The Dish: Ludo Lefebvre

Burgundy-born chef Ludo Lefebvre was just 14 when he started his culinary training working with some of France's greatest chefs. In the 90s, he brought his skills to Los Angeles, taking the helm at the famed L'Orangerie. 

Then came the creative concepts he's become famous for like pop-up with his Ludo Bites. He's thrilled fans of the French bistro with Le Petit Trois and Trois Mec and even won the hearts of fried chicken lovers with LudoBird.     

Here are some of Lefebvre's signature recipes: 

Lobster thermidor

Thermidor sauce ingredients

1 quart mornay sauce 

½ cup heavy cream 

2 each shallots, brunoise 

3 each garlic, chopped fine 

1 cup white wine 

12 oz crimini mushrooms, quartered 

2 tsp ground nutmeg

Black pepper 

1/2 tsp  cayenne 

1 tsp mustard, ground 

Directions

1.Combine the mornay and cream, heat gently and blend to combine. Set aside and keep warm.

2. Sweat the shallots and garlic in butter. Add the white wine and reduce by 75 percent. 

3. Add the mushrooms, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne, and mustard and cook until the mushrooms begin to soften. 

4. Add the mornay mixture to the shallot/wine mixture and season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Mornay sauce ingredients

4.5 oz plugra butter 

4.5 oz a.p. Flour 

1 quart whole milk 

45 grams parmesan reggiano 

190 grams  swiss gruyere 

1 1/8 tsp kosher salt 

1 1/2 tsp white pepper 

Directions

1. Make a blond roux with butter and flour and cook with medium heat. Let it rest to slightly cool. 

2. Scald milk with salt and white pepper. 

3. Temper milk into roux mixture with a whisk slowly until the roux is a smooth before add the rest of your milk. 

4. Cook for 45 minutes and burr mix until smooth again to tighten the sauce.   

5. Add the cheese with a whisk and bring to a boil while whisking for 5 minutes.   

6. Strain sauce into hotel pan and burr mix again. Check for seasoning while hot and cool off in the refrigerator. 

Lobster ingredients

4 lobsters

Bread crumbs 

Parmesan, grated

Chervil, finely chopped  

Directions

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.

2. Add the lobsters and cook at a full boil for 5 minutes.  Place directly into an ice bath.

3. Once the lobsters are cooled cut them in half lengthwise, remove and crack the claws.  Remove and clean the meat from bodies and claws and cut into medium diced chunks.

4. Scrape the bodies clean and reserve for plating.

5. To plate, Thoroughly, combine the lobster meat and thermidor sauce in a bowl Spoon sauced lobster meat into the cleaned lobster shells. Sprinkle bread crumbs and parmesan liberally on the lobster meat. Return to oven and broil until the cheese is golden brown. Garnish with finely chopped chervil.

Moules à la crème

Ingredients

4 pounds well cleaned mussels 

4 shallots 

4 garlic cloves 

1 fennel 

4 bay leaves 

8 branches thyme 

4 tablespoons butter 

½ bunch flat parsley chopped 

4 cups dry white wine 

2 cups crème fraiche 

2 pinches chili flakes 

White pepper 

Salt (to taste)  

Directions

1. Peel the garlic and shallots.  Slice them very thin (make sure you remove any green stem from the garlic cloves before slicing).

2. Dice the fennel.

3. In a large saucepan, bring the butter to sizzle but do not let the butter brown.  Add the shallots, fennel, bay leaves (scored) and thyme.

4. Deglaze with the white wine and add the mussels. Make sure to cover all the mussels with the white wine. Add more wine if necessary.

5. Cover the saucepan to strongly steam the mussels.

6. Cook the mussels until they are all open.

7. Add the crème fraiche to make a "liaison" (sauce)

8. Then add chili flakes, parsley, white pepper and salt if necessary.

Ratatouille, poached egg 

Ingredients

1 large zucchini

8 baby red bell peppers

8 baby yellow bell peppers

2 baby red onions

1/3 cup salted butter

1 basket multicolored baby tomatoes

20 each lemon verbena leaves (or 2 sprigs)

1 large eggplant

1 liter extra-virgin olive oil

Fleur de sel

Freshly ground pepper

4 baby green zucchini

4 baby yellow zucchini

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

Piment d'espelette

4 poached eggs, for garnish

Purple basil leaves, for garnish

Regular basil leaves, for garnish

Directions

1. Wash the large zucchini, and cut in half. Slice half the zucchini, and brunoise the other half.

2. Brunoise half of each type of baby bell pepper.

3. Peel the onions, cut in half, and reserve.

4. In a large saucepan, melt the butter until brown. Add all the brunoised zucchini and baby bell peppers, the baby tomatoes, and lemon verbena leaves.

5. In the meantime, turn the rest of the whole baby bell peppers over a flame until they are blackened. When cool enough to handle, remove the skin with a clean dishtowel.

6. Burn the eggplant on the stovetop flame for 15 minutes, turning occasionally. Let it rest for 20 minutes. Cut the eggplant in half and season with oil, salt and black pepper. Remove the pulp and reserve.

7. Toss the zucchini slices with oil, salt and black pepper. Cut all the baby zucchini in half and steam them.

8. Mix all the vegetables in a saucepan, and add garlic. Season with salt, black pepper and touch of piment d'espelette.

9. Serve the ratatouille in a bowl, garnished with a poached egg and basil.

Vegetable and fruit macedoine with lemon verbena jelly

Lemon verbena gelee ingredients 

1 liter mineral water

400 grams lemon verbena, fresh or dried

12 grams gelatin or pectin

Directions

1. Bring the mineral water to a boil. 

2. Add the verbena and let infuse for 15 minutes.

3. Strain the leaves and add the gelatin to the infusion and let cool until set.

Fruit and vegetable ingredients 

English pea (blanched) 

Green asparagus (blanched) 

Baby fennels (blanched) 

Fava beans (blanched) 

Leek (blanched) 

Ortaggi d'autore (raw) 

Easter radish (raw) 

Green radish (raw) 

Kumquats (raw) 

Pineapple (raw) 

Mango (raw) 

Micro sorrel 

Hazelnut oil 

Sherry vinegar 

Fleur de sel 

White pepper

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix and season all the vegetables and fruits with the hazelnut oil, sherry vinegar, salt and white pepper.

2. To serve, on a soup plate, put the vegetable and fruit mix, gelee on top, and the sorrel leaves.

Tarte tatin

Sugar dough ingredients

250 grams flour

125 grams salted butter at room temperature

100 grams sugar

2 eggs

1 small pinch kosher salt

Directions

1. Mix all the dough ingredients to make the sugar dough. You can use a stand mixer with a flat beater.

2. Once it starts to shape together around the flat beater remove from stand mixer and shape into a ball.  You do not want the dough to become too elastic so do not overwork the dough. Shape and flatten the ball of dough into a disk in order to chill it quickly.

3. Place the flattened dough in a plastic storage bag and let it rest in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

6 whole granny smith apples

200 gr unsalted butter

200 gr granulated sugar

½ bunch rosemary

1 tablespoon of lemon juice (from 1 lemon, reserved)

Directions

1. Melt the butter then add the sugar. Stir a bit then add the rosemary. Allow the caramel to get thicker but not too brown and add a few drops of lemon juice.Pour the caramel into your round baking dish or in 4 individual ones.

2. For the apples, peel and rub them with some lemon juice from your reserved lemon to avoid oxidation. Cut the apples into big chunks and place them in the baking dish. Be generous with the apple, it does not need to be perfect. 

3. Take out the dough from the fridge. Dust your working surface and dough with flour. Roll out the dough and shape it (cut) the size of your baking dish. Cover the apples with the rolled out dough. Close the dough on the baking dish. Make small holes with the point of a knife. 

4. Bake the apple tatin in the oven for around 35 to 40 minutes at 375° fahrenheit.

5. Serve the warm tarte tatin with whipped cream