Dress to Impress? Well it's the Same with Food!

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Is it too gorgeous to eat, or is it so gorgeous it's begging us to eat it?  Which ever the case,  this recipe introduces a few techniques that many of us are going to be using for the first time. The secret as I have said in the past is simple.  Read the recipe from start to finish and understand it.  Make sure you have all the ingredients needed prepared ahead of time before you start (where you can).  Have everything in its place and ready to go.  In a dish like this, bring your creativity and sense of fun to the kitchen.  Think of this recipe as a good old pot pie!  It has a pastry on the bottom and top.  It has meats and vegetables (in this case layered) inside and its baked in the oven.  Have you ever created fall leaves with the left over dough or cut swirls in the top of the pie crust?  Very similar to what you will be doing with this recipe.  So lets call this Pot Pie with a PhD instead of pot pies 101.

Ox Cheek Pithivier 

(pronounced pee-tee-vee-yay)

Ingredients

Ox Cheeks

2 ox cheeks (beef cheeks)

1 pinch of fresh thyme, chopped

2 tsp. of salt

18 oz. of puff pastry

1 egg yolk, for egg wash

Braising Liquid

2 cups of red wine

1 1/2 stalk of celery, medium dice

1 small onion, medium dice

1 carrot, medium dice

salt

pepper

1/2 cup of leek, medium dice

1 tsp. of olive oil

Water

Roasted Shallots

1 lb. of shallots

2 tsp. of onion oil

1 pinch of sea salt, fine

1 pinch of thyme

1 pinch of black pepper

1 tbs. of unsalted butter

Carrots

12 small baby carrots

Spinach

1 lb. of baby spinach leaves

1 tbs. of butter

Salt

Presentation

8 baby turnips, uncooked and scrubbed thoroughly, leaves on

1 handful of baby spinach leaves
Choucroute **

Directions

Ox Cheeks

Mix together the salt and thyme in a bowl until well combined.

Roll out the pastry to 1/8" thickness and then leave to rest in the fridge for 45 minutes.

To prepare the ox cheeks, remove the top layer of fat and sinew and rub in the thyme salt. Place the cheeks onto a flat grill or into a saute pan, grind some pepper onto each side, and fry until a dark golden brown color. Remove and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200°F

Braising Liquid

In a large or ovenproof saucepan or stockpot(it has to hold at least 2 cups of liquid and more), lightly saute the celery, carrot, onion and leek in oil until they begin to color. Add the red wine and the ox cheeks. Boil until the alcohol cooks off and top up with enough water to cover the cheeks.

Cook in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes. After this time, increase the heat to 300°F and cook for another 2 hours. Remove from the oven and leave on the side to cool for 1 hour. Remove the cheeks from the stock, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge.

Strain the liquid from the pan through a fine strainer into a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil and reduce by 3/4. Season to taste and set aside until ready to serve.

Lay out the pastry sheet and cut out 8 circles of pastry, 5 inches in diameter each.

Roasted shallots

Add the oil, salt and pepper to a pan. Half the shallots length ways and place on top of the oil mix, cut-side down.

Caramelize the shallots on a very high heat until golden brown being careful not to burn them, add the butter and thyme, cover with a cartouche* (a circle of parchment paper cut to fit just inside the pan) and cook until soft on a low/simmer heat. Remove from the heat and store in the fridge until required.

Carrots

Peel and half length ways. Blanch in salted boiling water until tender, approximately 3-4 minutes, the strain, refresh in iced water( stops the cooking and keeps them a vibrant orange) and set aside.

Spinach

Add the butter to a pan over a medium heat. Once foaming, add the baby spinach and cook for approximately 1 minute - until just wilted. Season with salt, remove from the pan and store on a tray lined generously with kitchen towel - this will absorb any excess water.

Before constructing the pithiviers, remove the cheeks from the fridge and use your hands to break the meat down into small flakes chunks.

Brush egg wash over 4 of the pastry bases. On each base, layer on the flaked ox cheek, the caramelized carrots, wilted spinach, some more ox cheek and the roasted shallots, remembering to leave at least 3/4 of an inch around the outside of the puff pastry  (Use the picture as a guide)

Lay the remaining circles of pastry on top, then smooth down on top of the filling, taking care not to tear the pastry. Press the edges of the top circle onto the edges of the base to seal each pithivier

Brush the pithiviers all over with egg wash and leave in the fridge for 10 minutes

Remove from the fridge, take a knife and starting at the top in the center, score half circles down the sides, being careful not to pierce all the way through the pastry. Think of a line of continuous parenthesis from the same point at the top, all the way down to the bottom crust. ))))))))  all the way around the puff pastry. Again use the illustration for the idea.

Where the edges meet, make a seal at the bottom and use a knife to score lines 1/3" apart all the way around the base. Rest for a further 20 minutes in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Remove the pithiviers from the fridge and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Before assembling the final dish, reheat the braise reduction in a small pan and set aside.

Remove the pithiviers from the oven and place into the middle of each plate.  Garnish with some baby spinach leaves and turnips. Drizzle over 2-3 tablespoons of the braise reduction and serve immediately.

*Cartouche, a circle of parchment paper laid directly on what you are sauteing, gently, proves better than just using a lid on the pan.  It concentrates the flavors, keeps it moist and cooks them more evenly.
**Choucroute garnie is a famous Alsatian recipe for preparing sauerkraut with sausages and other salted meats and charcuterie,  often with potatoes and letting it marinate for 2 weeks.  In this case, saute' finely shredded white cabbage and carrots with butter, salt and pepper, with a touch of vinegar till tender.  Serve a tablespoon full as part of the presentation.  Think English version of Kimchi.

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