WEBVTT 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:07.259 You're listening to Heritage Radio Network. Hi, 00:00:07.259 --> 00:00:15.099 everyone. Welcome to Potluck Food Talks. My name 00:00:15.099 --> 00:00:20.199 is Eric. I'm here with Mohamed Bahamut. And we're 00:00:20.199 --> 00:00:22.239 going to talk about, you know what is funny? 00:00:22.379 --> 00:00:24.879 You were the first person that once told me, 00:00:24.980 --> 00:00:29.300 like, Eric, by the way. People, that's wrong. 00:00:29.379 --> 00:00:32.100 You don't say that. I don't know which discussion 00:00:32.100 --> 00:00:33.880 we were having, and I say, ah, whatever, you 00:00:33.880 --> 00:00:41.359 know, potato, potato. And you are like, Eric, 00:00:41.700 --> 00:00:45.579 there is no such thing as potato. It's tomato, 00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:52.259 tomato. That's hilarious. So as you can guess, 00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:54.979 we're going to talk about potatoes, not potatoes. 00:00:58.219 --> 00:01:01.740 I guess this is probably one of the most versatile 00:01:01.740 --> 00:01:05.480 ingredients there is, isn't it? Yeah, 100%. I 00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:07.680 mean, the potato is fucking king, I think, in 00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:12.219 the kitchen. It's such a glorious thing. Look, 00:01:12.659 --> 00:01:15.840 there's not many things that are so ugly and 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:18.299 nubbled and dirty that come from the ground that 00:01:18.299 --> 00:01:22.560 I have such a warm sentiment towards. Maybe truffles. 00:01:22.659 --> 00:01:25.500 But yeah, potato is incredible, no? Yeah, and 00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:28.159 I mean, like, we could do, like, a whole episode, 00:01:28.200 --> 00:01:32.700 like, the Boba game, you know, like, Boba and 00:01:32.700 --> 00:01:35.280 Forrest Gump with the shrimps that would go saying, 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:38.480 like, different stuff that you can do with potatoes. 00:01:39.879 --> 00:01:43.180 Can you think of any, like, signature dish right 00:01:43.180 --> 00:01:45.859 now of a famous chef or a traditional dish with 00:01:45.859 --> 00:01:52.519 potatoes? Oh, of course, 100%. I mean, the Joël 00:01:52.519 --> 00:01:55.480 Robuchon potato puree. I mean, iconic, right? 00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:57.819 Still to this day, everybody, when they make 00:01:57.819 --> 00:02:00.540 potato puree, kind of like, you hear it all the 00:02:00.540 --> 00:02:02.379 time, Joël Robuchon this, Joël Robuchon that. 00:02:02.540 --> 00:02:06.519 Absolutely, yeah. Yeah. That one, well, the interesting 00:02:06.519 --> 00:02:10.439 thing about that one is that it has like 60 % 00:02:10.439 --> 00:02:14.500 butter. That's a secret. Yeah, basically. Is 00:02:14.500 --> 00:02:17.159 there like an emulsion, a butter emulsion where 00:02:17.159 --> 00:02:20.020 you use potatoes as a base for the emulsion, 00:02:20.039 --> 00:02:22.080 basically? Yeah, but that's how I make my potato 00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:24.580 puree also. Like I remember in an Anthony Bourdain 00:02:24.580 --> 00:02:28.319 interview, No Reservations had one episode in 00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:30.840 Paris. I think it was the 100th episode. They 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:32.939 had a few episodes in Paris, I think two or three. 00:02:33.319 --> 00:02:36.000 But they had one, it was the 100th episode, and 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:38.379 Joël Robuchon was in there. A super cool episode. 00:02:38.699 --> 00:02:40.919 I'm having trouble finding it these days, but 00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:42.620 I used to watch it a lot. I think I have seen 00:02:42.620 --> 00:02:45.580 that episode, to be honest. And in there, you 00:02:45.580 --> 00:02:49.020 know, Tony asks him, sort of like, yeah, potato 00:02:49.020 --> 00:02:51.979 puree, what's the deal? And he's like, two parts 00:02:51.979 --> 00:02:55.759 potato, one part butter, that's it. And I basically, 00:02:55.800 --> 00:02:58.620 I make my potato puree the same. I boil potatoes, 00:02:58.860 --> 00:03:00.939 I let them steam out. You boil them with the 00:03:00.939 --> 00:03:03.120 skin, right, to keep all the flavor in and not 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:05.699 the water out. You peel them, you rice them, 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:07.379 you let them steam out. And then while they're 00:03:07.379 --> 00:03:12.000 warm, I start emulsifying in butter until it 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:15.750 almost starts to split. And only then I add a 00:03:15.750 --> 00:03:17.969 little bit of hot milk just to keep the emulsion 00:03:17.969 --> 00:03:19.729 going. But it's basically just potatoes and butter. 00:03:19.810 --> 00:03:21.349 And the milk is just kind of there to keep it 00:03:21.349 --> 00:03:25.370 all together. Hot milk, important. Yeah, important. 00:03:27.750 --> 00:03:31.770 So what else? Triple, no. Yeah, the triple cooked 00:03:31.770 --> 00:03:34.689 chips from Hessen Blumenthal. Have you ever done 00:03:34.689 --> 00:03:37.349 those ones? Yeah, of course. I mean, it's standard 00:03:37.349 --> 00:03:39.949 now. No, the triple cooked chips. It's almost 00:03:39.949 --> 00:03:43.870 standard, especially in the UK. Like you go to 00:03:43.870 --> 00:03:48.669 a pub and you'll see triple cooked chips on the 00:03:48.669 --> 00:03:53.050 menu. And it's crazy how a technique like that 00:03:53.050 --> 00:03:55.949 is taking over because it has the Blumenthal, 00:03:56.090 --> 00:03:58.870 you know, three Michelin star chef. And then 00:03:58.870 --> 00:04:02.830 it becomes so iconic that everybody does it because 00:04:02.830 --> 00:04:04.509 it's just such a good technique. I think that's 00:04:04.509 --> 00:04:06.490 such an accomplishment. Do you know when it was 00:04:06.490 --> 00:04:11.090 first developed? No, I mean early 2000s. 1992. 00:04:11.949 --> 00:04:15.729 Oh, wow. Really? Yeah, man. That's crazy, no? 00:04:15.830 --> 00:04:18.089 Because you think of Hessen Blumenthal and you 00:04:18.089 --> 00:04:20.970 wouldn't expect for him having such an old, like 00:04:20.970 --> 00:04:24.750 back then, developing these crazy methodical 00:04:24.750 --> 00:04:28.410 recipes. But yeah, it was one of the first things 00:04:28.410 --> 00:04:32.230 he developed. And it became a thing. Yeah, it's 00:04:32.230 --> 00:04:34.310 so impressive, you know, because that is real 00:04:34.310 --> 00:04:36.610 innovation, I think, in a way. Because, of course, 00:04:36.689 --> 00:04:38.110 like Hessen Blumenthal has done so much cool 00:04:38.110 --> 00:04:42.160 shit. Like him and Jockey. um together in the 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:44.620 fat duck they've developed so many iconic recipes 00:04:44.620 --> 00:04:47.759 for the fine dining world you know but taking 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:50.279 a potato and taking something like a fucking 00:04:50.279 --> 00:04:54.519 french fry and changing that process for the 00:04:54.519 --> 00:04:58.560 better i think that's even more impressive you 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:00.459 know like if you'd now tomorrow come up with 00:05:00.459 --> 00:05:03.060 a new way of making an omelette that's makes 00:05:03.060 --> 00:05:05.670 a way better omelette And then all the like bistro 00:05:05.670 --> 00:05:07.750 places and stuff start using that recipe. I think 00:05:07.750 --> 00:05:10.790 that is really, truly impressive because it's 00:05:10.790 --> 00:05:12.689 things that have been around for a really, really 00:05:12.689 --> 00:05:15.730 long time. And again, it's something so simple. 00:05:16.149 --> 00:05:18.350 There's not real much thing that you can change 00:05:18.350 --> 00:05:22.850 or do apart from la geste, apart from your, you 00:05:22.850 --> 00:05:26.490 know, how you make it. So also, as far as I know, 00:05:26.569 --> 00:05:29.509 so these potatoes are pre -cooked in water, then 00:05:29.509 --> 00:05:33.740 they're frozen. to get even more water out. And 00:05:33.740 --> 00:05:36.579 after that, they fry them like in a non -super 00:05:36.579 --> 00:05:40.639 high temperature. I think it's 130 Celsius, something 00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:44.259 like that, which is really low for frying, but 00:05:44.259 --> 00:05:47.860 long, prolonged frying. So, and you get that 00:05:47.860 --> 00:05:51.699 like this. Golden brown, super extra crispy. 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:54.240 Well, that's something basic. If you want to 00:05:54.240 --> 00:05:57.939 get crispiness out of potatoes, you want to cook 00:05:57.939 --> 00:06:02.180 them first to get the sugars out that are the 00:06:02.180 --> 00:06:05.379 ones that will caramelize. If you apply them 00:06:05.379 --> 00:06:10.439 like a direct dry heat, like with fries, which 00:06:10.439 --> 00:06:12.399 is basically what he's doing with this process. 00:06:12.500 --> 00:06:16.000 It's a super long process for potatoes. Yeah. 00:06:16.819 --> 00:06:19.540 Yeah, but you can simplify the process also. 00:06:19.639 --> 00:06:21.439 I mean, you could really easily just kind of, 00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:24.399 I've done it before in places that are not fancy 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:27.259 at all, right? Where you cut your chips, you 00:06:27.259 --> 00:06:29.740 put them in a pot, cold water, right? You bring 00:06:29.740 --> 00:06:32.000 the pot to a boil one time, you drain the potatoes 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:35.839 off, you let them steam out. Then you have your 00:06:35.839 --> 00:06:40.339 fryer, you pre -fry them at a low temperature, 00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:43.480 like 140, 150, until they're kind of like confit 00:06:43.480 --> 00:06:45.860 through and sort of like golden, but not brown. 00:06:46.329 --> 00:06:48.649 And then like they're cooked through and like 00:06:48.649 --> 00:06:50.829 the water is kind of like come out of them. And 00:06:50.829 --> 00:06:53.310 then at the very end, you fry them like very 00:06:53.310 --> 00:06:56.769 high, like 180, 190, just to crisp them up. And 00:06:56.769 --> 00:07:02.350 it works amazing. Crispy outside, fluffy inside. 00:07:02.449 --> 00:07:04.970 It's perfect. And of course, Heston's approach 00:07:04.970 --> 00:07:10.610 is like full on. Yeah, I mean, being who he is, 00:07:10.750 --> 00:07:15.230 I can't expect him doing that. hundreds of trials 00:07:15.230 --> 00:07:18.290 and ending up with that specific temperature 00:07:18.290 --> 00:07:22.290 and time and type of potato and everything. I'm 00:07:22.290 --> 00:07:24.680 sure they did. I'm sure they did, yeah. That 00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:26.180 would be something to do, to replicate once. 00:07:26.319 --> 00:07:28.620 Like, if we're together, you know, like buying 00:07:28.620 --> 00:07:31.060 a potato and replicating the whole process and 00:07:31.060 --> 00:07:34.439 trying it. Because I haven't tried, like, I have 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:37.060 a friend who tried it. Like, he would do his 00:07:37.060 --> 00:07:39.019 fried potatoes like that, and he told me, yeah, 00:07:39.139 --> 00:07:41.959 I'm doing it like the Hess and Blumenthal, step 00:07:41.959 --> 00:07:45.980 -by -step, exactly the same procedure. And just 00:07:45.980 --> 00:07:49.019 out of, you know, intellectual curiosity, I think 00:07:49.019 --> 00:07:51.220 that would be fun to do. You know what? I think 00:07:51.220 --> 00:07:52.720 I'm going to do it the next couple of days. I 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:54.319 think I'm going to make some french fry tries 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:56.959 because this is again like one thing. The potato 00:07:56.959 --> 00:07:58.620 is such a humble ingredient. The potato is kind 00:07:58.620 --> 00:08:01.459 of like the egg. Such a humble ingredient and 00:08:01.459 --> 00:08:03.240 it's kind of like you can do but like depending 00:08:03.240 --> 00:08:08.100 on what you want to do, it's like there's a million 00:08:08.100 --> 00:08:10.370 fucking ways that you can go. And like with a 00:08:10.370 --> 00:08:11.990 french fry, you know, french fry can be something 00:08:11.990 --> 00:08:14.470 you can literally just like cut potatoes, fry 00:08:14.470 --> 00:08:16.149 them until they're golden and eat them. And that's 00:08:16.149 --> 00:08:18.430 a french fry. But there's so many things that 00:08:18.430 --> 00:08:20.089 you can do that will change the outcome and make 00:08:20.089 --> 00:08:22.189 it better and better and better and better. You 00:08:22.189 --> 00:08:24.569 know, like it's super common to do french fries 00:08:24.569 --> 00:08:27.750 here in Spain, like at home, like a quick lunch. 00:08:27.870 --> 00:08:30.129 People would, you know, peel potatoes, cut them 00:08:30.129 --> 00:08:33.470 and throw them to a pot with oil. Like you would 00:08:33.470 --> 00:08:35.769 see that here at home every once in a while. 00:08:36.379 --> 00:08:38.320 And we've talked about this before, like the 00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:40.039 approach here, because these potatoes are thrown 00:08:40.039 --> 00:08:43.759 directly to the fryer and fried there. So they 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:47.519 get this soggy kind of, which is also a thing, 00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:50.139 you know, like it's also an approach and I'm 00:08:50.139 --> 00:08:52.740 fine with that, you know, like not everything 00:08:52.740 --> 00:08:57.879 has to be, yeah, yeah. This Spanish fries is 00:08:57.879 --> 00:09:00.779 their own thing. Yeah, it's its own thing. It's 00:09:00.779 --> 00:09:02.480 got its own appeal. You know, if I have like 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:06.080 a plate of albóndigas. You want that? Yeah, with 00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:10.580 like a super onion -y sauce, you know? That is 00:09:10.580 --> 00:09:13.159 exactly what I want with it, you know? So everything 00:09:13.159 --> 00:09:16.879 has its own spot in the world, I think. What 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:21.539 about gratin dauphinois? I love that, man. This 00:09:21.539 --> 00:09:24.179 is something that I've not done for a long time. 00:09:24.259 --> 00:09:26.419 It's so heavy, no? But like my mom would, there's 00:09:26.419 --> 00:09:28.879 something my mom would cook, you know? A potato 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:32.009 gratin. Fucking amazing. Very basic, right? You 00:09:32.009 --> 00:09:34.929 just slice them with a mandoline. Don't put them 00:09:34.929 --> 00:09:39.850 in water. Put them in a baking tray, a baking 00:09:39.850 --> 00:09:45.190 pan. Cream, some nutmeg, salt, pepper. That's 00:09:45.190 --> 00:09:48.250 it, right? Anything else? That's it, man. Yeah, 00:09:48.289 --> 00:09:52.649 pretty much. It's important to not wash the potatoes 00:09:52.649 --> 00:09:56.370 because you want that starch to be there to make 00:09:56.370 --> 00:09:59.379 them stick and make like this. potato savory 00:09:59.379 --> 00:10:03.860 potato cake situation you know absolutely yeah 00:10:03.860 --> 00:10:06.759 and it's like it's so so satisfying when you 00:10:06.759 --> 00:10:08.419 get it right you can put cheese on top or whatever 00:10:08.419 --> 00:10:11.379 you know um i mean there's a french thing also 00:10:11.379 --> 00:10:14.360 called tartiflette okay which is basically like 00:10:14.360 --> 00:10:17.480 a gratin you put cheese on top so it's like super 00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:19.820 cheesy gratinated and then you have layered potatoes 00:10:19.820 --> 00:10:22.620 super super tasty one version of that that is 00:10:22.620 --> 00:10:26.259 i think by far one of my very very favorite potato 00:10:26.259 --> 00:10:29.379 dishes to make And it's something that I would 00:10:29.379 --> 00:10:31.580 make if I have like a dinner party and I want 00:10:31.580 --> 00:10:34.179 to do something that's like very visually impressive 00:10:34.179 --> 00:10:38.600 is pommes boulanger. You know pommes boulanger? 00:10:39.339 --> 00:10:42.620 Boulanger is baker, right? Exactly, yeah. Baker's 00:10:42.620 --> 00:10:44.860 potatoes. Yeah, they call it patatas panaderas 00:10:44.860 --> 00:10:47.620 here. Yes, of course. It's like these thick slices, 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:50.720 right? It can be, it can be. It kind of depends, 00:10:50.879 --> 00:10:53.559 yeah. Often, I mean, pommes boulanger is with 00:10:53.559 --> 00:10:55.840 caramelized onions. So often you would like... 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:57.659 So the idea why it's called baker's potatoes 00:10:57.659 --> 00:11:00.340 is because you would bake these in the residual 00:11:00.340 --> 00:11:02.669 heat of the bread oven. You know, you used to 00:11:02.669 --> 00:11:04.590 have big communal ovens. Everybody would bake 00:11:04.590 --> 00:11:06.970 bread. Bread gets baked at a high temperature. 00:11:07.190 --> 00:11:10.090 And so to not waste the rest of the energy of 00:11:10.090 --> 00:11:12.850 the oven, you would bake potatoes in it. And 00:11:12.850 --> 00:11:16.350 so you would layer potatoes with a broth and 00:11:16.350 --> 00:11:19.309 brown caramelized onions, and you'd bake them. 00:11:19.389 --> 00:11:23.730 Very nice. Do you use the juices of whatever 00:11:23.730 --> 00:11:26.350 meat you cook? Do you use the bottom of the pan 00:11:26.350 --> 00:11:29.799 with all the meat in it? I don't personally. 00:11:29.879 --> 00:11:33.279 I think a brown stock is very important. So if 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:35.059 you make it for vegetarians, it's a little bit 00:11:35.059 --> 00:11:37.120 difficult. But if you can use a brown chicken 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:40.240 stock or a veal and chicken stock that's brown, 00:11:40.779 --> 00:11:44.100 it's very, very good. Because what happens is 00:11:44.100 --> 00:11:47.220 that I have a very particular way of doing it. 00:11:47.879 --> 00:11:50.860 Do me a favor. You know what? I'm going to send 00:11:50.860 --> 00:11:57.240 you a quick image so that you get an idea. Ah, 00:11:57.240 --> 00:12:02.659 okay. This looks almost like this apple tarts 00:12:02.659 --> 00:12:05.860 where you have like this spiral arrangement of 00:12:05.860 --> 00:12:09.139 apple slices, like a fancy apple tart. But it's 00:12:09.139 --> 00:12:11.200 actually very easy. You slice it, like you take 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:13.919 big potatoes, you cut them, like you halve them, 00:12:13.980 --> 00:12:16.399 and then you slice them at an angle, very like 00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:19.440 medium thin. And then you kind of fan them out 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:21.620 and you can like lay them in your butter tray, 00:12:21.860 --> 00:12:23.879 whatever you can use, like a copper pan or like 00:12:23.879 --> 00:12:26.340 a cast iron pan and a croissant. whatever you 00:12:26.340 --> 00:12:28.620 want to present it in, you know? And then you 00:12:28.620 --> 00:12:30.740 layer like your caramelized potatoes on it and 00:12:30.740 --> 00:12:34.100 you pour the broth on. And as the potatoes cook, 00:12:34.259 --> 00:12:36.299 the starch of the potato goes into the broth 00:12:36.299 --> 00:12:39.220 and the broth reduces and it becomes like thick 00:12:39.220 --> 00:12:41.600 and sticky and the potatoes like soak up the 00:12:41.600 --> 00:12:45.600 broth and they become like super meaty. And it's 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:47.860 such a simple thing. But if you make it right, 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:51.820 the end, like the texture of the potatoes, the 00:12:51.820 --> 00:12:53.559 flavor of the potatoes and the flavor of this 00:12:53.559 --> 00:12:56.009 like broth. that then becomes like a sauce like 00:12:56.009 --> 00:12:59.509 a glaze super nice like you have to try it yeah 00:12:59.509 --> 00:13:01.990 like i always i think i've said this many many 00:13:01.990 --> 00:13:05.330 many episodes ago but one of my most memorable 00:13:05.330 --> 00:13:10.129 food memories i remember we like all of my family 00:13:10.129 --> 00:13:12.889 left and i was left alone with my dad at home 00:13:12.889 --> 00:13:17.389 and i think it was me and my brother and uh well 00:13:17.389 --> 00:13:20.549 it was somehow like you know like suddenly oh 00:13:20.549 --> 00:13:24.460 home alone we can do you know And I remember 00:13:24.460 --> 00:13:27.919 my dad grilled in a cast iron pan some meat at 00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:30.960 the grill. So you had like all the juices of 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:33.360 the meat and the onions and all this like, you 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:39.360 know, at the top. And this little yellow in Venezuela, 00:13:39.539 --> 00:13:42.860 you would call them Colombian potatoes. I think 00:13:42.860 --> 00:13:47.440 in Colombia they're called Creole potatoes that 00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:51.580 are yellow like a banana, like super yellow. 00:13:51.779 --> 00:13:53.440 For me, I think those are my favorite potatoes 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:55.120 in the world. Those potatoes are incredible. 00:13:55.379 --> 00:13:57.899 Also, like in the first restaurant that I worked, 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:00.120 that was a French restaurant in Venezuela, they 00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:02.259 would do those potatoes in many different ways, 00:14:02.360 --> 00:14:05.960 like just sautéed with butter and Parmesan cheese 00:14:05.960 --> 00:14:09.220 and garlic parsley, and that was just amazing. 00:14:10.180 --> 00:14:13.659 And just dipping, my mouth is watering right 00:14:13.659 --> 00:14:16.299 now. Just dipping those potatoes in those juices 00:14:16.299 --> 00:14:18.899 of meat, you know, just the best thing in the 00:14:18.899 --> 00:14:20.360 world. You know, you don't need anything else. 00:14:20.940 --> 00:14:25.399 It's amazing. It's so good. I love how like ingrained 00:14:25.399 --> 00:14:26.940 these memories are in you. You know, you're like 00:14:26.940 --> 00:14:28.779 talking about it and your mouth starts watering, 00:14:28.940 --> 00:14:31.779 you know. It's crazy how food can have this like 00:14:31.779 --> 00:14:35.399 impact on you like for forever. It's kind of 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:37.080 like with music, you know, and I had a similar, 00:14:37.179 --> 00:14:39.100 you know, we always talk about sort of like the 00:14:39.100 --> 00:14:43.019 impact that food can have on memory and put you 00:14:43.019 --> 00:14:45.159 into a certain place. I had like a similar thing 00:14:45.159 --> 00:14:49.240 the other day. I was listening to a song that 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:51.460 made me really remember the time when I first 00:14:51.460 --> 00:14:55.460 came to Mugaritz. And it is crazy. Like it put 00:14:55.460 --> 00:14:59.440 me back into being on the mountain and smelling 00:14:59.440 --> 00:15:01.539 the air, you know, the way that Basque air smells 00:15:01.539 --> 00:15:04.909 like very particularly. Absolutely. Yeah. That 00:15:04.909 --> 00:15:08.950 reminded me of a different song that when I listened 00:15:08.950 --> 00:15:11.590 to it, really reminds me of when I first arrived 00:15:11.590 --> 00:15:14.710 in Japan. Also very, very particular time, very 00:15:14.710 --> 00:15:16.809 particular smell. And I listened, I put that 00:15:16.809 --> 00:15:18.389 song on, I was at home, I was wearing headphones 00:15:18.389 --> 00:15:21.590 and I put that song on and I could almost taste 00:15:21.590 --> 00:15:26.009 the taste of this like warm coffee from the vending 00:15:26.009 --> 00:15:28.029 machines. The one that you get in the cans, the 00:15:28.029 --> 00:15:30.909 can that comes out and it's hot. And I had that, 00:15:30.950 --> 00:15:32.840 immediately had that taste in my mouth. And I 00:15:32.840 --> 00:15:35.240 was like, isn't that crazy? Yeah, I've had those 00:15:35.240 --> 00:15:37.799 kinds of things as well. Like just the smell 00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:40.799 of the air and having a memory of, I don't know, 00:15:40.820 --> 00:15:45.779 20 years ago or something like that. I had another 00:15:45.779 --> 00:15:47.860 one. Well, do you have any other potato dishes 00:15:47.860 --> 00:15:50.320 in mind? Oh, yeah. So what do you think about 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:52.539 potato as a sauce? Have you ever tried that, 00:15:52.600 --> 00:15:56.220 potato as a sauce? Well, I remember in Margot, 00:15:56.299 --> 00:15:58.399 and for me that was really fucked up. I never 00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:00.620 saw something like that. We did a potato gel. 00:16:00.860 --> 00:16:04.679 You remember that? Which dish was it for? That 00:16:04.679 --> 00:16:07.580 was like a fucked up technique. And also I thought 00:16:07.580 --> 00:16:10.440 that was like really like modern and crazy. And 00:16:10.440 --> 00:16:12.340 it was done by Hoffman, who was like a more like 00:16:12.340 --> 00:16:16.919 a classic kind of chef. But so like the potatoes 00:16:16.919 --> 00:16:21.500 would be thrown to the juicer, which I've never 00:16:21.500 --> 00:16:23.519 seen before. Which is nuts in itself. It's a 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:28.259 crazy thing to do. And then there were like, 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:30.899 you know, in Germany to do the knödel, you have 00:16:30.899 --> 00:16:36.200 this. Powder that avoids oxidation for the potatoes. 00:16:36.460 --> 00:16:39.940 Jaco vice. Jaco vice. It's funny because jaco 00:16:39.940 --> 00:16:44.440 in Spanish is like a very hard and cheap street 00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:49.419 drug that junkies use. And this is like a white 00:16:49.419 --> 00:16:51.679 powder and it's called jaco vice. You know, and 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:56.240 it's like jaco white translation. And yeah, you 00:16:56.240 --> 00:16:58.899 would throw some jaco white into this potato 00:16:58.899 --> 00:17:02.480 juice. Then you would let it rest so the sediments 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:06.339 would separate from the potato water. And then 00:17:06.339 --> 00:17:08.440 that water, you would treat it like a gel, like 00:17:08.440 --> 00:17:10.480 a normal gel, you know, with agar, letting it 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:14.220 set. And then making like a, it was important 00:17:14.220 --> 00:17:17.380 to separate the starches at the bottom. And that's 00:17:17.380 --> 00:17:19.859 something I have, like crazy stuff I've never 00:17:19.859 --> 00:17:23.920 seen before, you know, like. To be honest, it 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:28.980 was not mind -blowing. That's the thing. That's 00:17:28.980 --> 00:17:30.559 kind of what we were talking about earlier. It's 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:32.480 like, man, you do all this shit, and then it's 00:17:32.480 --> 00:17:37.180 kind of like, what the fuck? But I have two examples 00:17:37.180 --> 00:17:39.220 of potato sauces that I really like, but I'm 00:17:39.220 --> 00:17:43.779 going to just quickly refer to a dish at Margaux 00:17:43.779 --> 00:17:46.339 also. I remember at Margaux, we had these heirloom 00:17:46.339 --> 00:17:48.950 varieties of potatoes. He was experimenting with 00:17:48.950 --> 00:17:50.289 different types of potatoes, where these, like, 00:17:50.309 --> 00:17:52.569 burgundy ones, these, like, you know, blah, this, 00:17:52.650 --> 00:17:55.470 that, blah. And I remember this one dish, and, 00:17:55.509 --> 00:17:57.490 you know, like, what should you not do with potatoes? 00:17:58.849 --> 00:18:02.130 Let them oxidize. Right, let them oxidize, or 00:18:02.130 --> 00:18:05.690 eat them raw. Ah, absolutely. Oh, yeah, no -go. 00:18:06.269 --> 00:18:09.230 Yeah, but I would say both things are no -gos. 00:18:09.930 --> 00:18:12.250 100%. Like, because they're also, like, a little 00:18:12.250 --> 00:18:14.490 bit poisonous. They have this, like, toxin in 00:18:14.490 --> 00:18:17.829 them. What's it called in English? Blausäure. 00:18:18.809 --> 00:18:20.910 It's quite toxic. It's quite toxic. It's not 00:18:20.910 --> 00:18:24.309 good for you. So what we were doing is like we 00:18:24.309 --> 00:18:26.470 were cooking potatoes, but like we're basically 00:18:26.470 --> 00:18:28.190 just blanching them in like a chicken stock. 00:18:28.309 --> 00:18:30.990 And they were still crunchy, like thinly sliced, 00:18:31.150 --> 00:18:32.769 very thinly sliced. So you could see all the 00:18:32.769 --> 00:18:35.450 color of the potatoes, the blue and the red and 00:18:35.450 --> 00:18:37.849 the yellow. And I don't really remember what 00:18:37.849 --> 00:18:39.650 dish it was for, but then we had these like basically 00:18:39.650 --> 00:18:43.210 half raw potatoes as like a sort of warm salad 00:18:43.210 --> 00:18:47.539 garnish. That was pretty much out there. I don't 00:18:47.539 --> 00:18:49.900 know whether that was good or not. I cannot say. 00:18:50.440 --> 00:18:52.799 I can also remember in Mugaritz, we had these 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:55.960 potatoes that we would turn. Do you call it turn 00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:58.960 in English when you do this? Zeppelin shapes 00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:04.319 of food. The peels, we would fry them. So it 00:19:04.319 --> 00:19:08.619 would be like chips of only potato skins, which 00:19:08.619 --> 00:19:11.930 is also interesting. I think, yeah, potato skins 00:19:11.930 --> 00:19:14.890 is for sure, like, something interesting to do 00:19:14.890 --> 00:19:17.529 stuff with it, you know? Oh, 100%. Yeah, yeah. 00:19:17.609 --> 00:19:20.509 You can fry them. You can malt them. Like, there's 00:19:20.509 --> 00:19:21.750 lots of things that you can do with potato skins. 00:19:21.809 --> 00:19:24.509 It's really nice. There's two potato sauces that 00:19:24.509 --> 00:19:26.730 I've seen one time. Well, one of them I made 00:19:26.730 --> 00:19:29.029 myself, so it's not a very good thing. But, like, 00:19:29.029 --> 00:19:30.630 I used to make this, like, potato espuma. Have 00:19:30.630 --> 00:19:33.349 you ever made a potato espuma? Yeah. It's so 00:19:33.349 --> 00:19:35.950 easy, but it's so nice. I used to use it as, 00:19:35.990 --> 00:19:40.029 like, a sauce for fish. I, like, seasoned it. 00:19:40.589 --> 00:19:42.269 So you have like a base of potato and cream. 00:19:42.890 --> 00:19:45.369 And then I would emulsify all like really nice 00:19:45.369 --> 00:19:48.349 olive oil into it and season it with piment espalette 00:19:48.349 --> 00:19:51.890 and lots of like lemon zest. So it was like really 00:19:51.890 --> 00:19:56.230 kind of like spicy, olivey, fragrant, and you 00:19:56.230 --> 00:19:58.809 make a really light espuma. And then we were 00:19:58.809 --> 00:20:01.609 serving it with like a grilled trout. And you 00:20:01.609 --> 00:20:03.529 can just like drag your fish through the sauce 00:20:03.529 --> 00:20:05.670 and like clings on it. It's very airy and super, 00:20:05.809 --> 00:20:08.940 super satisfying. I thought you said olive oil 00:20:08.940 --> 00:20:12.460 instead of butter and potatoes is bullshit. No, 00:20:12.460 --> 00:20:17.500 look, that is not what I said. I said that Spanish 00:20:17.500 --> 00:20:23.039 people claiming that a potato puree made with 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:25.599 only olive oil is better than a classically made 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:31.839 potato puree. It's ludicrous. I think it's different, 00:20:32.019 --> 00:20:36.339 you know? It's different as in it's worse. It's 00:20:36.339 --> 00:20:39.779 like jazz music and blues music, you know, like 00:20:39.779 --> 00:20:45.079 different approaches, you know, different takes 00:20:45.079 --> 00:20:50.640 on, you know, music or potatoes. Yeah, but, you 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:52.799 know, like this is the thing with opinions, right? 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:57.380 Like some of them are wrong. So, like, I think 00:20:57.380 --> 00:20:59.220 if you make a brand ad or something like that, 00:20:59.299 --> 00:21:03.339 amazing. I think if you want, if we're talking 00:21:03.339 --> 00:21:07.319 about a potato puree that is meant to be eaten 00:21:07.319 --> 00:21:12.039 as a potato puree, in that sense, not just as 00:21:12.039 --> 00:21:14.500 like I puree a potato, but like a potato puree 00:21:14.500 --> 00:21:21.000 with its raw. You know what I've done? And I 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:24.859 think it's pretty good, to be honest, but this 00:21:24.859 --> 00:21:31.339 is very heretic. a little bit of both a little 00:21:31.339 --> 00:21:34.619 bit of olive oil and butter oh i can see that 00:21:34.619 --> 00:21:37.700 no no i i i can get behind that i can get behind 00:21:37.700 --> 00:21:40.240 that yeah for sure but you see this is like a 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:42.380 this is an open -minded approach which is what 00:21:42.380 --> 00:21:46.720 i i like and appreciate about you eric um because 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:49.740 you know you're like you just do whatever that 00:21:49.740 --> 00:21:53.119 like you know you feel but like i remember the 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:54.880 person that told me about this like olive oil 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:56.680 thing you know and they were very adamant they 00:21:56.680 --> 00:22:00.200 were sort of like i only eat potato puree with 00:22:00.200 --> 00:22:01.940 olive oil it's kind of like all right i know 00:22:01.940 --> 00:22:04.039 that a big part of why you're saying it the way 00:22:04.039 --> 00:22:05.759 that you're saying it is just because of like 00:22:05.759 --> 00:22:07.839 because you're spanish and just because you want 00:22:07.839 --> 00:22:12.140 to make a point you know like um that's very 00:22:12.140 --> 00:22:14.619 very clear adding some olive oil because of its 00:22:14.619 --> 00:22:17.819 qualities great you know but just being a dick 00:22:17.819 --> 00:22:21.079 about it it's like ah of course just because 00:22:21.079 --> 00:22:23.440 you know it's like we're in spain we don't eat 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:25.259 butter and it's like yeah yeah i get it i get 00:22:25.259 --> 00:22:29.420 it bro Like this smartass I made a big deal about 00:22:29.420 --> 00:22:32.740 with the cheesecake. Cheesecake has to be burnt 00:22:32.740 --> 00:22:35.039 and it shouldn't be creamy in the middle. And 00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:38.039 I was like, you live in fucking London. What 00:22:38.039 --> 00:22:41.420 the fuck? Are you the Cheesecake Stasi? Who the 00:22:41.420 --> 00:22:45.160 fuck are you to tell anybody what should be what 00:22:45.160 --> 00:22:47.000 in cooking? What the fuck are you talking about? 00:22:47.099 --> 00:22:49.420 You came here for a weekend. You tried cheesecake 00:22:49.420 --> 00:22:53.240 at La Viña and you became a preacher of Basque 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:55.660 cheesecake? Shut the fuck up. Go home. Go to 00:22:55.660 --> 00:22:58.680 sleep. Shut the fuck up. Fuck you and your stupid 00:22:58.680 --> 00:23:00.700 fucking opinions about cheesecake. Don't ever 00:23:00.700 --> 00:23:03.240 fucking come here again. If we see you around 00:23:03.240 --> 00:23:08.210 Old Town, you're done. Actually, probably the 00:23:08.210 --> 00:23:11.470 same week, I heard a sous -chef in Mugaritz tell 00:23:11.470 --> 00:23:15.190 me, there's only one correct way to cook rice. 00:23:15.630 --> 00:23:19.130 And that is the way that Kikita Costa cooks it. 00:23:20.809 --> 00:23:26.049 And I was like, oh my God. You're such a fucking 00:23:26.049 --> 00:23:31.089 idiot right now. But it's almost impressive with 00:23:31.089 --> 00:23:33.609 how much conviction you delivered this incredibly 00:23:33.609 --> 00:23:35.529 stupid, retarded thing that you've just said. 00:23:36.519 --> 00:23:40.019 Like, I almost respect you for that. And this 00:23:40.019 --> 00:23:42.839 person, he has Michelin stars now in Spain. He's 00:23:42.839 --> 00:23:44.200 got his own restaurant with Michelin stars. I 00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:46.200 know who he is. I know who you're talking about. 00:23:47.279 --> 00:23:50.940 You know, I remember also like something interesting 00:23:50.940 --> 00:23:55.079 with potatoes that I saw. It was a Marco Pierre 00:23:55.079 --> 00:24:01.539 White dish. I saw it on one of these videos he 00:24:01.539 --> 00:24:09.019 would do for Knorr on YouTube. Yeah. So these 00:24:09.019 --> 00:24:11.220 potatoes were like, he would cut them like in 00:24:11.220 --> 00:24:15.140 ping pong bowl sizes, you know, like kind of 00:24:15.140 --> 00:24:18.160 like quarters, depending on the size of the potato, 00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:22.559 peeled, and then to the oven, like at a relatively 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:24.980 slow temperature. I think it was like 140 degrees 00:24:24.980 --> 00:24:27.660 or something like that, you know, just, and then 00:24:27.660 --> 00:24:30.019 they're cooked with butter, only butter and salt. 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:32.759 And he would say Knorr would make it better, 00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:35.460 but I prefer to use whatever, thyme or rosemary 00:24:35.460 --> 00:24:38.400 or something and garlic, you know, or some meat 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:42.019 stock, whatever. But yeah, like just until they're 00:24:42.019 --> 00:24:46.200 soft, but not letting them get color, just making 00:24:46.200 --> 00:24:49.480 them soft and butter and oven. And that is really 00:24:49.480 --> 00:24:51.480 delicious and really simple food. That's something 00:24:51.480 --> 00:24:54.420 I love. That's really, really nice. Yeah, really, 00:24:54.539 --> 00:24:58.150 really nice. I have one more example of a potato 00:24:58.150 --> 00:25:01.069 sauce that I thought was amazing when I saw it. 00:25:01.089 --> 00:25:03.250 So there was a short time where I was working 00:25:03.250 --> 00:25:07.569 in a really amazing restaurant in buttfuck nowhere 00:25:07.569 --> 00:25:11.529 in England. I was living in central England in 00:25:11.529 --> 00:25:15.089 Lincoln, right? East Midlands. And there's a 00:25:15.089 --> 00:25:18.569 restaurant in Lincoln City called the Juice House. 00:25:19.259 --> 00:25:22.799 like a very old house. It had an amazing restaurant, 00:25:22.880 --> 00:25:24.920 super good cooking, like very British, classic 00:25:24.920 --> 00:25:28.079 French cooking, run and owned by a chef called 00:25:28.079 --> 00:25:30.599 Gavin. Really exceptional cooking, like so nice. 00:25:31.200 --> 00:25:36.980 And he had this very simple cheese tart. So he 00:25:36.980 --> 00:25:40.019 would make like puff pastry with like a layer 00:25:40.019 --> 00:25:42.000 of caramelized onions and put some like soft 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:44.420 cheese on top and just gratinate it. Very simple, 00:25:44.460 --> 00:25:47.039 like a taft fin. And together with that, he had 00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:49.849 like a herb salad. And he made a sauce which 00:25:49.849 --> 00:25:53.089 he called like a potato dressing. So what he 00:25:53.089 --> 00:25:54.829 would do is like he would take like really nice 00:25:54.829 --> 00:25:56.630 yellow potatoes and he cooked them in chicken 00:25:56.630 --> 00:25:59.130 stock until they were soft. But like just a little 00:25:59.130 --> 00:26:00.849 bit of potato in like a good amount of stock. 00:26:01.029 --> 00:26:05.009 And then he'd mix that, right? So he'd mix the 00:26:05.009 --> 00:26:07.029 potatoes in with like a blender. So it would 00:26:07.029 --> 00:26:10.930 kind of like not get like velvety. Elastic, yeah. 00:26:11.470 --> 00:26:14.069 Yeah, but not slimy, but like really creamy. 00:26:14.839 --> 00:26:16.400 I think there was a little bit of cream and stuff 00:26:16.400 --> 00:26:19.599 in there also. And then he emulsified some olive 00:26:19.599 --> 00:26:21.599 oil into it and a little bit of truffle oil. 00:26:21.740 --> 00:26:25.539 And then he puts like dice of potato that he 00:26:25.539 --> 00:26:28.240 like blanched until they were soft into it and 00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:30.339 like chives and a little bit like that. And it 00:26:30.339 --> 00:26:33.759 was just like warm potato dressing with bits 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:36.380 of potato in it and a little bit of truffle flavor. 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:38.099 And he would just serve that next to this tart 00:26:38.099 --> 00:26:42.140 fin. And I was like, that is... At the same time, 00:26:42.140 --> 00:26:45.900 super classic, but also really genius. You know, 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:49.660 has really, really stayed in my mind. Do the 00:26:49.660 --> 00:26:52.579 French dressing. We would do a Margaux. We talk 00:26:52.579 --> 00:26:54.799 about this on the dressing episode, the salad 00:26:54.799 --> 00:26:58.539 episode. Yeah, there was a chicken stock. Then 00:26:58.539 --> 00:27:00.380 you would cook the potatoes in the chicken stock, 00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:02.279 blend the whole thing. So you have like this 00:27:02.279 --> 00:27:05.980 creamy thing. And on top of that, lots of grapeseed 00:27:05.980 --> 00:27:09.599 oil, Merlot grapeseed oil. That oil was amazing. 00:27:10.380 --> 00:27:12.839 That was a killer dressing. Maybe one of the 00:27:12.839 --> 00:27:14.920 best dressings I've ever had. You still have 00:27:14.920 --> 00:27:23.240 the recipe? No. God damn it. That's it for this 00:27:23.240 --> 00:27:25.900 week's episode of Potluck Food Talks. If you 00:27:25.900 --> 00:27:27.819 like what we're doing, make sure to subscribe 00:27:27.819 --> 00:27:30.079 to the podcast so you never miss an episode. 00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:32.539 You can also find us on Instagram and TikTok 00:27:32.539 --> 00:27:36.019 as Potluck Food Talks. The show airs every Monday.