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The CEO as chef
Anyone who has been to the Sultan household will swear by Shawqi Sultan's scrambled eggs. Now, you may ask what is so special about making scrambled eggs – after all one just need to whisk eggs, butter, milk and pepper and stir-fry it. But it's not just Sultan's guests who would stand up for this speciality of his. Even the man himself, who told us with an almost mournful face that the problem of being part of a family full of wonderful cooks is that everyone thinks he is the worst of the lot, brightens up as he mentions scrambled eggs. "Sometimes you can take a simple dish and turn it into a delicacy. If done properly – that needs a lot more of time and patience – scrambled eggs can be wonderful. There is a general consensus in the family that I'm the best in that." So when his daughter who lives in Dubai comes over, the first demand is that he prepare the 'Sultan Special' scrambled eggs for breakfast the next morning.
But this is not the only dish he can whip up – his favourite is French cuisine. And he can lay out a four-course meal for you if he wishes. "Sometimes I try Italian. But there are certain cuisines I stay away from. For example, I would never try Omani cuisine. My mother was a wonderful cook; that’s how I would measure myself and I would never ever live up to those standards."
Sultan says he started cooking out of sheer necessity. "When I was a student in England in the 1960s, there were not many places to go out and eat. The first year, we had a miserable Christmas. Unlike now, everything used to be closed in England for Christmas in those days. All around us we could see families enjoying their meals together, and there we were, with just bread, eggs and sausages. By next Christmas I had decided to take matters in my hand and we had a proper homemade meal." By then he had done a short course in cooking as part of extra curricular activity. "But that decision was based more on the fact that there were more girls in that course than anything else," chuckles Sultan. Subsequently, the interest continued. "They say if you have an artistic profession, you tend to have a very boring hobby and vice versa. I have one of the most boring professions in the world, so I have to compensate for that. The only thing I can do creatively is cooking. So if you look at it this way, even now I cook out of pure necessity."ͅ
Poulet aux Ecrevisses
ingredients
1 chicken, quartered
12 big prawns, deveined
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 large carrot, cubed
3 medium or
2 large tomatoes,
blanched and deseeded
Beef stock and chicken stock, 400
and 200 ml respectively
A pinch of tarragon
White wine: (preferably
burgundy chardonnay)
One sachet of bouquet garni
METHOD
Fry chicken in hot butter (to seal) and set aside in a casserole dish in a warm oven. Sauté the prawns in hot oil quickly until red then add onion, garlic and carrot. Add white wine (300 ml) and simmer until reduced. Now add fried chicken. Take the prawns out and keep aside. Add tomatoes, a little more wine if necessary and beef and chicken stock and bouquet garni sachet. Boil until the chicken is ready and the sauce has reduced. Set aside the chicken pieces and discard the sachet. Let the sauce cool slightly and then puree the remaining mixture and sieve it. Take the smooth sauce and simmer it gently adding some butter until there is a 'shine'. Season as required. Pour the puree over the arranged chicken, surrounded by prawns and garnish with tarragon. Serve it with rice or salad.
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