Aubergine threads with licorice adorned over a vintage olive oil yoghurt

Aubergine threads with licorice adorned over a vintage olive oil yoghurt
Nerua
Chef: Josean Martínez Alija
Country: Spain
City: 48001 Bilbao (Vizcaya)
Address: Abandoibarra Etorbidea, 2
(+34) 944239333

To dispel any doubt, this brilliant dish confirms again that Josean Martínez Alija, one of the best cooks in the world, is a number one, or even THE number one in the vegetal field.
Apparently simple, actually minimalist, like this artist’s style, the dish involves many risks. As “meat”, he uses a humble aubergine, humble roasted aubergine threads, to be precise; immaculate taste and amazing texture. And to give them a touch of glory –a usual practice of the chef–, a couple of daring and extremely balanced contrasts that enhance and complete the prominence of the aubergine’s fruit. In this case, Josean uses liquorice essence injected in the aubergine and a creamy olive oil yoghurt (the oil comes from thousand-tear-old olive trees).
If the sapid dimension of the dish is not easy to express with words, what can we say about its enormous gastronomic value! Seeing –and eating– is believing…



The Recipe



FOR 4 SERVINGS

AUBERGINE JUICE
Ingredients
500 g aubergines

Method
Wash the aubergines under the tap and remove the stalk. Prick all the surface with a little knife so that all the juices ooze better during the roasting process.
Vacuum-pack and put in the steam oven at 100ºC for 2 hours. Remove the bag and strain through a cloth pressing hard to expel all the juices.

PURPLE LACQUER
Ingredients
200 g aubergine juice
12 g kuzu
Purple colouring

Method
Colour the juice with a violet. Hydrate the kuzu in part of the juice (cold) and mix well until dissolving. Add the rest of the liquid and heat removing constantly with a spatula to prevent it from sticking. The idea is to obtain a resinous texture to lacquer the aubergine and simulate its skin and colour.

AUBERGINE
Ingredients
Medium-sized aubergines (useful part: 40%)
Salt
Liquorice essence

Method
Prick the aubergines, inject a few drops of liquorice essence, salt and roast for 40-50 minutes in the oven at 170ºC.
Peel, remove the seeds and dress with fine salt and liquorice essence.
Keep cool.

OLIVE OIL CREAM WITH LITTLE SUGAR (OIL FROM THOUSAND-YEAR-OLD OLIVE TREES)
Ingredients
40 g virgin olive oil from thousand-year-old olive trees, “Farga”
40 g water
15 g sugar
15 g Isomalt sugar
30 g Greek yoghurt

Method
Make a syrup with the water and the two sugars. Once at room temperature, add the yoghurt and the olive oil and mix until obtaining a homogenous cream. Keep in the fridge.

FINISHING

Make little piles of aubergine and lacquer slightly. Heat in the oven, remove and paint with the lacquer. Draw a line of olive oil cream on the plate, trace a line of lacquer with a brush and arrange the hot aubergine threads on it.
 

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