An Eye for great taste
Our trio of amateur cooks tackle recipes from Queer Eye star Antoni Porowski’s debut cookbook. So how will they fare?
THERE have been many snarky asides at Antoni Porowski’s expense. As beautiful, charming and thoughtful as he may be, as the food and wine expert on Netflix’s Queer Eye reboot, his culinary credentials have been repeatedly trashed.
Take the time the 35-year-old Canadian ‘taught’ someone to make grilled cheese sandwiches , or (unforgivably) added Greek yoghurt to guacamole.
The former model and actor has been upfront about not being professionally kitchen trained, but that hasn’t stopped him launching ‘fast-casual’ New York restaurant The Village Den.
Neither have the cynics dissuaded him from writing his first cookbook, Antoni In The Kitchen. But how exactly do the recipes measure up? We gave them a try...
■ LAUREN TAYLOR tested: Creamy lemon-rosemary artichoke dip
WHEN entertaining, you can’t go wrong with a crowd-pleasing dip.
My first realisation about this recipe was how huge it was going to be, and secondly how rich, given there are four types of full-fat diary involved.
You don’t even need to have set foot in a kitchen before to make this. It’s literally throwing all the ingredients in a bowl and mixing with a spoon.
Into a bowl goes the mountain of artichokes, an entire block of Gruyere and half a block of cheddar, plus copious amounts of cream cheese and sour cream. I follow with the few non-diary ingredients – lemon, rosemary and pepper – before stirring. Antoni says to ‘mix until smooth’, which doesn’t seem possible...
The glorious rosemary and lemon-infused smell of baking cheese from the oven is a good sign, and the end result is gooey and creamy with the right amount of sharpness from the lemon to cut through it.
Everyone agreed it was delicious and dangerously moreish.
■ ELLA WALKER tested: Hanger steak with charred limes, fresh chillies and herbs
AS a general rule, I don’t buy beef to cook with at home, but Queer Eye is all about pushing yourself and reassessing your boundaries, right? So gimme the steak.
While it’s a straightforward recipe, in that it’s just a slab of beef brought to room temp, seasoned and grilled (on a griddle pan, rather than over hot coals in my case), then eaten, there are a few smart nuances that make it a bit more interesting than simple caveman fare.
First it’s marinated in grated fresh ginger, and you can really taste it branded into the crinkled, burnished outer layers. Second, you have the chargrilled limes, the juice of which I squeezed over the meat, the wedges I served with it, as well as the salad. I plan to chargrill limes at every opportunity from now on – it gives an instant dressing that hits amazing sweet-sour-salty notes, adding more zing than even the chilli and scrunched mint leaves.
Quite a decadent mid-week meal for two.
■ PRUDENCE WADE tested: Cauliflower steaks with turmeric and crunchy almonds
NOT a difficult dish to make – you roast the cauliflower and add the spicy dressing along with almonds, dates and fresh coriander. I particularly liked how Antoni specifies you roast the leaves of the cauliflower along with everything else – not only does it encourage less food waste but they add a delicious crunch to the dish.
I didn’t use the Korean chilli paste Antoni recommends, but I have a similar Chinese version. Gochujang is not the most accessible of ingredients, so he suggests Sriracha as an alternative. I was pleasantly surprised; the dressing was hot but tangy thanks to lime and honey, the cauliflower was tender and the flavours of the almonds, dates and coriander married well. I was more than a little chuffed that mine looked pretty similar to Antoni’s, although my basement kitchen doesn’t exactly provide the best lighting for food photography.
For a main meal, Antoni recommends serving it with a rice or grain, but that strikes me as a bit dry. I served it with pearl barley cooked in spinach and chilli, but that didn’t quite match up to the cauliflower. Maybe this recipe is best as a side dish.
■ Antoni In The Kitchen by Antoni Porowski, photography by Paul Brissman, published by Bluebird, priced £20.