Masterchef UK Professionals
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Shrooms and Grits
Shrooms and Grits: Sauteed Oyster and Chanterelle Mushrooms, Cheesy Polenta, Poached Duck Egg, Pickled Apple, and Green Chili Sauce
Having not progressed from the first round, Mark returned for the larder cook-off where no meat or fish was permitted. He turned to American inspiration: {name}: "One of my favourite dishes was shrimp and grits. Saw the mushrooms there and eventually spotted the polenta. I was like, grits! Shrimp and grits. So I'm going to give you a shrooms and grits: a nice selection of mushrooms, a really nice cheesy polenta, which is very similar to grits, and then some nice fried duck eggs." Mark explained the origin: {name}: "It's a dish I've had in South Carolina. Lots of nice shrimp and things like that on the bay. But there they would sometimes sub out the seafood for lots of forest ingredients, like mushrooms, which is what I'm doing here today." A judge described the challenge: {Judge}: "Mark's dish has been inspired from trips to America. It's all about mushrooms and polenta. We've got oyster and chanterelle mushrooms, cheesy polenta, fried kale and a green chili sauce. But Mark's got to make sure he's going to bring some texture to this." Another noted: {Judge}: "Refinement is what we're looking for. He's got to get the mushrooms cleanly cooked, beautifully seasoned, the polenta perfectly cooked with plenty of cheese in there so we can taste it." {Judge}: "Probably one of the stumbling blocks Mark's gonna face is the presentation. How do you take such a homespun dish and elevate it?" Mark: {name}: "That was probably one of the hardest cooks of the competition so far."
The narrator described the finished dish: inspired by the classic Southern states dish shrimp and grits, Mark made shrooms and grits: sauteed mushrooms with nigella seeds, cheesy polenta topped with a poached duck egg and pine nuts, pickled apple, and a green chili sauce flavoured with kale, hazelnuts, and sour cream.
{Judge}: "Mark, I think you've done very well here. This is very inventive. I've had shrimp and grits in Louisiana before. It always comes with chili or some sort of hot accompaniment, which is what you're bringing in this little sauce. You've got the kale in the sauce, a little bit of chili, and that back note of the hazelnuts. All in all, it builds to a very nice plate of food." {Judge}: "I like how your dish has been served. It looks good. I feel like I'm having a wonderful brunch dish here. Beautifully poached egg, which cracks into the polenta. I'm enjoying all the textures of the pine nuts as I'm eating this, which is very much needed because it is very soft." {Judge}: "The apple does bring freshness to the dish and the mushrooms as well. Beautifully cooked. Love the little pea shoots on top. I think if there's one thing missing for me here, a piece of bread or something like a fried sourdough would just really help elevate the whole dish a little bit further because it's soft on top of soft." In post-cook discussion: {Judge}: "I really liked Mark's dish. I think it was very inventive." {Judge}: "The polenta was rich in the parmesan running through it. I quite liked the sauce with the green chili." {Judge}: "I just thought, personally, I'd have preferred a little bit of sourdough on the side." Mark advanced to the final six.
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