MASTERCLASS

A fancy dish with multiple components requires serious effort. To make it worth your time in the kitchen, head chef Sujatha Asokan of Botanico at The Garage shares two fail-proof recipes. By Victoria Lim

XO pasta and lamb tenderloin

Kitchen thrill-seekers looking to up the culinary ante thrive on multi-step recipes. While such recipes require longer than average cook times, the steps need not always be overly convoluted. Take a look at Botanico head chef Sujatha Asokan seemingly complex Lamb Tenderloin with Soy Pickled Tomatoes, Curried Mash Potatoes, Smoked King Oyster Mushrooms and Pickled Spanish Onions. Although there are five components leading to the final build up of the dish, Asokan assures that the recipe can be completed one hour in advance (not including brining and pickling time, of course) and assembled when your guests are seated at the table.

The small things, however, can make a big difference to the final plate. “For instance, buying ground pepper to season the lamb tenderloin is not as effective as grinding down the fresh peppercorns yourself, because you will lose out on the delicate aroma and sweetness that comes from the black peppercorn varietal,” she advises. And instead of rushing through the brining process, allow the lamb tenderloin to rest in the brine for 90 minutes to absorb all the umami goodness. Likewise, the king oyster mushrooms requires the smoking process to be repeated to impart a more intense flavour dimension to the lamb.

Asokan’s other crowd-pleaser is

XO Pasta with Lobster in its own Butter and Pickled Turnips. “With this dish, the most important step is getting the flavour of the XO sauce right. Sautéing the sauce too quickly will result in an unappealing liquid mess, but keeping it a few minutes too long might result in a burnt and bitter flavour,” says Asokan. She continues, “Only sauté the sauce to the point where it achieves a beautiful deep brown shade, and then take it off the stove immediately, as the colour will continue to deepen with the residual heat.”