FABULOUS FOOD with Patrick Harris

Food and Fitness is my passion. I aim to bring you modified classic recipes that meet the demands of a healthier lifestyle
and occasionally will break the rules. To ask a question or request a recipe contact Patrick: rpm1@xtra.co.nz.

Café de Paris Butter

Created in 1941 specifically to go with sirloin steak, and served in the Restaurant Café de Paris in Geneva, this savoury butter was an instant success. The exact recipe is probably still secret today and only a few restaurants world-wide are reputed to serve the original recipe, amongst them the Parisian ‘Le Relais de l’Entrecôte’ and the ‘L’Entrecôte de Paris’.

This recipe is modified from one I learned while working in London. With the BBQ season fast approaching this savoury butter will surely impress any palate. Keep it on hand at all times to heighten any grilled meat.

Beurre Café de Paris
500gm butter – softened.
2 tsp Dijon mustard.
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped.
4 anchovy fillets – chopped.
1 tbsp capers - chopped.
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce.
½ tsp sweet paprika.
½ tsp curry powder.
¼ tsp cayenne.
Juice & zest ½ lemon.
Zest ¼ orange.
Splash of brandy.
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley.
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme & tarragon combined
(leaves only).

Method:
Place all the ingredients except the chopped herbs in a blender, blend for 2-3 minutes until mixture is soft, light and completely combined then pulse in the chopped herbs. Form the butter into a log using kitchen paper, freeze it and cut off slices as you need them.

Serving:
The sliced frozen butter is placed on the cooked meat and put under a VERY hot salamander (grill) for just long enough to begin to brown the top of the butter. Also goes equally well with fish and baked jacket potatoes.

Marinate, or not to marinate

For this is the solution to your flavouring woes. Who can you cook chicken without drying it out? To quote the muso Scribe – “not many, if any”.

A common method used to ensure succulence in cooked chicken is to soak the portion or whole bird in a brine solution, basically a marinate – you will find this is how supermarket pre-packed roasting or already roasted chickens are prepared, therefore giving you that guaranteed succulence.

Two of the main ingredients in brine solutions are sugar and salt which lend to add tenderness and decrease the likelihood of drying out while cooking. Restaurants will often also soak chicken breasts in brine solutions for the same effect.

I like to keep it fairly simple and let the meat do the talking. That said a good marinate or a great savoury butter can really make the difference – but let’s do without the brine solutions.

The possibilities are endless so be creative the following are some easy ideas that I use for marinating meats and a savoury butter that won’t disappoint.

Chicken: Breast
(sliced in half-length wise for quick cooking)

Lemon (zest & juice), Thyme, Garlic
Indian paste (your choice), natural yoghurt, lemon juice
Soy, sesame oil, chilli, ginger, honey
Whole chicken, rub with ground cumin, salt & pepper and stuff with a pieced lemon before roasting

Lamb: Butterflied boneless leg or rump

Rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic, cracked black peppercorns, red wine
Rub with Five Spice

Beef: for one whole scotch fillet or fillet

100gm whole seed mustard, 50gm cumin, 6 cloves garlic, 100mls oil, 50gm black pepper corns, 50gms salt. Puree in blender, coat the whole scotch or fillet and wrap with cling film marinate for at last 24hrs, cut steaks just before grilling.