Beetroot, Fennel, Blood Orange, Walnut- A dessert???

This is something I've been playing with for the last few weeks as a dessert. Its still not the final dish but I'm pretty happy with this version. The fine line between sweet and savoury really interests me and this was the inspiration for this dish. All the components I have used in a salad previously, a savoury salad. If you add some goats cheese the flavour combination is pretty classic. I didn't, but how about a nice goats cheese sorbet??? The base is a beetroot sponge,(and this is the element I'm not happy with, I'm thinking more beetroot financier), I've dressed this with two citrus 'sponges', one blood orange and the other mandarin. These add a freshness to the rich and buttery cake and ice cream. You've also got fresh blood orange segments. Next the walnuts which we have in 3 different textures; ice-cream, emulsion and fresh from the shell. The ice-cream is finished with buttermilk and is so rich, the emulsion with its oil and a little caramelized red wine vinegar is rich and sharp at the same time and the wet walnuts are just in there fine natural state, soft and buttery. The fennel is candied, a process that takes a week to accomplish, but well worth the wait. The process really intensifies the flavour without loosing the fresh, clean taste of the vegetable. The edible flowers help with the Strong bouquet of the other ingredients; Heartsease, Native Violets and Nasturtiums, sweet ,peppery and floral all help with the savoury element. I really like the dish so far but am looking forward to the next version. It looks great but if you get 10 on order your right in the shit. Ah well you can't have everything. Later

W.A. Marron, 'Kipfler' textures, Pearls of Caramelized Vinegar

This dish is the sum of 3 quality ingredients, W.A. Marrons, cocktail Kipfler potatoes and 'Cintra Estate' caramelized vinegar. The marrons are poele'd in foaming butter and left to rest while we put the rest of the dish together. The kipflers were getting at the moment have been so sweet and buttery and reminded me a little of the fantastic Jersey Royals that I used to get back in England. There so versatile and so I thought that I would shoe them off in a few different ways; boiled with lemon thyme and lemon zest, brushed with a little butter and crisped up as chips and made into a silky buttery mousse. Each preparation bring out a different quality of these fine potatoes.
The pearls or sago are blanched first and then left to marinate in the vinegar overnight. The next day your left with shiny pearls that hold a wonderful sharp and sweet taste. The caramelized vinegar is one of my favourite ingredients at the moment. The flavour is slightly sweet with a rich red wine taste. It makes great dressings and is great for livening up sauces . The Sauce is a reduced marron fume finished with some beurre noisette and a splash of cider vinegar and some chopped chives. The brown butter flavours in the sauce go well with the buttery kipflers and the pearls add a refreshing sharpness as you bite into them. We finish the whole thing with some slices of raw spring onion again as a balance to the richness of the other ingredients.

We've also had the dish with a warm mayo instead of the kipler foam however the textural thing worked best. As for the sago, well they take on what ever you marinate them in. I'm looking forward to makingYuzu pearls to go with some scallops and kos hearts. Later

Carrot & Saffron, Mango, White Chocolate, Liquorice

This is just something I was playing with and is completely different to the finished dish. Carrot and saffron puree, mango sponge, white chocolate sorbet, liquorice powder. Looked great and was full of flavour however not quite right. Back to the drawing board for this one but it has started another desert. I'll post it later this week along with my de-constructed opera cake. Later

'Coffee and Doughnuts'

This is the current dessert on the dega menu, and a little bit of fun. Its really simple but tastes great. Espresso creme brulee, infused with vanilla and cinnamon and Cardamom sabayon. The doughnut ice cream is made with Krispy Kreme originals in the paco jet. So smooth and very moreish, very moreish. Played with a few other things like croissant and danish. Krispy Kreme wins every time. Looks like the guys at 'Ideas in Food'http://http://ideasinfood.typepad.com/ideas_in_food/2008/03/putting-on-the.html are on the same vibe at the moment. The combinations are infinitive. We've put the ice cream on some pistachio soil to stop it sliding around and to fit in with the Moroccan flavours. Later

Saffron Rice Puffs

This is an idea I had after watching a series of videos, on http://gastrovideo.com/ , of the new techniques used at el Bulli for 2008. They make Parmesan souffles using rice puree as a base. We adapted it a little and cooked the rice with some saffron. After we mix it with some salt, Parmesan and egg whites. After mixing it well we spread it between a frame and let it set in the freezer. Once its set you can cut what ever shape you want and cook it on the silpat at 160 degrees C. This was the second attempt and a lot more successful. I found that the rice puree was too wet the first time and this meant that the souffle skin was to thin to hold the air. You just have to make sure that the rice is completely dry when you puree it. We sprinkled them with a little smoked paprika and served them as canapes. With rice being so absorbent the choices for flavours is innumerable. I'll let you know what else I come up with. The puffs ar really crisp and light and have a great saffron taste. Later

"Spaghetti" of W.A. Marron, Salad of it's Claws, Bolognese Tile, Truffle Puree

This is a new dish we've been playing with this week. Actually it started the week quite differently and I also began to play with Transglutaminase. I've used it briefly before have got a new supply from a great new company I've come across here in Sydney. The company is called creative-juice.com.au and there making it all the more easy to get Hydrocoloids e.t.c in Australia. Paul O'loughlin is more than happy to source and supply almost anything you might need. Good Job mate. Any way the technique is from WD-50, as I'm sure you will know, where the raw meat of the Marron is mixed with the Transglutaminase and then rolled out, rested and then poached. After you cool it you can pretty much treat the preparation as you would pasta. Hence the 'Spaghetti'. The bolognese is a tomato base with fennel, carrot and shallot which we bind with marron fume. The plate is dressed with some truffle puree which we cooked down in a little Madeira, brandy and brown chicken stock. The components are very rich and decadent so we balanced this with a very fresh, crunchy and aromatic salad; a little raw fennel, preserved lemon, fennel fronds and tiny hearts of baby kos. The dish will more than likely end up on the Dega menu and we haven't really decided whether to serve it hot or cold. It tastes great both ways. Win Win.