Gert de mangeleer blads

10

ALWAYS PECKISH

11 Always peckish

All the guests have already left when Gert De Mangeleer orders three (!) desserts at the same time, late in the afternoon at Taberna do Mercado, a Portuguese restaurant in Old Spitalfields Market in London. He’s not really hungry at this point. In the past hours, ten courses made their way to our table, including mussels in coriander oil and a subtly flavoured tinned fish, which Chef Nuno Mendes preserves himself. What’s more, the three desserts are decidedly calorific as they are all made with the same ingredient, egg yolk, which is typical in Portuguese pastry. But anyone who is as obsessive about food as Gert De Mangeleer is always willing to make a sacrifice for his passion. In fact, the chef is so driven to learn more about new dishes that he photographs, tastes and analyses every copious dessert in detail.

Of course, he’s already had Pastéis de nata, the Portuguese caramelised custard tarts, before. The next dessert, a cake with runny egg yolk and olive oil, which is prepared like a cold sabayon, is decidedly more intriguing. He dips his spoon into the oozing cake again and again. But he waxes lyrical over the steamed egg yolk with pork fat in a port sauce, a pairing which tastes much better than you might think from the description.

And that is Gert De Mangeleer’s life. The three-star chef is so passionate about food that he could spend the whole day tasting dishes, even when on holiday in London. After the huge lunch at Taberna, he still pops into Spanish restaurant Barrafina in Soho for some tapas. “And I might stop for some dim sum at Yauatcha if I still feel peckish.”

10

ALWAYS PECKISH

11 Always peckish

All the guests have already left when Gert De Mangeleer orders three (!) desserts at the same time, late in the afternoon at Taberna do Mercado, a Portuguese restaurant in Old Spitalfields Market in London. He’s not really hungry at this point. In the past hours, ten courses made their way to our table, including mussels in coriander oil and a subtly flavoured tinned fish, which Chef Nuno Mendes preserves himself. What’s more, the three desserts are decidedly calorific as they are all made with the same ingredient, egg yolk, which is typical in Portuguese pastry. But anyone who is as obsessive about food as Gert De Mangeleer is always willing to make a sacrifice for his passion. In fact, the chef is so driven to learn more about new dishes that he photographs, tastes and analyses every copious dessert in detail.

Of course, he’s already had Pastéis de nata, the Portuguese caramelised custard tarts, before. The next dessert, a cake with runny egg yolk and olive oil, which is prepared like a cold sabayon, is decidedly more intriguing. He dips his spoon into the oozing cake again and again. But he waxes lyrical over the steamed egg yolk with pork fat in a port sauce, a pairing which tastes much better than you might think from the description.

And that is Gert De Mangeleer’s life. The three-star chef is so passionate about food that he could spend the whole day tasting dishes, even when on holiday in London. After the huge lunch at Taberna, he still pops into Spanish restaurant Barrafina in Soho for some tapas. “And I might stop for some dim sum at Yauatcha if I still feel peckish.”

12

13 Always peckish

Gert De Mangeleer is the kind of guy who starts thinking about what to cook for his family for Sunday lunch as early as Friday.

The 7,000 plus pics on his iPhone are all of food, except for a few hundred snaps of his wife and children. When he goes to the baker in the morning for breakfast, he visits three different bakers.

“One because he has the best rolls, one for the croissants and one for the chocolate pastries.” He can’t understand why people find this odd. “To me food is not just something that you enjoy in the moment. You also enjoy the preparing. I love taking the time to shop before I start to cook. It is the foreplay to the pleasure that you are about to enjoy.”

Gert is visibly enjoying himself while seated at the sushi counter at Zuma, one of his favourite restaurants in London. After eating plenty of sushi and sashimi, he is tempted to order a poussin that has been marinated in koji - “just because it’s so good”. But a three-star chef doesn’t always need something exotic or refined for a delicious experience.

“A good soup is the best thing there is. I also love it when the boys who prepare the food for the staff at Hertog Jan make an effort even if they ‘just’ prepare Belgian endive with ham and cheese sauce. And yet it can taste amazing when done right.”

And besides some delicious times, food also creates a bit of peace and quiet and some fun time together after a hectic day.

“That’s one aspect of food that I’ve always been interested in, how food brings together people.” For L.E.S.S., the bistro which Gert opened in the former location of Hertog Jan, he also creates a lot of sharing platters. “Sharing is caring. By sharing a dish, you create a sense of togetherness at the table.”

Cooking with the family is another moment Gert cherishes. “All of us sitting around a table together, chatting and eating.

It doesn’t happen very often, which is why it is so special. I enjoy the ritual of it. Taking the time to prepare my own appetisers, opening a good bottle of wine and starting to cook together.”

12

13 Always peckish

Gert De Mangeleer is the kind of guy who starts thinking about what to cook for his family for Sunday lunch as early as Friday.

The 7,000 plus pics on his iPhone are all of food, except for a few hundred snaps of his wife and children. When he goes to the baker in the morning for breakfast, he visits three different bakers.

“One because he has the best rolls, one for the croissants and one for the chocolate pastries.” He can’t understand why people find this odd. “To me food is not just something that you enjoy in the moment. You also enjoy the preparing. I love taking the time to shop before I start to cook. It is the foreplay to the pleasure that you are about to enjoy.”

Gert is visibly enjoying himself while seated at the sushi counter at Zuma, one of his favourite restaurants in London. After eating plenty of sushi and sashimi, he is tempted to order a poussin that has been marinated in koji - “just because it’s so good”. But a three-star chef doesn’t always need something exotic or refined for a delicious experience.

“A good soup is the best thing there is. I also love it when the boys who prepare the food for the staff at Hertog Jan make an effort even if they ‘just’ prepare Belgian endive with ham and cheese sauce. And yet it can taste amazing when done right.”

And besides some delicious times, food also creates a bit of peace and quiet and some fun time together after a hectic day.

“That’s one aspect of food that I’ve always been interested in, how food brings together people.” For L.E.S.S., the bistro which Gert opened in the former location of Hertog Jan, he also creates a lot of sharing platters. “Sharing is caring. By sharing a dish, you create a sense of togetherness at the table.”

Cooking with the family is another moment Gert cherishes. “All of us sitting around a table together, chatting and eating.

It doesn’t happen very often, which is why it is so special. I enjoy the ritual of it. Taking the time to prepare my own appetisers, opening a good bottle of wine and starting to cook together.”

15 Always peckish

15 Always peckish

INSPIRING ASIA

37 Inspiring Asia

“I travel to Asia a lot, mainly to Hong Kong, Japan and China. It’s like stepping into an entirely different culinary world. Their ideas about how to harmonise flavours and even textures are very different from ours.

That is why I find it so inspiring. But sometimes I am also inspired by things that are closer to home. London, for example, has plenty of Asian restaurants, that serve very creative food of outstanding quality. You can eat the most amazing steamed buns in a small place like Bao. I will never blindly copy a dish that inspires me.

You’ll never catch me making sushi even though I think it is absolutely delicious. Real sushi chefs have such a high level of craftsmanship. You can never approximate this as a Western chef. I do however try to incorporate the Japanese knack for simplicity and their respect for products in my own dishes. I was inspired by other Asian cuisines for certain cooking techniques or combinations of spices. It is my way of adapting this enormous Asian tradition to suit my own needs, for example by devising a fast way of preparing kimchi, the Korean equivalent of sauerkraut. Or I might use flank steak of Wagyu when preparing beef dim sum, to bring out the product’s characteristics more.”

INSPIRING ASIA

37 Inspiring Asia

“I travel to Asia a lot, mainly to Hong Kong, Japan and China. It’s like stepping into an entirely different culinary world. Their ideas about how to harmonise flavours and even textures are very different from ours.

That is why I find it so inspiring. But sometimes I am also inspired by things that are closer to home. London, for example, has plenty of Asian restaurants, that serve very creative food of outstanding quality. You can eat the most amazing steamed buns in a small place like Bao. I will never blindly copy a dish that inspires me.

You’ll never catch me making sushi even though I think it is absolutely delicious. Real sushi chefs have such a high level of craftsmanship. You can never approximate this as a Western chef. I do however try to incorporate the Japanese knack for simplicity and their respect for products in my own dishes. I was inspired by other Asian cuisines for certain cooking techniques or combinations of spices. It is my way of adapting this enormous Asian tradition to suit my own needs, for example by devising a fast way of preparing kimchi, the Korean equivalent of sauerkraut. Or I might use flank steak of Wagyu when preparing beef dim sum, to bring out the product’s characteristics more.”

38

YAUATCHA

“Yauatcha in London is an Asian restaurant that really inspires me. Even though they serve hundreds of guests at the same time, the quality of everything they serve is always outstanding. Their dim sum is simply amazing.�

38

YAUATCHA

“Yauatcha in London is an Asian restaurant that really inspires me. Even though they serve hundreds of guests at the same time, the quality of everything they serve is always outstanding. Their dim sum is simply amazing.�

54

NEMS WITH CONFIT DUCK LEG AND HOISIN SAUCE

A nem is a traditional Vietnamese snack. The outside usually consists of a crispy sheet of rice paper with various fillings.

In my version, we stick to the Asian version, using duck and the typical hoisin sauce. I have however substituted brick pastry sheets for the rice paper, because it is easy to find and easy to use for a crispy result.

6 hrs

Cure the dug legs

6 hrs

Confit the duck legs

30 min

Roll the nems and plate them

How to make it

FOR THE CONFIT DUCK LEGS

Trim the duck legs and remove the silver skin.

Mix the sugar, the coarse salt and the pepper well.

Coat the bottom of a large dish with a layer of the salt mixture. Arrange the duck legs on top of this and cover them with the rest of the salt mixture.

Cure for 6 hours. Rinse and pat dry.

The salt will extract the moisture from the duck legs.

• 4 DUCK LEGS • 1.1 KG FINE SUGAR • 1 KG COARSE SALT • 30 G COARSELY

CRACKED PEPPER • 2 KG DUCK FAT FROM YOUR

BUTCHER’S OR POULTERER • 1 SPRIG OF ROSEMARY • 2 BAY LEAVES • 20 PEPPER CORNS

FOR THE NEMS

• 20 BRICK PASTRY SHEETS, MEASURING 20 CM BY 7 CM • 4 SPRING ONIONS • 1 EGG, BEATEN WITH SOME

WATER (THE ‘GLUE’ TO SEAL

YOUR NEMS)

ADDITIONAL NECESSITIES •

• •

A LARGE CONTAINER OR DIS FOR CURING THE DUCK LEGS PASTRY BRUSH FRYER

GARNISH •

HOISIN SAUCE

Let the duck fat render gently.

Place the duck legs in a pot and pour the rendered duck fat over them.

Make sure the duck legs are covered.

Add the rosemary, the bay leaf and the pepper corns.

Place in a pre-heated oven at 120°C. Depending on how powerful your oven is, this will take about 6 hours. The duck legs are done when the meat starts to come off the bones. Remove the duck legs from the fat, let them cool off, remove the skin and pick the meat off the bones.* Finely slice the spring onions and mix them with the meat.

→

Inspiring Asia

What you need for 20 servings

55

54

NEMS WITH CONFIT DUCK LEG AND HOISIN SAUCE

A nem is a traditional Vietnamese snack. The outside usually consists of a crispy sheet of rice paper with various fillings.

In my version, we stick to the Asian version, using duck and the typical hoisin sauce. I have however substituted brick pastry sheets for the rice paper, because it is easy to find and easy to use for a crispy result.

6 hrs

Cure the dug legs

6 hrs

Confit the duck legs

30 min

Roll the nems and plate them

How to make it

FOR THE CONFIT DUCK LEGS

Trim the duck legs and remove the silver skin.

Mix the sugar, the coarse salt and the pepper well.

Coat the bottom of a large dish with a layer of the salt mixture. Arrange the duck legs on top of this and cover them with the rest of the salt mixture.

Cure for 6 hours. Rinse and pat dry.

The salt will extract the moisture from the duck legs.

• 4 DUCK LEGS • 1.1 KG FINE SUGAR • 1 KG COARSE SALT • 30 G COARSELY

CRACKED PEPPER • 2 KG DUCK FAT FROM YOUR

BUTCHER’S OR POULTERER • 1 SPRIG OF ROSEMARY • 2 BAY LEAVES • 20 PEPPER CORNS

FOR THE NEMS

• 20 BRICK PASTRY SHEETS, MEASURING 20 CM BY 7 CM • 4 SPRING ONIONS • 1 EGG, BEATEN WITH SOME

WATER (THE ‘GLUE’ TO SEAL

YOUR NEMS)

ADDITIONAL NECESSITIES •

• •

A LARGE CONTAINER OR DIS FOR CURING THE DUCK LEGS PASTRY BRUSH FRYER

GARNISH •

HOISIN SAUCE

Let the duck fat render gently.

Place the duck legs in a pot and pour the rendered duck fat over them.

Make sure the duck legs are covered.

Add the rosemary, the bay leaf and the pepper corns.

Place in a pre-heated oven at 120°C. Depending on how powerful your oven is, this will take about 6 hours. The duck legs are done when the meat starts to come off the bones. Remove the duck legs from the fat, let them cool off, remove the skin and pick the meat off the bones.* Finely slice the spring onions and mix them with the meat.

→

Inspiring Asia

What you need for 20 servings

55

CROSTATA WITH 4 CHEESES, GREEN HERBS AND TOMATO CONFIT continued

What you need

How to make it

ADDITIONAL NECESSITIES

Brush an oven dish with some clarified butter.

Make sure the oven dish is half as large as a sheet of filo pastry. Then brush the first sheet of filo pastry with the clarified butter and line the oven dish with it. Brush the next sheet of filo pastry with clarified butter and lay it on the first one. Do this for every sheet of filo pastry.

Add the drained filling. Spoon just enough filling, right up to the rim of the oven dish.

Fold over the ends of the filo pastry, to cover the filling.

Gently press down with your fingers to create an uneven surface. Brush with the clarified butter.

• •

GREASEPROOF PAPER SIEVE

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200°C for about 30 minutes.

Good to know *

Clarified butter is butter from which the proteins and the salt have been removed. Only the fat remains. The butter can thus be heated at a higher temperature without burning. Let butter melt over low heat to clarify it (make sure it doesn’t turn brown). Then gently skim off the protein that floats to the top and pour it into a recipient without the white sediment at the bottom of the saucepan.

Southern Flavours

CHEESE CROSTATA

It is important to remember for this crostata that the filling should not be too moist. That is why all the ingredients must drain well.

Finely slice the garlic and the onion and sauté in some olive oil.

Add the spinach and the rocket and sauté until everything has wilted. Hang in a sieve.

Squeeze out any excess moisture.

Finely chop the oregano, the sage and the basil leaves.

Take 200 g of the tomato confit and chop into pieces.

Dice the ricotta, the feta and the fresh goat’s cheese.

Mix the drained leafy vegetables with the oregano, the sage, the basil and the four types of cheese. Then add the tomato and the olives. Season with freshly-ground pepper and some coarse salt. If necessary, let the mixture drain a little longer in the sieve.

101

FOR THE CHEESE CROSTATA • 5 FILO PASTRY SHEETS • 200 G ONION • 2 CLOVES OF GARLIC • 300 G SPINACH • 200 G ROCKET • 10 G SAGE LEAVES • 10 G OREGANO LEAVES • 10 G BASIL LEAVES • 200 G TOMATO CONFIT • 125 G RICOTTA • 75 G FETA CHEESE • 150 G FRESH, CREAMY GOAT’S CHEESE • 100 G GRATED PARMESAN • 150 G MANZANILLA OLIVES (DESTONED) • FRESHLY-GROUND PEPPER • COARSE SALT • SOME OLIVE OIL • A SAUCEPAN WITH

CLARIFIED BUTTER*

CROSTATA WITH 4 CHEESES, GREEN HERBS AND TOMATO CONFIT continued

What you need

How to make it

ADDITIONAL NECESSITIES

Brush an oven dish with some clarified butter.

Make sure the oven dish is half as large as a sheet of filo pastry. Then brush the first sheet of filo pastry with the clarified butter and line the oven dish with it. Brush the next sheet of filo pastry with clarified butter and lay it on the first one. Do this for every sheet of filo pastry.

Add the drained filling. Spoon just enough filling, right up to the rim of the oven dish.

Fold over the ends of the filo pastry, to cover the filling.

Gently press down with your fingers to create an uneven surface. Brush with the clarified butter.

• •

GREASEPROOF PAPER SIEVE

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200°C for about 30 minutes.

Good to know *

Clarified butter is butter from which the proteins and the salt have been removed. Only the fat remains. The butter can thus be heated at a higher temperature without burning. Let butter melt over low heat to clarify it (make sure it doesn’t turn brown). Then gently skim off the protein that floats to the top and pour it into a recipient without the white sediment at the bottom of the saucepan.

Southern Flavours

CHEESE CROSTATA

It is important to remember for this crostata that the filling should not be too moist. That is why all the ingredients must drain well.

Finely slice the garlic and the onion and sauté in some olive oil.

Add the spinach and the rocket and sauté until everything has wilted. Hang in a sieve.

Squeeze out any excess moisture.

Finely chop the oregano, the sage and the basil leaves.

Take 200 g of the tomato confit and chop into pieces.

Dice the ricotta, the feta and the fresh goat’s cheese.

Mix the drained leafy vegetables with the oregano, the sage, the basil and the four types of cheese. Then add the tomato and the olives. Season with freshly-ground pepper and some coarse salt. If necessary, let the mixture drain a little longer in the sieve.

101

FOR THE CHEESE CROSTATA • 5 FILO PASTRY SHEETS • 200 G ONION • 2 CLOVES OF GARLIC • 300 G SPINACH • 200 G ROCKET • 10 G SAGE LEAVES • 10 G OREGANO LEAVES • 10 G BASIL LEAVES • 200 G TOMATO CONFIT • 125 G RICOTTA • 75 G FETA CHEESE • 150 G FRESH, CREAMY GOAT’S CHEESE • 100 G GRATED PARMESAN • 150 G MANZANILLA OLIVES (DESTONED) • FRESHLY-GROUND PEPPER • COARSE SALT • SOME OLIVE OIL • A SAUCEPAN WITH

CLARIFIED BUTTER*

154

THE ARTISAN WAY

155

“We sometimes tend to forget how tasty local comfort food can be, because our food has become so industrialised. There is nothing more delicious than a good sausage. That is why I included a couple of dishes in this book that start from a well-made traditional and local product.

Home-cured bacon for example or a homesmoked salmon, the traditional way. This fantastic food has become banal because it is so massproduced. I admit that it takes a lot of work to do this yourself, but just give it a try and you will appreciate the difference between an artisan product and a standardised piece of salmon or bacon.

Sometimes you can also prepare a delicious dish with local comfort food with much less effort.

Just pop in to your favourite butcher’s and buy some white pudding. In this book, I have also listed some recipes for tasty dishes with saucisson de Lyon and merguez.�

154

THE ARTISAN WAY

155

“We sometimes tend to forget how tasty local comfort food can be, because our food has become so industrialised. There is nothing more delicious than a good sausage. That is why I included a couple of dishes in this book that start from a well-made traditional and local product.

Home-cured bacon for example or a homesmoked salmon, the traditional way. This fantastic food has become banal because it is so massproduced. I admit that it takes a lot of work to do this yourself, but just give it a try and you will appreciate the difference between an artisan product and a standardised piece of salmon or bacon.

Sometimes you can also prepare a delicious dish with local comfort food with much less effort.

Just pop in to your favourite butcher’s and buy some white pudding. In this book, I have also listed some recipes for tasty dishes with saucisson de Lyon and merguez.�

218

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH DULCE DE LECHE

This cake has been one of my favourites for several years now. We regularly feature it on the menu in our bistro L.E.S.S. One of the secrets of this cake is the milk caramel. It is a version of the Latin American dulce de leche, whereby the milk is reduced in such a way that it caramelises.

Heavenly and yet so simple.

1 night

Prepare the dough and let it rest

3.5 hrs

Prepare the milk caramel

25 min

Prepare the chocolate filling

1 night

Let the cake set

219

How to make it

FOR THE MILK CARAMEL

PREPARE THE MILK CAR AMEL THE DAY BEFORE

•

Bring a large pot of water to the boil.

Place the tin of condensed milk in it.

Cook gently for 3.5 hours.

Make sure the tin is immersed the entire time.

Refrigerate the tin once cooled off.

1 TIN OF CONDENSED MILK WITH SUGAR, 400 G

FOR THE CHOCOLATE • • • • • • •

SHORTCRUST PASTRY 85 G SALTED BUTTER, DICED 35 G ICING SUGAR 1 EGG YOLK 140 G PASTRY FLOUR 35 G COCOA POWDER 2 G COARSE SALT

FOR THE FILLING •

• • •

230 G DARK CHOCOLATE, 71% COCOA (PELLETS OR BARS) 120 G EGG 310 G WHOLE MILK

ADDITIONAL NECESSITIES • CLING FILM • PARCHMENT PAPER • ALUMINIUM FOIL • CAKE PAN (DIAMETER 20 CM)

(8 PEOPLE) • FOOD PROCESSOR • DRIED LENTILS OR BAKING PEARLS • CORE TEMPERATURE PROBE

PREPARE THE CHOCOL ATE SHORTCRUST PASTRY THE DAY BEFORE

Whip the butter until it is nice and soft in a kitchen processor, add the icing sugar and the coarse salt and whip at the lowest setting until you obtain a nice smooth mass.

Add in the egg yolk and continue to whip.

Then add the flour and the cocoa powder.

Mix carefully until everything is well mixed but do not mix longer than necessary or the texture of your dough may become too tough.

Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate overnight.

Remove it from the fridge the next day, about half an hour before use, so it can warm to room temperature.

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Roll out the dough evenly between two sheets of baking paper to a thickness of about 3 mm (sprinkle over some flour if need be).

→

The Ar tisa n Way

What you need

218

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH DULCE DE LECHE

This cake has been one of my favourites for several years now. We regularly feature it on the menu in our bistro L.E.S.S. One of the secrets of this cake is the milk caramel. It is a version of the Latin American dulce de leche, whereby the milk is reduced in such a way that it caramelises.

Heavenly and yet so simple.

1 night

Prepare the dough and let it rest

3.5 hrs

Prepare the milk caramel

25 min

Prepare the chocolate filling

1 night

Let the cake set

219

How to make it

FOR THE MILK CARAMEL

PREPARE THE MILK CAR AMEL THE DAY BEFORE

•

Bring a large pot of water to the boil.

Place the tin of condensed milk in it.

Cook gently for 3.5 hours.

Make sure the tin is immersed the entire time.

Refrigerate the tin once cooled off.

1 TIN OF CONDENSED MILK WITH SUGAR, 400 G

FOR THE CHOCOLATE • • • • • • •

SHORTCRUST PASTRY 85 G SALTED BUTTER, DICED 35 G ICING SUGAR 1 EGG YOLK 140 G PASTRY FLOUR 35 G COCOA POWDER 2 G COARSE SALT

FOR THE FILLING •

• • •

230 G DARK CHOCOLATE, 71% COCOA (PELLETS OR BARS) 120 G EGG 310 G WHOLE MILK

ADDITIONAL NECESSITIES • CLING FILM • PARCHMENT PAPER • ALUMINIUM FOIL • CAKE PAN (DIAMETER 20 CM)

(8 PEOPLE) • FOOD PROCESSOR • DRIED LENTILS OR BAKING PEARLS • CORE TEMPERATURE PROBE

PREPARE THE CHOCOL ATE SHORTCRUST PASTRY THE DAY BEFORE

Whip the butter until it is nice and soft in a kitchen processor, add the icing sugar and the coarse salt and whip at the lowest setting until you obtain a nice smooth mass.

Add in the egg yolk and continue to whip.

Then add the flour and the cocoa powder.

Mix carefully until everything is well mixed but do not mix longer than necessary or the texture of your dough may become too tough.

Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate overnight.

Remove it from the fridge the next day, about half an hour before use, so it can warm to room temperature.

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Roll out the dough evenly between two sheets of baking paper to a thickness of about 3 mm (sprinkle over some flour if need be).

→

The Ar tisa n Way

What you need