Dominique Gautier’s experience in multi-starred restaurants in France more than adequately prepared him for his present position of chef for Le Chat-Botté (13 quai du Mont-Blanc, Geneva, Tel: +412-2716-6666. www.beau-rivage.ch), the gastronomic restaurant in Geneva’s Hotel Beau Rivage. Working in such illustrious kitchens in France such as La Pyramide in Vienne, Georges Blanc in Vonnas, and the Royal Gray in Cannes prepared him to lead the kitchen of one of Switzerland’s finest restaurants. Gautier’s menu for SWISS included a golden gazpacho served with a chanterelle mousse, filet of John Dory with green asparagus, a veal chop with a spinach mille-feuille and black olives (featured), and a raspberry gelée with white-chocolate mousse.
RACK OF VEAL WITH BLACK OLIVES
Chef Dominique Gautier
Le Chat Botté, Hotel Beau-Rivage, Geneva
Admirably translated to airline service, the black olives here impart a decidedly Mediterranean flair to a dish of tender veal.
Yield: 4
POTATO AND OLIVE MILLE-FEUILLE
1 lb yellow-fleshed potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 1 liter chicken stock
1 lb yellow-fleshed potatoes, cooked in water, peeled and puréed
3 1/3 tbs olive purée
SAUCE
1 cup reduced veal demi-glaze sauce
3 1⁄2 tbs pitted black olives, chopped
3 1⁄2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
SAUTÉED SPINACH
1 1/3 cup baby spinach, rinsed and drained
3 1⁄2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
1. Sear the veal and finish in the oven to medium rare
2. For the mille-feuille, cook the sliced potatoes in the chicken stock until tender. Mix the puréed potatoes and the olive purée. Alternate layers in a baking pan, 3 layers of sliced potatoes and 2 layers of purée between them. Wrap, weight, and chill.
2. For the spinach, sauté it quickly in the oil and garlic.
Put aside and keep warm and covered.
3. To serve, nap the chops with the sauce and reheat. Cut the potato mille-feuille into finger thick rectangles and color on all sides in olive oil.
4. Quickly add the oil and olives to finish the sauce.
5. Plate with the veal chop halved on a disk of the sautéed spinach and the potato mille-feuille, each garnished with more pitted olives.