Hello ,
We continue our trip while cracking the codes of French Cuisine ;this time we will have a closer look at some new indispensable techniques gathered in a very yummy and light dish...
We are about to realize the 3 following techniques:
Cooking 5 : saute cooking *
Here is a basic cooking process but we just need to follow few rules.
Cooking 9: Poached eggs*
For breakfast or anytime , they won't have any more secrets for you.
Hot & cold sauces - mix 11: Cooking a fish stock *
As an introduction to most complicated sauces , stocks are the cradle of many delicious sauces...
Ok, let's start by the fish stock, for this recipe , we'll need :
- Diced onion 25 GR - 1oz
- Diced carrot 25 GR - 1 oz
- White wine 3 CL - 1 Fl oz
- Shrimps shells & heads ( or fish bones) 200 gr - 0,5 lb
- Butter 10 GR - 0,5 oz
- Sliced green part of leek 10 GR - 0,5 oz
- Tap water 30 CL - 10 Fl oz
- Bay leaves 1
TECHNIQUE
First of all , you need to peel the shrimps( 2 lbs - 1 kg for this recipe) and keep the heads and shells; soak them for few minutes in cold water for rinsing (if you make a fish stock , proceed same way with fish bones and heads).
Meanwhile, wash , peel and cut you veggies.
Heat medium pan on slow stove and melt butter until foamy then add the strained shrimp peels ( or fish bones) and sweat them for a minute .
Add onions, carrots and leeks, sweat for another minute, then pour white wine on , water and bay leaf.
Watch out ! No Salt - No pepper, it would spoil the stock.
Bring to boil full blast for 20 minutes and strain immediately . Then keep for other uses.
If the fish stock is cooked longer , the Keratin of the bones and peels gives a "greyish" turbid stock , with a bad Bitter taste!
Second Technique : Cooking 9: Poached eggs
For this part we'll need 8 eggs, water and white vinegar...The freshest , the best.
If you want nice shaped poached eggs , you really need the freshest eggs you can find. The yolk will stay in the middle and allows you to keep it creamy.
After ten days of fridge, the egg white consistency changes and the yolk will start to get offset during cooking....
Starting now , you 're able the measure egg freshness at first glance ...
Raw or cooked : yolk in the middle =fresh - The more it goes toward the outside, the .....older!
For best results , bring your water to boil and add some white vinegar ....don't be shy! The vinegar taste won't go inside the egg! As you can see on the picture, break the egg in a small recipient and
gently pour the egg in the simmering water, one by one so they don't get into contact .
Do not drop the egg in a splashy way , it wouldn't set correctly. Leave your egg for a minute - minute and a half and gently turn it over with a large spoon or small skimmer to give the roundest possible shape..
When the egg is cooked ( white set but creamy yolk to taste), remove from pot with skimmer and drop in fresh water to cool down and rinse.
You can now trim the egg white with scissors to get something very nice !Keep on the side for later........
Third Technique --Cooking 5 : saute cooking
This cooking technique is maybe the most common to all kinds of cuisine; it is either very simple and easy to screw up!
Generally speaking, the best results are just a matter of heat control; we need enough heat to sear the food but overheating may lead to dry or burnt food...
In our recipe, we need a really hot oil to saute 2 lbs - 1kg of spinach leaves for less than a minute . The leaves contains so much water !
You can sear the shrimps the same way because small pieces are cooked in less then a minute. Just apply a light seasoning , and your are ready!
Proceed same way with oz - 200 gr of mushrooms.
For thicker /bigger pieces , we'll have to reduce heat and a slower cooking process will avoid dryness and darker color...
In case you wish to use butter, the best way is to heat a small amount of oil and when the desired temperature is reached, add a piece of butter and cook immediately ! This trick will allow butter to reach a higher T°C without burning.
And .... finish up your yummy dish; it's time to eat now!
- Bring your shrimp/fish stock to boil and let reduce 2/3 until you have a light "syrup like" consistency.
- Warm up saute spinach, shrimps and mushrooms..
- Add 4 fl oz - 12 cl of olive oil in the reduced stock , check seasoning and blend until you have a yummy foamy emulsion
- you can now proceed to plate elaboration....
- Place a bed of spinach in bottom of plate, top with a poached egg
- Dispose shrimps tails and mushrooms
- you can now gently pour your foamy sauce and ... enjoy!This dish is a real treat!
