Broccoli cheddar
croustade
I created this to be featured as an amuse bouche, one of the first bites served in a fine dining restaurant. I take a lot of inspiration from Thomas Keller with his playful and familiar flavor combinations but presented in a modern and elegant way. For this recipe, I thought of my days at Panera Bread ordering the broccoli cheddar bread bowl after swim practice. This one gets a facelift with a grating of cured egg yolks and a drop of maple-sherry reduction.
Ingredients
Croustade
300g water
1 beaten egg
200g ap flour
40g trisol
3g sugar
5g salt
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Cheddar Cream
226g cheddar, cabot brand, extra sharp Vermont (blue label)
7g sodium citrate
130g heavy cream
130g whole milk
25g butter
1 pinch cayenne
1 sprig thyme
1 garlic clove
Salt to taste
White pepper
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Broccoli Puree
1 head of broccoli, heads removed and stem peeled and sliced thin
1 bunch of spinach, washed clean
20g unsalted butter, cubed
Cheddar cream (recipe above)
Salt
White pepper
Heavy cream
Sherry vinegar
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Cured Egg Yolks
Egg yolks
Salt
Sugar
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Maple-Sherry Reduction
250g maple syrup
30g sherry vinegar
Salt
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Blanched Broccoli Stems, Peeled and Diced
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Fried Broccoli Florets, Seasoned with Salt
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To Assemble
Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Charge one in an iSi, dispense as needed and keep ice cold. Stir well to remove most of the bubbles.
Heat a croustade iron in 350F oil. Dip in batter for 5 seconds, lifting slowly. Invert immediately and flatten the bottom. Pop and fill any bubbles or holes with chopsticks.
Start frying and about 10 seconds in, gently loosen the batter into the oil and submerge. Try to maintain the shape as much as possible. The color should be a pale amber.
Remove and drain on a rack, inverted so the bottom of the croustade is pointed upwards. Keep in a dehydrator at 130F.
Bring everything to a boil, hand blend, boil again and infuse with 1 crushed garlic clove and 1 sprig of thyme for 15 minutes, covered.
Remove the garlic clove and thyme and cool over ice.
Blanch the broccoli and spinach in very salty water for 2 minutes. Shock in ice water until cold and squeeze dry.
In a blender, cover the broccoli and spinach with cheddar cream (you will have some left over). Blend on high and add the butter a little at a time.
If the blender is getting stuck, add some heavy cream to loosen. Season with salt, white pepper, and a touch of sherry vinegar to taste.
Cool over ice and store in the fridge. To serve, bring to room temperature and charge twice in an iSi dispenser.
Mix equal parts salt and sugar. Cover the bottom of a tray with the salt/sugar mixture and make small indents using a whole egg. This is where the egg yolk is going to sit.
Carefully drop an egg yolk into each indent and cover completely with the salt/sugar mixture. Cure for 24 hrs. After 24hrs, remove the salt/sugar and wash the yolks under running water, being sure to remove the thin white membrane as well.
Place the yolks in a dehydrator at 140F for 24hrs until completely dry. Store covered in the fridge.
Reduce the maple syrup and sherry vinegar slowly with a pinch of salt. It is ready when it has a syrup like consistency.
Place a couple pieces of blanch broccoli stems into the bottom of a croustade.
Fill the croustade to the top with the broccoli-cheddar foam. Top with a drop of maple-sherry reduction, a grating of cured egg yolk and a good sprinkle of fried broccoli florets.