Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Restaurants Best cookbooks 2008: A Day at elBulli
Posted by Besha Rodell @BeshaRodell on Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 3:59 PM
It's actually quite hard to characterize A Day at elBulli: An insight into the ideas, methods and creativity of Ferran Adria (Phaidon, $49.95) as a cookbook. At least, I was not able to cook anything from this huge, fawning book covering the self-declared "best restaurant in the world". The book does contain 30 recipes in its 600 pages, from the kitchen of the famously cutting edge chef in Northern Spain. But if any of them look doable, invariably something will trip you up.
Usually it will be a matter of equipment (what, you don't have a candy-floss machine in your kitchen?). If not that, it will be a matter of ingredients. The two recipes I thought I might be able to cook left me stranded at the store, hopelessly staring at my shopping list. The first, samphire tempura with saffron and oyster cream, didn't call for any machines or chemicals I was unlikely to have. Of course, I had no idea what samphire is. I was saddened to find that it is a plant that grows on rocks near the coast of the United Kingdom. Drats. My brother suggested we substitute another green vegetable - asparagus perhaps? But I felt that would be contrary to the spirit of the book, which is basically that almost all of this stuff is totally unattainable.
The second, pine nut marshmallows, looked almost easy (see recipe below). My problem was finding extra virgin pine nut oil. I looked for it in a lot of stores. I didn't find it. If anyone has any leads, let me know and I'll give it a shot.
So, I wasn't able to make anything from the book, but it hardly matters. A small note at the back of the book reads "The technical level of elBulli's recipes requires specialist equipment, exact measurements using the metric system and professional experience to achieve good results." This is a book about inspiration, not home cooking. The layout takes you through every step of a day at the restaurant, and for anyone interested in the boundary-pushing chef and his methods, or for anyone who would love to eat at the restaurant but know they probably never will (as if the flight to Spain weren't enough of an obstacle, the book reminds us on the cover that there are 2,000,000 requests for 8,000 reservation spots every year), it is a fascinating read. It would no doubt give inspiration to any chef trying to think about food in a creative way, even if he or she isn't in the liquid nitrogen camp. And it's a gorgeous book, full of luscious photography, as well as inserts that cover everything from Adria's resume to excerpts from the restaurant's "electronic wine list".
I'll be giving away a copy of A Day at elBulli as part of our "Top Chef" challenge.
Pine nut marshmallows from A Day at elBulli
10 Servings
500 g (2 cups) milk
9 x 2 g gelatin leaves, re-hydrated in cold water
40 g (2 2/3 tbsp) virgin pine nut oil
75 g (2/3 cup) toasted pine nut powder
Directions
1. Place 400 g (1 ¾ cups) milk in the freezer until it cools to 3° C/37°F.
2. Meanwhile, mix the gelatin with the remaining milk in a pan.
3. Dissolve the gelatin at 40°C/105°F and pour into a mixing bowl.
4. Start to whip the mixture. After 30 seconds, add all the cooled milk in one pour.
5. Continue to whip for 3 minutes. Add the pine nut oil.
6. Keep whipping for another 30 seconds and spread out over a transparent sheet to a thickness of 2.5 cm (1 in).
7. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
8. Cut into 2.5 cm (1 in) cubes.
9. Refrigerate in an airtight container.
10. Immediately before serving, lightly salt the cubes and coat 4 sides with toasted pine nut powder, leaving 2 uncoated sides.
Finishing and Presentation
Serving suggestion: 2 pieces per person on a blue glass tray.
Cutlery: None.
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