Meridian Hotel School Recipe Ideas

Ingredients (serves 20 depending on what it is used for)

• 550 ml Ice water
• 1 kg of baker’s flour
• 500 grams butter (plus 20 grams of flour for butter mixture)
• 20g salt
• 5 ml Lemon juice

 Method Butter mixture 

• Prepare butter for folding by mixing 20 grams of flour with the butter to make the butter pliable (to make the mixture so it doesn’t melt in your hand)
• Shape it into a rectangle approximately 20cm long and 10cm wide. Wrap in plastic and put into the cool room

 Dough mixture 

• Add the remaining flour, salt, lemon juice and water to a mixer with a dough hook.
• Beat on a medium setting for 8 to 10 minutes until the gluten is developed properly. You check this by doing a stretch test, stretch the dough until you have a thin film of dough in the middle. It will be smooth and shiny and you will almost be able to see through the dough without breaking it. If the thin film breaks put it back in the mixer for longer.
• Roll out the mixture into a round shape and using a knife make an incision into the dough like a cross through the middle.
• Pull open the four sides from the middle and using you hands shape into a rectangle.
• Wrap in glad wrap and put into the cool room for 30 minutes to rest. This relaxes the gluten in the flour and causes the dough to become more pliable and easy to roll.
• Remove the butter and dough from the cool room.
• Flatten the butter with a rolling pin into a square shape (do not roll).
• Roll the dough to approx 10mm thickness in square shape.
• Put butter in the centre and close the dough like and envelope from all sides.
• Flatten the dough from all four sides and roll to approximately 8 mm thickness and do a book fold by folding it in half and then half again.
• Wrap in glad wrap and rest for at least 30 min and do another turn of the same thickness.

• Repeat the process 3 more times but with every second fold use double the amount of butter until all of the butter is incorporated into the dough. Two single folds and two double folds.
• Rest for 30 min on each turn to relax the gluten in the flour.
• Once all of the folds are complete you can use it straight away as long as it has been chilled for at least 1 hour. For best result use puff pastry the following day. To use puff pastry it should be rolled to approximately 4mm in thickness.
• Puff pastry can be frozen for at least three months but is of better quality if it is used fresh.

Ingredients - Weight kg/l/Unit (Serves 1)

• Cos Lettuce ¼ Each
• Bacon 1 Rasher
• Garlic 1 Clove
• Bread 1 Slice
• Ghee or Clarified Butter  50Grams
• Anchovy Fillets 2 Each
• Shaved Parmesan 10 grams
• Egg  1 Each
• Vinegar 50 Mls
• Caesar Dressing - See Recipe Below

Method

• Put a pot of water on, to bring to the boil and add the vinegar.
• Trim the rind off the bacon, cut into lardoons and pan fry in a small amount of the clarified butter.
• Remove the crusts from the bread and dice into 1cm cubes.
• Pan fry the bread in the rest of the clarified butter until golden brown and crunchy.
• Poach the egg in the water for about 2-3 minutes and refresh in ice cold water.
• Clean the lettuce

Caesar Dressing       

Ingredient - Weight kg/l/Unit

• Egg Yolks 2 Each
• Garlic 1 Clove
• Anchovy 1 Each
• Dijon Mustard 5 Grams
• White Wine Vinegar 25 Mls
• Canola Oil 75 Mls
• Worcestershire Sauce 2 Mls
• Grated Parmesan Cheese 10 Grams
• Salt 1 Pinch
• Pepper ½ Pinch

Method

• In a clean bowl, add the egg yolks, vinegar, chopped garlic, chopped anchovy, mustard and whisk together with the canola oil.
• Add the grated parmesan cheese and combine.
• Season with the salt and pepper (although be careful with the salt as you may not need to add much due to the parmesan cheese and anchovy).

Note; You could use a different flavoured oil depending on how strong you want to make the flavour of the dressing

Ingredient, Weight kg/l/Unit

• Vegetable Oil 20 Mls
• Onion 50 Grams
• Garlic 1 Each
• Green Beans 40 Grams
• Trevally Fillet (fish) 100 Grams
• Prawns 50 Grams
• Green Curry Paste 10 Grams
• Coconut Cream
• Fish Sauce 10 Mls
• Palm Sugar 10 Mls
• Lime Juice 5 Mls
• Coriander 1/8 Bunch
• Coconut (Shaved) 10 Grams

Method

• Top and tail the green beans and finely slice the onion and garlic.
• Cut the Trevally fillet up into large pieces.
• In a hot pan, seal the fish pieces along with the prawns and remove from the heat.
• In the same pan, fry the sliced onion and garlic. Add the beans and cook until they start to soften.
• Add the curry paste and fry for 1 minute.
• Add the coconut cream, lime juice, palm sugar and the fish sauce.
• Gently simmer the sauce until it has thickened slightly and add the fish pieces and prawns back into the sauce.
• Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the fish is cooked through.
• Just before you take the curry off the stove, chop ½ of the coriander and add at the end.
• Arrange the curry on a pre-warmed, clean plate and garnish with a sprig of the remaining coriander.

You can serve this dish with jasmine rice

Ingredients, Weight kg/l/Unit

• Bok Choy 1 Bunch
• Soy Sauce 60 Mls
• Sugar 10 Grams
• Oyster Sauce 50 Mls
• Salt 1 Gram

Method

• Bring a pot of water to the boil and season the water with the salt.
• In a separate sauce pan, combine the soy sauce, sugar, oyster sauce and bring to a boil.
• Remove the marinade from the heat and allow to cool.
• Trim the root off the Bok Choy and wash the stalk and leaves thoroughly in cold water to remove all traces of dirt.
• Once the water is boiling, add the Bok Choy and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until soft.
• Drain the Bok Choy thoroughly and add to the marinade.
• Serve as an accompaniment to an Asian style dish                                                                    

Ingredients, Weight kg/l/Unit    

• Potatoes - 180 grams
• Butter - 20 grams
• Egg Yolk - 1 each
• Salt - 2 pinches
• White Pepper - ½ pinch
• Nutmeg - ½ pinch
• Egg - ½ each
• Milk – 20 mls

Method                         

• Pre-heat oven to 180°C.
• Wash, peel and rewash the potatoes.
• Cut into even size pieces, place in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add a pinch of salt to the potatoes.
• Bring the potatoes to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes or until soft.
• Drain the potatoes, place a lid on the saucepan and place over a very low heat for a couple of minutes to allow the potatoes to dry out.
• Mash the potatoes with a fork or potato masher, add the butter and egg yolk thoroughly. Season with the 2nd pinch of salt (if required), white pepper and nutmeg.
• Note; Be careful not to add too much pepper and nutmeg!
• Add the potato puree to a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe onto a tray lined with kitchen paper.
• Make an egg wash by combining the egg and milk and using a pastry brush, gently brush the potato.
• Place the potato into the hot oven and cook until golden brown.
• Serve as an accompaniment to any meat dish.

Ingredients, - Weight kg/l/Unit

• Baker flour  560 gm
• Sugar 45 gm
• Honey 5 gm
• Egg 1 no
• Ice water 235 ml (approx)
• Yeast 15 Gm
• Bread improver 7 gm
• Milk powder 10 gm
• Salt 10 Gm
• Butter 25 gm
• Butter filling
• Butter 420 Gm
• Flour 10 Gm

Method

Butter filling:

• Mix butter and flour to a pliable consistency.
• Make a rectangle shape put in cool room to rest.

Dough for Danish:

• Mix all the ingredients except salt and butter.
• Wait till all ingredients got mixed add salt.
• Mix to a smooth semi hard dough.
• In mixer it’s going to take 8-10 minutes.
• Do stretch test.
• Add soft or melted butter last.
• Wait till you mixed butter and can’t see any.
• Make a nice round cut cross on top.
• Spread from all sides like square in shape.
• Cool in freezer for at least 30 minutes.
• Take butter and dough out of cool room and freezer.
• Bang the butter to make it pliable.
• Fold in Danish dough like envelop.
• Please give single fold and rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Give three single folds with 30 minutes rest.
• Freeze, use when desire.
• defrost the dough and roll to 3mm thickness.
• Cut to desire shapes and use desire filling.
• Prove, egg wash before baking.
• Bake at 210*c till golden brown colour. (15-20 minutes)
• Glaze with boiled apricot jam and melted fondant.
• Serve fresh
  

3 cups milk
Seeds scraped from one vanilla bean (*or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
8 egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1. In a 3 quart saucepan combine the milk and vanilla bean seeds. Heat just below the boiling point (scalding).
2. Using an electric mixer (with whisk attachment if available) beat the egg yolks and sugar in a large mixing bowl until they lighten in color. Stir in the cornstarch.
3. Pour about 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture (this is called tempering), whisking continuously to incorporate. Whisk the tempered egg mixture back into the remaining hot milk, and place the saucepan back on the heat. Cook on medium high heat, stirring constantly with the whisk, until the mixture comes to the boil. Reduce heat and boil for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and gently whisk in the butter.
4. Strain the pastry cream into a bowl, place plastic wrap directly on the surface, and chill completely. Can be made up to 3 days ahead.
   

Makes about 3 1/2 cups.

* If you are using vanilla extract it is added when the cream is finished cooking.

1 cup shrimp, cooked and chopped
1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (9.75-ounce) jar Crosse & Blackwell Shrimp Sauce, divided use
60 won ton wrappers
Vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey

Combine shrimp, coconut, cream cheese and 1/2 cup shrimp sauce in mixing bowl.

Place about 2 teaspoons shrimp mixture onto one corner of one won ton wrapper; moisten edges with water.

Fold in half to form triangle; press firmly to seal. Repeat with remaining won ton wrappers and shrimp mixture.

Pour oil into large skillet to 1/4-inch depth. Heat over high heat for 1 minute.

Fry won tons for about 30 seconds on each side or until light golden brown.

Remove from skillet; drain.

Combine remaining shrimp sauce and honey in small bowl.

Serve with won tons.

Makes 60 appetizer servings.