Masterchef UK Professionals
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Jamon Iberico with Asparagus
Green Asparagus, Pickled White Asparagus, Jersey Royals, Brown Butter Hollandaise, Apple Marigold, and Jamon Iberico
{Ben}: "For my starter, I've got green asparagus, pickled white asparagus, Jersey Royals, a brown butter hollandaise and jamon iberico."
{Monica}: "What's inspired these dishes?"
{Ben}: "It's just food I like to eat. I think it's delicious, it's seasonal, and, yeah, hopefully you guys think the same."
{Ben}: "Yeah, yeah. I'm a chef who's worked predominantly in pubs. I don't think it's a brush to be tarred with. I think it's something to celebrate. So, yeah, here to represent. We are pub chefs."
{Monica}: "Refined pub grub, could we say?"
{Ben}: "We can say that. I've had elements of both these dishes on my menus before, but never as a whole. You could say I've designed it specifically for this round. The critics round. These dishes are delicious and they'll work as long as I get them right."
{Marcus}: "This is going to be about good cookery of the white and the green. They're both very different. The white asparagus is pickled and the green one is being cooked in butter. So different textures."
{Monica}: "Ben is making hollandaise using brown butter. So it's going to have a wonderful nuttiness to it."
{Marcus}: "Our critics, I guarantee, will have tasted these flavours before. Ben has just got to push it to new heights."
{Ben}: "Hi, guys. So you've got, for starter, pickled white asparagus, cooked green asparagus, a brown butter hollandaise, apple marigold, Jersey Royal potato, and jamon iberico."
{Leyla Kazim}: "So this has got a real brunch vibe about it, but the flavour is so seductive. It's really delicious. The potatoes are exactly right. And the flavour of the hollandaise and the ham together is just amazing."
{Xanthi Clay}: "That white asparagus is kind of the star of the show. I'm loving the crunchiness of it. The potatoes are so nicely done. Lovely and soft."
{Jay Rayner}: "It's a classy dish. A whole bunch of ingredients sit in each other's company very comfortably. And he certainly knows how to make a hollandaise. It's frothy and it's rich, and it brings everything together."
{Marcus}: "Loving the white asparagus. Green asparagus is delicious. Potatoes have got a lovely burnt finish to them."
{Monica}: "If anything, cover it with the rest of that sauce completely because it's all working so well. He is about rustic, delicious pub food. And that's what we have from Ben."
OVERALL JUDGES VERDICT: Universally praised. A classy, rustic dish with excellent technique. The brown butter hollandaise was frothy and rich. Both types of asparagus were well handled. The potatoes had a lovely finish. The jamon iberico paired beautifully with the hollandaise. Critics and judges all enjoyed this starter greatly.
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