The Hilton’s cooking class season has begun again – hosted at the Ramses Hilton, Chef Dimitri starts this year with a four-course French meal, two courses of which you will find below – salmon mille-feuille and pumpkin soup.
Guests at the cooking class arrive at 10:30 AM and are presented with a light breakfast of croissants and fresh tea and coffee. For this class, a group of 15 settled into a semi-circle of tables, aprons on and pens out, ready for Chef Dimitri to set up his main cooking table. Priced at LE200 per person, guests at the cooking class are not only privy to the chef’s little secrets and specific directions but also to the meal being prepared – served the moment the class has finished. Prepare to be ‘stuck in class’ till at least two. Enjoy!
To attend the class, contact Farida Mansour at [email protected].
Check back tomorrow for the third and fourth courses, roast rack of lamb Provencal (with a side of ratatouille) and tarte tatin.
Smoked Salmon Mille-feuille
Ingredients
30g Philadelphia cream cheese
35g smoked salmon, cut in mille-feuille portion size
1g gelatin dissolved in water (to help solidify the cheese)
1 boiled shrimp (per serving)
Lemon juice
Balsamic vinegar reduction (made by boiling balsamic vinegar until it is reduced to half or even a little further – makes it thicker and this recipe (or any other) then only requires a small drizzle)
Directions
- Dissolve the gelatin in hot water and cool to room temperature.
- Mix Philadelphia cream cheese with lemon juice and gelatin
- On a large plate, lay out a number of slices of smoked salmon and cover each with a layer of cheese mixture.
- Place in the fridge for 30 minutes so cheese has a chance to solidify.
- Layer shrimp cheese layers together to create your mille-feuille and refrigerate at least two hours before serving.
- Refrigerate boiled shrimp as well and when preparing serving dish, place mille-feuille with a shrimp next to it and drizzle with balsamic reduction.
Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients (serves four)
½ teaspoon of freshly grated ginger root
15ml white wine
½ tablespoon of chopped garlic
35g chopped celery
40g chopped onion
20g chopped leeks, white only
20g unsalted butter
225g fresh pumpkin, cubed
0.9l chicken stock
Salt to taste
Ground nutmeg (optional)
75ml double cream
20g roasted almond flakes
Directions
- Add ginger to wine and allow it to soak in a small bowl.
- Sauté garlic, celery, onion and leeks in butter – add a little vegetable oil to prevent the butter from burning.
- Add pumpkin and stock to the pot and simmer until all the pumpkin is tender.
- Remove most of the liquid and reserve – blend with a hand blender (or place solids in a blender) and add liquid until desired consistency.
- Take the ginger out of the wine and mix the wine into the soup, adding salt and nutmeg for flavor.
- Before serving, add a spoon of double cream, roasted almond flakes and a few bits of grated ginger.
