The Malaysian Insider :: Food

One chef, one ingredient: Pierre Gagnaire on white mushrooms

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:19 AM PDT

White mushrooms. — AFP-Relaxnews pic

PARIS, Oct 15 — If you are what you eat, then it could be said that chefs are what they cook. In an exclusive series from Relaxnews, some of the top chefs from around the world share their favourite food ingredient to prepare and eat, every week. Whether it be peas, pumpkin, or sea urchin, the answers are as varied as the chefs themselves. Eminent French chef Pierre Gagnaire, who helms the kitchens of various establishments across the world, chose white mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus).

Relaxnews: Why did you choose this ingredient? And what's your favourite memory related to it?

Pierre Gagnaire: I chose it because it's a rather humble product that you can use all year round. Its price remains constant and its smell and texture are extremely delicate. My father, a cook, would prepare white mushroom feuilletés (puff pastry filled with mushrooms) and I loved them.

R: When is the best season for cooking them?

PG: All year round, and these mushrooms can be found all across the world under different names!

R: What's the best way to cook them?

Pierre Gagnaire. — AFP-Relaxnews pic

PG: They have to be really white, really firm and really fresh. Remove the stems, peel them and slice them thinly. Halve an avocado that's not too ripe and burn the outside of the avocado with a blowtorch, then cut it in six parts, season them lightly with cider vinegar and hazelnut oil, lay them in a deep plate, add a pinch of fleur de sel and spread a thick layer of mushroom slices on top of that.

R: What other product can you combine them with to surprise your guests?

PG: You can brown them with olive oil, dry them well, chop them up with a knife and mix them up with Thai grapefruit, green and yellow mango diced into cubes, a few roasted peanuts, finishing it off with a drop of rapeseed oil and soy. You can eat it with a veal cutlet.

R: What are the most common mistakes people make when cooking it?

PG: Never season a raw mushroom - that causes it to lose all of its texture and flavour.

R: Do you have it on the menu in your restaurants?

PG: We always have it on the menu, sometimes as an infusion, and it's also the main ingredient in our "bouillon Zézette" - the star dish at our Las Vegas restaurant.

R: What wine (or other type of alcohol) is best paired with white mushrooms?

PG: Raw mushrooms are very nice with Manzanilla; with the avocado salad, go for an Alsace wine. When it is prepared with cream, a Chardonnay is best. — AFP-Relaxnews

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Isnin, 15 Oktober 2012

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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