COOKBOOKS WITH PANACHE On The Line: Inside the World of
Le Bernardin By Eric Ripert
In his new book On The Line (Artisan, 2008),
Chef Eric Ripert takes you behind the scenes at Le Bernardin, one of
just three New York City restaurants to earn three Michelin stars.
Any fan of gourmet dining who ever stole a peek behind a restaurant kitchen's swinging doors will love this unique insider's account, with its interviews, inventory checklists, and fly-on-the-wall dialogue that bring the business of haute cuisine to life.
Take one top New York restaurant, add danger, drama, and dialogue, toss in their best recipes, and you have a cooking classic.
How does a 4-star restaurant stay on top for more than two decades?
From the sudden death of Le Bernardin's founding chef, Gilbert Le Coze, to Ripert's stressful but triumphant takeover of the kitchen at age 29, the story has plenty of drama. But as Chef Ripert and writer Christine Muhlke reveal, every day is an adventure in a perfectionistic restaurant kitchen. Foodies will love reading about the inner workings of a top restaurant, from how a kitchen is organized to the real cost of the food and the fierce discipline and organization it takes to achieve culinary perfection on the plate almost 150,000 times a year.
Meanwhile, Le Bernardin's modern French cuisine, with its emphasis on seafood, comes to life in sophisticated recipes, including Striped Bass with Sweet Corn Puree, Grilled Shishito Peppers, Shaved Smoked Bonito, and Mole Sauce, and Pan-Roasted Cod with Chorizo, Snow Peas, Piquillo Peppers, and Soy-Lime Butter Sauce.
SALMON
Wild Alaskan and Smoked Salmon with Apple,
Celery, Baby Watercress and Jalapeño Emulsion
Serves 4
This simple appetizer epitomizes Le Bernardin's philosophy of food: the fish is the star, and every other ingredient has to highlight it. One of our cooks, Soa Davies, created it; it was so perfect that
we put it on the menu without changing a thing. The texture of the rich fish and the light and
delicate apple sets up a delightful contrast.
THE JALAPEÑO EMULSION
1/2 cup minced jalapeños
(seeds removed)
1 teaspoon minced shallot
6 tablespoons extra virgin
olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Fine sea salt and freshly ground
white pepper
THE APPLE SLICES
1 large Granny Smith apple
THE SALMON
5 ounces wild Alaskan salmon
5 ounces smoked salmon
Fine sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
THE GARNISH
1/2 Granny Smith apple,
cut into 1/4-inch-thick julienne
1 celery stalk, peeled and cut
into thin half-moons
1 teaspoon celery leaf julienne
1 teaspoon Italian parsley julienne
1/2 petal Lemon Confit
briefly blanched and minced
Fine sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper
1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
4 slices jalapeño
1/4 cup micro watercress
For the jalapeño emulsion, combine the jalapeños, shallot, olive oil, and lemon juice in a blender and process until smooth and emulsified. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Transfer to a container and refrigerate until ready to use.
For the apple slices, peel the apple and slice 1/4 inch thick, using a mandoline; you need 20 slices. Trim the slices into rectangles about 21/2 inches by 1 inch. Blanch the slices in boiling water for about 2 seconds, then cool in an ice bath. Drain and
pat dry with a paper towel.
Slice the wild salmon into 12
rectangles, each about 21/2 inches
by 1 inch. Trim the edges to
make even edges. Repeat with
the smoked salmon.
To assemble, arrange the salmon and apple slices down the center of each plate, overlapping them slightly, in the following order: wild salmon, apple, smoked salmon, apple; repeat two more times, and finish with a slice of smoked salmon (3 slices wild salmon, 5 slices apple, and 3 slices smoked salmon per plate).
Season with salt and pepper and drizzle extra virgin olive oil over and around the salmon and apples on each plate.
In a small bowl, combine the julienned apple, the celery, celery leaf, parsley, and lemon confit. Season with salt and pepper and toss with the olive oil and lemon juice. Arrange the garnish over the salmon and apples and sprinkle with the jalapeño slices and watercress. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the jalapeño emulsion over and around each plate, and serve immediately.
Excerpted from ON THE LINE by Eric Ripert (Artisan Books, $35.00). Copyright 2008. Shimon and Tammar Rothstein food photographers.
COOKBOOKS WITH PANACHE
