Re-creating Oceania dishes, with focus on simplicity and taste
Re-creating Oceania dishes, with focus on simplicity and taste
By Jamie Biesiada
When cooking at one of Oceania Cruises’ Jacques restaurants at sea, chef Renald Macouin would typically make 40 or 50 chocolate mousses each night. Luckily, he only asked me to make five portions on a recent Tuesday morning.
Macouin, corporate executive chef overseeing the culinary operation and special projects onboard Oceania and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, led me in a virtual cooking lesson from his home in Stirling, Scotland. We made a decadent chocolate mousse and pan-fried salmon with leek fondue and beurre blanc.
Both dishes featured what Macouin called the “pillars of Oceania”: great ingredients with little manipulation, and a focus on flavor. Put simply, he said, “it’s simple food, but everything [is about] the taste.”
Throughout the pandemic, Oceania has been connecting with clients through a series of videos that routinely get thousands of views on its Facebook page. Some of those have been focused on cooking; Macouin treated me to my own private lesson.
Chef Renald Macouin walks Travel Weekly senior editor Jamie Biesiada through making chocolate mousse and pan-fried salmon with leek fondue and beurre blanc.
We started with the chocolate mousse so it had time to set in the refrigerator before sampling. The process to make it is simple enough. Melt 500 grams (1.1 pounds) of dark chocolate (60%) in a bain marie, or a bowl set over simmering water. Once it’s melted, add in 3 1/4 tablespoons of butter, then five egg yolks, one at a time. Simultaneously, use a stand mixer to whip six egg whites with a pinch of salt, slowly at first then rapidly until stiff peaks form.
Macouin had me mix a large spoonful of egg whites into the chocolate mixture, but then the technique came in: I had to slowly fold in the remainder of the egg whites without breaking them. It took awhile, but the slow folding would be worth it. We put the mousse in ramekins, topped it with raspberries and shaved chocolate, and into the fridge it went.
Oceania Cruises chef Renald Macouin walked reporter Jamie Biesiada through making chocolate mousse. (TW photo by Jamie Biesiada)
Oceania Cruises chef Renald Macouin walked reporter Jamie Biesiada through making chocolate mousse. (TW photo by Jamie Biesiada)
“It’s very basic, but it’s very rich, and not very sweet because we really want the flavor of the chocolate,” Macouin said.
Indeed, he was right. The recipe calls for no sugar, but it didn’t need it at all. It was a rich, pillowy mousse that tasted like it was much more work than it was.
Recipe
Chocolate mousse from Jacques restaurant
Serves 5
Ingredients
- 500g 60% dark chocolate + 50g for decoration
- 50g butter
- 120g egg yolk (3-4 eggs)
- 180g egg white (4-5 eggs)
- Salt as needed
- Raspberries for decoration (optional)
Directions
- Melt 500 grams of dark chocolate in a bain marie.
- Once melted, remove from heat and stir in 50 grams of butter.
- Stir in five egg yolks, one at a time.
- In a stand mixer, whip six egg whites with a pinch of salt, slowly at first then more rapidly until stiff peaks form.
- Vigorously mix a large spoonful of the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture.
- Slowly fold in the remainder of the egg white mixture until combined.
- Spoon the mousse into serving glasses or ramekins.
- Decorate with a raspberry and chocolate shavings.
- Let the mousse set in the refrigerator before eating.
The same was true of the salmon dish. The ingredients were simple, but the end result was fantastic.
The beurre blanc sauce was a mix of shallots, white wine and vinegar, reduced until it was nearly dry, then mixed with creme fraiche and butter. The leeks were thinly sliced, seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked in butter over low heat until they were melt-in-your-mouth soft. The salmon, seasoned with pepper and fleur de sel, was cooked in olive oil alongside the leeks and sauce.
Oceania Cruises chef Renald Macouin walked reporter Jamie Biesiada through making a pan-fried salmon with leek fondue and beurre blanc. (TW photo by Jamie Biesiada)
Oceania Cruises chef Renald Macouin walked reporter Jamie Biesiada through making a pan-fried salmon with leek fondue and beurre blanc. (TW photo by Jamie Biesiada)
We plated the leeks with some sauce, and placed the salmon over them with more beurre blanc. The dish was finished with a slice of lemon and some chives fresh from the garden.
Recipe
Pan fried salmon with leek fondue and beurre blanc
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 250g fresh salmon filet
- 200g leeks
- Salt and pepper
- Fleur de sel (optional)
- 10cl white wine
- 10cl white vinegar
- 40g shallots
- 30g cream fraiche
- 120g butter for the beurre blanc + 50g for the leek
- 1/2 lemon
- Dill or chives (optional)
- Olive oil as needed
Directions
Pan-fried salmon
- Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Season the salmon with fleur de sel and pepper.
- Place the filet, skin side down, in the pan and allow it to cook through. Cover the pan to help cook the fish.
- When cooked through, remove the filet from the pan by separating it from the skin.
- Place over a bed of leek fondue and drizzle both with beurre blanc. Garnish with a lemon slice and chopped chives.
Leek fondue
- Discard dark green leaves and roots from leeks.
- Slice leeks vertically.
- Slice leek halves horizontally into very thin slices. Place in a colander and thoroughly wash.
- Melt butter in a medium-sized pan over low heat.
- Add leeks and stir to coat in butter.
- Cook until the leeks are very tender but taking on no color, maintaining a low heat. If pan gets too dry, add a little water.
- Season with salt and pepper.
Beurre blanc
- Finely chop shallots.
- In a sauce pan, combine the shallots, white wine and vinegar and heat until simmering.
- Simmer until the pan is almost dry.
- Add in the crème fraiche and stir well.
- Remove from heat and stir in the butter with a whisk.
- Season with salt and pepper.
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