Born in the US to Japanese parents, Jun Tanaka has headed up the kitchen at Pearl since its opening in June 2004. During this time, the restaurant has gained an excellent reputation for its modern French cuisine, served in the beautiful surroundings of the historic Pearl Assurance building. He also cooks in Street Kitchen, a refurbished Airstream serving simple and healthy bistro style dishes
100ml Prosecco
50ml Clementine juice
25ml Cranberry juice
3 Cranberries
Place the cranberries into a Champagne glass, pour in juice and top up with Prosecco.
Perfect Roast potatoes
Serves 4
800g Desiree potatoes (peeled and cut into wedges)
100g beef dripping
Place the potatoes in a pan of cold salted water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10mins or until the surface of the potatoes start to soften. Carefully tip the potatoes into a colander and leave to steam for 20mins.Heat the oven to 225 C. Place a roasting tray into the oven and leave for 15min to get really hot. Take out and add the beef dripping. Put back into the oven for 5min, take out, add the potatoes in a single layer and return to the oven. Cook for 30mins, then take out and carefully turn the potatoes. Season well and cook for another 45mins or until golden and crispy.
Brussel sprouts with smoked ham and pinenuts
(Serves 4)
200g brussell sprouts finely sliced on a Japanese mandolin
50g toasted pinenuts
100g Smoked ham cut into lardoons
1 clove garlic
Olive oil
Drizzle a little olive oil into a pan and heat. Add the brussel sprouts, the crushed garlic and cook for 1min. Add the ham and pinenuts and cook for 1min. Season and serve.
King prawns with mango and chilli salsa
(Serves 4)
8 raw king prawns head on
1 mango
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 red chilli
½ red onion finely chopped
1 lime juice
1 tbsp chopped coriander
Bring a pan of water to the boil and add plenty of salt. Cook the prawns for 2 min and refresh in iced water. Peel and place on a plate.Peel and dice the mango, place in a bowl, add the red onion, chili, ginger, lime juice and coriander.Insert the prawns onto the end of a fork (1 for each prawn). Spoon a little mango salsa onto each fork and serve.
Smoked salmon rillette with pickled cucumber and Melba toast
(Serves 4)
200g poached fresh salmon fillet flaked
200g smoked salmon chopped
1 tbsp mayonnaise
3 tbsp crème fraiche
1 tsp creamed horseradish
½ lemon juice
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 tbsp chopped chives
½ tbsp chopped dill
Sprig dill for garnish
Pickled cucumber
½ cucumber peeled and finely sliced
200ml white wine vinegar
75g sugar
Melba toast
2 slices white bread
In a large bowl mix all the ingredients for the salmon rillette and season with salt. Spoon into 4 x 200ml kiln jars. Smooth the surface of the rillette with the back of a spoon. Place in the fridge until ready to serve.To pickle the cucumber, warm the vinegar and sugar until the sugar dissolves. When cool add the cucumber slices. Leave in the liquid for 1 hour.To make the Melba toast, toast the bread, cut off the crusts, slice in half to obtain 2 thin squares, place the cut size on a chopping board and gently rub against the board to remove the excess bread. Cut in half diagonally, place on a tray and leave in a low oven for 10min.To serve, place a few slices of pickled cucumber on the rillette, garnish with a sprig of dill and serve with the Melba toast.
Saffron poached pears with chocolate mousse
serves 4
4 ripe pears peeled and seeds taken out with a parisien
750ml white wine
200g caster sugar
½ lemon
pinch saffron
1 vanilla pod
sprig mint
chocolate mousse
200g dark chocolate
80ml milk
1 yolk
4 egg whites
20g caster sugar
â–¡ Add all the ingredients for the pears into a pan, bring to the boil, add the pears and take off the heat. Leave to cool down. This is best done a few hours in advance.
â–¡ Place the chocolate in a metal bowl and place on a pan of simmering water until melted.
â–¡ Boil the milk and add to the chocolate. Whisk in the egg yolk.
â–¡ Whisk the egg white and sugar until soft peaks. Add a third of the whites to the chocolate and whisk in. Fold in the rest. Pour into a container and set in the fridge for 20min.
â–¡ To serve dip a spoon into melted chocolate and flick onto a plate to obtain a streak. Place a pear in the centre and spoon on the chocolate mousse. Finish with a sprig of mint.