Eat LA without leaving home

MORE THAN BURGERS AND FRIES: Victor Garnier Astorino aims to capture the food trends of Los Angeles.

If you’ve always wanted to go to Los Angeles, this book could tempt you to book that plane ticket. Written by Frenchman Victor Garnier Astorino, owner of four hamburger outlets in Paris, the book contains recommendations of places to eat and includes photos of the city from Venice to Hollywood.

We’ve included two recipes from Los Angeles Cult Recipes for you to try.

Chicken breakfast burrito

Makes 4 burritos

Ingredients

4 large tortillas (wheat or corn)

1 avocado

8 cheddar cheese slices

80g creme fraiche or sour cream

Fresh fruit, to serve

Scrambled eggs

8 eggs

15g butter

45ml thin cream

Mexican rice

280g rice

20ml grapeseed oil

320g tomatoes

70g onion

Coriander, to taste

Chicken

400g skinless chicken breast fillets

25ml olive oil

Method

1. Scrambled eggs: whisk the eggs and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook the eggs for at least 5 minutes in a hot frying pan greased with butter. Add the cream to stop the cooking process and mix in.

2. For the Mexican rice: wash the rice three times and drain well. Heat the oil in a saucepan and brown the rice for 3 minutes, stirring, on a high heat.

3. Blend the tomatoes in a food processor with 300ml water, the chopped onion and some salt until smooth, at least 2 minutes. Once the rice has browned, reduce the heat to medium and add the pureed tomato and coriander. Once the liquid has reduced down to the level of the rice, cover and cook for 2 minutes. Let it rest for at least 20 minutes.

4. For the chicken: season the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and bake on a baking tray at 180C for 18 minutes.

5. Heat the tortillas on a medium heat in a lightly oiled frying pan for 3 minutes. Make a layer of Mexican rice in the middle of the burrtio, add some cold, shredded chicken, thin slices of avocado, scrambled eggs, two cheddar cheese slices, and spread with creme fraiche.

TO ASSEMBLE: Fold two opposing sides of the burrito inwards and then roll it up starting from an unfolded side. Brown the burrito by rolling it in the hot frying pan for about 2 minutes. Cut in half and serve with fresh fruit.

MAC and CHEESE PIZZA

Makes 4 pizzas

Ingredients

Pizza dough for 1 base

100g grated mozzarella cheese

Mac and Cheese

115g small elbow macaroni

15g butter

225ml full-cream milk

60g ricotta cheese

90g vintage cheddar cheese, grated

125g aged parmesan cheese, grated

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. For the mac and cheese: cook the pasta following the packet directions. Drain. Add the butter, milk, ricotta, 70g of the cheddar, 90g of the parmesan, a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper to the hot pasta. Mix together quickly.

2. Bake the pasta sprinkled with the rest of the cheddar and parmesan for 25-30 minutes, until the top is golden brown.

3. Flatten the pizza dough on a floured surface: starting from the middle and leaving a thick edge around the outside; stretch the dough to 30cm in diameter.

4. Add the mozzarella cheese and bake in the oven at the maximum temperature setting (ideally on a pizza stone) for 15-20 minutes until the edges are brown and the mozzarella is melted.

5. When the pizza comes out of the oven, wait 5 minutes, then spread over some mac and cheese. Return to the oven for no more than 2 minutes before serving.

Los Angeles Cult Recipes by Victor Garnier Astorino, published by Murdoch Books, distributed by Allen & Unwin, RRP $55.00.