TV Dinners

 Read more from Gerald

Well, it’s all over for yet another year. After weeks of excitement and despair, of cooking and presenting a daunting selection of dishes, of mind-bending concentration whilst putting up with inane and distracting “made-for-TV” questions from the “three wise men”, the title has been won. Congratulations Chelsea Winter, New Zealand MasterChef 2012.

A company that has always had close connections with the competition and is one of its major sponsors is Countdown. As well with giving a prize of $20,000 worth of groceries, this is the supermarket chain that stocks the enviable Aladdin’s cave of a pantry to which the contestants run to collect…and sometimes forget…their chosen ingredients; I only wish my local branch was as well stocked. Brett McGregor, the first NZ MasterChef and Jax Hamilton, runner-up in the second series appear in Countdown television commercials, in-store promotions, on recipe sheets and online, encouraging Kiwis to enjoy good, healthy and interesting food with recipes to bring out a little of the master chef in everyone.

I was browsing through some of my older cookbooks this week when I came across an earlier example of Countdown (or Woolworths as it then was) giving its support to food on television. The book, which Woolworths published in 1977, contains recipes from TV One’s The Great Ultimate Cook-in competition and was written by one of the best known cooks in the New Zealand television kitchen, Des (now Sir Des) Britten and as it also included a selection of his better known recipes was called unsurprisingly “The Des Britten Cookbook”. The book may seem dated …the photographs don’t help in this regard with bottles of McWilliams Cresta Doré, pottery wine goblets, joints of meat of a size that would cost a fortnight’s wages nowadays and the sort of composed dishes that we just don’t see any more, these together with the choice of recipes and their names, are definitely retro. There are some dishes however that might not be out of place on a twenty-first century table; as leeks are in season try this one from the book but with the style of writing it is essential to read the whole recipe first.

Cold Leek and Cream Soup

•  28g butter

•  5 leeks cut into 2.5cm slices
  (use the white part only)

•  3 medium potatoes, roughly chopped

• 1 onion (roughly chopped G)

• 2 tsp salt

• Light chicken stock or water

• 140ml cream (approx.)

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the white part only of the sliced leeks. Add also the potatoes, onion and salt. Cook slowly, stirring with a wooden spoon until the vegetables start to release their juices. In cooking terminology, this is called ‘sweating’. Sounds revolting! Now add just enough chicken stock or water to cover the vegetables. Be careful not to add too much or your soup will end up too thin. Cook until the potatoes are fully cooked, this takes about 20 minutes. Let it cool a little then put it through an electric blender or else force it through a sieve or food mill. Let the purée cool completely, then thin out with a little cream or milk. More cream than milk if you can afford it.

A classic, this soup can be served chilled or at this time of the year, hot. Check the seasoning before serving and garnish with chopped chives.

Another classic Des puts in the book is…

Gratin Dauphinois (sliced potatoes with cheese and garlic)

This quantity will serve four to six people

• About 1kg potatoes (or enough to fill an ovenware baking or serving dish to no more than 5cm deep) (Agria are ideal G)

• 1 clove of garlic (this is very important) (more if you like garlic)

• Butter

• ¾ cup (140ml) milk (boiling)

• Salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 50-75g grated cheese

Slice the potatoes very finely, about 3mm thick… Wash the potato slices in cold water, drain, place on absorbent paper or a tea towel  and dry thoroughly. Lightly coat your cooking-serving dish with butter. On this, place a layer of sliced potatoes, a sprinkling of salt, a  grind of black pepper and a light layer of cheese. Continue in this  way until the dish is very full – remember it will sink during  cooking.

On the final top layer of potato place a much heavier  coating of cheese so that it covers the potatoes completely. Dot with a few small pieces of butter. Gently pour the boiling milk, into which you have squeezed the garlic, down a corner of your dish so as not to melt the cheese topping. Cook in a pre-heated 220˚C oven for about 10 minutes or until the milk starts to simmer, then lower the heat to 180˚C and continue cooking. The dish is ready when  the top is nicely browned and the point of a sharp knife easily pierces the potatoes… The complete time of cooking should be about 40-50 minutes but don’t worry if it takes longer.

If the top is browning too quickly, cover it with a sheet of foil and lower the heat slightly. You can cook it ahead of time and reheat it but when you do, cover it with foil; this works with leftovers too, if there are any.

This last recipe from the book I still use, it is quite the best and easiest version I know…

Mousse au Chocolat

• 140g dark chocolate, grated
  (I use Whittaker’s Dark Ghana)

• 4 egg yolks, beaten

• 40g soft unsalted butter

• Juice of 1 orange

• 4 egg whites, beaten

Place the chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth. Now, add the four well beaten egg yolks and then the softened (not melted) butter, piece by piece. Finally stir in the orange juice. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form… Now, fold these into the chocolate mixture as lightly as you can, using a rubber spatula. Pour into little individual serving dishes and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Serve with whipped cream if you like…

It is very rich so you needn’t make the servings too big. For the special occasion replace the orange juice with Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur; I have even tried it with a little crème de menthe.

Books like this form part of our culinary history, without which MasterChef probably would not have happened. If you are interested, I have seen copies for sale online and in some second-hand bookshops.

The recipes are from The Des Britten Cookbook published in 1977 by Woolworths (NZ) Ltd Auckland in conjunction with Television One.They are copyright and are used courtesy of Progressive Enterprises Ltd.