Under Cover

The arrival of packages, presents, and written mail from a loved one all arrive with a sense of discovery.  What is inside?  What kind of surprise awaits me?  The anticipation is wonderful, it heightens the senses and has the body on edge with excitement.  The sensation of receiving a gift is wonderful and if we could capture that first moment of anticipation which accompanies a positive surprise, then we would be able to heighten the reception of a dish and its ingredients.

One method of stirring anticipation is to hide a dish with a cloche.  Another, which currently has my fancy, is to tuck ingredients under a blanket or sheet of sorts.  With the evolution of our Fruit Glue, we are able to assemble sheets of vegetables which may then be heated and draped on top of other ingredients, gently disguising the bounty beneath.

A recent dish we were quite happy with used a zucchini sheet to cover a hot spring egg.  The diner sees a round of round zucchini slices garnished with basil with something softly bulging underneath.  What lies hidden is a soft, pliable egg resting in a nest of grated cheese scattered with leaves of spicy basil from our garden. As the diner's spoon or fork presses into the dish, the bounty is revealed and the dish comes into its own. It's a simple technique with very pleasing results.