Caffè Moak in Bucharest kitchens. A visit to the birthplace of Dracula to experience how Italian espresso meets international taste and culture. This time the Moak bean is interpreted by Joseph Hadad, one of the most famous chefs in Rumania, who combines delicacy and features of an eccentric dish in his cooking. At his side, pastry chef of the Joseph restaurant, Nicuros Nica, who created delicious coffee delicatessen. Joseph Hadad’s passion for culinary art has adolescent roots. Born in Jerusalem of Moroccan mother and Tunisian father, he attends a cooking school in Haifa at the early age of 16. After nearly forty years of experience, he is nominated Executive Chef at the famous King David Hotel in Jerusalem. It’s time to realize a big dream: he inaugurates a restaurant named after him, “Joseph”, in Bucharest, where he combines the cult of gourmet cuisine with a welcoming and refined location. Thanks to his broad experience – seeing him as protagonist in kitchens of international hotels, such as the Kempinsky Hotel in Germany or the Savoy Hotel in London – chef Hadad holds the secret of more than 200 sophisticated recipes. His culinary skills and the attention to each single delicacy allowed him to win the palates of international stars, such as Bill Clinton, King Hussein of Jordan, Madonna, Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson. Besides Joseph Hadad, the young pastry chef Nicuros Nica enriched the menu of Restaurant Joseph with more than 100 desserts. Together with his mentor, you will discover a fusion of sweet and salty in two dishes of haute cuisine and patisserie.
Duet of duck breast and foie gras in coffee sauce
Ingredients for 2 people:
180 gr duck breast, 180 gr di foie gras, salt, ground black pepper. For the sauce: 130 ml duck demi-glace, black pepper, 35 ml coffee cream, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 and ½ of apple vinegar, salt, ground black pepper, ½ thyme,¼ star anise, 1 bottle and a half of Caubernet sauvignon or Merlot wine, 12 l of water, 150 ml of cognac, 200 ml of Marsala.
Preparation
Melt sugar in a small pot until caramelised; add vinegar and steam it. Add the duck demi-glace sauce. Reduce the flame and add a cup of slightly creamy coffee. Cook on low flame until the liquid is blended and reduced. Then take the duck breast and cook it in a pre-heated pan. Season with salt and pepper. Oven cook for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the foie gras, put it in a pre-heated pan on low flame. Leave to cook for a minute each side. Take the duck breast out of the oven, remove the skin and cut into 3-4 medallions. Cut the foie gras in the same way. Pour the sauce into a soup plate, add the duck breast and then the foie gras. Decorate with 2-3 coffee beans. Prepare some milk foam and sprinkle on the finished dish.
Moroccan coffee biscuits
Ingredients:
3 eggs, 100 gr granulated sugar, 350 gr dark chocolate, 50 gr butter, 120 gr flour, 100 gr almond powder, 5 gr baking powder, 5 gr coffee.
Preparation
Place the butter and chocolate in a bainmarine. At the same time put the eggs and sugar in the blender. When the eggs are well blended, mix the almond powder with the flour and baking powder, then add it step by step in the eggs mousse. Keep mixing and add the coffe, then the chocolate, at the end. Mix for another minute and then put it in the fridge. After an hour, remove from refrigerator and make some balls of composition. Add them through granulated sugar, then through powdered sugar and then place them on a tray with silicone. Bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
Recommended song for the reading of the present article: Tango – Goran Bregovic
