How hard can it be to cook warm lobster with ricotta gnudi, butternut puree and white truffle; as well as four cuts of baby lamb with caramelised yoghurt and vegetables?
Well, quite hard. On a rainy Auckland night recently, Australian celebrity chef Matt Moran attempted to show a bunch of us media folk how it’s done.
Masterchef judge Moran selected the two dishes that the final two teams in Masterchef NZ had to make for their last cook-off. In the final showdown, Maketu sisters Kasey and Karena Bird won the title over friends Bec Stanley and Jaimie Stodler.
And, after a three-hour master cooking class with the man, here’s what I have to share with you …
FIVE THINGS I LEARNT COOKING WITH MATT MORAN …
1. There are some things you should not try at home (and Masterchef must be hard).
With the help of ARIA restaurant head chef Ben Turner, Moran give us a detailed step-by-step of how to recreate warm lobster with ricotta gnudi and butternut puree.
The original dish calls for marron, but – fun fact – we don’t have these in New Zealand, so you can swap it out for lobster. The problem is, for someone whose culinary expertise peaks with a lasagna, it’s a lot of steps.
Halfway through Moran’s explanation of how to make a buttermilk puree, a woman asks where to put the meat glue.
That’s in the next recipe, he explains. Oh.
So I have massive respect for the Masterchef finalists, who had two hours to make each dish – which even Moran admits was putting them under the pump.
So unless you want to spend hours fiddling over a hot stove, I decide it’s better to incorporate elements of a gourmet meal into everyday cooking.
From my class with Moran I’ll be bringing the chive dressing into my regular kitchen itinerary: blended mustard, chives, honey, vinegar, emulsified grape seed oil, salt and pepper. Ooh, and the caramelised yoghurt and miso dressing, which involves cooking the yoghurt until it’s golden and pureeing with miso and water.
2. Lamb is extremely versatile.
Moran is something of a lamb-o-holic, breeding his own free-range lamb on a farm in New South Wales’ Central Tablelands.
“We don’t breed skinny, runty lambs, we breed fat lambs,” Moran says, brandishing his knife. “Don’t take too much fat off – if you take the fat out, you’re taking the flavour out.”
For the recipe he talked us through we need lamb breast, lamb leg, lamb saddle, and lamb rack, which with different cooking techniques all manage to retain a unique flavour.
3. Step it up with an Australian wine.
So you might not be able to afford a Canterbury truffle of the type Moran uses – that’s $3500 a kilo – but us mere mortals can splash out for some of the wines that along go with his gourmet dish.
At the top of the tasting list is the 2010 Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay, made with grapes grown in Tasmania, which, with its long, oaky aftertaste was my favourite. (Retailing at around $130, I’ll be waiting for a special occasion for that one.)
The Jacobs Creek Steingarten Riesling is a more affordable $30, and packs a crisp punch. Red-wise, the 2012 Montalto Estate Main Ridge Block Pinot Noir is super-gutsy and plummy for a pinot ($65) while the 2010 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Shiraz ($35) has all the characteristics of a big Aussie red.
The hallmark of a good wine is its longevity – you should be able to taste it for 30 seconds or more post-sip.
4. Moran is the Vin Diesel of the cooking world.
With his deep, gravelly voice and running list of jokes, Moran could quite literally have had the audience eating finely grated parmesan from the palm of his hand. Joking with Turner about an ingredient the chef bought over from Australia, Moran asks; “How’d you get it in? Was it up yer bum?’ as the room explodes in titters.
“No, I’m just being naughty,” Turner winks in reply.
Later, he pulls up his sleeves to reveal the names of his two children, one tattooed on each bicep. The “awwww’s” echo throughout Ponsonby Central.
5. But celebrity chefs have flaws too.
Before we leave, the PR surreptitiously walks around collecting all the copies of the two recipes we’ve been given – but it’s too late for the eagle eyes of a room half-full with magazine editors.
When I’m emailed them again later, the lamb mussels have magically turned into muscles, and the slightly alarming chicken mouse has become a mousse. Though knowing Moran, he could even make vermin taste good.
Matt’s chive dressing
| 1 tsp Dijon mustard |
| 1 tsp honey |
| 20 ml Chardonnay vinegar |
| 60 ml Grape seed oil |
| ½ bunch chives (finely chopped) |
|
1. Whisk the mustard, honey and vinegar together with a little salt and pepper.
2. Emulsify with the grape seed oil, add the chives and set aside. It’s now ready to use. |