Christmas at Easter
This year I decided to depart from the traditional Easter dinner menu that was in force in my home. Firstly, because żurek and duck are like daily bread for me, and secondly, I wanted to impress my children culinary-wise.
For the first appetizer, I served an egg in the form of a minced cutlet on horseradish. I made it from crushed hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped mushrooms fried in butter and basil, rolled in breadcrumbs and fried in butter.
The second appetizer was octopus. I cooked it frozen for an hour and a half with carrots, bay leaves and allspice. When it cooled down, I carefully removed the skin, then fried it in olive oil, butter, garlic and thyme. I served it with fresh thyme.
The third appetizer was rainbow tartare. Its next five layers consisted of: 1. diced tuna seasoned with soy sauce, honey and sriracha sauce, 2. avocado with lemon, 3. salmon prepared in the same way as tuna, 4. mango with lemon, 5. chives.
I cooked the fish soup with leftovers from sturgeon, shrimp shells and fried onion with garlic and white wine. I kept the broth on the heat for an hour. Then I strained it and defrosted it with egg white and poured it over two spring rolls per portion filled with sliced shrimp, which I had previously fried in butter and mixed with parsley.
The main course was the former king of our rivers - sturgeon. It has a taste similar to carp, but more delicate and devoid of a muddy note. I fried the fish in oil, adding butter and garlic halfway through frying. I served it with potatoes, which I had previously baked, cut into slices, mixed with olive oil, butter, garlic, smoked paprika, salt and pepper and arranged in layers. To this I added blanched asparagus with Hollandaise sauce made of three egg yolks, a tablespoon of lemon, salt, pepper and half a stick of butter.
I think that once in a while it's worth looking into heaven. Even if it's just culinary heaven.
