Argus Weekend (South Africa)
Top British food writer James Steen's recently published book on the world's top 50 dishes gives fascinating information and anecdotal details on some iconic dishes Meals you must eat
Ants may not be on everybody's menu, but according to Paul Steen an ant a day, or maybe a handful, is good for you.
In fact, according to the acclaimed food writer's recent book, The 50 Greatest Dishes of the World, they are good for you.
According to Steen, given the right treatment in the kitchen they can be considered a delicacy. Hundreds of years ago they were ground to a paste and eaten with greens in the Far East; these days some chefs, notably Alex Atala in Sao Paolo, has put them on his menu at his restaurant D.O.M., ranked in the world top 10.
Atala puts them on top of a slice of pineapple and in a coconut meringue.
And, still in Sao Paolo, in Color de Hormiga restaurant (Colour of Ants) fillet steak is seared on the grill, covered in an ant sauce and garnished with dried ants.
Also according to Steen, caviar slowly but surely became a delicacy over the centuries, known by few but much adored by those who had the good fortune to sample it. It was only in the early 20th century that two brothers who lived on the Iranian side of the Caspian Sea really put it on the map.
Melkoum and Mouchegh Petrossian escaped the Armenian holocaust and settled in Paris. They so hankered after the dark, glistening roe, that in what Steen refers to as a remarkable act of enterprising entrepreneurship, they sealed a deal between the Russian ministry of foreign trade and the Paris embassy. Soon suitcases of the stuff started arriving in the French capital.
A kiosk was opened in 1920 and, Cesar Ritz of the famed Parisian restaurant, was made privy to the delicious aperitif and the rest, as they say, was history.
The Petrossian family still oversees the caviar empire and in 1998 Armen Petrossian became the first French producer to farm caviar. Today around 300 tons are farmed but still it's not enough to make this an affordable treat.
Each Petrossian caviar house has a "caviarlogue" or taster and the reason it's so pricey is because it's all a matter of patience and how it's produced.
Some caviar takes 18 months before being sold as Royal, Imperial or Special Reserve. It is classified into two species; wild and farmed.
Special Reserve is particularly rare – large eggs being a requisite – and should taste aromatic and be "perfectly balanced". The beluga, sevruga and ossetra you may have heard of are species of wild sturgeon. Beluga is the one that is the most expensive because it takes about 18 years to produce eggs.
How do you eat it you may ask?
The answer is the simpler the better – and that's even if you are eating the more humble farmed varieties we mostly get in South Africa.
Put a teaspoon on a piece of toast or a blini and be careful not to squash those precious miniature eggs when you do so. When you pop it into your mouth you should get a wonderful briny burst of flavour.
La longuer en bouche, that wonderful length on the palate as the French say, denotes the best quality.
Accompany with vodka or a vintage Champagne.
These are just two of the world's greatest dishes in the Gospel according to St Steen. But if they don't get your palate exactly dancing he also examines some of our more favourite foods, notably sushi, good old fish and chips, burgers, shepherd's pie, that wonderful dinner party trick, Beef Wellington, Peking Duck, which is an art to make properly, and classic poached eggs with asparagus and hollandaise sauce.
Steen also delves into the origins of ice cream sundae, black forest gateau, Pavlova and more.
Exhaustive research and tasting went into writing this book and it's a delight and highly entertaining to read, aside from being so utterly informative. If you're a foodie you'll love it. If you're simply someone of the meat-and-two-veg brigade it's still highly recommended to tickle to tastebuds.
ï¬ The 50 Greatest Dishes of the World by James Steen is published by Icon Books.