Ian Curley – Bosch Masterclass

My Dear Readers, what’s the one kitchen appliance that you use the most? For me it’s definitely the oven! I use it almost everyday and truly believe a kitchen wont be complete without a good reliable oven ~ Thankfully, the oven at the apartment is brand new and has been quite good, but I sometimes wished it had more functions…like one of those snazzy Bosch ovens

Chef Ian Curley

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be invited to a Bosch Masterclass with Ian Curley the Executive Chef at The European restaurant. I love cooking classes especially those with a chef one on one, where I can ask questions and try really hard not to make a fool out of myself It was definitely a jam packed class starting with Chef Ian showing us how to make a few dishes then we were separated into 3 groups where we had to make the dish and entered into a little competition to see who made the best dish that night ~

Chef Ian Curley in action

Chef Ian immediately swung into action showing us how to make a John Dory cauliflower puree with braised witlof.  I was really amazed at how easy Chef Ian made gutting and filleting the fish, he then panfried the John Dory and when it was perfectly cooked, he immediately plated it up placing it over some cauliflower puree and braised witlof.

John Dory Cauliflower puree with braised witlof

To bring the dish to a whole new level bottarga (cured fish roe) was graved over it ~ It was the first time I had heard of and probably had bottarga before but it accentuated the dish very well. I particularly liked the crunchy fish skin and the super sweetness from the cauliflower puree! Was also surprised that the witlof was actually quite sweet as well probably because it was braised.

Beef welling in the making

We were then placed into groups of 3 to make a dish on our own ~ Was relieve to have Lianne and Agnes in my team, because I really don’t have the skills or knowledge to make this complex beef wellington with a pea puree and bacon button mushroom mix.

Pan frying eye fillet

First step to making this beef wellington was to pan fry the gorgeous eye fillets, no oil was required and lightly seasoned with some salt ~ Once they were a golden brown colour they were removed from the pan and left to rest, it is important to rest the meat to help retain the juice and flavour.

Next step was to place a generous amount of dijon mustard and mushroom duxelles (minced mushroom) and shaped like a dome. The duxelles smelt so good I was ready to just eat it by the spoonful! We’re not done yet, a thin layer of proscuitto was wrapped around and finally a thin layer of brioche was used instead of the traditionally used puff pastry. It’s important that we act quick because of the high butter content the brioche melts very quickly in our warm hands.

All wrapped and ready to be baked

Don’t forget the egg wash It’ll give it that lovely golden colour.

Bacon and button mushroom mix

Now it’s time to make what I called the bacon and button mushroom mix, I’m sure there’s a much nicer and fancier name but There’s quite a few ingredients to make this including bacon, button mushrooms, fresh peas, pearl onions, lettuce and brussel sprout leave. Everything combined became a delicious mushroom side to accompany our beef wellingtons ~

They’re ready!

The beef wellingtons are ready! Look at how puffy and golden brown they have become ~  I also liked how the Bosch oven was higher up and not below the stove. I’m lazy and find it annoying having to crouch down to see how my cakes are doing in the oven.

Plating up with pea puree and bacon mushroom mix

Now it’s time to plate up ~ the pre-made pea puree was piped into a circle and inside was a spoonful of the bacon mushroom mix. The beef wellingtons were then cut in half and placed on top.

Beef welington with pea puree and bacon mushroom mix

Ta da! The finished product How pretty and I loved how the eye fillet still had that pinkish tinge even though it’s been the oven for a while, it was still tender and succulent. I couldn’t get enough of the bacon mushroom mix and secretly wished we had more. Even though the use of the brioche was lovely, I think I would’ve preferred a puff pastry crust as I love the buttery and flakiness of it more ~

So much seafood!

Another team with Thanh and Kimberly, they made a saffron seafood paella. Look at the amount of seafood, I could barely see the rice underneath. It smelt so wonderful I couldn’t wait to try it ~

Saffron Seafood Paella

It did not disappoint, tasted as good if not better than it looks, because of the generous amount of seafood used, the rice had absorbed all the flavour. But my favourite would have to be the large, sweet prawns.

Crab linguini

The last group made a crab linguini dish, really liked the use of both wheat pasta and also squid ink pasta to give it that two tone colour ~ It was also topped with fried bread crumbs and again bottarga. So good but I was already too full and struggled to finish my bowl Felt so bad because I knew if Mr Bao was there he would’ve polished it and asked for seconds hahaha

Olive oil polenta and ricotta trifle

Glad we didn’t have to help with making the dessert and just only help eat. It was olive oil polenta and ricotta trifle paired with a Yering Station Pinot Gris Cold Press which was sweet but not overpowering. I really liked the polenta cake made with olive oil which had a soft crumbly texture, which contrasted well with the creamy ricotta cheese. It also had candied walnuts on top and a puff pastry stick. Thanh challenged me to see if I could finish the dessert and…of course I finished it

Seafood marina using freshly made pasta

Just as I was about to enter into a food coma ~ Chef Ian wanted to show us one last thing before letting us go, and that was how easy it was to make fresh pasta at home using one of the Bosch mixers with the pasta maker attachment. It only took what felt like a few minutes for him to make the pasta, boil it, throw in some seafood and voila dinner is ready

Using our Bosch stick blender

I thoroughly enjoyed the Bosch Masterclass and learned so much and would really like a self cleaning oven! Yup it self cleans don’t need to scrub or rub anymore! Although I didn’t get a new oven, Bosch was so kind to give us a stick blender each. So grateful because my stick blender had recently died on me and I was on the hunt for a new one Because of the cold weather I have been using it quite a bit to make my favourite pumpkin soup ~

If you would also like to experience a similar Bosch Masterclass, you can actually organise a time with the lovely ladies and they will be able to show you the Bosch appliances and all the cool things they can do.

Daisy@Nevertoosweet attended the Bosch Masterclass courtesy of Bosch Australia and PHD Media agency