Apple and Cheddar Stock
230 grams onion
480 grams aged
cheddar
900 grams apple
cider
Slice the onions
3 centimeters thick. Dice the cheddar into 5 centimeter chunks. Combine the
onions, cheddar and cider in a 6-quart pressure cooker. Cook on high pressure
for 15 minutes. Allow the pressure to naturally dissipate. Alternatively
combine the onions, cheddar and cider in a large heavy bottomed pot. Bring the
ingredients to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally for one hour. Remove from
heat, cover and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain the finished stock through a
fine mesh strainer lined with damp cheesecloth. Discard the solids. Reserve
until needed.
Apple and Cheddar Soup
Strained Apple
and Cheddar Stock
650 grams peeled
apple
Place the peeled
apples and the apple and cheddar stock in a 6-quart pressure cooker. Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes
and then let the pressure dissipate naturally. Alternatively combine the stock and apples in a large heavy
bottomed pot and bring to as simmer and cook until the apples are tender. Puree the cooked apple and stock
mixture in a blender until it is completely smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, cool and
reserve.
Cheddar Milk
500 grams milk
250 grams aged cheddar cheese
Place the milk
and the cheddar cheese into a heavy bottomed pot. Bring to a simmer and cook for five minutes to melt the
cheese. When the cheese has broken
down, turn off the heat and cover the pot. Let the mixture steep for twenty minutes and then strain the
mixture through a cheesecloth lined strainer. Let the contents drip through the cheesecloth. Press gently on the solids to allow the
moisture to be extracted from the solids.
When the liquid is strained discard the solids and reserve the cheddar
milk.
Cheddar Tofu
385 grams
cheddar milk
260 grams firm
tofu
1.5 grams fine
sea salt
1.3 grams high
acyl Gellan (0.2%)
1.3 grams low
acyl Gellan (0.2%)
1 Pyrex dish
22.5 x 22.5 centimeters.
Place the
cheddar milk, tofu and sea salt in the blender. Puree the mixture until it silky smooth. With the blender still running,
sprinkle both Gellans into the vortex to evenly disperse the hydrocolloids in
the mixture. Once the Gellans are
dispersed pour the mixture into a heavy bottomed pot. Turn the heat on medium and stir the mixture as it
heats. Continuous stirring
prevents the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pot and allows it to
heat evenly. Warm the Pyrex dish
in a 95°C oven. The warming of the
dish will prevent the hot cheddar mixture from seizing when it is poured from
pot to dish. Continue to stir and
cook the mixture until it reaches 90°C.
When the mixture has reached this temperature the Gellan will be fully
hydrated. Quickly transfer the
mixture from the pot into the warmed Pyrex dish. Pour the liquid as quickly as you are able to without
splashing, keeping the flow as smooth and even as possible because the Gellan
in the mixture sets rapidly once it is removed from the heat. Cool the cheddar tofu in the dish. When the tofu is cold, remove it from
the pan and trim off any rounded edges.
Cut the tofu into 1.5cm cubes and reserve on a tray in the refrigerator.
Spicy Pickled Apples
110 grams onion
18 grams garlic
5 grams jalapeño
pepper
10 grams
Espelette pepper puree
50 grams apple
cider
2 grams fine sea
salt
25 grams lime
juice
3 Granny Smith
apples
Place the first
seven ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine
meshed conical strainer. Peel the apples and cut the rounded edge off the
apples. Place the apples on a
cutting board with the stem side up. Cut a slice 1cm thick off the left and
right sides of each apple. These
slices will be larger planks. Cut slices 1cm thick off the top and bottom sides
of each apple to create two smaller planks. Cut these planks into 1cm cubes of
apple. Place the diced apple in a
vacuum bag. Compress the fruit and seal with a vacuum sealer on high pressure.
The compression will transform the apples from opaque to translucent. The
compression and its effect on the fruit will take a few minutes after the apple
comes out of the machine. Let them rest in the bag for 5-10 minutes. Once the
apples appear translucent, open the bag transfer them to a fresh bag and add
the pickling liquid. Seal the new
bag on high pressure. Refrigerate the mixture for two hours. Once the apples
have marinated, remove them from the bag, strain off the pickling mixture.
Place the apples in small bowl, cover them, and reserve them in the
refrigerator until needed.
To Assemble
Apple and Cheddar Soup
Cheddar Tofu
Spicy Pickled Apples
Sliced Chives
In a pot over
medium heat, bring the apple and cheddar soup to a simmer. Place the spicy
pickled apples in small pan and warm gently. The juices from the apples will
keep them moist. Place the cheddar tofu in a large pan with 20 grams of water
and cover with a lid. Heat the tofu on medium heat so that it steams gently and
becomes heated through. When the soup is hot, use an immersion blender or a
stand blender to puree it and make sure it is smooth and homogenous. In each
soup bowl arrange eight cubes of pickled apple and eight cubes of cheddar tofu
in a pile on the left hand side of the bowl. Alternate the pieces of apple and
tofu to build the pile of cubes. When the cheddar and tofu are in place,
sprinkle them with chives and pour the hot soup around the pile of cheddar tofu
and spicy pickled apples. Serve immediately.
