- 4 Menai oysters
- For tempura:
- 140g Flour
- 40g Cornflour
- 12g Baking powder
- 2 Eggs
- For cauliflower puree:
- 1 Cauliflower head
- 400ml Whole milk
- 150ml Double cream
- 100g Butter
- 3 Baby leek
- Samphire
- Wild Horseradish root
- Cucumber, 4mm dice
- Starflower (Borage) microherb
- For emulsion:
- 100g Butter
- 50g Water
Menai Oysters, Claremount Farm Cauliflower, Charred Baby Leeks
Menai Oysters, Claremount Farm Cauliflower, Charred Baby Leeks
Starter prepared by Ben Costello in the Cheshire Heat of the North West Young Chef Competition 2014
Ingredients
Method
For cauliflower puree:
Cook 600g of diced cauliflower florets in butter for 3-4 minutes until soft.
Season, add milk, followed by cream and cook out for further 4 minutes.
Pass, retaining cooking liquor and puree until smooth adding the liquor as required.
Return to pan, season and blend in remaining butter. Cook for 2-3 minutes stirring continuously, pass again.
For Oysters:
Make tempura batter by mixing dry ingredients with 2 eggs and enough water to combine.
Pop oysters retaining as much liquid as possible, strain and wash thoroughly.
Store in liquor.
For Horseradish Foam:
Reduce stock by 2/3rd. Add cream and grated horseradish root.
Soak lecithin in 15ml water. Add to cream mix with milk and season.
Heat to 85°c and pass. Aerate with bamix and taste for seasoning – adjust with ,lemon juice, salt and pepper.
For Baby Leeks:
Blanch leeks in salted water till tender. Refresh in iced water.
For Cauliflower Slices:
Slice florets into 0.5mm slices.
Blanch in boiling water until tender and almost cooked through, refresh in iced water.
Finish cooking in water/butter emulsion.
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