Staycation: 7 Recipes From the World’s Top Chefs

Archipelagos Hotel, A Small Luxury Hotels member, in Mykonos, Greece

Cook like a Michelin-starred chef in your own kitchen. From the shores of the Aegean to the islands of Asia to the east coast of Canada, we bring the world to you via our travels.

 

A recipe from a top chef is something any at-home cook with a penchant for mixing it up in their kitchen would love to get their dough-sticky hands on. Well, in our ever-expanding effort to bring the world to you via our travels, we’ve discovered the hotel group, Small Luxury Hotels of the World, has put together an annual cookbook series featuring recipes from their properties around the world.

And these aren’t just any old recipes, mind you. More than 90 of the SLH properties have restaurants that carry Michelin stars and a variety of global recognition. Trust us, we’ve had the privilege of tasting Michelin-starred Nathan Outlaw’s fare at The Capital in London (we couldn’t resist stealing one the restaurant’s recipes for you, too!). From the shores of the Aegean to the islands of Asia to the east coast of Canada, we’ve picked our favourite seven recipes for you to try at home.

Filip Boyen, CEO for SLH and former chef says: “The beauty of the Small Luxury Cookbook is that just like our hotels it offers something for everyone, whether they are an occasional, an aspiring or a proficient chef, while serving as a reminder that small, independent hotels also offer standout culinary offerings that can significantly add to the experience of staying there.” All recipes come with step-by-step instructions, as well as alternative suggestions for any hard to source ingredients, to allow people to recreate the dishes at home.

Cook like a chef in your own kitchen? Why not.

WatermelonSalad
Photo courtesy Small Luxury Cookbook

1. Watermelon Salad with Feta & Mint Leaves

Archipelagos Hotel, Mykonos, Greece
Chef : Giannis Hatziandreou

Ingredients

1⁄2 watermelon
6 slices prosciutto
6 pieces feta cheese
Rocket leaves
Onion sprouts
50 g roasted pistachios, chopped 150ml balsamic vinegar
2tbs chopped fresh mint

Directions

1. Spread the prosciutto slices between sheets of baking paper, and place a pan or other flat object on top to weigh down the upper sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 160C, then remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes.

2. Cut the watermelon fresh into cubes roughly 5 x 4 x 4 cm. Slice the feta to fit on top of the fruit.
Reduce the balsamic vinegar to a thick syrup. Spread the syrup along the length of the plate and arrange three nests of rocket leaves. Place the watermelon pieces on the rocket, topped with slices of feta. Place crispy prosciutto slices on top of the cheese, and carefully decorate with onion sprouts. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the melon and plate and garnish with pistachio and mint leaves.

Serves 2

 

Ravigote
Photo courtesy Small Luxury Cookbook

2. Scallop & Lobster Ravigote with Asparagus and Organic Quinoa

The Dining Room at Trout Point Lodge of Nova Scotia, Kemptville, Canada
Chef Proprietors: Charles Leary & Vaughan Perret

Ingredients

36 large, plump fresh scallops
2 lobsters – steamed, shucked, and chopped into bite-size pieces (keeping the claw meat whole) or 300g of knuckle & claw meat
750ml double cream
8 large shallots, sliced
4 king oyster mushrooms, sliced
18 white button mushrooms, cut in half
200ml cognac
50g chopped fresh parsley
25g chopped fresh tarragon
2tbs fresh lemon juice
12 plump asparagus spears, trimmed & cut in half
2tbs Vietnamese fish sauce
1 1⁄2 freshly cracked black pepper, sea salt, to taste
200g organic quinoa

Directions

1. Reduce the cream by half; you can use medium heat at first, but then you must turn the heat to low to prevent the cream from bubbling over. This can be done up to 2 hours ahead of time. It can take half an hour or more for the cream to reduce; it needs to be fairly thick.

2. Cook the quinoa in 500ml of water, lightly salted. Bring the water to a boil, add the quinoa, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for approximately 15 minutes.

3. Heat 125g of butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the shallots and cook until soft. Add a teaspoon and a half of black pepper and the mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes, then turn up the heat. Add 125ml of cognac and flambe the mushrooms. As soon as the flame disappears, add the parsley and tarragon, the lemon juice, and the white wine. Cook for another minute then reduce the heat to medium.

4. Stir the reduced cream into the pan, then add the fish sauce; taste and add sea salt as necessary. Add the asparagus tops and bottoms. Bring the mixture to a simmer. The asparagus should turn bright green. Add the rest of the cognac, and finally the lobster meat and scallops. Cook until the scallops are turning from translucent to opaque.

5. Serve on a bed of quinoa with ravigote spooned over the top.

Serves 6

 

BreadedHake
Photo courtesy Small Luxury Cookbook

3. Breaded Hake, Asparagus & Wild Garlic Sauce

The Capital Hotel & Apartments, London, England
Head chef: Pete Biggs

Ingredients

Wild garlic sauce
3 egg yolks
1tsp English mustard
2tsp white wine vinegar Parsley breadcrumb crust 180g dried cheesed bread 60g parsley
Zest of 1 lemon
1 clove of garlic
Plain flour Two egg yolks

Directions

1. For the fish stock, roast the fish bones in the oven until golden brown. Transfer the browned bones to a small pan, cover with cold water, bring the pan to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Pass the liquid to remove the bones, then return to the heat, reduce by half and set aside.

2. Blitz all the parsley breadcrumb crust ingredients together. Rinse the wild garlic then blanch for 35 seconds in a pan of heavily salted, boiling water. Drain and plunge the garlic into iced water, then pat dry with kitchen towels. Roughly chop then add to a blender, then pour in the rapeseed oil. Start blitzing on a low speed, then gradually increase the speed for 30 seconds to a minute until the oil is bright, vibrant green. Pass through a fine sieve, then through a sheet of muslin or a coffee filter. Keep in the fridge until needed.

3. For the wild garlic mayonnaise, whisk the egg yolks, mustard and vinegar in a bowl. Continue whisking while slowly pouring in a thin steady stream of the wild garlic oil. Keep whisking and pouring until all of the oil has been absorbed and has emulsified with the egg mixture – you should be left with a nice, thick green mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper and reserve in the fridge.

4. Blanch the asparagus in salty water, the refresh in ice-cold water. Coat the fish in a mixture of egg, flour and the parsley breadcrumbs. Heat the over to 180C, and set a deep frier with rapeseed oil. Heat a chargrill pan with a little oil.

5. Deep fry the fish for a minute, then transfer to the oven for two minutes. Heat the blanched asparagus in the grill pan. Add 200ml of the mayonnaise to 150ml of the fish stock in a small pan. Bring the sauce to the boil while stirring continuously to prevent the eggs from scrambling.
Pour the sauce into the bowl, place the chargrilled asparagus and breaded hake on top, and finish with garlic mayonnaise and a drizzle of wild garlic oil.

Serves 4

 

Di Atas
Photo courtesy Small Luxury Cookbook

4. Beef Rendang

Di Atas Sungei restaurant at Tanjong Jara Resort, Dungun, Malaysia

Ingredients

1kg beef, fat and sinew removed, cut into 3cm cubes
300g small new potatoes (optional)
250ml coconut milk
1 turmeric leaf, torn and knotted
5 kaffir lime leaves
1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
1-2 pieces asam gelugor fruit (or juice from 2 limes)
120g red chillies, finely sliced

Spices:
45g galangal, chopped
12g fresh turmeric, chopped
12g ginger, chopped
200g red chillies, chopped
4 shallots, diced

Directions

1. This rich and tender coconut beef dish is incredibly flavorful—a true Malay classic. Often served on
ceremonial occasions, it cooks for a long time, so all the spices and coconut milk are fully absorbed into
the meat.

2. Mix and pound all the spices together with a pinch of salt until they are thoroughly combined.
Simmer the coconut milk and the turmeric leaf, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, asam gelugur or lime
juice, sliced chillies and the ground spices until the milk thickens and becomes oily: this will take
approximately 3 minutes.

3. Reduce the heat, add the beef, and cook for about 10 minutes until tender. Stir occasionally until the
spices dry out and turn brown. If using, soak the potatoes in water for 15 minutes then scrub with a soft
brush to clean the skins. Boil until fully cooked and add to the sauce at the same time as the beef.

Served with steamed rice.

Serves 6

 

Riad Fes, Maroc, Relais et Chateau, Architecture
Photo courtesy Small Luxury Cookbook

5. Roasted Lamb with Almonds and Caramelized Onions

Amaraz restaurant at Hotel Sahrai, Fez, Morocco
Chef: Hasna Ait El Hadim

Ingredients

1 kg shoulder of lamb
1 kg onions, sliced
1⁄2 tbs smen (aged butter)
1 kg carrots
100ml lemon juice
100g roasted almonds
Marinade
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2tsp of salt
1⁄2 tsp ground ginger
1tbs paprika
Pinch saffron

Directions

1. Combine the marinade ingredients and marinate the lamb for 30 minutes.

2. Transfer the meat to a baking tray to roast in a preheated oven at 200C until it becomes golden.
Sweat the onions in 4 tablespoons of olive oil and the smen. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the
marinated lamb and 100ml of water and stir gently for 5 minutes, then cover and leave to cook on a low
heat for 40-50 minutes.

3. Reduce the sauce left in the pan, stirring with a wooden spoon until the water has evaporated and the
onions are caramelised.

4. Peel and cut the carrots into fine strips. Simmer uncovered over a low heat with 100ml of sunflower oil
and 500g of caster sugar for 30 minutes, then add the lemon juice and for cook for another 15 minutes,
stirring from time to time. Make sure the carrots are well caramelised.

5. Arrange the meat on a plate, cover it with onion sauce and garnish with caramelised carrots and roasted
almonds.

Serves 4

 

L hotel seminyak green tea pannacotta
Photo courtesy Small Luxury Cookbook

6. Green Tea Pannacotta

Luna Roofbar at L Hotel Seminyak Bali, Indonesia
Chef: Toni Foerg

Ingredients

3 gelatine leaves
250ml full cream milk
250ml double cream
2 bourbon vanilla pods, split lengthwise, seeds scraped out
35g icing sugar
65g Japanese green tea
Zest of 1 lemon
2tbs good quality sake
4 fresh mint leaves

Strawberry Coulis:
300g fresh strawberries
180g icing sugar
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
5tbs good quality sake

Directions

1. For the pannacotta, soak the gelatine leaves in iced water until soft; keep them in a bowl. Heat the milk, cream, vanilla pods and seeds, sugar, green tea flakes, lemon zest and sake wine to a simmer.

2. Take off the heat, and remove and discard the vanilla pods. Pass the mixture through a sieve back to a pan. Squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves and stir into the pan until the gelatine has dissolved.

3. Pour the mixture into 6 small cups and keep for 4-6 hours in the refrigerator.

4. For the coulis, bring the sugar, 150ml of water, lemon juice and zest, and sake to boil, stirring to combine. Take the pan off the heat and add two thirds of the strawberries, then using a hand blender blend the sauce until smooth. Pass the sauce through a sieve into a bowl. Keep three strawberries back for garnish. Chop the remaining fruit finely and stir it into the coulis.

5. Turn the pannacotta out onto a serving plate. Spoon the sauce over the pannacotta and garnish with a sprig of mint and slice strawberry, all dusted with icing sugar.

Serves 6

 

VFMLID=67396598
Photo courtesy Small Luxury Cookbook

7. Chocolate Popcorn Brownie

Flemings Mayfair, London, England
Chef: Seaun Rankin

Ingredients

Layer 1: Brownie base
2 eggs
175g caster sugar
240g Park chocolate
150g unsalted butter
1 vanilla pod
20g cocoa powder
60g plain flour
2tsp baking powder
100g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
50g sweet popcorn

Layer 2: Caramel
400g toffee
50ml double cream

Layer 3: Middle
125g sugar
300g dark chocolate
4 egg yolks
300g double cream
100g milk

Layer 4: Glaze
8g bronze leaf gelatin
140g whipping cream
35g water
210g sugar
70g cocoa powder

Directions

1. Line a 30cm x 25cm x 6cm deep tin with greaseproof paper.

Layer 1:Spread the mix over the lined cake tin and bake at 180C for 18 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin.

Layer 2: Whisk the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy. Melt the butter, dark chocolate and vanilla seeds together in a pan, then mix into the egg mixture. Sieve in the cocoa powder, plain flour and baking powder and fold into the mixture. Mix in the chopped chocolate and popcorn. Slowly melt the toffee in a pan with the cream then pour and spread evenly over the cooled base.

Layer 3:Pour over the base of the caramel then leave to set in the fridge.

Layer 4: Leave the brownie to set in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving.

2. Using a thermometer, boil the sugar in 90ml of water to 116C. Whisk the yolks in a mixer, and when the mixture has doubled in volume pour in the hot sugar syrup.

3. Melt the chocolate in a pan, then fold it into the egg mixture. Whisk the cream and milk to soft peaks
the fold into the rest of the mixture.

4. Soften the gelatin in cold water in a saucepan. Boil the other ingredients together, then stir in the gelatin. Leave to cool to room temperature, then pour the glaze over the brownie.