Tetsuya - Recipe Index by Ingredient

Following on from my previous post, an index by ingredient to Damien Pignolet's "Salades", I have undertaken a similar exercise in relation to Tetsuya Wakada's "Testsuya".

Two things surprised me about this book when I first decided I was going to spend a whole day preparing an 8-course degustation for 6 people, for a 30th birthday I was catering.  First, although some of the ingredients took a little time to track down, that was largely because I had no idea where I was looking, but after spending an hour in the IGA in Chinatown, Sydney I had finally located where everything was. To my surprise, they are things that I have used again and again.  Secondly, this is a surprisingly simple and practical set of recipes.


In any event, here is the index to the recipes, listed according to certain staple pantry ingredients.

Banyuls Vinegar

• Carpaccio of Snapper with Banyuls Dressing (page 22)
• Sashimi of Hamachi with Blood Orange and Ginger Vinaigrette (page 38)
• Tian of Marinated Scampi with Pawpaw, Cucumber and Tonburi (page 40)
• Tartare of Marinated Scampi with Tomato and Pepper Sorbet (page 46)
• Salad of Blood Orange, Beetroot and Rhubarb (page 68)
• Roasted Scampi Seasoned with Tea and Scampi Oil (page 98)
• Warm Salad of Veal Sweetbreads with King Prawns (page 102)

Konbu

• Confit of Petuna Ocean Trout with Fennel Salad (page 56)
• Roasted Quail Breast with Gobo and Black Truffle (page 126)
• Venison with Roasted Eschallots and Morels (page 140)
• Braised Oxtail with Sea Cucumber and Vegetables (page 146)
• Braised Pig's Cheek with Gobo (page 150)
• Double-Cooked Deboned Spatchcock with Bread Sauce (page 152)

Mirin

• Cold Soup of Potato and Leek with Jellied Eggplant (page 14)
• Marinated Whiting with Umeboshi (page 26)
• Marinated Trevally with Preserved Lemon (page 34)
• Seared Tuna with Apple and Olive (page 36)
• Salad of Sea Scallops with Asparagus and Beans (page 42)
• Cuttlefish Noodles with Quail Egg (page 50)
• Tartare of Tuna with Goat's Cheese (page 52)
• Salad of Tataki Bonito with Garlic Chips and Shiso (page 60)
• Tataki of Ostrich with Truffled Peaches (page 66)
• Seasonal Garden Greens with Soy and Balsamic Vinaigrette (page 70)
• Angelhair Pasta with Scampi and Scampi Oil (page 74)
• Angelhair Pasta with Asparagus and Truffle Oil (page 78)
• Linguine with a Ragout of Oriental Mushrooms (page 80)
• Sauteed Cuttlefish with Soba (page 88)
• Steamed Abalone with Witlof and Peaches (page 92)
• Steamed Snapper with Celeriac Mousse (page 96)
• Roasted Lobster with Braised Oxtail (page 108)
• Roasted Duck Breast with Confit Potato and Duck Jus (page 112)
• Grilled Breast of Duck with Apple and Ginger Dipping Sauce (page 116)
• Duck Terrine (page 118)
• Roasted Squab with Buckwheat, Shimeji and Shiitake (page 120)
• Seared Swordfish with Artichoke and Olive (page 124)
• Roasted Quail Breast with Gobo and Black Truffle (page 126)
• Quail Legs with Ginger and Five-Spice Powder (page 128)
• Slow-Roasted Rack of Lamb with Miso and Blue Cheese (page 130)
• Venison with Roasted Eschallots and Morels (page 140)
• Sushi of Seared Veal with Soy and Mirin Glaze (page 156)

Rice Wine Vinegar

• Tasmanian Pacific Oysters with Rice Wine Vinaigrette (page 20)
• Carpaccio of Snapper with Banyuls Dressing (page 22)
• Lobster Ravioli with Tomato and Basil Vinaigrette (page 72)
• Slow-Roasted Rouget with Buckwheat Vinaigrette (page 100)
• Grilled Breast of Duck with Apple and Ginger Dipping Sauce (page 116)

Scampi Oil

• Angelhair Pasta with Scampi and Scampi Oil (page 74)
• Roasted Scampi Seasoned with Tea and Scampi Oil (page 98)

Wakame

• Marinated Whiting with Umeboshi (page 26)
• Lobster Ravioli with Tomato and Basil Vinaigrette (page 72)
• Steamed Snapper with Celeriac Mousse (page 96)
• Roasted Scampi Seasoned with Tea and Scampi Oil (page 98)
• Warm Salad of Veal Sweetbreads with King Prawns (page 102)
• Roasted Barramundi with Bitter Greens and Truffled Peaches (page 106)
• Roasted Lobster with Braised Oxtail (page 108)
• Seared Swordfish with Artichoke and Olive (page 124)
• Grilled Fillet of Veal with Wasabi and Sea Urchin Butter (page 136)

Walnut Oil

• Tartare of Marinated Scampi with Tomato and Pepper Sorbet (page 46)
• Tartare of Marinated Scampi with Tomato and Pepper Sorbet (page 46)
• Salad of Blood Orange, Beetroot and Rhubarb (page 68)
• Warm Salad of Veal Sweetbreads with King Prawns (page 102)

White Sesame Oil

• Carpaccio of Snapper with Banyuls Dressing (page 22)
• Seared Tuna with Apple and Olive (page 36)
• Steamed Abalone with Witlof and Peaches (page 92)
• Sushi of Seared Veal with Soy and Mirin Glaze (page 156)

Damien Pignolet's "Salades" by Ingredient

For someone whose favourite cookbooks include "The River Cottage Meat Book" by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, "Cooking on the Bone" by Jennifer McLagan, and "Nose to Tail Eating" by Fergus Henderson, a book entirely devoted to salads was a challenge. I had thoroughly enjoyed Damien Pignolet's "French", however, and so when he released "Salades" it was time to take up the challenge.

The first challenge was ingredients, and specifically ingredients for the wide variety of vinaigrettes described in the book. My larder had never had any need for pistachio oil, banyuls, mostarda di frutta (mustard fruits, or fruit candied in sugar and honey syrup flavoured with mustard oil) or the esoteric vinaigre de cidre aux algues, échalotes et à la fleur de sel (cider, seaweed, eschalot & fleur de sel vinegar). While Cornwell's cider vinegar was perfectly fine for making Stephanie Alexander's peach chutney, it seemed inadequate as the main ingredient of a delicate vinaigrette.

My first task in meeting the "Salades" challenge, therefore, was the purchase of some top-quality oils, vinegars, mustards and other ingredients that I had not previously had on hand.  Two things occurred during that process that prompted this post: first, I spent hundreds of dollars; secondly, by dint of my poor memory and even poorer record-keeping I ended up with 2 litres of verjuice.  A thought bubble said "I need to find the recipes that use verjuice", and it occurred to me that in place of "verjuice" in that thought bubble one could insert the name of any expensive ingredient of which only small quantities would be used in any particular recipe.

And so I have set out below an index to the recipes in "Salades" by reference to various staple ingredients.

[NB:  Perhaps arbitrarily, I have not included olive oil, peanut oil, grapeseed oil or (non-aged) balsamic vinegar, simply because they have sufficient uses as a staple to not warrant my attention in this list.  Equally arbitrarily, I have included mustards despite the fact that they probably have sufficient uses elsewhere.  I have included under Aged Red and Aged White vinegar those recipes that also call for simply red wine or white wine vinegar, as they seem to me sufficiently interchangeable that you could substitute in the aged variety without difficulty.  I have not included under Aged Balsamic vinegar those recipes calling simply for balsamic vinegar as they seem to me to be sufficiently different as to not be interchangeable.]