Wolfgang Puck's 2007 Oscar Recipes
Feb. 23, 2007 — -- For the 13th year in a row, Wolfgang Puck has created an Oscar-worthy menu for the hottest post-award show ticket in town: the academy's Governors Ball.
This year, there are two things that are different: For the first time ever, the Governors Ball menu is composed of completely locally grown, sustainable organic ingredients, second, some of the cooking is happening inside the ballroom.
With the recipes below, you can eat like the stars on Oscar night.
Spiny Lobster Shanghai Style With Crispy Spinach
(Recipe courtesy Wolfgang Puck)
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 piece fresh ginger, approximately 1 inch
2 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup plum wine or port
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 2-pound lobster, split lengthwise
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 scallions, cut into 3/8 inch slices
1 to 2 teaspoons curry powder
¼ cup dry white wine
½ cup homemade or store-bought fish stock
½ cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon dried hot chili flakes
1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar or balsamic vinegar
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
2. Peel the ginger, reserving the peels, and cut it into fine julienne strips. Cut the peels into coarse strips and set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, cook the ginger and garlic with ½ cup of the plum wine and the rice wine vinegar until 1 tablespoon of liquid remains. Remove from the heat and reserve.
4. Place a heavy heatproof 12-inch skillet over high heat until it is very hot. Add the oil and heat it almost to the smoking point. Carefully add the lobster halves, meat side down. Cook 3 minutes. Turn the lobster over and add 1 tablespoon of the butter. Continue to saute until the lobster shells get red and the butter is nutty red. Transfer the lobster to the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the lobster is just cooked. Remove from the oven, remove the lobster from the skillet and keep warm.
5. Add the scallions, ginger peels and curry powder to the skillet. Saute the mixture lightly for 10 to 15 seconds, then whisk in the remaining plum wine and the white wine, stock, chili flakes and the vinegar. Reduce the liquid to ½ cup. Add the cream and reduce it by half. Add any liquid from the julienne of ginger, then whisk in the remaining tablespoon of butter. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Crack the lobster claws with the back of a large chef's knife. Arrange the lobster halves on a warm oval platter, meat side up. Strain the sauce over the lobster, then sprinkle the sweet ginger on top. Garnish with Fried Baby Spinach Leaves (recipe follows).
Fried Baby Spinach Leaves
(Recipe courtesy Wolfgang Puck)
Wash some large spinach leaves, cut off the stems and dry them well. Heat peanut oil to 375 degrees F. Fry the spinach until crisp and translucent. Be careful not to get splattered. Remove the leaves to paper towels to drain and salt them lightly (just like potato chips). The spinach should have a jade green color.
Pumpkin Squash Ravioli With White Truffles
(Recipe courtesy Wolfgang Puck)
Yield: Serves 4
Pumpkin Mousse Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter
1 pound fresh pumpkin, peeled and cut in 1-inch cubes
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons minced fresh sage, plus 6 small leaves for garnish
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 eggs beaten
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
Spinach Pasta:
¼ pound fresh spinach
¾ cup semolina flour, finest grind
¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Rosemary Sauce:
1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
2 cups organic chicken stock
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts
¼ cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese (reserve half for garnish)
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
8 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 ounces shaved white truffles (optional)
To prepare the mousse:
1. Heat a saute pan over low heat and add 4 tablespoons of the butter. When the butter is foamy, add the cubed pumpkin and cook, stirring often to stop it from sticking and burning until it softens and falls into a puree.
2. Turn the pumpkin into a saucepan, add half the cream and half the herbs and cook over low heat for approximately 1 hour, or until the puree is thick and the liquid has evaporated.
3. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching. Remove from the heat and beat in an additional 2 tablespoons butter. Whisk in the beaten eggs. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.
To prepare the pasta:
1. Wash the spinach carefully in 2 or 3 changes of water. Cut off 1 inch of the stems. Chop the leaves and puree them in a food processor. Put the puree in the center of a linen towel or napkin and squeeze the juice into a measuring cup. (Using a towel or napkin that you won't mind using only for this purpose because spinach juice stains.) There should be about ¼ cup juice. Stir 2 tablespoons of the spinach puree into the spinach juice and reserve. Discard the remaining puree.
2. Combine the flours in the food processor with the salt. With the motor running, add the eggs, olive oil and enough of the spinach mixture through the feed tube so that the dough forms a ball when pressed together.
3. Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll and cut 1 at a time as desired. Keep the unrolled dough covered to prevent it from drying. Place any cut pasta on baking sheets that have been liberally dusted with semolina.
Note: The unrolled dough should be refrigerated after it has relaxed for 2 hours. Plan to use it within 24 hours for best results. Cut pasta may be refrigerated up to 24 hours before using or it may be left to air-dry. For longer storage, freeze the cut pasta, then wrap it tightly in plastic and return to the freezer. It will keep for 3 or 4 weeks if carefully wrapped.
To prepare the ravioli:
1. On a floured surface, roll out the pasta as thin as possible. Cut it into 2 sheets and brush 1 of them with egg wash.
2. Using a teaspoon, place 24 equal mounds of the pumpkin puree on the egg washed dough, 2 inches apart. Cover the mounded dough with the second sheet of pasta and press around the mounds of pumpkin to seal the dough. Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you make the sauce.
To prepare the sauce:
1. In a saute pan, brown the butter lightly with the rosemary and toasted pine nuts. Add the chicken stock to the pan (the butter and stock will boil up for a moment so use care). Boil the stock and butter vigorously until reduced by half. This sauce will remain broken until the cheese is added. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Keep the sauce warm.
Cooking the ravioli:
Add a little salt to the boiling water, then the ravioli and cook them for five minutes. Remove the ravioli from the water with a slotted spoon and drain well. Add the ravioli to the sauce and bring just to a simmer. Add the Parmesan cheese to thicken the sauce and then correct seasonings.
Presentation: Arrange ravioli on warm dinner plates with a little sauce. Garnish with sprigs of rosemary and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Top with shaved white truffles.
Celery Root Soup With Fuji Apples
(Recipe courtesy Wolfgang Puck)
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 pounds celery root, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 Fuji apples, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh flat parsley, chopped
3 garlic cloves
2 cups white wine
4 cups freshly made or store bought chicken stock
2 cups heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup celery leaves
Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Sweat the vegetables and the apple for about 30 seconds. Add the wine and reduce to half. Add the chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Add the cream, and simmer for about 1 hour.
2. While the mixture is still hot, in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, blend the soup at medium speed. Strain the soup with a fine-mesh sieve and then return to the food processor. Add the celery leaves and process at high speed until thoroughly combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Garnish:
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 medium carrot, finely diced
1 large leek, white part only, finely diced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup white wine
1 medium Fuji apple, finely diced
Sweat the celery, carrots and leeks in olive oil. Deglaze with wine. Allow to cool. Toss in the apple.
Ladle the soup into individual bowls. Add the garnish. Serve immediately.