HANOS catering wholesale
Become a customer
Foodxperience
Multi-spherical pesto with tender pistachios and eel — image

Multi-spherical pesto with tender pistachios and eel

This recipe is from chef Eduard Xatruch of restaurant Disfrutar**, Barcelona.

Recipe for 10 people.

Ingredients

200(Parmigiano Reggiano), rind removed
200gWater

40gwhole milk
salt

75gfresh basil
150gmild olive oil

25ggrated Parmesan cheese
6ggarlic
25gtoasted pine nuts
200gfresh basil leaves
100gbasil-infused oil (previous elaboration)
200Water
160gParmesan whey (previous elaboration)

12gxanthan gum
48gcalcium gluconolactate

1lspring water
5gsodium alginate

Pesto base (previous elaboration)
Alginate solution (previous elaboration)

50gvirgin pistachio oil
15gmonoglyceride

10gWater
100gsalt-cured Iberian bacon
25gmild olive oil

80gslab salt-cured Iberian bacon

125gpiece smoked eel

30pistachios

30toasted pine nuts
30basil sprouts
303-mm Parmesan cheese cubes
freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

  • Cut the Parmesan cheese into small pieces and grind it to a fine powder in a blender.
  • Bring the water to the boil, stir in the cheese and leave to steep next to the heat for 40 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
  • Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, transfer to a deep and narrow separate.
  • Remove the fat from the top and reserve for other uses.
  • Set aside the Parmesan whey (lower portion) in the refrigerator.

  • Mix the milk with the cream and bring to the boil.
  • Incorporate the cheese and remove from the heat.
  • Leave to steep for 20 minutes and then filter through muslin.
  • Season with salt and set aside in the refrigerator.

  • Tear the basil into pieces with your hands and add it to the oil.
  • Heat at 60ºC, remove from the heat and set aside at room temperature for 12 hours.
  • Strain and set aside.

  • Combine all the ingredients in a blender, except the xanthan gum and calcium gluconolactate.
  • Blend to a fine cream, strain and season with salt.
  • Add the calcium gluconolactate to 400 g of the mixture, mix and then add the xanthan gum.
  • Process with a hand-held blender until lump-free.
  • Remove the air in a vacuum sealer.
  • Set aside in the refrigerator.

  • Use a syringe to make 4-mm-diameter spheres by injecting the mixture into the alginate solution. Make 20 spheres per person.
  • Drain the pesto spheres from the alginate solution and arrange them in a row in a long, 3-mm wide mould shaped like the cross-section of a cane. This will result in a long and narrow, 'worm-like' strip made up of 20 pesto spheres.
  • Leave to set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  • Then carefully unmould the strip, taking care not to break it, and set aside in the refrigerator.
  • Make 1 multi-spherical strip per person.

  • Dissolve the sodium alginate in the water.
  • Process in a blender until lump-free.
  • Refrigerate for 24 hours.

  • Use a syringe to make 4-mm-diameter spheres by injecting the mixture into the alginate solution. Make 20 spheres per person.
  • Drain the pesto spheres from the alginate solution and arrange them in a row in a long, 3-mm wide mould shaped like the cross-section of a cane. This will result in a long and narrow, 'worm-like' strip made up of 20 pesto spheres.
  • Leave to set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  • Then carefully unmould the strip, taking care not to break it, and set aside in the refrigerator.
  • Make 1 multi-spherical strip per person.

  • Mix 25g of the oil with the monoglyceride.
  • 2. Place over a low heat and stir continuously until the monoglyceride is fully dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the remainder of the oil, stirring continuously.
  • Transfer to an ice bath and gradually incorporate the oil mixture, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and acquires a consistency like that of softened butter.
  • Set aside in the refrigerator.

  • Dice the bacon.
  • Combine the bacon with the water and oil, and cook over a low heat until the water evaporates completely and the bacon has released all its residual water.
  • Strain and set aside in the refrigerator.

  • Use a knife to trim off the rind and excess salt from the surface of the bacon.
  • Cut into 2x1-cm rectangles and freeze.
  • Then cut the frozen bacon into 1-mm-thick slices.
  • Prepare 3 bacon slices per person. Set aside in the refrigerator.

  • Remove the skin and any bones from the eel.
  • Cut three 7-mm eel cubes per person. Set aside in the refrigerator.

  • 30 tender pistachios

  • Arrange the multi-spherical strips in a slight zigzag in the middle of rectangular plates.
  • Warm the Parmesan cream slightly and bacon oil, and heat the plates with the multi-spherical strips under a salamander grill.
  • On each plate, arrange 3 pistachios, 3 pine nuts, 3 Parmesan cubes and 3 eel cubes. Place 1 bacon slice over the eel cube.
  • Drizzle the middle of the plate with a little Parmesan cream and bacon oil.
  • Reheat under the salamander.
  • Finish by seasoning the pistachios with a little thickened pistachio oil, and adding 3 basil sprouts and sprinkling freshly ground pepper over everything.