Noma: To Take Away

Since snatching the S. Pellegrino crown earlier this year, René Redzepi has felt the culinary world’s attention on Noma, the restaurant that he co-founded in 2003. Yet the book Noma: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine that he is releasing through Phaidon tells of an earlier time when Redzepi set out on a journey to discover the regional ingredients that would lie at the heart of the restaurant's philosophy. The book also unveils Noma's most revered recipes set alongside pictures of the meticulously presented dishes, including the one we reveal below ahead of the book's release on October 10th. Some of the ingredients—such as the bulrushes— might require some foraging, as they will not be found on the shelves of any local supermarket. But this is in keeping with the restaurant's regional, seasonal approach to food, making this 320 page tome as much at home on a coffee table as it is on the kitchen counter.

Pork Neck and Bulrushes with Violets and Malt

Serves 4

• 450g pork neck
• 30g brown butter
• 5 sprigs thyme
• 40g chicken glace (glaze)
  

• 8 bulrushes
• 40g water
• 40g butter

• 15g malt powder
• 50g grapeseed oil
• 60g fresh cream
• 1 drop violet essence
• 10-15 wild spring violets, to garnish

Pork
Trim the skin and excess fat off the pork neck, and wash the thyme. Vacuum-pack both with the chicken glace. Preheat a water bath to 58ºC (130ºF) and poach the meat for 3 hours.

Bulrushes
Trim the bulrushes down to the juicy middle part of the bottom. Heat the water in a pan and whisk in the butter to make an emulsion.

Sauce
Mix the malt powder and oil and blend in a Thermomix for 3-4 minutes. Keep in a squeezy bottle, and shake every time before pouring.

Serving
Pat the pork dry with paper and roast it on all sides. Finish by adding the chicken glace to coat the entire surface of the meat. Add the bulrushes to the butter emulsion and heat in a pan for 25 seconds. Cut one slice of pork per person and put on a plate next to the bulrushes. To finish the sauce, heat the cream slowly without boiling, add the oil and violet essence without emulsifying it, then pour the sauce onto the plate alongside the pork. Garnish with the violets and serve.