Excerpt
MasterChef: The Ultimate Cookbook
Chapter 1
Breakfasts
FRUIT CUPThe sheer variety of fruits in the bowl makes this fruit cup an elegant morning treat or even a wonderful dessert for later in the day. You can mix and match the fruits depending on what's fresh and available at your local market. Be sure to use equal proportions of all the fruits, cutting or slicing them into similarly shaped pieces, to keep your version true to the original recipe, with no one fruit predominating. If you can't find dragon fruit, try to add at least one dramatic fruit to mix it up a bit, such as carambola, also called star fruit.
For the competition, the team members used precisely equal amounts of fruit for each serving, but you may prefer to just use an appropriate quantity to avoid waste. If you like, try the recipe using one dragon fruit, a quarter each of the melons and pineapple, and a cupful of each type of berry.
6 ounces cubed cantaloupe
6 ounces cubed honeydew
6 ounces cubed pineapple
6 ounces cubed watermelon
6 ounces sliced dragon fruit
6 ounces sliced fresh strawberries
6 ounces fresh blackberries
6 ounces fresh blueberries
6 ounces fresh raspberries
4 whole strawberries
Divide the fruit, except for the whole strawberries, equally among 4 serving bowls. Slice the whole strawberries without cutting through the stem ends, then fan the strawberries on top of the fruit and serve.
SERVES 4
Recipe courtesy of THE RED TEAM
(Christine Ha, Becky Reams, Felix Fang, Mike Hill, Scott Little, Stacey Amagrande, Tanya Noble)
SKILL SET/How to Train Your Dragon Fruit
Dragon fruit is the fruit of a cactus. It has knobby skin that's bright fuchsia or yellow and a seed-speckled interior that's either pink or white, depending on the variety. It has long been popular in Southeast Asia, and now it's becoming increasingly available in American stores. Dragon fruit is also grown in South America and Israel, but wherever your dragon fruit originated and no matter what its color, be sure that the one you're buying is in top condition: firm flesh, evenly colored, and just ripe enough to give very slightly to the pressure of your thumb, like a perfectly ripe avocado. The stem and the little leaves that protrude from the surface should still be soft and flexible, not dry and brittle. A soft fruit with brown spots on the skin is past ripe and should be avoided.
The flavor is mild and creamy, not at all tart, with a texture sort of like a medium-crisp apple, such as a Golden Delicious. The tiny black seeds have a gentle crunch that's reminiscent of the tiny seeds in a kiwifruit.
To cut up a dragon fruit, halve the fruit from end to end with a knife, and then use the sharp edge of a teaspoon to scoop the fruit from the tough skin. It will come out of each half in one domed piece that can then be evenly diced.
OATMEAL WITH BROWN SUGAR AND GOLDEN RAISINSFor a team challenge, the contestants thought they were flying to Hawaii. They were transferred to an airport hotel and woke up to find that instead of boarding a plane to a tropical paradise, they were expected to serve room-service breakfast to an entire hotel! The teams managed admirably to perk up some classics with new twists, but it wasn't exactly a holiday.
Nevertheless, ordinary oatmeal became a luxurious morning treat, thanks to a simple but novel technique: cooking the oats with golden brown sugar. It adds a caramel-like note to the nutty flavor of the oats and elevates them from everyday cereal. Be sure to use traditional rolled oats here, not quick-cooking oats. Golden raisins and milk stirred in at the end add chewy sweetness and creaminess.
4 cups water
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons golden raisins
About 1 cup whole milk
Additional light brown sugar
Combine the water and salt in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the oats and the brown sugar and return to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the oats are tender and the oatmeal is thick, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in the raisins and cook until they're plump, about 2 minutes.
Just before serving, stir enough milk into the oatmeal to thin it to the desired consistency. Divide the oatmeal among 4 bowls. Sprinkle with more brown sugar and serve immediately.
SERVES 4
Recipe courtesy of THE RED TEAM
(Christine Ha, Becky Reams, Felix Fang, Mike Hill, Scott Little, Stacey Amagrande, Tanya Noble)
EGGS FOUR WAYSFor a Pressure Test, Monti Carlo found herself required to do nothing more than cook eggs--but to utter perfection. Cooking eggs is simple, right? But doing it without a single flaw is a challenging matter. Monti was really feeling the pressure because she had one shot to get each one right. But she did it, and so can you. For example, if your poached eggs never seem to come out as delicate ovals with tender whites and perfectly runny yolks and without any trailing strands, try Monti's method. It's a winner.
OMELETS
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 large eggs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat an 8- to 10-inch nonstick omelet pan over medium heat until hot. Add 1/2 tablespoon of the butter and cook until it melts, swirling the pan to coat. Beat 3 of the eggs in a large bowl until frothy, and season with salt and pepper. Pour the beaten egg mixture into the pan. Cook, lifting the edges with a silicone spatula and allowing the uncooked eggs to run onto the pan until the bottom is set and just beginning to brown and the top begins to set, about 3 minutes. Using the spatula, fold over one-third of the omelet (the edge closest to the pan handle) onto the center of the omelet, then tilt the pan and slide the opposite edge of the omelet onto a plate, rolling the center of the omelet onto the unfolded portion to create a trifold. Repeat to make 3 more omelets.
MAKES 4
POACHED EGGS
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 large eggs
Bring 4 inches of water to a boil in a deep saucepan. Stir in the vinegar and salt. Reduce the heat so that the water just barely simmers. Using a slotted spoon, stir the water to create a slow-moving vortex in the center. Break 1 egg into a cup and slide it into the vortex. Poach until the white is firm and the yolk thickens slightly but is still runny, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, lift the egg out of the poaching liquid and drain it briefly in the spoon on paper towels before serving. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
MAKES 4
SOFT-BOILED EGGS
4 large eggs
Bring 4 inches of water to a boil in a deep saucepan. Add the eggs (still in the shells) and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the eggs from the water, place them into egg cups, and set them aside for 2 minutes. Cut off the tops of the eggs and serve immediately. Or, to serve them later, transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water to stop them from cooking, then rewarm them in the boiling water for 1 minute before serving.
MAKES 4
SUNNY-SIDE-UP EGGS
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 large eggs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray two 4-inch-diameter ring molds with nonstick cooking spray, and set the rings in the skillet. Crack 1 egg into each ring, and fry until the whites are cooked through and the yolks are thick but still fluid, about 3 minutes. Remove the rings, then transfer the eggs to 2 plates. Repeat with the remaining oil and eggs.
MAKES 4
Recipes courtesy of MONTI CARLO
