When asked on various culinary forums for a recipe, they often add – just simpler! Just some kind of ritual. You might think, if you do not mention this very “simpler”, you will definitely be given some puzzling Michelin recipe that requires dancing with a tambourine and stuffing foie gras with truffles. At the same time, I have long been convinced that the simplest things tend to be the most difficult.
Everything is logical – the less the dish requires the initial ingredients and culinary actions, the higher the quality of these ingredients and the refinement of these actions should be.
I am shy.Marco Pierre WhiteAnd so, surfing the blogosphere, I came across an excerpt from Bill Buford’s book “Heat”, in which the author talks about his conversations with Marco Pierre White, owner and chef of several star restaurants in England. Mr. White’s words rhyme surprisingly with my attitude towards simplicity and complexity when it comes to cooking, so I am referencing this passage in full.
In everyday life, “simplicity” is synonymous with “easy to make”, but when this word is used by a chef, it means “you have to learn all your life.” Based on this, I put it into practice to ask Marco about the simplest things. I once asked him how he cooks eggs.
“Oh!” He said, “the egg is very important. Give the chef an egg and you will find out what kind of chef he is. It takes a lot to cook an egg. You have to understand an egg in order to cook an egg, especially if this is the egg you are going to eat. “
We talked about eggs for two days. How does he fry an egg, for example?
“You need to start by always knowing the temperature of the pan – heating the oil in it, not too hot, never letting it foam, then put your egg in and start touching it. And keep touching, you should always be one step ahead of your temperature, always waiting for the protein to harden and not fully cook, and, at the last moment, pour a spoonful of butter on top.
And how does he cook with a chatterbox?
“In a skillet, never before — that’s where you need to shake the eggs and then cook them very slowly.”
I asked him about other products. A piece of wild salmon?
“Put the spice in the skillet, not the fish, and turn it over once to release the juices you’ll be cooking in — never add oil. Then wipe the pan dry before making the sauce. ”
Foie gras?
“It’s all about preventing the sole formation – you have to put baking paper underneath it, otherwise it cooks too quickly.”
How does he fry potatoes?
“Know your supplier. The potatoes are grown in hilly fields. The fields at the top give the best fries. Fields in the lowlands give shit, not fries. Soak it for two days to wash out the starch. Crush and blanch in hot oil until mid-cooked – the French love arachide [peanut butter], but I use ghee – and put them on a tray. They will continue to cook without browning. If you continue to cook them until they are blush, they will become hard in the middle. Then lower them a second time, which will make them crispy: now they will be soft in the middle. “
About fat?
“The cooked fat is delicious. Uncooked fat no. Why are you stuffing a goose or a duck? The chiefs don’t know now because they no longer teach the beginning. You stuff the poultry because it cooks slower that way. With a void inside, you let in the heat, and the poultry is cooked inside and out, and the meat is cooked before the fat is melted. Fill the bird with apples and sage, and the fat will be melted earlier. “
In everyday life, “simplicity” is synonymous with “easy to make”, but when this word is used by a chef, it means “you have to learn all your life.” Based on this, I put it into practice to ask Marco about the simplest things. I once asked him how he cooks eggs. “Oh!” He said, “the egg is very important. Give the chef an egg and you will find out what kind of chef he is.
It takes a lot to cook an egg. You have to understand an egg in order to cook an egg, especially if this is the egg you are going to eat. ”For two days we talked about eggs. How does he fry an egg, for example? “You need to start by always knowing the temperature of the pan – heating the oil in it, not too hot, never letting it foam, then put your egg in and start touching it. And keep touching, you must always be one step ahead of your temperature, always waiting for the protein to just harden and not fully cook, and, at the last moment, pour a spoonful of oil on top.
How does he cook with a chatterbox? “In a frying pan, never before – that’s where you need to shake the eggs and then cook them very slowly.” I asked him about other foods. A piece of wild salmon? ”Pour the spice into the skillet, not the fish, and turn it over once to release the juices you’ll be cooking in — never add oil.
Then wipe off the pan before you make the sauce. “Foie gras?” It’s all about preventing the sole from forming – you have to put baking paper underneath it, otherwise it cooks too quickly. “How does he fry the potatoes?” Know your supplier. The potatoes are grown in hilly fields. The fields at the top give the best fries. Fields in the lowlands give shit, not fries. Soak it for two days to wash out the starch. Crush and blanch in hot oil until mid-cooked – the French love arachide [peanut butter], but I use ghee – and put them on a tray.
They will continue to cook without browning. If you continue to cook them until they are blush, they will become hard in the middle. Then lower them a second time, which will make them crispy: they will now be soft in the middle. ”About the fat?“ The cooked fat is delicious. Uncooked fat no. Why are you stuffing a goose or a duck?
The chiefs don’t know now because they no longer teach the beginning. You stuff the poultry because it cooks slower that way. With a void inside, you let in the heat, and the poultry is cooked inside and out, and the meat is cooked before the fat is melted. Fill the bird with apples and sage, and the fat will melt out earlier. ”I think that’s great, and there is nothing to add.