard the solids.
Slice the buns in half and brush the cut surfaces with the browned butter. Place under a hot grill to lightly toast them. Remove the buns from the grill (but leave on) and top each side with a cheese slice. Put to the side for the time being.
Place a heavy based pan over high heat and leave for a few minutes until very hot.
Dizzle some oil into the pan and add the patties, ensuring that they are not overcrowded.
Flip the patties every 30 seconds for 4 minutes, for a medium-well cooked patty, adjust the timing on your preference.

Finish the meat by brushing the patties with the browned butter then searing each side for 15 seconds.
Place the buns back until the grill for a few seconds to melt the cheese.
Assemble the burger by placing the bottom half of each bun onto plates, top with the tomato sauce, mustard, mayonnaise, gherkins, blanched onions, meat patty, tomato, lettuce and finally the top half of the bun.
Serve immediately with the parmesan and truffle oil chips (see below).

Triple-Cooked Parmesan and Truffle Oil Chips (serves 4)

Ingredients

1.2kg Potatoes
4 tbs Tuffle induced Evo Oil
Parmesan Cheese (as required)
Salt and Pepper, to season

Procedure

Peel and wash the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into 1.5 wide chips.
Place the chips into a bowl or sink of running cold water for 5 minutes to wash off excess starch.
Transfer the chips into a large saucepan with salted cold water. Gradually bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to bring to a simmer until the chips have been cooked through and almost falling apart.
Remove the chips from the saucepan with a slotted spoon and place onto a cake rack over some paper towel. Allow to cool and then put into the fridge until cold.
Preheat vegetable oil in a deep fryer to 130°C and fry the chips until they have take on a dry appearance and have become slightly coloured.
Cool the chips onto the cake rack again and then transfer to the fridge to cool again.
When ready to serve, heat the oil to 200°C and then cook the chips until golden brown.
Drain the chips on some paper towel and then transfer to a bowl.
Add the truffle oil and toose to coat.
Portion the chips onto plates and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

"I repent of my diets, the delicious dishes rejected out of vanity, as much as I lament the opportunities for making love that I let go by because of pressing tasks or puritanical virtue."

- Aphrodite, Isabel Allende

Aphrodite, a book by Isabel Allende, is an unbridled, passionate and ribald study of the irrevocable connection between food and eroticism. The message that I have found in her book is that, like sex, food should not be partaken of without the desired outcome to be one of pleasure.

Allende's narration, that of a well-travelled storyteller who acknowledges that one can never stop learning, is so alive with nostalgia and is so well practised in the art of writing that I feel I am there experiencing every bottle of German wine, every baguette, and every sun-kissed encounter alongside her. The book features suggestive sections and chapters designed to get your mind in the gutter: The Spice Is In Variety, Cooking In The Nude, The Orgy, and With The Tip Of The Tongue.

This book includes recipes developed by the author's mother at the back end of the book that range from sauces and dressings (in large quantities, to encourage food-play in bed) to jellied partridge and rosemary venison (all made with ingredients that happen to be aphrodisiac), and I look forward to trying them, if only for the beautiful flavour combinations.

["If cookbooks make up
part of your library, books
on eroticism should, too."]

Because Valentine's Day isn't too far away, I felt the need to test run some recipes in the hopes of helping out those who want to cook for their beloved (but may be too timid, or not sure what to cook), because is there anything sexier than your partner knowing their way around a kitchen? Thus I bring you a tasty vegetable risotto full of aphrodisiacs, and a really simple mousse recipe, both from Aphrodite.

Risotto Lori

The original recipe asks for Portobello mushrooms, which I couldn't find. I used the flat white variety instead, and it turned out great. The rice was made incredibly creamy and tender, and the mushroom was the star of the dish, grounding the fresh flavours of the rosemary and garlic with it's earthy tones. The nutmeg was an interesting addition, bringing out and enhancing the nutty flavours of the mushrooms.

I also got a chance to use the Viognier I bought at the Liverpool Bites Food and Wine Festival, and it brought a fruity, almost floral dimension and bouquet to the dish that I really enjoyed.

The recipe itself is a little vague in some aspects, so I've tweaked it just a tad to make it easier to follow the instructions.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups vegetable stock

4 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

1 small onion, finely diced

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

5-6 brown mushrooms, sliced

1 large flat white mushroom, sliced (alternatively, 1 cup of sliced portobello mushrooms)

1 cup arborio rice

1 tablespoon chopped rosemary

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup white wine

1 tsp truffled olive oil (optional)

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1. Warm the stock in a saucepan over a medium heat without boiling, then set aside. Heat 3 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp of butter in a large frying pan and saute the onion, garlic and mushrooms for approximately 5 minutes over a medium heat. Set aside in a bowl or plate.

2. In the same pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and one of butter and fry the rice for a minute or two, until lightly browned and coated in the oil and butter. Gradually add 2 1/2 cups of the stock and setting aside the rest for later. Add the rosemary and nutmeg, stir to incorporate, and cook over a low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Return the mushrooms to the pan, pour in the remaining stock and cook with the rice for 10 minutes more. When the rice is cooked through and tender, add the wine and the truffled oil and cook until the liquid reduces, a few minutes. Remove from heat and add the parmesan.

4. Serve hot. Small portions would serve you well - no one feels sexy with a full-to-bursting stomach, and there's still mousse to go ;)

Mousse Au Chocolat

I changed the recipe slightly, because a lot of the measurements just didn't add up the first time and it flopped on me. When beating the egg whites, add a pinch of salt at the beginning, a couple of drops of lemon juice (the acidity makes sure the air you're whipping in there STAYS in there) and, just before you finish beating, a larger pinch of sugar. Also, make sure your bowl and whisk/electric beaters are clean and dry.

INGREDIENTS

150g dark chocolate

Approximately 6 tablespoons strong coffee

2 egg yolks

3 egg whites

1/2 cup thickened cream

2 tablespoons orange liqueur

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Heat a saucepan of water over low heat. Place a metal bowl over the saucepan (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water!), add 3 tablespoons of the coffee and melt the chocolate. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and the egg whites separately. When chocolate is melted, add the yolks and whisk until combined. Cook for another two minutes, then take off the heat.

2. If the mixture is really thick and sticks to the whisk, add some more coffee until the mixture becomes smooth. Allow to cool (about 10 - 15 minutes), then add the cream, orange liqueur and vanilla extract and combine with the whisk until smooth, glossy and slightly runny.

3. Add the egg whites and fold in carefully with a spatula. When fully incorporated, spoon into serving dishes and chill for at least an hour. Serve with fruit to cut the richness of the chocolate.

If you aren't a dark chocolate fanatic, I wholly suggest using milk chocolate instead. I don't really like dark chocolate myself, and I found the bitterness of the chocolate and the coffee to be overbearing.

I hope everyone has a fantastic Valentine's Day (although, I hope you all show each other MUCH more love than once a year!). Tell me what you plan to cook/where you plan on going/if you're even going to celebrate! :)