The next frontier in lunch: Heston Blumenthal's 'Pea and Ham Soup-in-a-Sandwich'
Heston Blumenthal, the British chef and television star known for daring flavor combinations, recently released his first cookbook in a decade entitled "Is This a Cookbook?".
"At my restaurant The Fat Duck I pushed precision and creativity to the very limit. Increasingly, though, I questioned what the point of this was," he tells USA TODAY via email. "It felt like a dead end, and I fell out of love with cuisine. It was, I guess, a form of burn-out."
But, "Is This a Cookbook?" has Blumenthal — and hopefully at-home chefs who are reading it — exploring again.
The new cookbook takes a new approach to food that Blumenthal calls "Quantum Gastronomy." It's a concept that encourages readers to find what works for them in the kitchen.
One recipe that exemplifies the new approach is his "Pea and Ham Soup-in-a-Sandwich," which, Blumenthal says in the book, offers "flavor encapsulation" with the peas included adding "interest to the sandwich and textural pleasure."
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Pea and Ham Soup-in-a-Sandwich
Makes: 2
Ingredients:
¾ cup frozen petits pois, defrosted
(Note: To take full advantage of the frozen-in freshness, don’t cook the peas. Heat will drive off some of the freshest flavors, which tend to be delicate and volatile, and it’s not necessary because petits pois are delicious and perfectly tender eaten as is. So, just spread them out on a tray lined with kitchen paper to defrost. It won’t take long. Why not try tasting one at this point – do you get the freshness? The sweetness? The burst?)
¼ cup crème fraîche
10–12 fresh mint leaves
Salt and black pepper
4 slices of wholegrain bread
Salted butter, as needed
¼ cup pulled or shredded smoked ham hock
Instructions:
Put the peas into a bowl and stir through the crème fraîche to bind them. (Note: If you want to add a bit of zip to the mix, stir a tablespoonful of wholegrain mustard into the crème fraîche.)
Finely chop the mint and stir into the mixture.
Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
To assemble, butter the slices of bread. Spread 2 bread slices with the pea mixture and top with the shredded ham hock. (Note: You can lightly season the ham if you feel it needs it. And you can also use a good smoked ham in this sandwich, if you’ve not got shredded ham hock.)
Sandwich together with the other buttered bread slices.
Recipe adapted from "Is This a Cookbook: Adventures in the Kitchen" by Heston Blumenthal. Illustrations Dave McKean. Photography Haarala Hamilton. Reprinted by permission of Bloomsbury.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Heston Blumenthal recipes: Try 'Pea and Ham Soup-in-a-Sandwich'
