Curtis Stone is a top celebrity chef, raised in Australia and trained in London under Marco Pierre White. He is also an American sweetheart owing to his phenomenonally popular reality cooking show “Take Home Chef” and is known throughout the UK and Australia for his appearance on primetime TV. People Magazine voted him one of the sexiest men alive.
Stone has just been asked to design the new menu for United Airlines in the USA. The Curtis Stone menu is only available for customers flying in United Business class from San Francisco International Airport to Tokyo Narita International Airport and features healthy, high-quality organic ingredients. The top chef told The Global Herald:
“I feel like I spend half my time in the sky, traveling the world for work – literally like George Clooney in Up In The Air! I’ve always thought that airline food should be better – come on, doesn’t everyone? My shared mission with United is to source fantastic ingredients for recipes that not only taste great but leave you feeling relaxed, rejuvenated and refreshed. It was quite a challenge but I’ve loved it…and I think I’ve cracked it!”
The talented culinarian also took time out to share the recipes for his latest creations with Global Herald readers:
Table of Contents
Grass-Fed Beef Short Ribs with Honey Roasted Heirloom Carrots and Celery Root Puree
Serves 8
SHORT RIBS:
1 tablespoons olive oil
8 meaty bone-in beef short ribs (each about 12 ounces; preferably grass-fed)
1 teaspoon fine-grained sea salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 large shallots (6 ounces), quartered
1 large carrot (4 ounces), peeled and quartered
2 celery stalk (4 ounces), quartered
6 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
3 1/2 cups dry red wine
6 cups high-quality beef stock
5 fresh thyme sprigs
1 fresh rosemary sprig (6-inch long)
1 fresh bay leaf
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
CELERY ROOT PUREE:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 pounds celery root, peeled (about 1 pound, 3 ounces), cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 medium shallot, coarsely chopped
3/4 teaspoon fine-grained sea salt
HONEY ROASTED CARROTS
1 1/4 pounds baby heirloom carrots, peeled, tops trimmed, or slender heirloom carrots, peeled
3 shallots, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick round slices
8 large sprig fresh thyme, leaves only
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons wildflower honey
3/4 teaspoon fine-grained sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
GARNISH:
6 single-stem thyme sprigs, leaves removed
TO PREPARE SHORT RIBS:
- Preheat oven to 275°F.
- Heat heavy 8-quart pot over medium-high heat.
- Season beef on all sides with salt and pepper.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil then short ribs to pot and cook until golden brown on all sides, about 12 minutes.
- Transfer beef to a bowl.
- Reduce heat to medium.
- Add carrots, celery, and shallots and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Stir in garlic then stir in wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in beef stock, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf. Return beef to pot.
- Bring to simmer over high heat, then cover pot and transfer it to oven.
- Braise until beef falls apart with fork, about 2 1/2 hours.
- Remove from oven and let beef cool completely uncovered in braising liquid, but do not allow mixture to become cold. Spoon off fat that rises to the top of the liquid.
- Using slotted spoon, gently remove beef from liquid then cover and set aside to keep warm.
- Strain braising liquid through fine-mesh strainer into clean heavy large saucepan. Spoon off any excess fat that rises to the top of braising liquid, if necessary.
- Simmer braising liquid over high heat until it reduces enough to very thinly coat back of a spoon (about 1 cup), about 45 minutes.
- Whisk in butter.
TO COOK CELERY ROOT PUREE:
- Melt butter in heavy medium pot over medium heat.
- Add celery root, milk, cream, shallots, and salt. Bring to gentle simmer over medium heat, 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer very gently, uncovered, until celery root is tender enough to mash with a spoon, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer celery root and shallots to a blender (preferably a high-powered blender).
- Blend until smooth, adding 1 to 1 1/2 cups of cooking liquid to form a very thick, creamy, and completely smooth puree.
TO COOK HONEY ROASTED CARROTS:
- Preheat oven to 550°F. Line baking sheet with foil.
- Toss carrots, shallots, thyme leaves, butter, honey, salt and pepper on baking sheet to coat.
- Arrange vegetables evenly over baking sheet so that carrots are in single layer.
- Bake for 5 minutes. Toss in the shallots. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes, or until carrots are crisp tender and shallots are pale golden.
TO SERVE:
- Spoon celery root puree in center of plates.
- Place short ribs atop puree so that they are shingled and offset.
- Pour sauce over short ribs and around puree.
- Place carrots alongside.
- Scatter thyme leaves over and serve.
California Chinese Chicken Salad with Napa Cabbage and Pickled Ginger-Sesame Vinaigrette
Serves 5
DRESSING:
6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup minced green onions
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons juice from pickled sushi ginger
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
4 teaspoons hoisin sauce
4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon Chinese chile sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
CHICKEN:
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 boneless skinless free-range organic chicken breasts without tenderloin (8 ounces each)
SALAD:
1 (8-ounce) head Napa cabbage, halved lengthwise, then very thinly sliced crosswise
3 green onions, cut on very sharp diagonal into thin slices
3 slender carrots, peeled and fine julienne
1/2 cup whole fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
TO MAKE THE DRESSING:
- Whisk all the ingredients in a medium bowl to blend.
TO MAKE THE CHICKEN:
- Whisk all the ingredients except the chicken in a bowl to blend.
- Add the chicken and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, turning after the first 30 minutes.
- Preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill until cooked through and char marks form, about 4 minutes per side.
- Cool completely. Cut each chicken breast crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
TO MAKE THE SALAD:
- Arrange the slices of chicken in a starburst fashion over 5 plates, using about 5 to 6 slices per serving.
- Toss the cabbage, carrots, green onions, and cilantro in a large bowl.
- Mound the cabbage mixture in the center of the starbursts, partially covering the chicken slices.
- Rewhisk the dressing and drizzle it over the salad.
- Sprinkle the almonds and sesame seeds over and serve.
– and if you would rather have it cooked for you, simply book on United Airlines business class between San Fran & Narita.
