Red mullet with edible crystallized scales, cucumber consommé, tomato emulsion with cider liquor and raw cauliflower

Salmonete con cristales de escamas comestibles, consomé de pepino, emulsión de t
Martín Berasategui
Cuoco: Martín Berasategui
Nazionalita: España
Localita: 20160 Lasarte-Oria (Guipúzcoa)
Indirizzo: Loidi, 4
(+34) 943366471

The infallible Martín Berasategui has created a vast array of important work in 2007, all of which corresponds perfectly with his unmistakable style of cuisine, as per usual. We all know that such a studious and untiring chef makes a thousand attempts in his basic preparations before opening new culinary pathways. He takes inspiration from certain criteria, techniques, articulations, sauces… and from there he designs fascinating variants that are always, and we mean always, superb. He has an immaculate, profound approach in conceiving his formulas-remarkably complex dishes that confirm his methods and always manage to surprise, time and time again, with their astonishing level of perfectionism.
In keeping with this philosophy and character, he has given us the red mullet with edible scales. The filet is served at an angle with the skin below, the previously massaged tiny scales in an upside-down colander, under which a pot is placed to recover the oil. Through a continuous application procedure of virgin olive oil at 200ºC to the white meat of the red mullet, the layers of scales, underneath, are made to stand upright. With this process the dish gains in texture, flavor, color and idiosyncrasy. And from there we are left with nothing to do but sing the praises of the maestro: the fish is placed over a bed of bonito tartare and magnified in different spaces with a lightly jellied cucumber consommé, “oceanized” with mussel broth, a tomato and cider liquor emulsion and a salad of cauliflower blended with vinaigrette and herbs.



La Ricetta



Red mullet with edible crystallized scales, cucumber consommé, tomato emulsion with cider liquor and raw cauliflower
Ingredients

  • 1 red mullet filet, 50-60 g
  • 300 g extra virgin olive oil

CUCUMBER SKIN INFUSION

  • 50% liquefied cucumber
  • 50% clarified mussel juices
  • Liquefied cucumber skins
  • 700 g cucumber skins obtained through peeling (more or less 2.5 kg cucumbers) will give you 450 g of liquefied skins.

GELATINOUS SOUP OF CUCUMBER SKINS

  • 100 g cucumber skin water
  • 100 g clarified mussel juices
  • 0.6 g xanthan gum

RAW CAULIFLOWER

  • 1 cauliflower
  • Vinaigrette for the raw cauliflower:
  • 100 g grated cauliflower crown
  • Virgin olive oil
  • Sherry vinegar

TOMATO EMULSION

  • 300 g heirloom tomatoes
  • 100 spring onions, chopped.
  • 100 g cider liquor
  • 60 g cocoa butter Mycryo, Cacao Barry

bonito tartare

  • 400 g bonito
  • 250 g monkfish
  • 5 g shallots
  • 25 g chives
  • 35 g balsamic vinegar (70 to 35 g)
  • 30 g virgin olive oil
  • 1 bunch of parsley.
  • Black olive stones

For the bread:

  • 200 g olive paste
  • 700 g water
  • The ink of two frozen baby squids
  • Organic bread

PREPARATION:

For the red mullet:

1. Filet the red mullet carefully, keeping the scales intact.
2. Bone the red mullet.
3. Massage the filet with an undulating motion without breaking the scales.
4. Heat the extra virgin olive oil to its maximum temperature (approx. 200ºC) without burning.
5. In an upside-down colander place the red mullet at an angle with a pot below to catch the oil.
6. Using a pan, pour the hot oil against the grain of the scales until the fish is cooked and the scales have pricked up and are crispy like little crystals.
7. Finish with scale salt and plate.

Very important:

For optimal results, the red mullet must be placed in ice until the last moment, in a bag without wrapping.

For the liquefied cucumber
Peel the cucumbers well, liquefy and strain well.
For the soup
Mix the two waters with the xanthan gum mix in a mixer.
This preparation should be done just before serving.

Method
For the raw cauliflower:

Cut all the crowns off the cauliflower, without the stalks, and place in a Thermomix. Blend on the 10 setting in three turns of 1-3 seconds each.
Mix with the vinaigrettes or the herb salads.

For the emulsion:

Poach the spring onion for 5 minutes, add the tomato and continue cooking as if making a compote for approximately 10 minutes.
Deglaze with the cider liquor and cook for 5 additional minutes. Pass through a fine sieve, add the Mycryo and emulsify.

For the tartare

Chop all the ingredients (bonito, monkfish) into 1x1 cm pieces. Add the remaining ingredients leaving the vinaigrette last so that it holds the tartare. Adjust the salt.
Note: bonito can be substituted with mackerel, but the procedure remains the same.

For the stone:

Remove the crust from the organic bread and break it up with your hands into small, irregular pieces.

Place the kalamata olive paste, drained of its oil, into the Thermomix with the water and squid ink.
Blend on maximum speed until the mixture heats up.
Follow by passing it through a sieve and adding the pieces of bread that we will have stored on a tray.
Leave the bread to soak up the mixture, checking that the inside of the bread are perfectly stained with the ink.

Using your hands, remove the pieces of bread from the mixture and place on a tray covered with parchment paper. Bake at 120ºC for 2-3 hours.
Before removing them from the oven, make sure that they are perfectly dried. Store in an airtight container with silicon gel.

FINISHING

At the center of the design plate place one serving of cucumber consommé.
Top with the red mullet, the quenelle of bonito tartare and a baby romaine leaf above.
To one side, place 2 slices of cauliflower and top with a thin line, 6 cm long, of raw cauliflower.
Finish by surrounding the red mullet with the tomato emulsion of Mycryo Cacao Barry.
 



Senia rice with smoked eel and cherries

Arroz Senia Con Anguila Ahumada y Cerezas
Quique Dacosta Restaurante
Cuoco: Quique Dacosta
Nazionalita: España
Localita: 03700 Dénia (Alicante)
Indirizzo: Las Marinas, km. 3.
(+34) 965784179

Quique Dacosta has always worked with rice dishes. His devotion to this ingredient and the cuisine of the Alicante region in general is such that he wrote an important book on the subject, “Arroces Contemporáneos”, in which he imparts a world of knowledge regarding this cereal, stemming from an arduous investigative process, beyond strictly culinary themes. Ironically, it was only after he published this lucid work that he produced his finest dish: a daring recipe that doesn’t fit into his normal repertoire, with sophisticated counterpoints to the common thread of the rice, always neutral, always absorbent, breaking with everything that is considered traditional in Spanish cuisine. Boasting powerful sensations that harmoniously spark amidst a main ingredient that still manages to maintain all its natural identity. The recipe seems to be assimilated to some extent from the practices of what certain Italian chefs–Carlo Cracco, Massimiliano Alajmo, Paolo Lopriore, etc. –do with risottos. On top of the sapid and tactile purity of the rice there is an array of unmistakable flavors, of unquestionable character. The powerful confrontation of the smoke, personified by the eel, and the acidity, represented by a few fresh cherries, awakes even the most dormant of gourmet minds. And therein lay the magic: that he accomplishes this without detracting from the subject. If the demonstrative marriage of the eel and cherries weren’t enough, an intense perfume of rosemary appears and, for a touch of tranquility, a few traditional pieces of squid, conceived, of course, by the contemporary mind of one of the most important culinary artists on earth: Quique Dacosta.
Without a shred of doubt, this is the finest rice dish produced by Spanish haute cuisine.



La Ricetta



Jellied Senia rice in a stock of fresh and smoked eels with rosemary infusion and Vall d’Ebro cherry balls
Ingredients

For the smoked eel rice stock:

  • 6 cloves purple garlic, unpeeled.
  • 900 g spring onions.
  • 500 g carrots.
  • 500 g leeks, white part only.
  • 600 g aloe vera (no aloin).
  • 6 g Totrry.
  • 4 kg fresh eels, cleaned, drained and cut into pieces.
  • 4 kg fresh eels, hand-smoked.
  • 2 kg dried chickpeas.
  • 40 l mineral water.
  • Salt
  • Black peppercorns.
  • 2 bunches of wild rosemary from Montgó.

ROSEMARY OLIVE OIL:

  • 2 l virgin olive oil, mildly flavored.
  • 1 l grapeseed oil.
  • 300 g wild rosemary from Montgó.

FOR THE TENDER ONION “NOISETTE”:

  • 2 kg browned butter.
  • 2 kg tender, spring onions, finely and evenly chopped.

SQUID:

  • 1 fresh Mediterranean squid weighing approximately 500 g.

PREPARATION OF THE RICE:
1st PHASE OF RICE PREPARATION:

  • 60 g onions “noisette”.
  • 250 g Senia rice.
  • 600 g smoked eel stock.
  • 10 g smoked eel oil.

Final preparation for two servings:

  • 10 g smoked eel oil (in two parts).
  • 30 g fresh squid, chopped.
  • 80 g precooked rice in its stock.
  • 60 g precooking stock.

IN ADDITION:

  • 3 half cherries at room temperature over the plated rice.
  • Fresh carmine petals.

FOR THE CHERRY BALLS

  • 1 kg picota cherry pulp
  • 30 g sugar.
  • 12 g powdered aloe.
  • Rosemary olive oil.

 

Method

For the smoked eel rice stock:
Preparation:

Fry the smoked, chopped eel in abundant oil. Once browned, remove and drain well on absorbent paper. Repeat the procedure with the fresh eel in the same oil.
Once the eel is removed, follow by browning the vegetables. Start with the whole garlic cloves, followed by the rest of the vegetables and, once they are browned, add the pepper, the previously soaked chickpeas and return the chopped eel to the oil as well. Cover with mineral water. Bring to a boil, skim and maintain over a low heat, without boiling, for six hours. At that point add the rosemary so that it infuses properly. Leave to set for six more hours before straining. Adjust the salt if necessary.

ROSEMARY OLIVE OIL:
Preparation:

Place the ingredients in a sous-vide bag and cook at 80ºC for one hour. Follow by setting aside the sous-vide bag for an additional six hours to fully take on the fragrance of the rosemary and become a natural essence oil.

FOR THE CHERRY BALLS
Preparation:

Leave the cherry pulp to set. Pass through a sieve. Place the remnants that are left in the sieve (pulp, skin…) into a container and add 500 g of mineral water. Leave to infuse at room temperature and after two hours pass through a sieve.
Through this process we will obtain 1 liter of smooth, clear cherry pulp. Of this pulp, separate out 500 g to mix with the sugar and powdered aloe then follow by bringing to a gentle boil. Remove from heat, cool slightly and mix with the remaining 500 g of cherry juice.
While still warm and before it sets, move to a syringe, which will ease the process of making drops for the balls, over a cold bath of rosemary infused olive oil.
Leave the balls to cool and set in the cold oil bath for around 12 minutes.
Remove and place in an airtight container to have them ready at room temperature at service time.

FOR THE TENDER ONION “NOISETTE”:
Preparation:

Place the butter in a pot large enough so that the onions are spread out and cook evenly.
Once hot, add the chopped onion and, very gently, cook it in such a way so that after three hours it is tender, buttery and has a uniformly toasted color, almost as if it were pork fat.
Once cooked and while still hot, pass the mixture through a colander so that all the browned butter is drained, leaving none of the fat on the onion. This way, we impart a special flavor on the onion, but without the heavy butterfat from what will be a truly refreshing, summery Mediterranean rice dish.

SQUID:
Preparation:

Once fully cleaned, chop the squid into uniform, small cubes.
Set aside until frying the other ingredients for the rice. Do not fry the rice! Only fry the rest of the ingredients to avoid the impermeability of the grain, which, in this way, will more easily absorb the flavor if we fry it in fat, in which case, as we already know, it will form an external layer and an internal reaction that diminishes the natural properties of the rice to a great extent.

PREPARATION OF THE RICE:
1st PHASE OF RICE PREPARATION:

Sauté the “noisette” onions in the oil. Add the rice, mix well with the onion and cover with the previously heated stock. On very high heat, bring to a boil then lower the heat. After 8 minutes of boiling, stop the cooking of the rice, straining the mixture, cooling the rice and setting the stock aside for the second part of the preparation process that the grain requires.

2nd PHASE OF RICE PREPARATION:

In the second part of the preparation, we proceed to what will be the final cooking, with regard to the quantity of guests to be served. We must keep in mind that this rice is flavorfully very complex and, due to its natural structure, should be served in small portions. The magic is conveyed better when ‘less is more’. For this, approximate some 60 g of finished rice per guest.
Final preparation for two servings:
With 5 g smoked eel oil, fry the chopped squid. Add the stock and, when it starts to boil, add the rice. The rice only needs 4 minutes to be perfectly cooked, with a pleasant tenderness on the palate. Do not make the mistake of mislabeling a rice as “al dente” for its organoleptic properties.
During these final 4 minutes of cooking, stir the rice continually to facilitate the expulsion of soluble solids, thereby helping to produce the natural emulsion of the juices and of the rice husk. At this last moment, add 5 g of the smoked eel olive oil to finish the emulsion and consolidate the aromas of the smoked eel which can evaporate through the cooking process.
 



Huevo deCountry egg with beet, liquid herb salad with “cocido vasco” (basque broth) carpaccio and smoked cheese

Huevo de caserio con remolacha a la ensalada líquida de hierbas con carpaccio de
Martín Berasategui
Cuoco: Martín Berasategui
Nazionalita: España
Localita: 20160 Lasarte-Oria (Guipúzcoa)
Indirizzo: Loidi, 4
(+34) 943366471

Martín Berasategui has achieved with this dish two things: one, to stress the importance of the egg in haute cuisine, which has made a comeback in recent years with quite relevant successes; and two, to break with the stereotypical low-temperature recipes, almost always authored by the same chef. What’s more, because egg whites cost practically nothing, especially in gastronomic terms, they have done away with these, since it is not a question of saving money nor stuffing the clients’ bellies. With the intelligence that characterizes him, he maximizes the impact of the yolk – raw, just hot – as it envelops the truly gourmand “cold cut” of pork, impregnated with creaminess in the form of small cheese balls and given vegetal notes with the addition of beet, truffle, sprouts and the liquid salad of aromatic herbs. Very appetizing: succulent yet boasting a certain amount of freshness.



La Ricetta



Ingredients

carpaccio of “cocido vasco” (basque broth)

  • Beet discs
  • Smoked Idiazabal cheese balls
  • Country egg yolks
  • Liquid salad of herbs
  • 3 sprouts of arugula, 2 of red turnip

Cream of “cocido vasco”

  • 200 g fresh cream
  • 450 g “cocido vasco” stock, reduced to a third
  • “Cocido vasco” stock
  • Garlic, cabbage, carrot, leek, chickpeas, oxtail, pork jowls, water and salt.

Fresh herb puree

  • 100 g parsley leaves
  • 80 g chervil leaves
  • 50 g whole chives

Coldcut of “cocido vasco”

  • Truffle puree
  • 450 g truffle fragments
  • 30 g olive oil
  • 450 g mineral water

Ingredients to finish the puree

  • 400 g of the truffle puree base
  • 500 g truffle juice
  • 400 g white truffle oil
  • 150 g butter

Method
For the discs:

Take the boiled beet and split down the middle, then slice using a meat slicer to 0.5-1 cm.

For the Idiazabal cheese balls:

Cut into balls 1/2 cm thick.

For the yolks:

Separate the whites from the yolks and place in a small shot glass covered with sunflower oil, to be drained at assembly time.

For the salad:

Portions: 4 soup spoon of “cocido Vasco” cream + 1 dessertspoon of herb puree

For the cream:

Reduce the cream very slowly with the stock until obtaining the desired consistency and flavor.

For the stock:
Cook all the ingredients in water over very low heat for six hours.

For the fresh herb puree:

After separating the leaves, rinse with cold water to clean. Place in a saucepan with an abundant amount of water and heat. When it starts to boil, add salt and baking soda. Once at a rolling boil, add the well-drained herbs. Stir well, return to a boil and move to a plastic container. Place in a Thermomix with just 10 soup spoon after straining and blend for 3 minutes on high speed. Remove and strain for a smooth, refined puree.

For the cold cut:

Remove the nerves and fat from the meats and press into a square shape.
Cool while applying a light amount of pressure to get rid of any excess liquid.
Once cool, slice thinly with a meat slicer in square shapes, 7 cm per side.

Preparation

Sweat the truffle fragments in oil over low heat, cover with water and continue to cook covered in a Teflon pan for 20 minutes. Move to a Thermomix for 3 minutes on the highest speed until obtaining a very fine puree.

To finish the puree

Cook the butter over low heat until obtaining a light beurre noisette. Add the puree base and cook over high heat for 20 seconds. Cover with the truffle juices away from heat, add the oil, blend in a food processor and salt to taste. Ready to serve.

Plate finishing

Upon order, using the appropriate dish, place the previously warmed beet disc at the center.
Top with the egg, strained of its oil, with a dash of salt and pepper. Surround with 6 small balls of smoked Idiazabal.
Using a soup spoon, drizzle the liquid salad of herbs over the egg.
Lastly, place the cold cut of “cocido vasco”, 5 points of truffle puree and the corresponding sprouts (3 of arugula and 2 of red turnip).
 



The essential oyster

La Ostra Esencial
Quique Dacosta Restaurante
Cuoco: Quique Dacosta
Nazionalita: España
Localita: 03700 Dénia
Indirizzo: Las Marinas, km. 3
(+34) 965784179

Without quite reaching the artistic magnitude of his Guggenheim oyster, the “Essential oyster” confirms Quique Dacosta’s grandeur when it comes to preparing this sublime shellfish. It also confirms his architectural inspiration, with glimmering tones reminiscent of the first recipe – a personal tendency that sets the savoir-faire of this brilliant chef apart. On this occasion, the exterior embellishment shines with a mother-of-pearl tonality (he uses the nacre from the oyster shell itself in a complex preparation process), giving light and color to the gelatinized seawater that envelops the piece. An oceanic jelly of wakame reinforces the flavor of the oyster, giving it further identity with a julienne of the same seaweed; both are served as beds on which the oyster is presented. A smoked tea of wakame adds a sophisticated touch to the sapid essence of the dish, profoundly marine and sublimely delicate.



La Ricetta



Ingredients
For the Oyster:

  • 130 g of oyster water
  • 70 g mineral water
  • 2 gelatin sheets, 2 g each
  • 1g vegetable gelatin

For the codium tomentosum jelly (Seaweed):

  • 200 g codium tomentosum (velvet horn)
  • 50 g mineral water
  • 2 g aloe vera

For the wakame:

Fresh wakame.



Red Denia prawn

Gamba rosa de Denia
Quique Dacosta, Restaurante
Cuoco: Quique Dacosta
Nazionalita: España
Localita: 03700 Dénia (Alicante)
Indirizzo: Las Marinas, km. 3
(+34) 965784179

Denia is the world capital of the red prawn and Quique Dacosta is the supreme exponent of the local gastronomy, not to mention one of the finest chefs in the world. The absolute best product is purchased for his restaurant and he knows how to prepare it with the culture and science of one who has developed some of the most avant-garde culinary concepts and techniques. In this dish, we find an accumulation of all these factors: a unique delicacy, wisdom accumulated over generations, a reinterpretation of its doneness–bordering on almost raw–with insightful complements in the sauce and flowers that add color, aroma and flavor to the majesty of the shellfish without altering its natural idiosyncrasy in the slightest. The head, protected by the shell, is concentrated with the finest iodized flavors, while the meaty tail expresses the sweet beauty and juices of the prawn itself along with the flower petals that aromatize within the essence of the dish.



La Ricetta



Ingredients
Prawn and crustacean stock:

  • 2 kg mantis shrimp
  • 3 kg prawn heads
  • 2 kg lobster heads
  • 1.5 kg scarlet prawn heads
  • 20 l mineral water

For the prawn stock infused with rose petals.

  • 1 l prawn and crustacean stock
  • 250 g wild roses. (different varieties)
  • 25 g distilled rose water
  • 3 g mallow rose

For the prawn.

  • 280 g red Denia prawns (4 prawns per plate)
  • Himalaya glass salt
  • Mild olive oil
  • Wooden skewers

Texturized rose water:

  • 200 g rose water
  • Himalayan glass salt
  • Confectioner’s sugar
  • 0.5 g xanthan gum
  • Rose petals

Also have on hand:

Hatsina leaves (aniseed-flavored touch)
Soaked green unsprouted soy seeds

 

Method
Prawn and crustacean stock:

Cut the scarlet prawns and lobsters in half.
Place the prawn heads and the whole mantis shrimp in a pot and add the other sliced shellfish heads.
Cover with water and, over a very low flame, cook for 3 hours.
Skim the stock throughout the entire process.
Though it may only be barely perceptibly boiling, the evaporation of water will concentrate the flavor.
After three hours, leave to sit for another six hours.
Strain, pass through a sieve and set aside the quantity necessary for the service.

For the prawn stock infused with rose petals.

Warm the stock to 45ºC and infuse with the different wild rose petals. Salt to taste mildly, add the mallow rose and leave to sit for 4 minutes.
Strain and add the distilled rose water when adding the liter of stock, without exceeding 45ºC.

For the prawn.

Remove the shell from the tail, taking care to not remove and head meat in the process.
Remove the intestine and the head of the tail using the point of a wooden skewer and carefully pierce with this wooden skewer, approximately 20 cm long and as thin as possible.
Brush with mild olive oil and salt to taste.
Sear on the grill on all sides, but only the head, not the tail, and move to a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 2 minutes at 80ºC with 12% humidity.
Remove and brush with the oil and remaining juices, remove the skewer (which helps prevent the tail from shrinking with the heat), and arrange on the plate.

Texturized rose water:

Mix using a turmix and set aside in a pulverizer

Rose petals:

Choose the most fresh and tender wild rose petals found around the Montgó region. It is important that they be in the budding stage, rather than fully opened flowers, which would be too fibrous.
Once clean and cut with a fine knife tip, sprinkle with texturized rose water.
Arrange over the extension of the warm prawn.
 



Country egg with grilled octopus

Huevo de Caserío con Pulpo a la Brasa
Andra Mari
Cuoco: Andoni Arrieta
Nazionalita: España
Localita: 48960 Galdakao (Vizcaya)
Indirizzo: B. Elexalde, 22
(+34) 944560005

Traditional flavors expressed in with contemporary airs. Delighting in the flavors using haute cuisine criteria and innovative techniques. The results change without altering the historic, traditional sentiment. Tender, meaty, beautiful octopus with a lightly smoked flavor, far better than its boiled version, with regard to flavor and texture. The Galician identity reforms and adapts itself to the Basque country, inspiring a pepper and potato cream. The ñora pepper and charcoal oils confirm the traditional, singularly gastronomic aspect of the dish. The chard puree with potatoes and egg, cooked at low temperature, coincide with popular, ancient and indulgent spirit – character that is refined and staged with a gourmet attitude, producing a symbiosis that is beyond time and personal whim.



La Ricetta



Ingredients
Octopus:

  • 1 octopus, weighing 4 kg

Country eggs:

  • choose eggs of approximately the same size
  • 1 egg per person

Chard and potatoes:

  • 3 large potatoes
  • 1 kg chard
  • olive oil

Potatoes and peppers:

  • 3 large potatoes
  • 6 meaty ñora peppers
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1l vegetable-meat stock

Ñora pepper oil:



Dwarf peas, egg yolk with onion and vanilla

Guisantes lagrima a la parrilla con una yema de huevo encebollada y vainilla
Nerua
Cuoco: Josean Alija
Nazionalita: España
Localita: 48001 Bilbao(Vizcaya)
Indirizzo: Abandoibarra Etorbidea, 2
(+34) 944239333

This is undoubtedly the most original dish of peas that we have discovered in all of our lives. First, it stands apart for the sublime quality of the raw material. Small pieces are selected, one by one – the dwarf peas having an unequalled exquisiteness to them. The remarkably fresh peas from the Basque country we use maintain all their natural identity, with a vegetal, herbaceous and refreshing flavor… conveying all their luscious green qualities. They are practically raw –raw and hot–, simply impregnated with a touch of smoke, adding rustic notes to the nature of the vegetable. Since they are served almost raw, the floury texture is minimized: al dente, bursting, releasing a sensation as if they were hollow. The sweet, aromatic dressing, a substantial mixture of egg yolks, slow-cooked onion juices and vanilla, adds an artistic plus to the dish. The sweetness subtly reinforces the nuanced honey-like characteristic of this beautiful delicacy, giving the impression that you are eating a “green risotto bursting with creaminess” (metaphors notwithstanding).



La Ricetta



Ingredients
For the onion broth

  • 3500 g red onion
  • A pinch of fine salt
  • A pinch of sugar

For the egg yolk with onion and vanilla

  • 400 g boiled egg yolks (very important to free them completely free of the whites).
  • 100 g of red onion broth, seasoned.
  • 2 g vanilla beans

Method
PEAS:

Select the smallest peas available, preferably dwarf peas or, in their absence, medium sized ones.



Check Salad

Check Salad
Combal.Zero
Cuoco: Davide Scabin
Nazionalita: Italia
Localita: Rivoli
Indirizzo: Piazza Mafalda di Savoia. En el Castillo de Rivoli
(+39) 0119565225

A new period has arrived in the triumphant era that Davide Scabin initiated, which will put him on the podium of honor in European cuisine. Curiously, contrary to the radical denaturalization he practiced in the past, today his brilliance has a sharp definition to it: Gastronomic Ecology. Two stunning examples serve as testimony to the essentiality and immaculate nature of the creations. The first, eggplant tataki, moved Martín Berasategui to say: “it is the best eggplant I have ever eaten in my entire life”… and in mine, his… anyone’s. The second is the daring and clairvoyant “check salad”, offering a new and groundbreaking idea on salads. It is a revolution of concept rather than technique, of pure flavors from the garden rather than sapid lucubrations on the part of the chef. It is about using talent to exalt the natural gifts of the earth to their highest point. The guest ruminates over the dish… intelligently tasting distinct products, independent of each other; it is not mixed together, nor should it be, only simply dressed with a solution of sea salt in water, which is sprayed in honor of the intrinsic quality of the ingredients. Nuts are arranged with the same objective and in accordance with the green philosophy that makes this dish so spectacular. Sometimes a little truffle is included; at other times a miniscule spoonful of caviar accompanies the dish. Chopsticks are presented to pick up each ingredient separately and a psychedelic spoon is served to give a little more grandiloquence to the grandeur.
Michel Bras’ gargouillou, Martín Berasategui’s warm salad of raw vegetables with lobster, cockles, razor clams, iodized juices and lettuce cream and this “check salad” are the greatest exponents of vegetable cuisine in recent decades; no more, no less.



La Ricetta



Ingredients

  • 1.- Norcia black truffle
  • 2.- Baby bok choy
  • 3.- Mustard sprouts
  • 4.- Sesame oil
  • 5.- Calvisius caviar
  • 6.- Rosemary
  • 7.- Radicchio trevisano
  • 8.- Daikon shoots
  • 9.- Belgian endive
  • 10.- Purple sakura buds
  • 11.- Pine nuts
  • 12.- Provence vinegar
  • 13.- Thyme
  • 14.- Mustard
  • 15.- Tuscan olive oil
  • 16.- Lettuce
  • 17.- Chives
  • 18.- Sweet almond
  • 19.- Ligurian olive oil
  • 20.- Marjoram
  • 21.- Garlic sprouts
  • 22.- Ficoide glacial
  • 23.- Lamb’s lettuce
  • 24.- Red basil
  • 25.- Tomato seeds


Oysters with aloe vera, fennel-pineapple cloud and ice-blended anise and lime

Oysters with aloe vera, fennel-pineapple cloud and ice-blended anise and lime
Rodero
Cuoco: Koldo Rodero
Nazionalita: España
Localita: 31002 Pamplona (Navarra)
Indirizzo: Arrieta, 3
(+34) 948211217

Inspired by an older recipe, Koldo Rodero shows the methodical evolution of his work with this dish, demonstrating a more solid intellectual approach in which he pursues perfection and resolution; convincing, persuasive, satisfying the diner more than trying to impress posing gourmets with little understanding. A testimony to serene art and the idealistic spirit that has always distinguished the chef, but now he has tempered these elements of himself with sensibility and pragmatism. And thus, from the original recipe of oyster with ice-blended lime and anise over fennel puree crowned with soy caramel, we pass to this so-called “minimalist” recipe... The first thing that comes to your attention is the quality of the oysters – truly meaty – which release oceanic waves that break against the palate as you bite into them. The oysters are scrupulously cleaned of the membrane that surrounds them, then placed over an aloe vera brunoise that adds a delightful complement of texture. Nevertheless, the dish achieves real brilliance in its counterpoints of flavor – natural, fresh, exotic – as well as the exciting, nuanced sweet and sour richness brought to the creation by the fennel and pineapple cloud, and the ice-blended anise and lime.



La Ricetta



Ingredients
Ingredients for 4 servings:

  • 4 oysters
  • 200 g fennel-pineapple air
  • 60 g iced-blended anis-lime
  • 100 g aloe vera pulp

Fennel-pineapple air

  • 1 fennel bulb
  • 2 sprigs of dill
  • 100g ripe, clean pineapple
  • 2 g soy lecithin

Iced-blended anis-lime

  • 300 g water
  • 200 g anis
  • 100 g sugar
  • Juice and zest of 2 lemons
  • Juice and zest of 2 limes


“Cloud” of Iranian oscetra caviar

“Cloud” of Iranian oscetra caviar
Da Vittorio
Cuoco: Enrico y Roberto Cerea
Nazionalita: Italia
Localita: 24060 Brusaporto
Indirizzo: Via Cantalupa
(+39) 035681024

A stellar reinterpretation of timeless flavors: the “cloud” of Iranian oscetra caviar. An ethereal potato foam encircled by an exquisite milk skin. It is served over sour cream and provides a bed for the majestic sturgeon roe. The textures and forms change, but the flavors are preserved, captured with an astonishing refinement. Sublime. Perfection made reality.



La Ricetta



Ingredients
For the sour cream:

  • 50 g packaged sour cream
  • Chives
  • Milk
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper

Season the sour cream with salt, pepper and chives. Lighten the mixture by adding a small amount of milk, to taste.