Relæ

Written as a series of interconnected essays-with recipes-Relæ provides a rare glimpse into the mind of a top chef, and the opportunity to learn the language of one of the world's most pioneering and acclaimed restaurants. Chef Christian F. Puglisi opened restaurant Relæ in 2010 on a rough, run-down stretch of one of Copenhagen's most crime-ridden streets. His goal was simple: to serve impeccable, intelligent, sustainable, and plant-centric food of the highest quality-in a setting that was devoid of the pretention and frills of conventional high-end restaurant dining. Relæ was an immediate hit, and Puglisi's "to the bone" ethos-which emphasized innovative, substantive cooking over crisp white tablecloths or legions of water-pouring, napkin-folding waiters-became a rallying cry for chefs around the world. Today the Jægersborggade-where Relæ and its more casual sister restaurant, Manfreds, are located-is one of Copenhagen's most vibrant and exciting streets. And Puglisi continues to excite and surprise diners with his genre-defying, wildly inventive cooking. Relæ is Puglisi's much-anticipated debut: like his restaurants, the book is honest, unconventional, and challenges our expectations of what a cookbook should be. Rather than focusing on recipes, the core of the book is a series of interconnected "idea essays," which reveal the ingredients, practical techniques, and philosophies that inform Puglisi's cooking. Each essay is connected to one (or many) of the dishes he serves, and readers are invited to flip through the book in whatever sequence inspires them-from idea to dish and back to idea again. The result is a deeply personal, utterly unique reading experience.

Christian F. Puglisi

Foreword by Chad Robertson Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: The Groundwork The Initial Idea Jægersborggade Staff Locavorism: When It Makes Sense, and When It Does Not Organic: Is a Certification All That? Breaking Bread: The Cornerstone of an Ideal Meal Chapter 2: Ideas on a Plate Liquids  Water Wine Fruit Vinegars Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Animals Lamb Fat Chicken Hindsholm Pork Butter Buttermilk Land  Jerusalem Artichokes Carrots Horseradish Celery Root Herbs Cresses Citrus Unripe Strawberries Elderflower Crab Apple Nuts Seeds Olives Sea  Mussels Coastal Fish Mackerel Sea Lettuce Anchovy Söl Kelp Manipulations  Fermentation Pickling Fruits and Vegetables Pickling Fish Cooking in Butter Emulsion Cooking Salads Precision Cooking Barely Cooking Stocks Nut Milks Hiding on the Plate Textures  Contrasting Temperatures Crunch! Chewy Leathery Dehydrating/Rehydrating Vegetable Skins Salting and Brining Vegetables Salting and Brining Meats and Fish Juiciness, the Natural Sauce Flavor  Butter and Bitter Charred and Grilled Toasted and Nutty A Touch of Umami Meat with Seafood Minerality Theory  Building onto a Dish  Evolving a Technique  Snacks  Challenging the Guest  Vegetarian  Vegetables over Meat  Intertwining Flavors  Savory Desserts  Nose-to-Tail Cooking  Leaf-to-Stem Cooking  Acidity  Creativity Is in All of Us Where Is the Cheese Trolley?  Inspirations  Italy  Denmark  France  elBulli  Thailand  Spring  Summer  Fall  Winter  Chapter 3: Dishes 225 Snacks  Herb Bouquet  Celery Root Taco  Grilled Jerusalem Artichokes Grilled Corn Shallots and Nigella  Kornly Cracker Oxalis Roots Herbivorous Starters  Unripe Strawberries, Cress, and Buttermilk  Sheep’s Milk Yogurt, Radishes, and Nasturtium  Cucumber, Caraway, and Lemon Balm  Smoked Beet “Fish” and Elderflower  Beet, Crab Apple, and Söl  Cooked Onions, Buttermilk, and Nasturtium  Omnivorous Starters  Lumpfish Roe, Daikon, and Almonds  Oysters, Cabbage, and Capers  Mussels, Seaweed, and Allumettes  Squid, Mussels, and Seaweed  Raw Beef, Anchovies, and Ramsons  Lamb, Shrimp, and Dill  White Asparagus and Anchovies  Pickled Skate, Mussels, and Celery Root Pickled Mackerel, Cauliflower, and Lemon  Cod, Kohlrabi, and Skins  White Onions, Crayfish, and Fennel  Herbivorous Seconds  Turnips, Chervil, and Horseradish  New Potatoes, Warm Berries, and Arugula  Potato, Seaweed, and Pecorino  Lettuce, Smoked Almond, and Olive Oil  Asparagus, Sunflower Seeds, and Mint  Jerusalem Artichoke, Quinoa, and Coffee  Sunflower Seeds, Kornly, and Pine  Baked Potato Puree, Two Ways  Barley, Cauliflower, and Black Trumpet  Herbivorous Mains  Carrot, Elderflower, and Sesame  Charred Cucumber and Fermented Juice  Romaine, Egg Yolk, and Nettles  Enoki, Kelp, and Seaweed  Fennel, Smoked Almond, and Parsley  Dried Zucchini and Bitter Leaves  Fried Salsify and Bergamot  Salted Carrot and Oxalis “Béarnaise”  Omnivorous Mains  Pork from Hindsholm and Rye  Lamb, Turnip, and Samphire  Cauliflower, Veal Sweetbread, and Basil  Chicken Wings, White Asparagus, and Anchovies  Wild Duck, Elderberries, and White Onions  Salad, Beef, and Bronte Pistachio  Veal, Grilled Sauce, and Anchovy  Cheese and Desserts  Whipped Goat Cheese and Parsley Nordlys, Carrots, and Orange Zest  Chanterelles, Apple, and Granité  Mandarin, Buttermilk, and Egg Yolk  Milk, Kelp, and Caramel  Rhubarb Compote, Almond, and Vinegar  Jerusalem Artichoke, Malt, and Bread  Sheep’s Milk Yogurt, Beets, and Black Currant  Hokkaido Pumpkin and Mandarin  Corn, Bread Crumbs, and Marjoram  Elderflower and Rhubarb  Jerusalem Artichokes, Coffee, and Passion  Coffee Table  Appendix: Recipes  Index