CHEF’S BITES MAIN
Beef short ribs with minted béarnaise sauce SERVES 4
4 beef short ribs, 350g each 150ml red wine (optional) 160g carrots 160g celery sticks 180g red onion 60g peeled garlic 180ml corn oil 20g cumin powder 50g fresh thyme or rosemary 15g black pepper corn 10g bay leaves 400ml veal jus Salt, to taste black peppercorn, to taste micro cress, to garnish 1 In a large container, marinate the beef ribs with the carrot, onion, celery, red wine, corn oil, black peppercorn, herbs, and cumin powder for one day. 2 Remove the beef from the marination and mark the ribs on the grill, vacuum pack them with veal jus, the carrot, onion and celery and steam in the oven at 83 degrees Celsius for 12 hours. Serve with red wine glaze on side.
The minted béarnaise sauce 120ml clarified butter 2 egg yolks 40ml white wine vinegar 20g shallots, finely diced 15g fresh mint 1 lemon salt, to tase black peppercorn, to taste 1 In a small pot, reduce the white wine vinegar with chopped mint, shallots and black pepper corn. Strain into the top of a double boiler. 2 Whisk in the egg yolks. Place the bowl over the bottom of the double boiler containing simmering water, the second that the yolk mixture begins to thicken slightly. 3 Remove the top of the double boiler from above the hot water and continue whisking. Turn off the heat. Whisk in the melted butter, drizzling it in very slowly. 4 Reheat the reduction a little, add the egg yolk and whisk until the eggs makesa firm foam. 5 Season, add lemon juice and the julienne of mint.
DESSERT
American cheesecake SERVES 4 430g cream cheese 100g sugar 2 eggs 2 egg yolks 70ml cream 2g vanilla extract 10g lemon zest 160g digestive biscuits 70g butter 1 Stir the cream cheese on a low speed for at least 20 mins until very smooth, with no lumps. 2 Add sugar and stir again to obtain a very smooth texture. 3 Add the eggs, yolks and cream. Slowly adding each ingredient, and finish with the lemon zest. 4 Crush the digestive biscuits quite finely and add the melted butter. 5 Place the mixture of digestive biscuits and butter at the bottom of the cake mold and push it flat, so that it is compact and a little hard. Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the base and bake in double boiler for 45 mins to 1 hour. 6 Cool the cheesecake and serve with vanilla ice cream.
72 BBC Good Food Middle East June 2011