Garden Bed - Young Vegetables, Jamon, Foraged Herbs and Flowers

Dylan C.

Dylan C.

3rd December 2012
Dylan C.

Garden Bed - Young Vegetables, Jamon, Foraged Herbs and Flowers

Inspired by the Spring Garden. Served with Flowers and Herbs foraged from my local area and Spanish Jamon Iberico. Lemon Puree for tartness and the Jamon Crumble to imitate soil. (All Temperatures Are In Degrees Celcius. 

Ingredients

  • Lemon Puree
  • Rind from four lemons
  • Juice from ¼ lemon
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Fennel Puree
  • ½ large bulb fennel, trimmed and cored
  • 50g butter, diced
  • 125ml water
  • Olive oil
  • Xantham gum
  • Pinch salt
  • Jamón Soil
  • 100g slices Jamón or prosciutto
  • 50g toasted bread crumbs
  • Jamón Consommé
  • 200g Jamón Ibérico, diced
  • 20g carrot, diced
  • 20g brown onion, diced
  • 20g celery, diced
  • 4g garlic
  • 2 white peppercorns
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • ½ bay leaf
  • 800ml chicken stock
  • Salt
  • Shaved Vegetables
  • 3 radishes
  • ¼ bulb fennel
  • Blanched Vegetables
  • 6 baby orange carrots
  • 6 baby purple carrots
  • 6 red radishes
  • 6 baby turnips
  • 6 baby leeks
  • 6 green asparagus tips
  • 6 baby golden beetroots
  • 6 baby purplette onions
  • 6 finger fennel
  • Roasted Vegetable
  • 6 baby onions
  • 1 white sweet potato
  • Confit of Potato
  • 6 baby potatoes or 1 large potato with balls scooped out
  • 1 cup olive oil, chilled
  • Leaves, Shoots and Flowers
  • 12 wild fennel fronds
  • 1 punnet micro shiso
  • 1 punnet micro mache
  • 12 leaves nasturtiums
  • 12 nasturtium petals
  • 12 violets

Method

Lemon Puree
Place rind into boiling water. Strain and repeat twice. Place zest and juice into blender and puree on high speed adding just enough oil to achieve a smooth puree. Season and place into a squeeze bottle.
Fennel Puree
Roughly chop fennel. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add fennel and cook for 20-30mins until caramelised and tender. Add small amount of water if fennel begins to stick. Transfer fennel to sieve and push all liquid out of fennel. Puree on high speed, adding just enough oil to achieve a smooth puree. If oil separates add pinch xantham gum. Pass through fine sieve and add salt. Store in a squeeze bottle until needed.
Jamón Soil
Place ham in low oven for 20-25 mins or until dehydrated, then blend to a fine crumble. Combine with fried bread crumbs.
Jamón Consommé
Slowly caramelise Jamón in a large saucepan until the ham begins to fry in its own fat, strain off fat and reserve. In the same pan, gently sweat the carrot, onion, celery and garlic. Colour through and add the peppercorns, thyme and bay. Cook until it begins to fry again. Return the ham to the pan and add 400ml chicken stock, let simmer for 30-60 mins then strain the stock and reserve. Cover the solids with another the rest of the chicken stock and simmer for another 30-60 mins. Strain and discard the solids. Combine the two stocks then, bring to the boil and skim well. Strain through muslin and chill in the refrigerator. Lift any remaining fat from the chilled stock and discard it. Put the stock into a pot. Whisk two eggwhites to soft peaks and fold into the stock. Bring it to a low simmer and let it simmer for 10mins. Strain carefully through muslin. Season to taste. Allow the fat to gelify the consomme.
Shaved Vegetables
Shave vegetables on mandolin and store between damp paper towel until needed.
Blanched Vegetables
Blanch each vegetable in a large pot of boiling salted water, making sure to refresh in iced water. Store in the refrigerator until needed.
Roasted Vegetables
Roast vegetables for 20 mins at 180° or until caramelised. Store in the refrigerator until needed.
Leaves, Shoots and Flowers
Wash leaves, shoots and flowers in cold water and store in the refrigerator.
To Finish and Serve
Warm all components. At the bottom of a large bowl, place a large dot of fennel puree, then a smaller dot of lemon uree on top. Add a small amount of Jamon Consomme gelee then cover with soil. Arrange the vegetables attractively on top then garnish with shaved vegetables and leaves shoots and flowers.

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