Heading up the kitchen at Relais Chateaux hotel Le Saint James in Bordeaux is 1 Michelin star chef Nicolas Magie. Before he took up tenancy at Le Saint James, Nicolas worked in some of Frances most celebrated restaurants, including Miramar Biarritz and the Crillon in Paris, alongside chef Christian Constant.
Nicolas finds inspiration for his dishes from the spell-bindingly beautiful landscape of the Aquitaine area in south west France and the surplus daily markets that characterise the culinary region.
Below is Nicolas’ recipe for his Rack of Iberic pork Salsify & morel mushrooms & terre végétale dish served at Le Saint James’ restaurant which combines ingredients and flavours that are typical of rustic Basque cuisine.
Ingredients
Serves 4
Carré de cochon ibérique
1 rack of Iberic pork (about 800g)
Salt and Espelette pepper
Thyme
Bay Laurel
Garlic
Olive oil
Butter
Salsify
400g salsify
400g white poultry stock
Espelette pepper
Salt
Morel mushrooms
12 big fresh morel mushrooms
80g fillet of Iberic pork
40g light whipping cream
2 shallots
1 half bunch of chive
butter
Porto
Espelette pepper
Salt
Terre végétale
175g flour
85g malt
50g hazelnut flour
25g dehydrated morel mushroom
75g brown ale
25g caster sugar
Pork juice
300g pork bone or trimming
2 onions
4 garlic cloves
1 carrot
10cl of white wine
1 lemon juice
Method
Rack of pork
Brown the rack of pork, then add thyme and bay laurel, garlic and butter while basting regularly.
Finish the cooking process in the oven at 180°C. Check temperature. The core of the pork rack should be 62°C once cooked.
Salsify
Peel the salsify, wash, then cut into small sticks of 8cm of length and cook them in the stock.
Reserve when cooked until lightly crunchy.
Morel mushrooms
Wash the mushrooms then put them aside.
Make a stuffing with the pork and the light whipping cream.
Cook the shallots in the butter and the chive until it begins to take colour. Then, mix into the stuffing mixture.
Season with salt and pepper then stuff the morel mushrooms.
Cooked the morels with butter then deglaze them with porto. Reserve.
Terre végétale
Add all the elements together in a baking dish and dehydrate them in an oven set to 180°C for three hours.
Once it has been dehydrated, mix it then put them in a bolter to obtain a light texture.
Pork juice
Brown the pork bones then add the aromatic dressing.
Deglaze with white wine.
Boil down to a syrupy consistence.
Adjust the seasoning to taste and deglaze with lemon juice.