by
Chef Jacques Reymond & Chef Scott Pickett
Melbourne, Australia
Good food is the music that brings unbound joy and turns into a celebration every moment indulged in the preparation and consumption of it. Enforced in this compulsory stay-at-home vacation, the inner gourmet in each of us has metamorphosed into a full-blown master chef. The knives are out, the chopping boards are clacking, the kitchen fires burn, as we refine and tweak our old favorites.
Two important chefs from the vibrant city of Melbourne in Australia have very generously shared their private recipes for the readers of The Luxury Chronicle. The true blue Australian Chef Scott Pickett, who is the Director of Estelle, Matilda, Lupo, Pastore and Pickett’s Deli & Rotisserie and French Chef Jacques Reymond, who is the Director at the popular art deco restaurant, Bistro Gitan, L’HotelGitan where he serves modern French cuisine, and Turtle Island Resort in Fiji.
Chef Scott Pickett shares the recipe of his Grilled Heirloom Tomato, Zucchini and Burrata Salad. And Chef Jacques Reymond has shared the nuances of making the perfect Béchamel Sauce and a special personal recipe of Delice Soufflé of Fromage Blanc. He says about the soufflé, “I created this recipe when my wife Kathy and I were running the family restaurant, L’Hôtel du Nord in the village where I was born, Cuiseaux in the beautiful region of Jura and Burgundy. Across the street from the restaurant was the cheese factory “La Fromagerie” where they made fresh Fromageblanc every day and also the big wheels of gruyere. I wanted to create a recipe incorporating these two cheeses I used to eat everyday as a child and gave me so much pleasure.
We put this dish on the menu in 1988 when we opened the first Jacques Reymond Restaurant in Richmond. At the time Fromageblanc did not exist in Australia, I asked my friend Richard Thomas to make it for us and it was superb. Many years later Mathieu from L’Artisan cheese took over from Richard and was making his own fromage blanc but he has recently stopped so you might find it difficult to find. It can be replaced by cottage cheese and fresh ricotta cheese mixed together in equal quantity.”
1 – Chef Scott Pickett’s
Grilled Heirloom Tomato, Zucchini and Burrata Salad
Ingredients:
4 medium heirloom tomatoes
4 zucchini
400g burrata
150g pitted black olives
4 zucchini flowers
Handful of coriander, mint, parsley and oreganoFor the Zucchini Marinade:
150ml vegetable oil
100ml olive oil
100ml sherry vinegar
For the Dressing:
Juice of 2 lemons
50ml apple cider vinegar
50ml olive oil
Method
- Thinly slice zucchinis length ways. Marinade in the vegetable oil, olive oil and the sherry vinegar
- Quickly grill over a hot grill or griddle pan, being careful not to overcook
- Chop tomatoes into small wedges and repeat grilling process
- Roughly chop the herbs, olives and zucchini flowers, and tear the burrata
- Whisk the lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and olive oil together
- Toss all ingredients in a salad bowl and drizzle with dressing
2 – Chef Jacques Reymond’s
Béchamel Sauce
Please note – A good béchamel relies essentially on two major ingredients:
- Fresh full cream milk
- Good butter with no water
Method: To obtain a smooth and roux béchamel remember to always mix the roux hot with the milk cold or vice versa.
To add extra flavour mix through gently a small amount of grated Comté cheese once your béchamel is done and has cooled down to about 60 degrees. You will then want to check your béchamel by the spoonful!
Note: This béchamel can be best for a week in the fridge and reheat easily as long as you stir or whisk it gently until the desired temperature. This quantity will be enough to coat a largelasagna, make gratin of vegetables, coat enough witlof wrapped up with ham and gratinate for the whole family, and even to coat poached eggs instead of a hollandaise.
| Step 1: Prepare ingredients 500ml fresh full cream milk 35g butter 35g flour Salt Pepper Nutmeg a pinch ginger Sweet paprika a pinch ginger *For fructose or gluten free, replace flour with 20g of potato starch and 15g cornstarch. Use same technique and proceed Step 2: Make the Roux Add flour, mix well and cook this roux mixture for 3 minutes at low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk or a wooden spoon. It is important to cook the flour for a while so you don’t taste it in the final product. |
Step 3: Béchamel
Pour cold milk; bring the heat intensity to medium again. Add the seasoning and keep stirring the sauce until it starts to boil Step 4: Cook the sauce Reduce the heat and keep cooking for another 5 minutes until you have obtained a smooth, thick and unctuous béchamel.Option:Let the béchamel cool down in the pot for 10 minutes, then add 60g of grated Comté cheese or cheese mix. You can then eat the béchamel straight away or transfer to a container and place in the refrigerator. |
3. Jacques Reymond’s
Delice Soufflé of Fromage Blanc
| Ingredients: For the Delice Soufflé of Fromage Blanc: 500 grams of fromage blanc 3 level tsps of cornflour 7 egg yolks 6 egg whites 200 grams gruyere or comté grated cheese Salt and pepper A pinch of cream of tartar For the Watercress Sauce:
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Method for Delice:Leave both cheeses out at room temperature for one hour.
Gently fold the fromage blanc, corn flour, salt and pepper together, once incorporated add the egg yolks and the gruyere and combine very gently. Season. In a mixer whisk the egg whites and the cream of tartar to a medium soft peak. Once this is reached fold the egg whites in to the cheese mixture working it very, very gently. Generously butter the ramequins or dariolesmoulds and fill them to 1 cm from the top. Cook in an oven at 180°c in a water bath for approximately 30 minutes. They should be golden brown. Take the soufflés out of the water bath, unmould onto a plate, and serve with the watercress sauce. Method for sauce: Pick leaves of watercress and blanch for 10 seconds in boiling water, do not refresh and blend to a purée. In a pot bring vegetable stock to the boil. Add the cream and simmer gently until the sauce has reduced by a quarter. Season with paprika, salt and pepper, process the sauce with a bamix to make it light and frothy, adding progressively the watercress purée. |
