Salty Products Stew: Vegetables, Anchovies and Pork Jowl with Idiazábal Cheese Balls

Azurmendi

Cuisinier: Eneko Atxa

Pays: Spain

Localité: 48195 Larrabetzu (Vizcaya).

Adresse: Barrio Legina s/n

Eneko Atxa’s style is clearly defined. On the one hand, he updates and reinvents traditional recipes –like in this case. On the other hand, he uses avant-garde techniques to reinforce natural and chromatic aspects. One of them is spherification.
The chef proposes numerous dishes with historical memory that boast about redefined academic sauces. Apart from preserving traditional exquisiteness and gelatinousity, they show off unprecedented refinement, harmony and slender density. A good example of those stocks Eneko is so attached to and everybody is so fond of is this traditional stew made of pig’s trotters and pork fat, served with vegetables and chickpeas. Once polished up, it is soaked with low grade meat as well as genius and contrasts that fill the palate together with pork jowl, asparagus and anchovies; almost nothing. Some cheese balls are added to give some volume and evanescence to this greedy recipe.

La Recette

For 16 Servings

Cheese spheres
Ingredients
500 g cream
170 g Idiazábal cheese
1.7 g xanthan gum
2 g Calcic

Method
Boil the cream and add the cheese cut into dices. Grind and texturize with xanthan and Calcic, salt and remove the air with the help of a vacuum machine. Introduce into a dispenser and set aside in a bain-marie.

Alginate coating
Ingredients
7.5 g de Alginate
1000 g water
Cheese cream (previous preparation)

Method
Mix both ingredients properly and remove the remaining air with the help of a vacuum machine. Make spheres with a 2.5 ml measuring spoon introducing the cheese cream into the alginate mixture. Cook for 2 minutes, strain and set aside into a container with hot water.

Pig’s trotters broth
Ingredients
10 pig’s trotters
1 medium-size onion
1 leek
2 tomatoes
1 carrot
1 kg chickpeas
250 g white pork fat

Method
Put all the ingredients except the chickpeas into a saucepan, cover with water and cook for 3 hours. After that time, add the chickpeas and cook for 2 more hours. Strain through a conical strainer and a Superbag and reduce until obtaining a thick and gelatinous consistency.

Marinated pork jowl
Ingredients
1000 g pork jowl
1500 ml sunflower oil

Method
Salt the jowl and cover with sunflower oil. Marinate without boiling for one and a half day until tender. Allow to cool in the same oil, strain, remove the skin and cut into 0.5 cm dices.

Salty stew
Ingredients
120 g washed shallots
400 g minced jowl
440 g green asparagus
250 g pig’s trotters sauce

Method
Fry the shallot brunoise lightly with very few olive oil. Once translucent, add the green asparagus, finely cut in a half-moon shape, and cook for 1 minute. Introduce the minced jowl, heat and add the pig’s trotters sauce. Mix and salt (strain in case the jowl releases much fat).
Finishing and assembly
Place the stew into a deep plate and cover with 3 cheese spheres intermingled with 3 pieces of anchovies.

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