Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 10

Estofado de Ternera [Beef Stew].

It was a stew made by simmering beef and various vegetables in red wine from the Tuscan Confederation [a fictional nation, likely inspired by historical Italian city-states].

Although it contained many ingredients and various spices, the cooking itself was simple: just put all the ingredients in and slowly cook over low heat.

And it was also the dish that got Gordon Lambolton kicked out of the Imperial Palace.

Geoffrey, who was watching, was also taken aback.

“Sir Cainchel! You’re not thinking of starting a fight, are you? Making Estofado de Ternera is forbidden here! If the Chief sees that dish, he’ll flip the whole table!”

Cainchel shrugged lightly and replied.

“Now that he’s accepted the challenge, Chief Gordon has to eat this dish. No, he will eat it.”

With those words, Cainchel moved. He had to hurry.

What he was about to make was a dish that needed to be simmered for a long time so that the flavor of the beef would permeate the vegetables.

“D, do as you please! I don’t care if Chief Gordon gets a scolding!”

Even as he said that, Geoffrey watched Cainchel cook from a short distance away.

Cainchel smiled.

‘He’s really bad at dealing with people.’

Under the worried gazes of the two chefs, Cainchel began to cook.

First, he cut about 500g of beef brisket into bite-sized squares.

“W, wait a minute… Hold on! S, Sir Cainchel! Th, th, th, that meat!”

Geoffrey and Ainchel were just observers.

They shouldn’t interfere with what Cainchel was doing.

However, Ainchel’s face turned pale in an instant because of a huge mistake he noticed.

The meat Cainchel was using was literally leftover scraps from cooking. And very cheap meat bought in bulk.

The main ingredient of Estofado de Ternera is, of course, beef.

The quality of the meat is directly related to the taste.

“I promised to cook with leftover ingredients.”

“B, but it’s natural to use the best ingredients in such an important match! You can’t possibly satisfy the Chief’s tongue with meat that’s so dry and doesn’t even have any juice!”

“We’ll see about that.”

“……”

In the end, Ainchel closed his mouth with a sense of resignation.

It was a mess. How could he possibly satisfy Chef Gordon’s mouth with such ingredients?

Could it be that he has no intention of winning?

Cainchel smiled at the two chefs and focused on cooking.

First, he heated a pan with olive oil and browned the beef, which had been sprinkled with salt in advance.

He took it out for a while and placed it on a napkin to allow the juices to spread evenly.

‘And use the oil from the meat to stir-fry finely chopped onions and garlic to make a delicious flavored oil. Add flour seasoned with salt and pepper to that…’

He added wine and wine vinegar to the finished ingredients and boiled them once.

The next step was simple. He added the stir-fried beef, bay leaves, cloves, chili peppers, carrots, and peas and simmered for about 2 hours over low heat.

‘Oh, I can’t forget this.’

Cainchel finally put what he had prepared in advance into the pot and lit it.

Now, just stir it occasionally and a beef dish full of tender meat and spices is complete.

Geoffrey, who was watching, asked.

“…Can I have a taste?”

“I’m sorry, but there’s not much left.”

“You’ve done a really good job for a rookie who’s only been holding a knife for a week. The order is correct, and the smell is so good that I can’t help but drool. But, but why did you use such bad meat! If it weren’t for that, you might have been able to get the Chief to say it was delicious.”

There was no way a chef like Gordon wouldn’t know what kind of meat he used.

In the end, this match was already decided.

The rookie’s defeat was almost certain.

Nevertheless, Cainchel was just smiling.

“Shall we go see Chief Gordon?”

Now, everything depended on Gordon’s tongue.

@

“What is this?”

“It’s Estofado de Ternera.”

“I’m not asking you what that is!”

Gordon was genuinely angry when he saw the bowl Cainchel had brought.

To make the dish that got him kicked out of the Imperial Palace.

It would have been better to bring grilled horse dung on a plate.

“I simmered it in wine over low heat to bring out the rich flavor, and I used salt, pepper, and cinnamon powder for the finish. I didn’t forget the parsley powder before bringing it.”

“…Are you really going to make me eat this?”

“This is the best dish I can make. Didn’t you agree to eat it and evaluate the taste?”

Gordon gritted his teeth.

For a rookie who’s only been in the kitchen for a week to bring him such a big pile of crap.

“Then please taste it.”

Cainchel neatly placed the plate with the stew and a spoon in front of Gordon, who was sitting at the table.

He was so precise that it seemed like he had served in a high-end restaurant before.

It was thanks to the ‘formality’ he had learned so much.

Usually, the Stanice Knight Academy [a military academy] teaches new recruits the proper posture for a knight.

And Cainchel, who had not been able to escape the Rookie Class for 3 years, had received it 3 times.

Now, he could perform all the movements of the formality more skillfully than anyone else, to the point where he could even be a teaching assistant.

“Hmm.”

Gordon let out a low groan.

It seemed that he hadn’t just made it to screw with him.

The little boy’s face had no smile at all.

Rather, he had such a solemn atmosphere that it was as if he was participating in a sacred ritual.

“Ugh. I promised, so I’ll taste it. But if you make it even a little bit wrong, be prepared.”

“Of course.”

Gordon looked at the plate in front of him with a distorted face.

And he immediately grasped the problems with this dish.

“You used low-quality meat. What determines the taste of a stew is patiently removing impurities and using good meat. I don’t even need to taste it. The meat is so tough that even trolls wouldn’t eat it!”

Gordon continued to pour out relentless and harsh criticism.

It was so harsh that it would have been too much for a rookie who had only been holding a knife for a week.

Ainchel and Geoffrey, who were listening next to him, had sweat dripping down their backs.

At this rate, the promising culinary support soldier who had just joined might kick the kitchen and leave.

“Huh? He doesn’t look bothered at all…?”

“Y, you’re right. It’s as if that level of harsh words is nothing to him…”

Rather, Cainchel even smiled with a relaxed face.

He was no ordinary strong-hearted person.

Cainchel said to Gordon, who was not trying to eat the stew.

“Chief Gordon, what would you do if the ingredients of the food were not good?”

Then Gordon’s lips twitched.

Look at this guy? Dare to ask me a question?

When Gordon didn’t say anything, Cainchel shared his thoughts.

“I think you would try to make the most of the limited ingredients to bring out the best taste. I clearly said yesterday that I would cook with leftover ingredients. And the only leftover beef was this. So I used ‘that’ to make up for the lack of beef flavor. It’s getting cold. Please eat it quickly.”

“That? Wait a minute. This smell is?”

Realizing something in an instant, Gordon picked up a spoon.

And he began to stir the Estofado de Ternera in the bowl.

Then something hidden revealed itself.

“Little boy… First, I’ll eat it as promised. But I need to hear an explanation about this.”

Gordon gritted his teeth and cut the beef in half with a spoon.

It was low-quality meat, but it was quite tender, perhaps because it had been simmered in wine.

As the meat was chewed softly, the fragrant flavor of the meat, the lively texture of the vegetables, and the rich aroma of various spices swirled in his mouth.

Gulp.

Geoffrey, who was watching the match between Cainchel and Gordon, swallowed without realizing it.

To think that he would want to eat the dish made by the rookie.

Gordon took the beef to his mouth along with the carrot, which was full of soup and seemed to melt away.

“Hmm.”

And he takes another spoonful of soup and savors it without saying a word.

It was as if he was analyzing everything in the plate.

“The meat is definitely tough. But this flavor is still…”

Gordon emptied the Estofado de Ternera that was full in the plate without leaving anything behind.

Even though it was made with low-quality meat and the texture was not good, he ate it all.

Before the two chefs could be shocked by that, Gordon opened his mouth.

“Why did you use chicken stock? Explain.”

Cainchel answered in an instant.

“It would be great if we could always use good ingredients. But there are times when we have to make dishes with ingredients that are not in good condition. Yes, just like when Chef Gordon made Estofado de Ternera for His Majesty two years ago.”

“……!”

Then Gordon’s face turned as white as if he had seen a ghost.

It was a fairly famous anecdote that he was kicked out of the Imperial Palace because he made such a delicious Estofado de Ternera.

Any chef with some experience would know that.

But the fact that the meat used at that time was beef from a cow that was about to die of old age was only known to Gordon, who made it.

But how did this rookie know!

“H, how do you know that! Explain! Now!”

“When I heard about Chief Gordon, I had one question. Why did you choose stew as the dish to serve to His Majesty the Emperor? Even if you were asked to bring a dish that didn’t taste good, there were many dishes that looked prettier and more plausible. The result came out quickly. Because it’s easy to make it taste bad. If you don’t use the spices properly, it’s bland. If you use tough meat, it’s hard to even chew. That’s why stew was chosen as the menu to present a bad dish to Aslan [likely referring to the Emperor].”

“……That’s right. But how did you know that I used chicken stock there? The one that’s in the stew you made!”

“I thought Chief Gordon would have tried to make it delicious in any situation.”

“……”

“Chicken stock is a seasoning made by boiling chicken bones for a long time, isn’t it? It enhances the umami [a savory taste] of the lacking beef and gives the stew a deep flavor. The reason I used it is the same as Chief Gordon’s.”

To make a delicious dish with trashy ingredients no matter what!

Gordon started laughing with a look that he had been hit hard.

“Euhaha, hahaha! Euhahahahaha! It’s a masterpiece. I know that the light-mouthed Ainchel is going around telling the story of how I was kicked out of the Imperial Palace. But to find out how I made the dish there. A little boy who’s only been in the kitchen for a week?”

“Yes. I would have done that for sure.”

Two people who have been silently doing what they have to do in a situation where they are not recognized by anyone.

They were like brothers.

“But where did you get the chicken stock? I’m sure there’s no such seasoning here.”

“Didn’t you make chicken soup a while ago? I collected the leftover bones from that time and made it all night yesterday.”

With those words, Cainchel’s eyes lit up.

If he’s lucky, he can solve one more question at the same time.

“Hmm. I remember eating something similar, but I don’t remember it well because I was drunk. Anyway, you’re a more cunning little boy than I thought. To say that you would make a dish a day later meant that you were going to prepare to make chicken stock. Oh… I’ve been completely tricked. There’s no way a stew with that magic seasoning wouldn’t taste good.”

Che, isn’t Chef Gordon the culprit?

Cainchel clicked his tongue inwardly, but wore a bright smile on his face.

“Does that mean…?”

“That’s right. The stew was delicious. I don’t deceive my tongue.”

“…Are you saying that I can cook here?”

Gordon put the chef’s hat on the table on Cainchel’s head.

What it meant was one thing.

“Don’t be too happy. The taste passed, but it wasn’t without criticism. How did you grill that meat? The recipe clearly said to lightly brown the outside. It’s so overcooked that you can use it as coal! Huh? We’ll be able to spend this winter very warmly! You little brat! It would have tasted terrible without the chicken stock!”

In an instant, Cainchel’s hand trembled.

What, he didn’t grill the meat properly?

I’ve never learned that!

“S, sorry. Chef…”

“That won’t do. Come to the kitchen early tomorrow morning. I’ll teach you how to grill an amazing steak.”

“Th, that means you’re going to teach me how to cook…? Wooaaaaa! Y, yes!”

In an instant, Cainchel raised both hands in the air, forgetting that there were many people watching.

To think that he would be directly taught by Gordon, who had even been an Imperial chef.

When he thought about how much he would grow by learning his cooking skills, he couldn’t stay still.

“Don’t be too happy, little boy. I’m going to make you shed tears of blood.”

Cainchel replied cheerfully.

“Yes, Chef!”

Perhaps the relationship with Gordon Lambolton. Could this be more valuable than any other opportunity he has had so far?

Thinking that, Cainchel smiled without realizing it.

Because it was a slightly nasty opportunity.

How to Grill an Amazing Steak #4