According to my grandmother, there are two types of people in life: Those who can cook, and those who can’t. I, without a doubt, fall into the latter category. Boiling pasta I can do, but under no circumstances can I be classified as a good cook. And so, I was naturally drawn to the opportunity to interview the renowned Hussein Hadid. Prepped with pen in hand and a large handbag I was on a mission. The Mission: to pick his brain, take notes, get some cooking tips and maybe steal a recipe or twelve.
As with any great dish, there are many steps and layers to Hussein Hadid. What can quickly be identified, however is that much like the innovative dishes he creates, he is not afraid to be simple and true to himself. His mantra: “Simplicity and elegance combined - never overdo things”.
Entering Hadid’s kitchen I felt as though I was entering some sort of a hidden chamber where magic potions and culinary miracles happen. It’s discrete and architecturally understated, no doubt the perfect setting for where he has catered for the likes of Sean Connery and many Lebanese socialites. This ‘homey vibe’, which, both he and his kitchen exude, set my expectations high as I begin to wonder what I’m about experience. He clearly believes in letting the imaginative dishes he creates speak for themselves and leaving everything else as background noise. His décor and attire of jeans and a plain white t-shirt tell me that he does what he does, effortlessly. He is anything but pretentious, with no goal to impress and yet, the food, his personality and ambiance do that and more.
Hadid describes his cuisine as “classical, modern” with importance on taste and lightness of food. It is difficult to focus on what he is saying as he plates the risotto with the saffron and Parmesan aromas filling the room. I desperately try and stay focused on him and react by asking him what sign he is, “Taurus” he replies while placing a spoon of caviar on a bed of pasta before sprinkling it with chives.
While placing the squab in the middle of the already sizzling pan he tells me what ingredients he couldn’t possibly cook without, “onion and garlic” is his final decision and it soon becomes apparent that a fusion of the two are quintessential to his cooking style and seductive tastes.
With a spoon in place of a wand and the swift whirl of a magician is it no sooner plated and waiting invitingly for me to take a bite. I must have been openly salivating because he quickly slices up pieces of the juicy and perfectly cooked meat and invites me to taste it. I abruptly wind the interview down and enjoy the full plate.
Everything you get from him is genuine and colourful, both in terms of personality and in food. As I savoured the last bite of roebuck in a red wine reduction with girolle mushrooms, I hounded him to open up a restaurant or run the risk of being stalked daily through the streets. He laughs then glances down at the almost white plate probably wondering if I was going to lick the remains. I was tempted.
A combination of what I have just sampled in addition to his calm, collected demeanour awaken my taste buds and urge me to book him to cater my wedding. Next mission: finding the right man who hopefully won’t mind that I can’t cook … yet.
Hadid’s Rare four course meal
GOLD LEAF SAFFRON RISOTTO
Ingredients
3 tbs unsalted butter
2 tbs diced shallots
2 cups of Arborio rice
1/2 cup of dry white wine
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
A pinch of saffron threads
Salt and pepper
3 tbs of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 sheet / piece of gold leaf
Procedure
1. Sauté the shallots.
2. Add the rice and stir.
3. Deglaze with white wine.
4. Add half of the chicken stock.
5. Add the saffron.
6. Cook and stir until the stock evaporates.
7. Repeat the process with rest of stock. At this point, the texture should not be too runny, or too thick. The Risotto has to be creamy.
8. Add the butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
9. Season with salt and pepper.
10. To serve, place the risotto on a plate with the gold leaf in middle of the risotto.
GARGANELLI IN A LEMON CREAM SAUCE WITH ASPARAGUS AND OSETRA CAVIAR
Ingredients
Pasta dough:
12 egg yolks
1 kg of semlina flour
275 ml of water
2 tbs of olive oil
Salt
Pasta sauce:
1/2 litre of cream
2 tbs of lemon juice
1 tbs of lemon zest
3 tbs of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 bunch of asparagus, peeled
1 tbs of chives, chopped
1 large tbs of Osetra caviar
Salt and pepper
Procedure
1. For the dough, sift the flour and make a well. Add the yolks in centre of the well.
Using a whisk, beat the yolks and add the water, olive oil and salt. Incorporate all together until it forms a ball. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
2. To make the Garganelli, you need a Garganelli comb. Using a pasta machine, roll and make sheets of thickness number 1 using the dough.
3. Cut the sheet into small squares, roughly 4 cm by 4 cm. Using a wooden skewer, take a tip of a pasta square and fold it onto the Garganelli comb to form a Garganelli.
4. Place a pot of salted water on the stove, and cook the Garganelli by following the directions on the box. If you’ve made it fresh, it requires four minutes to cook.
5. Add the cream to a a separate sauté pan and bring to a boil. Add the lemon juice and zests followed by the asparagus and finally, the pasta. Cook until it thickens.
6. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt and pepper and season to taste.
7. Finally, add the chopped chives.
8. To serve on plate, add the pasta, and the tablespoon of caviar in middle.
ROASTED SQUAB WITH BABY PRUNES IN A SQUAB SAUCE
Ingredients
The bones of two squabs
1tbs of tomato paste
3 cups of chicken broth
A sprig of thyme
1 tbs of each: onions, celery and carrots
1 tbs of flour
3tbs of dry white wine
4 breast of squab
1 cup baby prunes
1 tbs sugar
2 tbs red wine
Salt and pepper
Procedure
Sauce:
1. Sauté the squab bones. Add onions and other vegetables and sauté for a few minutes.
2. Add tomato paste, stir well for one minute and then add the flour.
3. Mix well and then deglaze with wine.
4. Add the chicken broth and thyme sprig and let it simmer gently until it thickens. This should take around two hours. After it has thickened, strain and discard bones. Season according to taste.
Prunes:
1. Slice the prunes in half and remove the stones.
2. Sauté with olive oil, add sugar and then deglaze with red wine. Season with salt and pepper according to taste. Set the prunes aside for later.
Squab:
For the squab, season with salt and pepper. Heat a sauté pan until flaming hot, add vegetable oil, and sauté the squab skin side down until golden. Flip it over and switch off heat.
To serve, add the prunes in centre, serve sauce all around. Gently place the squab in middle and decorate with sprig of thyme.
ROASTED ROEBUCK WITH BABY ARTICHOKES AND GIROLLE MUSHROOMS IN A RED WINE SAUCE
Ingredients
4 x 500g loin of roebuck
4 baby artichokes, thinly sliced
250 g of girolle mushrooms
6tbs of olive oil
2 tbs vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
Sauce:
1/2 bottle of red wine
1 cup of chicken broth
50 g of shallots
100 g of button mushrooms
2 tbs of sugar
A bunch of thyme sprigs
2 tbs of corn flour
2 tbs pf water
Salt and pepper
Procedure:
Sauce:
1. Sauté the shallots and mushrooms, add the bunch of thyme.
2. Add the red wine and sugar. Let it simmer until the liquid has reduced by half. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
3. Thicken the sauce with cornstarch and water.
The roebuck:
1. Season the roebuck on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a sauté pan until smoking hot, add vegetable oil, then add the loins of roebuck and cook for 2 minutes on each side.
2. Heat a sauté pan, add olive oil and sauté the giroles mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat a sauté pan, add olive oil, sauté the artichokes. Season with salt and pepper.
To serve, place the mushrooms and artichokes opposite each other in the middle of the plate then pour the red wine sauce around them. Place the sliced roebuck in the middle and garnish with thyme.
CONTACT
Hussein Hadid Kitchen
50 Sheikh Abbas Street,
Beirut, Lebanon
Tel +9611 816 120
www.husseinhadid.com
