noma (Part Five)

Now we're in the home stretch. High five!

Today I hope to finish up the main dishes and save the desserts for part six. Apologies that this wasn't done in one post, but really, you would have hated it. Trust me, you would have stopped reading long ago. I think that I've already lost your attention. In this modern world my attention span is such that I can only take in information in short bursts. Damn you internet age!

If your attention prevails, go forth. In case you missed it, here's parts one, two, three, and four.

I'm losing a bit of memory and steam here, but I'll do my best to continue to do this meal justice. Apologies in advance.

Emily and I finally watched the entire Anthony Bourdain : Parts Unknown - Copenhagen yesterday morning. It's a good time, check it out if you can. I think it's available on Netflix. I particularly enjoyed the old dude who kept yelling Gammel Dansk at Tony.

I think that it worked out that we watched it after our noma experience. It was fun walking through the doors with a blank - blanker than blank - slate.

The episode particularly reminded me of the power of fruits and vegetables at noma. As you've probably noticed, there hasn't been very much in the way of meat-with-a-capital-M in the courses leading up to these. That will continue - we'll finish up with  some duck, but things remain fairly veggie focused. I think that this is great.

There's a scene in the episode where Rene and Tony wander around one of noma's supplier farms and pick various vegetables and forage for greens. They come back to the farm house and whip up a lunch in something like ten mintues. It looks amazing.

I think there's something to be said for this sort of simplicity. Obviously the stuff at noma isn't like this - at one point in the episode a chef mentions that a certain dish took twenty man hours to complete - but the thought behind them is. Take delicious local ingredients and allow them to shine.

Beetroot, Sloeberry, Herbs

These beets were just lovely. Earthy and wonderful. To note, I love beets. Beets that are hard. Beets that are funky. Beets that could get you hooked like a crackhead junkie. Consider me hooked.

Celeriac, Cabbages, Cream, Nasturitum

To note further, I have found a new love for celery root. And Jerusalem artichokes. And all sorts of roots. This was fantastic.

Duck, Pear, Kale

The duck is wild. Language fun - it's extra-fun when you hear "there may be bullets" when they mean "there may be pellets". I love the idea of a bullet hiding inside a slice of duck.

Coming up next - and possibly last - desserts!