Cooking with two Michelin star chef Kirk Westaway**

Hey guys! Today’s a very special episode, because I’m cooking with two Michelin star chef Kirk Westaway in Singapore! Right now the restaurant is closed for constructions and that gave me the ultimate opportunity to cook the whole day together with this legendary chef. Kirk and I are both going to cook one dish each. Kirk is going to make a delicious langoustine dish with celeriac noodles, braised little gem lettuce and a langoustine broth. I’m going to make a king crab starter with some salt crust baked celeriac, a king crab & celeriac dumpling and a king crab broth.

Kirk's langoustine dish

The langoustine & sauce

Start by removing the heads from the tails. Then press the tail to break it and peel the shell off. Keep the shells for later. Now use a tweezer to remove the intestines. Be gentle so you don’t damage the langoustine meat.

Then we can start on the sauce. Let some butter bubble in a frying pan and pan frying the heads and the other trimmings on a high heat. After 2 minutes also add half a chopped onion and 5 sprigs of thyme. Pan fry it for another minute and then deglaze the pan with half a liter of vegetable broth and add enough water to almost submerge the heads. Now let this simmer for 45 minutes. Once that’s done pass the liquid through a fine sieve. Then let this reduce till you have reached the desired flavor.

The celeriac noodles

1	celeriac
200 grams	cream
200 grams	vegetatie broth
100 grams	butter
50 grams	mustard
1	lemon

First cut the top and bottom off and clean the sides. Now place it on a Japanese sheet slicer and slice it in long thin sheets. Don’t worry if it breaks in between. Then fold the celeriac a couple of times and cut it to the desired size. These sheets are around 40 centimeters. Trim the sides and then cut it in thin long noodles. They are around half a centimeter wide. Then pour the cream into a saucepan together with the vegetable broth, the butter and the mustard. Bring this to a boil. Once it’s boiling add the celeriac and gently let it simmer on a low heat till the celeriac is almost cooked. Then drain the liquid and season the noodles with lemon zest.

The little gem lettuce

2 pieces	little gem lettuce
a knot	butter
1 clove	garlic
1 sprig	thyme
	Vegetable broth

Cut the bottom off the little gem lettuce and remove the outer leaves. Now cut them in half. After that add the knot of butter to a hot frying pan and pan fry the lettuce on the flat side. Add some salt for seasoning and once they start to color add the clove of garlic and the sprig of thyme. Then deglaze the pan with some vegetable broth and braise the lettuce on a medium heat. Now take them out of the pan.

How to finish the dish

Add a drizzle of oil to a hot frying pan and pan fry the langoustines on the back side. Once they start to color add a knot of butter. When the butter stops bubbling take the langoustine out of the pan and base the top with the caramelized butter. Now when necessary, cook them for a couple more seconds under a grill. Then place the braised lettuce on the side and use a tweezer or a meat fork to roll up the celeriac. Place that on the other side and sprinkle some chopped chives on top. Now put the pan fried langoustine in the middle. Then use two small spoons to make a caviar quenelle and place it on the celeriac. Now decorate it with some fennel tops and serve it with the delicious langoustine reduction.

Jules king crab dish

The salt crust baked celeriac

1	celeriac
400 grams	flour
400 grams	coarse salt
250 grams	water

Transfer the flour on your worktop and use the bowl to make a well in de middle. Now fill the well with the coarse salt and the water. Mix it and knead it into a firm dough. Then dust some flour on your worktop and flatten the dough with your hands or use a rolling pin. Place a celeriac on the dough and cover it completely. Then transfer it on a tray or container and bake it in an oven at 180 degrees Celsius for around 90 minutes. Once it’s baked let it cool down for 15 minutes and then use the back of a knife or cleaver to break the top. Open it up and remove the celeriac from the dough. Then let it cool down in your fridge. Once it’s cold clean it and cut one third into slices that are around half a centimeter thick. Cut those slices with the desired cutter and keep them in your fridge for later. Cut the remaining celeriac in big cubes

300 grams	cooked celeriac cubes
1	lemon
100 grams	cream
200 grams	vegetatie broth

Transfer the celeriac cubes into a pan together with the peel from half a lemon, the cream and the vegetable broth. Now let the liquid reduce on a medium heat. Then remove the lemon peels and transfer the celeriac into a blender. Blend it till smooth. Taste it for seasoning and keep it in your fridge for later.

The king crab

First turn the king crab around and cut the head in half with a chef’s knife or a cleaver to kill it. Now use a scissor to cut off the legs. Keep the head and trimmings for the broth. Then season a big pot of boiling water with salt and boil the legs for 4 to 5 minutes depending on the size of the legs. Directly cool them down in ice water. Once they have cooled down break the legs on the joints and pull the swords out. Each leg has two swords. Then use a scissor to cut the legs open and pull the meat out. When that’s done take the meat from the big part of the legs and portion it into pieces that are 1 to 2 centimeters big. The trimmings and smaller legs you can chop into a tartare. Don’t over chop it, so you keep that beautiful texture. Keep both the portioned legs and the tartare in your fridge for later.

The king crab broth

	The crab head & trimmings
3	onions
half a bulb	garlic
200 grams	white wine
100 grams	Pernod
4 sprigs	tarragon

Cut the crab head in smaller pieces and remove the deathmans fingers. Throw them out because they are super bitter. Now heat up a big pot and add a drizzle of oil. Then pan fry the king crabs head & trimmings till it starts to color. Meanwhile cut the onions in half and clean them. Now chop them. Then also cut the garlic in half and add it to the onions. Now add this to the pot and pan fry it for a couple of minutes. Then deglaze the pot with the white wine, the Pernod and also add the tarragon. Let this reduce and then submerge the crab with water. Now let it simmer for around 45 minutes. After that pass the broth through a fine sieve and reduce it till it has reached the desired flavor.

The sweet and sour celeriac

1	celeriac
50 grams	white wine
50 grams	white wine vinegar
50 grams	water
50 grams	sugar
1	lemongrass

Mix the white wine with the white wine vinegar, the water and the sugar. Then cut the piece of lemongrass fine and add it to the pan as well. Bring this to a boil. Once it’s boiling let it cool down out of the fridge. Meanwhile cut the top and bottom off a celeriac and clean the sides. Now place it on a Japanese sheet slicer and slice it in long thin sheets. Then fold the celeriac a couple of times and cut 2/3 with a round cutter. The other 1/3 you can cut with the same decorative cutter I used before. Now blanch the celeriac rounds in some salted water for around 10 to 15 seconds to make them a bit softer. Then cool it down in ice water. Now take your sweet and sour and pass it through a fine sieve. Then submerge the celeriac flowers in the sweet and sour and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes. Do the same with the blanched celeriac.

The king crab dumplings

	The crab tartare
1	green apple
1	lime
2 tablespoons	celeriac cream
	The sweet & sour celeriac rounds

Peel the green apple and cut it in thin slices. Then cut those slices in small cubes also known as brunoise. Add a couple of tablespoons to the crab meat and then season it with the zest from 1/3 of a lime, a squeeze of the lime juice and two table spoons of the celeriac cream. Gently mix this and then season it with salt. After that place the celeriac rounds on your worktop and put a teaspoon of the crab salad in the middle. Then fold the celeriac into a dumpling and press the sides to make it stick.

How to finish the dish

Take the portioned crab legs and glaze them with the crab broth. Then season with some flaky salt and lime zest. Now place three of the salted crust cooked celeriac in a triangle of a plate and place the marinade crab on top. Then put three of the crab dumplings in between and pipe a couple of dots of the cream on the plate and on the dumplings. Now decorate it with fennel cress, white Alisium flowers and the sweet and sour celeriac flowers. And then serve it with the delicious king crab broth.