Course 1: Avocado-wrapped ceviche, hot sauce pearls, lime foam, black sesame
(ceviche)
Ingredients:
½ lb red snapper, chopped
½ C lime juice
½ C lemon juice
1 pink grapefruit, cut into supremes
1 shallot, minced
1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
¼ jalapeno pepper, minced
microgreens (garnish)
Chop the red snapper and place into a bowl with lime and lemon juice – cover with plastic wrap and place in the frig until fish has begun to turn white and is no longer raw, about 15 – 20 minutes. Drain fish with sieve and rinse – mix remaining ingredients with fish and season with salt, to taste.
(hot sauce pearls)
Ingredients:
½ C tomato puree
¼ C water
¼ C Tabasco
2 g algin
2.5 g citras
500 g water
2.5 g calcic
Mix citras with ¼ C water until dissolved. Add some of Tabasco and tomato puree to mixture and add algin; blend using immersion blender until mixed. Add the rest of Tabasco and tomato puree to mixture until combined. Place mixture in frig for 45 – 60 mins to allow air bubbles to subside.
Meanwhile, mix calcic into water in small container until disolved, and fill another container with plain water. Using a syringe, suck up tomato mixture and add droplets into water / calcic mixture. The pearls will form immediately and should be left in water for 1 – 2 minutes until desired texture. Remove pearls with slotted spoon and rise in prepared water bath. Dab dry with paper towel.
(lime foam)
250 g lime juice
250 g water
2 g soy lecithin
Add all ingredients into bowl and blend with immersion blender until form forms. Allow to sit on counter for about a minute for foam to stabilize. Scoop foam above liquid.
To plate: Thinly score an avocado with a knife and peel. Use a peeler to make thin strips of avocado and place them overlapping on a piece of plastic wrap – you should use about 8 pieces. Fill avocado strips with ceviche mixture and roll like a sushi roll. Cut ends off excess plastic wrap and place on a plate. Place the pearls on wrapped ceviche, place foam on top of roll, and garnish with black sesame seeds.
Course 2: “Meatballs and Fries” – avocado-stuffed turkey meatballs w grape gastrique, tempura-fried avocado
(Meatballs)
Ingredients:
1.25 lbs ground turkey, lean (93/7)
½ onion, minced
1 C panko breadcrumbs
2 eggs
1 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 avocado (half cubed, half mixed w/meatball)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
S&P, to taste
Mix first five ingredients in large bowl, along with half of an avocado; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Using your hands, form a small patty and place a cube of avocado on top – form patty around avocado until completely covered and set aside – repeat until mixture is gone; it should make about 9-10 meatballs.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly sprinkle the meatballs with flour, to aid in browning. Preheat a skillet with an ovenproof handle over medium-high heat – add the oil to the pan and lightly brown the meatballs, a couple of minutes a side. Remove meatballs from the heat, and fill the bottom of the pan with about a cup of water and cover tightly with foil (the water helps keep the meatballs moist). Place into the preheated oven until cooked through, about 15 – 20 minutes.
(Gastrique)
Ingredients:
2 C seedless red grapes
1 shallot, minced
¼ C champagne vinegar
¼ C organic concord grape juice
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp Dubonnet (rouge), or dry red wine
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
Add all ingredients but butter to a sauce pan and cook over medium heat until grapes are very soft. Remove from heat and place into a blender and puree. Strain sauce with a fine mesh sieve into a saucepan. Taste sauce and add more vinegar or sugar, to taste, so it well-balanced (it should be both sweet and sour). Reduce sauce to almost a syrup, remove from heat and mount with butter, using a whisk.
(Tempura)
Ingredients:
1 C all-purpose flour + ½ C for dredging
1 C seltzer water
1 egg
2 avocados, sliced
1 quart vegetable oil, for frying
Place flour in one bowl, and mix egg and seltzer water in another bowl. Combine and season with salt. Dredge avocado in flour and place in batter. Fry avocado in 375 degree oil for 1 – 2 minutes and place on paper towels or wire rack to drain; season with salt immediately.
Course 3: Avocado cannoli w/chocolate sauce, bacon & avocado ice cream
(Cannoli shells)
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons shortening
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 egg white
1 quart oil for frying, or as needed
Mix first three ingredients in large bowl, and cut in shortening until small pieces. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the rest of the ingredients but the oil, and mix until all the flour is combined (add more water to combine, if needed). Dump contents of bowl onto a flat surface and knead for about ten minutes. Allow the dough to rest in the frig for 1 – 2 hours, covered tightly in foil.
Remove dough from freezer and cut into three pieces. Form dough into a shape that will pass through a pasta machine, at the widest setting. Working on a lightly floured surface (and flour the pasta machine), pass dough through the machine until very thin (second-thinnest setting should be fine). Cut the dough into circles using a cooking cutter (or a glass) and wrap around cannoli rings. Fry the dough on the rings for about 1 – 2 minutes in 375 oil and place on a towel or rack to drain.
(cannoli filling)
Ingredients:
1 (32 ounce) container ricotta cheese
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 avocados, diced
½ tsp citric acid
Mix all ingredients into a large bowl until well combined. The citric acid helps prevent the avocado from browning, and brings out the flavor of the avocado; add more, to taste. Using a spatula, place mixture into a pastry bag and place in frig.
(chocolate sauce)
Ingredients:
2/3 C chocolate
3 Tbsp butter
Place ingredients into a bowl a place into a microwave for about 3 minutes on high until melted; mix.
To plate:
Drizzle chocolate sauce on cannoli shells and allow chocolate to harden for about 5 minutes. Pipe the filling into the shells and serve.
(Bacon & avocado ice cream)
Ingredients:
½ lb bacon, cut in lardoons
3 small avocados
¾ C sugar
1 C non-fat yogurt
½ C heavy cream
1 Tbsp lime juice
Salt
Render the bacon in a pan until crispy; drain on paper towels and reserve fat. Place the remaining ingredients into a blender and puree until mixed; add some of the bacon fat and season with salt, to taste. Add mixture into an ice cream machine and follow the recommended instructions. Add the reserved bacon pieces in the last 15 minutes of the ice cream setting.
