TV CHAMPION’S TOP-CLASS DINING TO HEAT AT HOME
WE’RE standing outside a warehouse, knocking loudly as instructed by a sign on the door, to collect our food order.
Louisa Ellis, newly crowned queen of Masterchef: The Professionals’ Christmas special, appears and, in a socially distanced handover, presents us with a weighty brown paper bag filled with containers that, as if by magic, will be turned into a fine dining feast at home.
We’ve had “Heat at Home” takeaways from Louisa before and the pasta and sticky toffee pudding was bang on.
But the chef’s latest menu is in a different league – more refined and sophisticated with Asian flavours weaved into each element, from the starter through to the petits fours.
All we have to do is turn on the oven for warming through, following a set of clearly outlined instructions.
Two mini milk loaves come alive with the orange-coloured gochujang butter – a new one on me but a quick Google search reveals it’s a red chilli paste used widely in Korea.
There’s a kick but it doesn’t overpower the sweet milky taste of the bread.
A spiced carrot croquette, the starter, takes 20 minutes to heat. In the meantime we arrange thin spheres of pickled mooli, an Asian radish, on plates.
As a member of the exclusive coriander-hating club the potential for tastebud disaster is narrowly averted when I spot the herb on the radish – a quick rinse under the tap (sorry Louisa!) doesn’t appear to do the flavour of the mooli any harm though.
Grated carrot inside the croquette – the size of a fishcake – adds another layer of texture to the crispness of the coating, the crunch of the mooli and the smooth tang of accompanying katsu sauce. Pea shoots aren’t the easiest to eat daintily but the tendrils are a nice finishing touch and they’re undeniably tasty.
The main course takes 30 minutes but that gives us a breather after the generous starter. The potato terrine and beef go into the oven in their tinfoil containers and the sesame dashi sauce is heated in a pan.
Plating up allows you to go to town with a few fancy touches. We’re more intent on eating the food rather than spending too long on making it look like a work of art so the ‘cheffy’ smear of chilli emulsion isn’t the neatest.
Star of the show is the 12-hour slowcooked beef rib, which arrived as a compact cylinder but after heating falls into melt-in-the-mouth chunks of meat. The sesame dashi sauce takes it to another level, adding a unami richness.
The potato terrine has a punchy szechuan flavour and the whole dish is tempered by pickled cucumber, ponzu shiitake mushrooms and chilli emulsion. Dessert takes no effort other than tipping crystallised Rice Krispies on top of the mango, yuzu and ginger cheesecake.
It was gorgeously fruity and creamy, but I wouldn’t have minded a strong ginger hit.
It is a fitting end to special meal. The night should have ended with the petits fours but we have to save the white chocolate and matcha fudge until the following day as we’re so full.
Being invited back to Masterchef: The Professionals and winning the festive one-off certainly seems to have increased the chef’s confidence to pursue a more adventurous upmarket menu (costing £74 for two) where the bold flavours are as big as the portions.
It’s certainly boosted her popularity as the weekly menus are sold out until the end of February but there is a waiting list.
Find out more at cheflouisaellis.com