Curds and Whey

I have wanted to serve curds and whey together as a dish for some time.  These two basic elements of cheese making have  inspired an aesthetic which until today I had yet to execute.  I took some time this morning to clear my head in the 7 degree air, crunching through the remnants of snow on the ground while watching our dogs truly enjoy life.

The walk must have done something, or at least just gotten my thoughts on a new path.  The cheddar dashi I made the other day was delicious, and the dish we first assembled was tasty but it did not do justice to the broth.  When I returned to the kitchen after the morning walk I was handed a pale green puree.  Aki, frugal as always had made a broccoli stem puree.  Now the ball was in my court, make it work.

Well, the leap from broccoli to cheese was not difficult nor was it long in the making.  With the combination in my mind, I began to think about floating broccoli stem gnocchi in the cheddar dashi.  As I began assembling the gnocchi my thoughts of curds and whey popped into my head.  Bingo!  So, I made warm broccoli curds instead of gnocchi and poured the cheddar dashi at the table.  Dots of cheddar oil punctuate the dashi and the silky broccoli curds round out the dish.