The Cook and the Chef

Pepper + Salt (3x12)

Ημερομηνία προβολής: Απρ 30, 2008

Tonight Maggie and Simon demonstrate why salt and pepper feature as giants in culinary history. Simon makes a real pepper sauce that turns a steak into so much more than a pub meal, while Maggie pot roasts a pheasant to succulent perfection with apple brandy. Simon then transforms a salted cod into a creamy tasty dip while Maggie uses the curing properties of salt to turn rabbit into a melt in the mouth dish. Twenty Five years ago, Victorian cider maker, Darren Kelly, had a bottle of his Apple Brandy left for Maggie on her doorstep. For reasons unknown it never found Maggie but she eventually got word of Australia’s only Apple Brandy and on a recent trip to Victoria was delighted to catch up with the Kelly family. With its apple flavour and warm vanilla oak tones the brandy makes a perfect partner for her unctuous pot roast pheasant. While Maggie cooks up her pheasant Simon uses five different peppers to show us how a real pepper sauce should be made. His steak dished served with a roast mushroom cap and the pepper sauce will make you think again about the importance of pepper as a really wonderful and complex spice. Simon next finds himself in a lunar like landscape, the salt ponds north of Adelaide. As a chef, Simon couldn’t cook without salt but, as he explains, it’s worth having an appreciation of different salt flavours and textures to make the right cooking choices. Simon blends up a salted cod with milk, potatoes, bay leaves and oil to make a really hearty dip like dish, which in France is called Brandade. Maggie uses salt and rosemary to marinate a farm rabbit before cooking the rabbit in oil and then combining the meat with ingredients like fried ciabatta, pancetta, pine nuts and lemon to produce a warm salad that is a delightful blend of sweet, sour, salt and crunch. Recipes: - Pepper Sauce with Brandy - Pot Roasted Pheasant - Simon's Brandade - Confit of Rabbit