Winner, II Championship: Jesús Ramiro Flores, “Ramiro´s”



Jesús Ramiro Flores
"Ramiro´s"

2833 Brind Ave
Miami fl 33133 (EE.UU.)

Tel.: España 656 98 66 43
EE.UU. 305 772 2522
ramirochef@hotmail.com

This young, mature chef from Valladolid (Spain) residing in Miami, where he moved at the age of four with his family, manager of Ramiro’s restaurant, won the II Edition of the International Contest for Cuisine with Olive Oil, “Jaén, Paraíso Interior”, with authority, despite the high level of the 12 finalists—all are distinguished world-class chefs. He did so with a conceptually groundbreaking recipe that makes use of avant-garde techniques, such as liquid nitrogen. He was awarded the trophy and €18,000 by Don Felipe López García, President of the Jaén Provincial Council.

Olive oil flakes with squid tartar and tomato vanilla soup

Entrega del premio a Jesús Ramiro Flores

Ingredients y  elaboration:

For the olive oil flakes

 

  • 500g Sierra de Segura olive oil. 

 

  1. Pour into a spray gun and spray onto the liquid nitrogen.
  2. Leave for one minute and strain through a fine chinois.

 

For the tartar

  • 80 g. osushiya mongo (sushi squid).
  • 80 g. nashi (Asian pear).
  • 30 g. Sosa pure raw almond paste.
  • 0 g. Kim ve Wong soy sauce.
  1. Chop the osushiya mongo and the nashi into brunoise.
  2. Add the almond paste and soy sauce.
  3. Mix and keep in the cold-storage room.

For the soup

  • 600 g. tomato water.
  • 4 Tahitian vanilla beans.
  • 2,4 powdered agar-agar.
  1. Infuse 100g of tomato water with the vanilla.
  2. Strain, add the agar-agar and bring to a boil.
  3. Pour in the rest of the tomato water.
  4. Allow to thicken in the cold-storage room, then blend in a blender.

For the tomato water:

  • 1500 g. tomatoes on the vine.
  1. Puree the tomatoes in a blender.
  2. Decant into a metal chinois through a cloth.
  3. Allow to decant for 24 hours in the cold-storage room.

For the arugula sprouts

  • 30 g. arugula seeds.
  1. Wash the seeds and place in a germinator.
  2. Allow to germinate in a dark place for 4 days.
  3. Wash them once a day.
  4. Complete the germination process with 2 days of indirect light.

For the onion sprouts

  • 40 g. onion seeds.
  1. Soak the seeds in water for 8 hours.
  2. Place the germinator in a naturally-lit place.
  3. Water them once a day.
  4. Allow to germinate for 4-6 days.

For the olive salt

  • 50 g. Picual olives (pitted).
  • 30 g. pink Himalayan salt.
  1. Dehydrate the olives at 80ºC for 90 minutes.
  2. Mince the olives and mix with the salt.
  3. Regarlas una vez al día.

For the almond dust

  • 50 g. raw almonds.
  1. Grate with a Microplane zester.

Dressing

 

  1. Heat the soup to 80ºC. Pour into the base of the dish.
  2. Cool the surface with a CriallJet spray gun (liquid nitrogen).
  3. Top with a layer of olive oil flakes.
  4. Arrange a nest of onion sprouts on top.
  5. Make a quenelle of tartar and lay it on top.
  6. Place a bit of almond dust to the side.
  7. Put a few arugula sprouts on top of the tartar.
  8. Sprinkle with a bit of the olive salt.

 

We were aiming for a dish that was hot/cold, liquid/solid, taking into account that the dish had to have olive oil from Jaén as the main ingredient. We decided to use one of the most interesting techniques available, freezing with liquid nitrogen; we also incorporated the aromas of the Sierra de Segura olive oil, which are tomato, vanilla, green almond and some herbal notes. We decided to include the soup for a hot, liquid texture, but we wanted a transparent soup with texture—hence the tomato water with the agar-agar as a thickener, with the advantage of being able to heat it to 85ºC—and we incorporated the vanilla using a traditional method, infusion.

To resolve the issue of temperature contrast, we chose to pulverize liquid nitrogen with the help of a CrialJet (a spray gun used in medicine) onto the surface of the soup. This way, we successfully cooled just this portion and could place the olive oil flakes on top.

Because we wanted to add solid elements, we opted for a very simple technique—a tartar. We thought of osushiya mongo, a squid type from Thailand we were experimenting with, to give an element of sweetness. We also wanted to add a fresh, crunchy touch, which we imparted with the nashi, a sweet and juicy Asian fruit. To add a bit of saltiness and a smoky flavor, we chose soy sauce (after some tasting we concluded that Kim ve Wong was the least aggressive). As for the pure almond paste, we wanted to include another of the aromas of the Sierra de Segura olive oil—and it does indeed give a note of green almonds. However, at the time the contest is held it is impossible to find, so we added the arugula sprouts for an herbal touch. The onion sprouts provide a subtle spiciness. The almond dust serves to further reinforce the almond aromas (we named it for its likeness to sawdust).

We felt it needed a salty touch to enhance flavors and thought of commercially available black olive salt, but we thought it would be more interesting to make our own using an olive more typical from Jaén: the Picual.

 

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