Mussels
2700 grams clean
mussels
Pick through the
mussels, removing any of the coarse beards that may be sticking out of the
shells. Place a rondeau or a heavy bottomed pot large enough to hold the
mussels on the stove over medium heat. Add the clean mussels to the dry pot and
occasionally stir from bottom to the top of the pile of shellfish. As the pot
heats the mussel shells will begin to open and they will release their juices.
Once about a third of the shells have opened, stir the pot one more time, cover
it with a tight fitting lid and turn the heat off the heat. Let the mussels
rest, covered for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and separate the mussels from the
liquid. Strain the juices using a fine mesh strainer. Chill the resulting
mussel juice and reserve for later use. Pull the mussels from the shells,
trying to keep them intact. Discard the shells and place the mussels in a small
bowl. Cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
Pear Stock
425 grams pear
175 grams onion
200 grams fennel
100 grams
skinned hazelnuts
20 grams garlic
1000 grams water
Quarter the
pears and remove the cores. Clean and slice the onions and fennel into pieces
3cm thick. Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of a 6-quart pressure
cooker. Cook at high pressure for 25 minutes. Allow the pressure to dissipate naturally. Alternatively
combine the ingredients in a heavy bottomed pot and place over medium heat.
Bring to a simmer and cook for one hour, skimming as needed. Turn off the heat,
cover the stock and let it steep for an additional 30 minutes. Strain the
finished pear stock through a fine mesh strainer. Discard the solids. Chill the
stock and reserve until needed.
Chamomile Infusion
300 grams pear
stock
1.5 grams fine
sea salt
3 bags chamomile
tea
For a vacuum
infusion, combine the pear stock, salt and tea bags in a shallow container.
Place the uncovered container in a chamber vacuum sealer. Turn on the vacuum
sealer and watch the liquid as it rises to the top of the container. When it is
within 5cm of the top, turn off the vacuum sealer. Repeat three times. Remove
from the vacuum chamber and discard the tea bags.
For a cold
infusion, combine pear stock and salt, stirring well to dissolve the salt. Add
the tea bags. Cover the container and let it rest in refrigeration for 24
hours, stirring occasionally. After 24 hours the infusion is finished. Discard
the tea bags.
Chamomile Foam Base
285 grams
chamomile infusion
2.85 grams
Methocel F50
0.375 grams
xanthan gum
Put the
chamomile infusion in the blender. Turn the power onto medium and create a
vortex. Sprinkle in the Methocel
and the xanthan gum. Increase the
power to high to fully disperse and shear the hydrocolloids into the liquid.
Turn the blender off and pour the mixture into a bowl sitting in an ice bath.
Chill the mixture until it reaches 10ºC, the temperature at which Methocel is
fully hydrated. Reserve the
chamomile foam base in the refrigerator.
Candied Hazelnuts with Miso
150 grams
skinned hazelnuts
1255 grams sugar
5 grams instant
miso soup powder
Line a sheet pan
with foil and spray with non-stick pan spray or rub lightly with butter. In a
heavy bottomed pot combine the sugar and the nuts. Place the pot over medium
heat and let it cook undisturbed until the sugar melts around the edges and
begins to form small bubbles. Using a heatproof spoon or spatula, stir the nuts
and sugar until the caramel turns a deep amber. Remove from heat and add the
miso powder, stirring well, Pour the hot caramel nuts carefully onto the
prepared sheet tray. Set aside to let the nuts cool completely. Place the
candied nuts in a zip top bag and use a paillard pounder to shatter the nuts
into a coarse, crumbly texture and store in an airtight container until ready
to use.
Mussel Mosaic
200 grams cooked,
shucked and chilled mussels
2 grams Activa
RM
Place the cooked
mussels in a bowl. Sprinkle the Activa over the mussels and stir them to evenly
coat the mussels with the powder. Divide the mussels between two vacuum bags
and seal on high pressure. Use a meat mallet to flatten the mussels in the bag
to an even 2mm layer. The pounded mussels will resemble a marble mosaic in
appearance. Place the mussel sheets in the refrigerator and refrigerate at
least six hours, or preferably overnight to allow the bond to occur between the
mussels.
After the
mussels have been bonded into a uniform sheet, cut them out of the bag and use
a 7 centimeter round cutter to cut circles of the mosaic. Lay the mussel rounds on a flat tray,
cover them with plastic wrap, and reserve in the refrigerator until needed.
Mussel Soup
400 grams cold
pear stock
400 grams cold
mussel juice
200 grams
cooked, shucked, chilled mussels
Combine all
three ingredients in a blender. Blend until completely smooth. Strain the soup
through a fine mesh strainer, place in a covered container, and reserve in the
refrigerator until needed.
To Assemble
Mussel Soup
Mussel Sheet
Pear Chamomile Foam base
Mussel Sheets
Candied Hazelnuts
Pour the soup in
a heavy bottomed pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring
occasionally. While the soup is
heating, whip the pear chamomile foam base in a standing mixer with a whisk
attachment until it forms soft to medium peaks. Place the mussel sheets n a
sheet tray, brush them with a thin layer of mussel soup and place them in a
95ºC oven to just warm through. When they are warm, place a mussel circle in
the center of each soup bowl. Sprinkle the equivalent of 8 broken candied
hazelnuts on the right hand side of the mussel mosaic. Top the hazelnuts with a
spoonful of whipped chamomile. Once the soup is hot, place it in a heatproof
pitcher. Serve the soup bowls with the mosaic, hazelnuts and whipped chamomile.
Pour the soup into the bowls tableside, in front of the diners.
