2008 MasterChef on the BBC has finally come to an end. I didn’t follow all the episodes but I thought the last two episodes were worth watching. Since they were worth watching, there shouldn’t be any excuse to miss it.
Sadly, I did miss both episodes. However, with today’s technology, I am able to catch up any missed BBC TV programmes on BBC iPlayer. You can just play back any of your missed TV programmes on your finger tips with your laptop or PC.
The last 2 episodes were really inspiring. The 3 finalists are so talented. They have so much of talents that I was amazed by their creative culinary skills. It makes me ponder if I could take up this kind of challenge.
I really think that working in our home kitchens is totally different from working in a competition kitchens and restaurant kitchens. I like to take my time in the kitchen especially during the weekends. But, in a professional kitchen, every second counts!
The last episode of MasterChef was too overwhelming. I got so motivated after watching on the iPlayer. Then, I stood up, clapped my hands and said, ‘Right, I am gonna be a MasterChef at home.’
I went to my kitchen and put my apron on and started to search for ingredients. I got some baby salad leaves, lemon, lime and asparagus in the fridge. There I found a Sea Bream in the freezer. In the fruits basket, I got some pomegranates. As in the vegetables basket, I took some potatoes and ginger. Ok, that’s all I need.
So, what am I gonna make? A dish that is nice to see,…something new and tastes good. Some thinking and planning made within minutes, I decided to make a Pan seared Sea Bream fillets, Potatoes 2 Ways, served with baby salad leaves and Pomegranates in reduced Lemon & Lime Jus.
When I cook, I seldom measure. So, the following recipe is not provided with specific measurement. However, just make sure to taste the food frequently to adjust the seasoning. Let’s see how I made this dish.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 sea bream fillets (each cut into halves, optional)
some butter
2-3 new potatoes
some curry powder
salt and pepper
some baby salad leaves
some pomegranates to garnish
8 spears of asparagus
some freshly grated ginger
some lime juice
some lemon juice
some sugar
Method:
1. Take one of the potatoes, leave the skin on and wash. Then, cut into thin slices. About 10-12 slices should be enough. Place them on a baking tray drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle some salt. Put the tray into a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celcius. Bake the potato slices until grown brown and crispy. Place aside and keep warm.
2. For the rest of the potatoes, peel and boil them.
3. Trim and cut the asparagus into 5-6 cm length. Blanch and set aside.
4. Heat a pan with butter. Turn to medium heat. Put the fillets in the pan. Skin sides down if left the skins on. Sprinkle some freshly grated ginger. Constantly bathe the fillets with melted butter. It takes no more than 15 minutes to cook fillets (depending on the thickness).
5. While cooking the fillets, the potatoes should be cooked now. Mash the potatoes. Add some milk and give a good whisk to produce a smooth purée. Season with some salt and pinch of curry powder. Set aside but keep warm.
6. Use another saucepan, put in the the lime, lemon juice and sugar. Stir well. Put on low heat to let the juice reduce. Adjust the sweetness if needed.
7. At this point, you may want to start working on the plate. The fish should also be cooked by now, remove from heat.
8. Place some baby salad leaves around the plate. Then, put some potato crisps between the leaves. Re-heat the asparagus in the microwave to be warm enough to serve. Arrange the asparagus in the centre of the plate. Arrange the fillets on top of the asparagus.
9. Squeeze the potato purée onto the plate using a piping bag.
10. Drizzle reduced lime and lemon juice on the fish and salad leaves. Garnish with some pomegranates to serve.
