Food Studio

Menu – 15.02.2014

Roasted and spiced nuts
Potato pintxos
Asian surprise salad of seasonal greens, tangerines, szehuan peppers and tofu
Skrei with a creamy sauce of dehydrated leeks
Blood orange galette with crème anglaise

Roasted and spiced nuts

Roast the desired amount of mixed nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, almonds, macadamias and so on) in a hot and dry frying pan. No oil is needed, as the nuts naturally contain oils that will get released by the heat. When they are neatly browned and crunchy, put them in a bowl and sprinkle with curry powder, sumac and sea salt to taste.

Potato Pintxos

• One big potato
• Pinch of Sumac
• Salt
• Vegetable oil
• Parsley
• Kitchen string
• Thick wooden sticks (for snacks)

With the help of a mandolin, thinly slice the potato until it is all done. Afterwards, between each layer sprinkle with sumac and a bit of salt. Put the layers back into its original position. Subsequently, cut into squares and tight each pintxo with the string.

Deep fry for about 2 minutes at 175 Celsius. Place it on a tray with absorbent paper. Later, remove the strings and place the squares at the oven for five minutes at 200 Celsius or until the outer layers are crunchy.

Finally, garnish with finely chopped parsley and spike with the wooden stick.

Asian salad of seasonal kale, tofu, tangerines and szehuan peppers

• Seasonal kale; green kale, brussel sprouts, cabbage, savoy
• A block of tofu
• Tangerines, in boats, skinned
• Szehuan peppers

For various texture, grill the brussel sprouts, lightly pickle the cabbage, make a chiffonade of savoy cabbage and pick the leaves of the the green kale stem.

Grill the tofu and cube neatly. Combine all of the ingredients, sprinkling with a bit of szehuan peppers for an extra punch.

Spray with a vinaigrette of tangerine juice, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Skrei

• 180 gr of skrei (filet)
• 100 ml of infused liquorice root
• Leeks (green parts)
• Salt
• Vegetable oil
• Leek sauce (Vichyssoise style but with skrei brown stock)
• Vegetables (in season like onions, garlic, carrots, parsnips…)
• Rye bread
• Butter
• Heavy cream
• A lot of egg whites
• Skrei leftovers (bones, head, tail)

In airtight plastic bags, place the skrei and the infused liquorice. Vacuum out the air for a perfect marination in the fridge for around 8 hours.
After the eight hours, place the leeks on a tray. Bake for about 6 hours at 50-60 degrees Celsius (no more). Take them out and pulverize some the leeks (should be like a cracking paper). Preserve a couple to garnish.

In a large pot, sauté the onions, leeks, garlics, and at the end the Jerusalem arctichokes in some butter. Add a pinch of salt. After 45 minutes on low heat, sift it. Remove from heat. Let it cool down a bit and add heavy cream until a light green color is achieved.

Bake the bones, head, tail and fins of the skrei until brown and crunchy. In a big pot, combine a pint of oil, onions, leeks and carrots (mirepoix cut). Sauté until browned. Add the skrei and enough cold water until it is covered. Simmer for about 1 to 2 hours (no more, since this can spoil the fish stock). Season with a bouquet garni or a sache d’epices.  Remove from heat, filter with a sieve or and let cool to remove any fats.

Add egg whites and stir. Boil it briefly until the egg whites coagulate. Filter with a finer sieve or a cloth. The fish stock should be golden but clear. Finally, pour the clarified skrei stock to the leek cream until the desired flavour and consistency is achieved. Add salt, pepper, cardamom and nutmeg to taste, being careful with the last two since they are quite powerful.

Finally, add vegetable oil to a frying pan and at a considerably high temperature cook the marinated skrei, skinside down. Fry it for about one or two minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Turn it around for 30 seconds. Coat the skrei in leek powder. The skrei should be flaky but still juicy on the inside.
Serve it with the leek/skrei stock and garnish with dehydrated leaves of leek. Grilled vegetables and fried rye bread crumbs are recommended as a side.

Blood orange galette

• 375 g all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 215 g unsalted butter, cubed, straight out of the fridge
• 125 ml water, ice cold
• 4 blood oranges, peel cut off and oranges sliced into neat rounds
• A handful of sugar to sprikle with
• 1 egg yolk, beaten

Mix in a food processor or by hand until it is slightly crumbly, but possible to form into one big, flat ball. Refridgerate for 30 minutes or even overnight.
Roll out on a floured surface, about 0.5 cm thick. Spread the oranges out on the dough and tuck the sides of it over the outer slices, creating a sort of crust. Brush the crust with some beaten egg yolk and sprinkle the entire cake lightly with sugar.

Bake at 200 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, or until nicely browned and caramelized.

Crème Anglaise

• 150 ml heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean pod, slit in half and seeds scraped
• 4 egg yolks, beaten
• 50 g sugar

Add the cream and vanilla pod to a sauce pan and gentlty bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Let it stand for 10 minutes, allowing the vanilla to infuse the cream.

In a heatproof bowl, preferably made of metal, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar over a saucepan of boiling water. Little by little, add the vanilla cream. Never stop whisking. Continue to do this until the custard thickens, stirring all of the time.

Photos: Asaki Abumi

Text: Alisa Larsen and Diego Virgen