MasterChef may be over for another year, with tech programme manager Jhané Gibson lifting the trophy after seeing off fellow finalists Kristen Dodd and Matt Willett, but that doesn’t mean you can’t bring a little MasterChef magic into your own kitchen. Judges Grace Dent and Anna Haugh spent weeks putting Britain’s most talented home cooks through their paces, and these two dishes helped carry Dodd and Willett all the way to the closing stages of the competition.
Australian-born Dodd, a communications director living in Tooting, won fans with bold, globe-trotting flavours inspired by her travels and a love of South East Asian cooking. Her Thai-cured sea bream pairs fragrant herbs, lime and lemongrass with smoked coconut milk and a sharp cucumber granita – a dish guaranteed to impress at a summer dinner party. Meanwhile Willett, a London-based PhD student, showcases a more indulgent side of cooking with his beef tartare, peppercorn sauce and matchstick fries, a clever reworking of steak frites that is every bit as luxurious as it sounds.
Whether you’re looking to wow friends, spoil family or simply challenge yourself in the kitchen, these recipes offer a taste of the creativity, ambition and technical skill that took both cooks to the MasterChef final.
Kristen’s Thai cured sea bream
open image in gallerySavoury granita is a revelation in the summer. Paired with herby, cured fish and a smoky coconut milk, this dish will make for a banger of a summer dinner party. Everything can be made ahead of time until you are ready to impress your guests.
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
For the granita:
1 cucumber, roughly chopped
Juice of 2 limes (use the zest in the cure below)
Thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled roughly chopped
2 stalks lemongrass chopped
1 large handful of herbs: any combination of Thai basil, coriander and/or mint
25g caster sugar dissolved in 60g hot water
1 green chilli, chopped (if you don’t like spice, remove the seeds)
30ml fish sauce to taste
For the cured sea bream:
4 sea bream fillets, skin removed
Zest of 2 limes
3 kaffir lime leaves
90g salt
60g caster sugar
½ tsp each: white peppercorns, coriander seeds and cumin seeds
10g ginger
1 stalk lemongrass
1 long green chilli
1 large handful of combination of Thai basil and coriander
For the smoked coconut milk:
150g coconut milk
Pinch smoked maldon salt
For the herb oil:
40g herbs (Thai basil and/or coriander)
90g neutral oil
Pinch salt
To serve:
Handful Thai basil leaves, fried
2 shallots finely sliced
Oil for frying
10-12 white grapes, finely sliced
3 fresh green jalapeño chillies sliced very finely
Method:
1. Place all the ingredients for the granita in a food processor/blender and process until smooth. Sieve into a tray and freeze (this will take about 2 hours). Loosen ice with a fork when you are ready to serve.
2. Place all ingredients for the cure (except bream) in a food processor/blender and process until combined. Rub mixture all over a the sea bream fillets, then wrap them in cling film. Set aside in the fridge. Wash the cure off under cold water after 40 minutes and pat dry with paper towel. If you are serving straight away, slice and go for it. Otherwise, wrap in to use later. Slice before serving.
3. Gently warm the coconut milk if the solids have separated. Add smoked salt to taste and leave to come to room temperature.
4. Fry shallots in hot oil until golden. Remove with slotted spoon and drain. Fry Thai basil leaves in the same oil briefly. Once they ‘pop’, fry for a further 10 seconds, then remove and drain on paper towel.
5. For the herb oil, pour boiling water over the herbs and immediately refresh in ice cold water. Squeeze out liquid so you have a tight ball of bright green herbs. Roughly chop and add to a blender with salt and oil. Blend until smooth and bright green. Strain with a fine sieve lined with a wet paper towel. Set aside.
6. To serve, arrange slices of cured fish in a rose on the plate. Place grapes and jalapeños on top. Spoon smoked coconut milk to make a pool around the fish and drizzle over herb oil. Top with crunchy shallots and basil leaves. Spoon granita on top when ready to eat.
Matt’s beef tartare with peppercorn sauce and matchstick fries
open image in galleryServes: 2
This dish sits somewhere in the space between a steak frites and a classic tartare. It may be the best of both worlds or it may fail to satisfy your craving for either, but you will never know unless you make it yourself.
Ingredients:
For the tartare:
300g beef fillet or rump, trimmed
1 small shallot, finely diced
1 tbsp baby gherkins, finely diced
1 tbsp capers, rinsed
Handful of picked herbs (ideally tarragon and chervil)
Smoked salt
For the peppercorn cream sauce:
200g diced beef chuck or stewing beef
50g aged beef fat, or beef dripping
1 onion, roughly diced
4 garlic cloves
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp white peppercorns
1 tbsp grains of paradise
1 tbsp pickled green peppercorns
50ml cognac or brandy
1 large glass red wine
500ml unsalted beef stock
150ml double cream
A dash of Worcestershire sauce
For the matchstick fries:
2 medium russet potatoes, about 200g, or another good frying potato
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
A mandoline
Method:
1. Toast grains of paradise with white and black peppercorns until fragrant, roughly grind and set aside.
2. Heavily brown the beef chuck in oil – deep caramelisation is key for the flavour we want in the sauce. Add a tablespoon of beef fat, the onion, garlic and 1 tbsp peppercorn mixture. Once the onions are translucent, deglaze with cognac, then once burnt off, deglaze again with red wine. When syrupy, add beef stock and simmer for around 45 minutes until reduced by two thirds. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing the solids as you do so. Add around 100ml cream, reserving a little in case it gets too thick, and simmer until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Season with Worcestershire and more peppercorn mixture if needed. This should be deep, rich, and fiery with the aromatic peppercorn.
3. Meanwhile, cut the beef into large chunks and freeze for 20 minutes until firm – this makes slicing much easier.
4. Peel and mandoline the potatoes, then cut into matchsticks. Rinse well in cold water, dry thoroughly, then fry at 180C until crispy. Season immediately.
5. Dice the tartare, shallots and gherkin to your preferred size and mix with the capers and green peppercorns to taste. Season with smoked salt and more peppercorn mixture. Top with the matchstick fries and serve with a generous amount of sauce.