August 1, 2007

Eric Ripert, Executive Chef & Co-Owner of Le Bernardin, has firmly established himself as one of New York City’s—and the nation’s—top chefs. He has published two cookbooks, including A Return to Cooking (2002), selected by Newsweek as one of their best gift books of the season.

Warm Peekytoe-Maryland Lump "Crab Cake", says Chef Ripert, ". . .was inspired by a traditional East Coast favorite, but I decided to have fun and play with the idea and include traditional French ingredients such as crème fraîche and Dijon mustard."

Try this top chef's favorite at home tonight. Here's how:

Procedure:

• To make the Dijon mustard emulsion, gently heat the crème fraîche in a small pot.
Whisk in the Dijon mustard and season to taste with salt and pepper. Reserve on the side.

• For the "crab cake," first make a beurre monté by bringing the water to a boil and whisking in the butter.
• Whisk in the crème fraîche and chives.
• Season to taste with lemon juice, salt, pepper and Espelette.
• Keep the sauce on the side to heat the crabmeat in when ready to serve.

• To prepare the cauliflower, remove the florets (with a little bit of stem) from the ½ head of cauliflower, trying to keep the florets in larger pieces.
• Carefully slice, almost shave, the florets very thin on a Japanese mandolin; the slices should be less than 1/8-inch thick (16-20 slices are needed total).

• When ready to serve, warm the crab-heating sauce.
• Add the crab meat and gently heat it in the sauce; season to taste.
• Reheat the mustard emulsion.
• Carefully arrange the crab in the center of each small bowl, Peekytoe on the bottom and lump on the top.
• Garnish each "crab cake" with 4-5 cauliflower shavings, layering them around and against the crab and placing one on top of each "crab cake."
• Place two micro celery sprouts on top of each cauliflower shaving; sprinkle a little Maldon sea salt on top.
Serve the Dijon mustard emulsion on the side and pour around the crab tableside.

Serves 4.

Eric Ripert is grateful for his early exposure to two cuisines—he was born in Antibes, France, then moved as a young child to Andorra, just over the Spanish border.

In 1995, at just 29-years old, Ripert earned his first four-star rating from The New York Times. Two year later, GQ named Le Bernardin the best restaurant in America.

In 1998, the James Beard Foundation named Le Bernardin “Outstanding Restaurant of the Year” and Eric Ripert “Top Chef in New York City,” and in 1999 they received the “Outstanding Service Award.”

In 2003, the Beard Foundation named Ripert “Outstanding Chef in the United States” and in January 2005, Bon Appetit declared Ripert’s Butter-Poached Lobster with Tarragon and Champagne its “Dish of the Year.” Later that year, for the fourth-consecutive time, Le Bernardin earned The New York Times’ highest rating of four stars, becoming the only venue to maintain this superior status for this length of time, without ever dropping a star.

Le Bernardin earned the top, three-star honor in the Michelin Guide’s 2005 New York debut and has been praised by Zagat reviewers as serving the “Best Food” in New York City for the past six consecutive years.

Visit Chef Eric Ripert on the web @ le-bernardin.com.