08-12-2012

At the stove with Blumenthal

A recipe book by the master of Bray in Italian. Dishes to be prepared at home, for everyone

Spelt risotto with turnip, one of the many recipes

Spelt risotto with turnip, one of the many recipes inside "Heston Blumenthal at home”, 408 pages, 47 euros. Photo by Angela Moore, by kind permission of Castelvecchi Editore

One year after the launch in England by London’s Bloomsbury Publishing, Castelvecchi publishes, in Italy, the translation of “Heston Blumenthal at home” (408 pages, 47 euros), an elegant coffee-table book, in paper and fabric binding, with recipes from the English chef at the Fat Duck (a total of 5 stars: 3 in Bray, one at the Dinner in London and another, brand new, at the Hinds Head pub, also in Bray). Below, a portrait in sweatshirt, in his kitchen at home, by photographer Angela Moore.

Anybody who has had the fortune - during one of the first editions of Identità Milano, when it was still held at Palazzo della Borsa - to attend a lesson given by Blumenthal who, showing an evocative travel video, explained to the audience his Gold, incense and myrrh - Reindeer ice cream; anybody who has eaten at the Fat Duck, or even anyone used to hear people referring to him as a pioneer of molecular cuisine, will immediately be intrigued by a book of recipes you can do at home, dedicated to an audience of enthusiasts, rather than of professionals.

Carrot lollipop

Carrot lollipop

The volume is divided, in fact, into 13 chapters (starting with Stocks and Soups and covering all courses up to Cakes and desserts and Biscuits, snacks and drinks), with a structured introduction on The essence of taste (a short dissertation on the five flavours, the senses and the – fundamental, for Blumenthal – relationship between Food and the brain). A final section is dedicated to the special tools that are necessary in the kitchen (from the thermometer with digital sound to the siphon and the refractometer) for those who want to do some of the recipes (though luckily not all of these will require these tools).

The vast selection of recipes (a total 150) includes basic solutions (beef stock, boiled fish, risotto, his carbonara or a cheese toast); a few typically British dishes such as scotch eggs or roast chicken or from the beloved Provence (the onion soup), and many reviews of what have become legendary dishes at the Fat Duck, such as the Red cabbage gazpacho, the Marmite broth or the Scallop tartare with white chocolate, plus divertissements such as the Carrot lollipop or the Edible garden with gribiche sauce.

The book cover

The book cover

Every recipe is preceded by a personal note of the chef, explaining why he has chosen the recipe, and similarly before every chapter there are a few practical general suggestions that reveal the “scientific” method behind his way of cooking. Even though the brevity of the list of ingredients may surprise, one should not be taken in by appearances: some preparations are still very long, and the precision when measuring is always recommended. In this case, “to taste” is not admitted!


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Books and editorial news from the food planet

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Mirta Oregna