What kind of home cook are you?
When it comes to my working life, I’m good at knowing what’s missing and ad-libbing with a musical piece. But when it comes to cooking, I’m a scientist and follow every single instruction and ingredient. Except with pancakes, then I just throw everything in!
On the Classic FM podcast, you cooked Beautifully Simple steak with walnuts and a ponzu sauce (see recipe below) – what did you like about it?
It was super simple and fast to make. I really enjoyed the surprise element – you’d typically find spring onions, steak and cabbage in lots of Asian dishes, but normally the beef would be sliced in a stir-fry and this was served in a more European style.
Will you be making it at home?
Yes, I’ll definitely cook it with my children, they love beef and it tasted incredible.
What classical musical do you play when you’re cooking or entertaining?
Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No 2 is perfect.
What piece of music reminds you of a particularly amazing meal?
I love those evenings when I have my girlfriends over and I’ll play opera, usually La Boheme – I love anything by Puccini. When I built my kitchen, I painted it dark grey and put an island in the middle to make it feel spacious. With the windows open it feels very Italian. In my head, I’m in Florence on those nights.
What’s your signature dish?
Because I grew up around it, I’m most confident making Asian dishes – I make turon (fried banana rolls) with the children, along with spring rolls and fried rice. As my dad’s from Austria, I can make a mean strudel.
Complete the sentence: ‘Music and food are the perfect match because …’
Both of them feed the soul, and the other thing they have in common is that global element – influences from all around the world make them both so great.
What would be your desert island meal?
Grilled lobster with garlic and butter. Then my mum’s egg fried rice. I’d love a Sunday roast, too – with chicken – followed by apple pie and custard.
Which restaurant plays the greatest music?
I don’t think we have the culture here of enjoying really good live music while we eat, such as in Italy, Mexico or Brazil. I don’t want to listen to music through a PA. Maybe it’s our weather, it doesn’t lend itself to al fresco dining – I’d like a good mariachi band! I’ll have to say my house.
What three songs would you always put on a dinner party playlist – starter, main and dessert?
Faure’s Pavane for a starter; For the Love of a Princess by James Horner for the main; and Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde act 3 for dessert.
If your favourite song was a meal, what would that be?
Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis is one of the most beautiful pieces ever written. It would be something smooth such as a seafood bisque or maybe a pea, ham and mint soup.
Listen to Myleene as she cooks on the Classic FM podcast at campaign.classicfm.com/classical-kitchen
Steak with walnuts and a ponzu sauce
Prep 10 minutes
Cooking time 15 minutes
Serves 2
Ingredients:
300g pack Aberdeen Angus Beef frying steak or 2 x 150g packs Aberdeen Angus sirloin steak
2 tbsp walnut oil or vegetable oil
75g walnuts, finely chopped
1 bunch trimmed salad onions, finely chopped
3 cloves Cooks’ Ingredients garlic, crushed
½ x 25g pack Cooks’ Ingredients Thai basil, chopped
200g pack Heston Finishing Jus for Beef
3 tbsp Cooks’ Ingredients ponzu sauce
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Lightly season the steaks on both sides. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a frying pan. Once very hot, sear the beef briefly on 1 side for 2 minutes. Turn the steaks and fry for a further 1 minute. Transfer to a roasting tin.
Heat the remaining oil in the pan and fry the walnuts and salad onions for 1 minute, add the garlic and basil and cook for a further 1 minute. Season with freshly ground black pepper and spoon on to the beef, packing the topping down gently. Bake for 5 minutes in the oven. Lift the meat from the tin and keep warm.
Add the finishing jus to the roasting tin and cook on the hob for 2 to 3 minutes or until reduced by about half and slightly thickened. Stir in the ponzu sauce and spoon over the steaks to serve. Accompany with seasonal vegetables.
Per serving: 2684 kJ / 645 kcals / 45g fat / 6.9g saturated fat / 6.5g carbohydrate / 5.2g sugars / 4.7g fibre / 52g protein / 1g salt
Waitrose & Partners know that music and food are the perfect pairing. Feeling inspired to cook your own masterpiece tonight? You’ll find lots of brilliant recipes and fresh ingredients in the Beautifully Simple chiller. In store and online at Waitrose & Partners
