Pickled anchovy aspic
Chef: Paolo Lopriore
Country: Italia
City: 53100 Siena
Address: Strada di Certosa, 82
(+39) 0577288180info@certosadimaggiano.it
Paolo Lopriore’s insightfulness is marvelously expressed in the recipe. Inspired by anchovies, either salt-cured, pickled or otherwise, he manages to reinvent these products within avant-garde concepts. The anchovy is vindicated in itself – the idea being that the preparation should not outshine the main ingredient. They are offered in their pure form, raw, deboned and reconstructed. The complement is in the aspic, which reinforces the fish without taking away from its natural purity. And for a glorious finish they are assembled with the unmistakable, minimalist, precocious style that defines Lopriore… his dishes are eaten first with the eyes; the guest is fascinated, seduced, and the palatal sensation and gastronomic pleasure is prolonged.
The Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 fresh anchovies
- 400 g clarified anchovy stock
- 4 g agar
- 20 cl anchovy juice
- 20 cl white wine vinegar
- 20 cl liquified bay leaves
- Dried oregano
- 4 shallots
- Salt and fresh ground pepper
Method
Remove the head, debone and clean the anchovies well with running water, being careful to leave them as intact as possible. Distribute them onto 2 trays 10 cm wide, 18 cm long and 2 cm high and refrigerate.
Clean the shallots and slice thinly with a guitar slicer; place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake in a convection oven for 2 hours to dry them out.
In a separate container, bring the anchovy stock to a boil, thicken with the agar, remove from heat and whisk vigorously to incorporate the maximum quantity of air possible. Cover the anchovies with this foam and leave to cool in the refrigerator a few minutes before cutting them to the desired shape.
Place the anchovies onto 4 separate plates and dress them with the liquified bay leaves, white wine vinegar, anchovy juice, dried oregano and dehydrated shallots.
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