MasterChef: the Masters at Home: Best weekend recipes from the worlds greatest chefs

This electronic edition published in 2015 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Absolute Press

An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

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First published 2015

Shine TV Limited, 2015

This edition Absolute Press, 2015

Photography David Loftus, 2015

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ISBN: HB: 978-1-4729-0411-9

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Contents

Ferran

Adri

One of my favourite food memories is of my mothers potato tortilla.

W idely considered to be one of the greatest chefs the world has ever known, Ferran Adri is responsible for changing the face of modern gastronomy and inspiring a generation of boundary-pushing chefs through the cuisine at his famous restaurant, elBulli, in Roses on Spains Costa Brava.

Adris food was the first to be dubbed molecular in the late 1990s and it was he who pioneered the use of culinary foams, emulsifiers, gelling agents like xanthan and acidifiers for so-called spherification (capturing flavour in little pearls that exploded in the mouth when eaten).

However, as a young man Adri dreamed of a life as a footballer (I wanted to be Johan Cruyff ). It was only a chance job washing dishes in a hotel to pay for a holiday in Ibiza that opened his eyes to the possibility of cooking for a career.

The chef at the hotel taught him traditional Spanish cooking and he went on to gain experience in a number of prestigious French kitchens before joining elBulli (then a traditional French restaurant) aged 22 as a line cook. Less than 18 months later he was head chef, eventually becoming chef-patron. The rest is history, with Adri leading elBulli to many international honours, including three-Michelin-stars and being named as the best restaurant in the world in Restaurant magazines annual San Pellegrino Worlds 50 Best Restaurants list five times.

Adri closed elBulli in 2011, replacing it with his elBulli Foundation dedicated to furthering gastronomic innovation and elBulli 1846, a museum and visitor centre in Barcelona, themed around the restaurant and dishes he so famously created. Theres also the Bullipedia project, an on-line encyclopaedia, and elBulli DNA, his laboratory in which he continues to seek new ways of looking at and interpreting fine-dining. elBulli never closed, its simply being transformed.

Yet despite his culinary trailblazing, Adri is grounded in normality when hes off-duty. When he travels he always visits local markets, food shops and kitchenware stores (its a way of understanding the culture of a place). Dinners at home are usually simple affairs involving vegetables, grilled fish and lots of fruit.

Given half a chance, hell opt for shellfish on the table and has to stop himself from over indulging on it. If I eat it five days running its not funny!

Secret Food Haunt

Amorino, a chic ice cream bar in Barcelona, near the elBulli Foundation workshop (Im secretly obsessed with ice cream). It churns ice cream fresh every day, using carefully sourced produce including coconuts from Sri Lanka, Amalfi lemons and Ecuadorian chocolate. Launched in 2002 in France and Italy, the company now has outlets in cities all over the world, including London and New York.

Watermelon, Tomato and Basil Soup

Refreshing and fun, you can serve this as a main dish, a cocktail or in a tall glass.

Serves 2

For the soup

3 large ripe tomatoes, or 800g ripe cherry tomatoes, finely diced

flesh from watermelon, seeded and finely diced (400500g)

ground chilli pepper, cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce, to taste

salt

For the basil oil

a small handful of basil with stalks attached

about 100ml extra virgin olive oil

salt

To garnish

6 cherry tomatoes

6 thin slices (2cm) of watermelon flesh

Pass the diced tomatoes and watermelon through a sieve into a bowl to obtain a smooth texture. Season to taste with salt and chilli pepper or, if you prefer, cayenne or Tabasco sauce. Chill the soup.

To make the basil oil, remove most of the leaves from the basil stalks (keeping back a few leaves for garnishing) and put them in a blender with the olive oil and a little salt. Blend until smooth. Leave to infuse, then pass the oil through a sieve.

Blanch the cherry tomatoes for the garnish in boiling water for a few seconds. Remove them from the water and drop them into a bowl of cold water. Once cool enough to handle, peel off the skin.

To serve, divide the soup between two bowls. Garnish with the watermelon slices, cherry tomatoes, basil oil and reserved basil leaves.