Thomas Keller Recipes

1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat the oven to 325°. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat, which can be found at most fine kitchen shops. Sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of the cheese in one corner of the Silpat. Use your fingers to spread the cheese into a 2-inch circle. Repeat with the remaining cheese; you should have about 12 rounds.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Use a small spatula to transfer them to paper towels. They will be soft when they are removed but will stiffen as they cool. Store the crisps in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

1 cup chopped red onions
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped English cucumber
1 cup chopped and peeled tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 cups tomato juice
Sprig of thyme
Balsamic Glaze (see below)

1. Mix all the ingredients except the balsamic glaze together in a bowl or other container, cover, and let sit in the refrigerator overnight.

2. The next day, remove the thyme and blend all the ingredients in a blender until the gazpacho is smooth. You will have about 2 quarts. For a smoother texture, strain the soup to yield about 1 quart. Refrigerate the gazpacho until ready to serve.

To complete: Ladle the cold soup into bowls and squeeze dots of balsamic glaze over the top.

A note on the tomato juice: To drown vine-ripened vegetables in inferior tomato juice and call it Gazpacho is travesty. A blind tasting of seven leading brands said while Campbell's did not receive uniformly negative marks, neither was it among most tasters top choices. Ungood tomato juices include V-8, Knudsen, and Muir Glen. The juices that rated tops, fresh Samantha and Welch's have distinctive different flavor profiles. Fresh Samantha was termed spice and peppery but fresh tasting. Welch's is straightforward, tomatoey and mellow. I ordered Welches from Gristedies in NYC. Alas Buffalo stores do not carry Welches Tomato juice.

Balsamic Glaze

2 cups balsamic vinegar

Heat the vinegar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until steam rises from the liquid. Place the saucepan on a heat diffuser and let the liquid reduce very slowly (it shouldn't simmer) for 2 to 3 hours, until it has reduced and thickened to a syrupy glaze. There should be approximately 1/2 cup of glaze. Keep the glaze in a squeeze bottle at room temperature for garnishing: if the glaze is too thick, warm the bottle in hot water to loosen the glaze.

Lobster bodies
Fresh tarragon
Water
Chopped tomatoes
Heavy cream

Clean the cavities, remove the gills and cut the lobster bodies into quarters. Sear the lobster bodies in hot oil until they begin to color. Cover with cold water, bring to a simmer and skim off the impurities. Add tomatoes and continue to simmer for 45 minutes. Strain through a chinoise or fine sieve. Simmer the strained stock until it is very flavorful. Let chill. Reheat while vigorously whipping to a frothy consistency where air suspends the broth "A la Cappuccino."

Four 10-ounce boned whole rainbow trout
8 ounces haricots verts, stem ends removed
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
Canola oil
10 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter
3/4 cup sliced blanched (skinned) almonds, lightly toasted
2 teaspoons minced Italian parsley
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

To pan-dress the trout:
With scissors, cut away the dorsal fin along the back of each fish. Hold each pectoral fin (the one closest to the head) and cut away and discard the gill plate and pectoral fin. Turn the fish on its back and open it up. Starting at the head, cut away the belly flap on each side, along with the pelvic fin. Remove the tail by cutting across the fish about an inch from the bottom of the tail. Set aside.
For the haricots verts:
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Prepare an ice bath. Blanch the haricots verts in the boiling water for 2 to 6 minutes, or until they are barely tender, with a slight bite still left to them. Drain the beans and transfer to the ice bath to chill quickly, then drain again and dry on paper towels.

To complete:
Lightly sprinkle both sides of each trout with salt and pepper. If you have them, heat two 12-inch nonstick pans (special oval pans work best for fish) over medium-high heat. If you have only one pan, cook two trout first, cover, and keep them in a warm place while you cook the final two. Coat each pan with a light film of canola oil. Add the trout skin side down and sauté for about 4 minutes on one side only. The fish may still look undercooked at the top of the flesh, but the hot ingredients that will top them will complete the cooking.

Meanwhile, put the beans in a sauté pan, add 2 tablespoons of the butter and 1/3 cup water, and place over medium heat. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the water has evaporated and the beans are hot and glazed with butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat and keep warm.

When the fish are done, cut off the heads and discard, if desired, and place the fish on serving plates. Drain the oil from one of the pans and return the pan to the heat. Add the remaining 8 tablespoons butter and a pinch of salt to the hot pan. When the butter begins to brown, add the almonds, shaking the pan to brown them evenly. When they are a rich golden brown, add the parsley and lemon juice.

Meanwhile, cover each trout with one-quarter of the beans.

Spoon the foaming butter and almonds over the haricots verts and

Butter and flour for the tart pan
1/3 recipe Pine Nut Crust

Lemon Sabayon
2 large eggs, cold
2 large egg yolks, cold
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold unsalted
butter, cut into 6 pieces

For the crust:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter and flour a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and refrigerate it while the oven preheats.

Remove the tart pan from the refrigerator. Use your fingertips to press the chilled pine nut dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim off any excess dough.

Bake the crust for 10 to 15 minutes, then rotate it and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Remove the crust from the oven and let it cool while you make the filling. (There may be some cracks in the crust; they will not affect the finished tart.)

For the sabayon:
Bring about 1 1/2 inches of water to a boil in a pot that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the bowl you will be using for the sabayon. Meanwhile, in a large metal bowl, whisk the eggs, yolks, and sugar for about 1 minute, or until the mixture is smooth.

Set the bowl over the pot and, using a large whisk, whip the mixture while you turn the bowl (for even heating). After about 2 minutes, when the eggs are foamy and have thickened, add one-third of the lemon juice. Continue to whisk vigorously and, when the mixture thickens again, add another one-third of the lemon juice. Whisk until the mixture thickens again, then add the remaining lemon juice. Continue whisking vigorously, still turning the bowl, until the mixture is thickened and light in color and the whisk leaves a trail in the bottom of the bowl. The total cooking time should be 8 to 10 minutes.

Turn off the heat and leave the bowl over the water. Whisk in the butter a piece at a time. The sabayon may loosen slightly, but it will thicken and set as it cools. Pour the warm sabayon into the tart crust and place the pan on a baking sheet.

Preheat the broiler. While the sabayon is still warm, place the tart under the broiler. Leaving the door open, brown the top of the sabayon, rotating the tart if necessary for even color; this will take only a few seconds, so do not leave the oven. Remove the tart from the broiler and let it sit for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve at room temperature or cold.