George, Gary Matt are back for their sixth season, searching for Australia's next Masterchef. Courtesy Channel Ten.
Masterchef judges ... Gary Mehigan, Matt Preston and George Calombaris. Picture: Martin Philbey Source: Channel 10
MASTERCHEF is back with some of the best cooks and the best cooking I've ever seen on the show.
Here are nine trends and tips from Channel Ten's new series of MasterChef Australia that I've seen that could help you in the kitchen.
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ROLLING CHICKEN
Making ballotines is a technique we'll see a lot of in the coming season of MasterChef. This is the rolling of beaten-out chicken breast or thigh around a contrasting stuffing or complementary fare. of some kind.
It's quite easy to do if you roll the breast in plastic wrap to help you get it tight before poaching it in a pan of hot water or, if you are really trendy, a water bath. You then colour the outside in a hot pan. An alternative is trussing the roll with string for roasting the old-fashioned way but note usually it won't be as tight.
PICKLING & SMOKING
New trend ... Pickled vegetables in a jar. Source: Getty Images
Idea for multiple techniques . a pumpkin and two gourds. Source: Getty Images
While we've seen pickling pop up last season as a trend it's really hit its straps this year along with those other great traditional preserving technique, curing and smoking.
Quick pickling at home is as easy as tossing your cucumber ribbons, batons of carrot, halved radishes, quartered turnips or onion slices in a little salt (1 tsp) and a little more sugar (maybe 1 tbsp.). Then cover with either rice wine vinegar if you are serving the pickle with anything Asian, red wine vinegar if the pickle is going with a beef or lamb, or cider vinegar if it's going with pork. When the veg has tang and still has crunch it's ready — this can be as short as 15 minutes. The rule is the thinner or smaller you cut the veg the quicker the pickle. Curing is pretty much the same idea but with adding aromats instead of the vinegar. Smoking at home however is a far longer discussion, and one that demands its own column.
CHEATs & HACKS
Time pressure is omnipresent in the MasterChef kitchen as it is in the home kitchen. This is why in my Masterclasses I'm spending more time during my occasional Masterclass appearances concentrating on a series of hacks, which are tips and recipes that use minimal ingredients for maximum impact in minimum time.
Like how it is easier to slice very fresh bread without compressing the slices by flipping it onover and slicing across the base rather than the top; like how it's neater, easier and safer to cut fresh herbs with scissors in a glass; like how you can mix excellent peanut butter biscuits without any flour at all.
THE EDGES OF CAKES ARE BETTER
Too often contestants cut a neat ring out of the middle of a sheet of sponge to make a composed dessert. It might look great but the lesson for we amateur cooks is that the best bit of a cake is often the toasty edges left behind. For more flavour actually think of using them.
Cravats created in support of marriage equality ... MasterChef judge Matt Preston. Picture: Channel 10 Source: Supplied
SIGNATURE INGREDIENTS
Chicken has never been cooked better on our show but also look out for lots of beetroot, rosewater, dates, the peas and pods of sugar snap peas or mange touts that have been barely blanched, snapper, cutlets, kale, quail and quinoa.
In desserts we've seen loads of white chocolate, pannacottas and berries — especially blackberries and strawberries. These have been used in both sweet and savoury dishes with blackberry popping up rather deliciously with beetroot and ashed goat's cheese, and game dishes. Another major trend has been watching contestants using cream and milk in challenges to make everything from whey and buttermilk to their own butter and even cheese to use in dishes.
Brilliant.
Making butter at home from cream and sour milk is easy — and you'll get the buttermilk for your baking as well. You'll find my recipe online at taste.com.au.
ASPIRATIONS & ABILITIES
It's one of Gary Mehigan's favourite sayings but every year our contestants initially make the mistake of muddling their aspirations with their abilities.
As home cooks we are often guilty of the same mistake. We think we are better cooks than we actually are. When cooking for guests the number one rule is keep it simple. The other two rules are "make something you've made before" and "do as much before your guests arrive as possible".
LOTS OF THINGS ON A PLATE
Always a risky strategy in a MasterChef challenge but with the quality of the cooks we've managed to find this year you'll see this pay off far more often.
The most successful dishes with lots going on ensure that each element plays it part, whether it's adding sweet, sour, salt, creamy, crunchy, crispy, complementary or contrasty … (or it would be if that was a word). Think the same when you are looking to take one of your dishes at home to the next level — whatever you add must add something to the texture or flavour of the dish.
THE PERFECT PUREE
Through Masterclass and his constant hectoring, George Calombaris has "helped" me understand the importance of the perfect vegetable puree, one that is both flavoursome and satin smooth.
George's tips are simple: cook small quantities of your veg to puree quickly in either milk or the juice of the vegetable juice. This will maintain both colour and flavour. The only exception is veg with a high sugar content like onions which benefit more for long slow cooking. If speed is the need, then thinly grated carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, etc will cook quicker than diced.: "The box grater is your best friend when it comes to puree," says George.
George's next tip is to blend the cooked veg while it is still hot to get a finer result and also to use a canister that is only just a little broader in diameter than your stick blender for the faster you blend, the better the colour. And don't forget to pass your puree through a fine sieve to ensure it is super smooth. The final tip? Don't use pepper in your puree, you'll notice its graininess in your silky puree. Season your protein instead.
USING SEVERAL TECHNIQUES TO ONE VEGETABLE or FRUIT
This year we've been pushing our contestants to do more, and one area where we've seen this in the kitchen is with them trying multiple techniques on one fruit, vegetable or bird.
This means we might see carrots or onions as a puree as well as a pickle, roasted, raw or even fried as a wafer, chip or a cubes. These will all appear on the same plate to provide contrast in both texture and flavour of the same ingredient.
We've also seen fruit and veg (like thinly sliced pumpkin) blazed with a blowtorch, or maybe poached sous vide under vacuum with a contrasting liquid to the fruit or veg in the vacuum pouch as other techniques used.
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