A tasting course at two-Michelin-star restaurant Narisawa in Tokyo might be just a dream for many of us, but you can try your hand at re-creating one of the restaurant’s signature dishes with a new cookbook that's available for free download.
‘Come Together: The World’s Finest Chefs’ is a cookbook written and compiled by award-winning food writer, Flavel Monteiro. When he saw the devastating impact Covid-19 coronavirus has on the restaurant industry, Monteiro wanted to create something to support chefs and restaurant workers, as well as people self-isolating at home.
The result is a dazzling 340-page book offering recipes from 84 chefs across six continents and 31 countries, with over 50 Michelin stars between them. Even if you're not planning to cook, it's still worth downloading the free cookbook for its glorious food photography.
'I saw all the people around me who were taking shelter in their homes against this invisible enemy and my colleagues in the restaurant industry suffering. I was inspired to find a way for all of us to join together in solidarity,' says Monteiro in his foreword.
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On pages 110-111, you’ll find a recipe for temari by Yoshihiro Narisawa, owner and executive chef of Narisawa restaurant. His dishes are renowned for re-creating scenes from nature or his childhood memories on a plate. Temari are traditional Japanese children’s toys made of coloured threads wrapped in decorative patterns around a small ball, like the ones above.
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Narisawa’s edible take on temari is a sphere of scallops, prawn, and yam puree, topped with strings of multi-coloured carrot and radish laid in an ornate pattern. The ball is steamed and served with a ladle of homemade dashi.
Something so simple in principle but so refined in execution is testament to Narisawa’s culinary genius and reminder of the role of restaurants in our lives – they can entertain and inspire as well as feed us. Even though Tokyo's starting to open up again, with this cookbook and some serious practice, the best restaurant in town might just be your kitchen.
Download the e-cookbook ‘Come Together: The World’s Finest Chefs’ for free here.
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