(This is Post 3 in a four-part series, Valentine's Day Dinner)
For the salad course, I wanted to do something original. But how? I mean, how can you make a bunch of leaves on a plate original? So, I reversed it. The croutons became the leaves and the leaves became croutons, with a little help from some Gellan gum in my molecular gastonomy kit.
Reverse Salad with Manchego Tuile
1 cup mixed greens
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon Gellan gum
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
Garlic powder to taste
Smoked paprika to taste
1/2 cup Manchego cheese, finely grated
Black pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Puree mixed greens in a food processor until they are a watery consistency and salt to taste. Pour into a small saucepan and whisk in the Gellan gum. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Pour into a shallow, wide container and refrigerate for 3 hours. Slice into squares.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Slice puff pastry into leaf-like shapes and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle with garlic powder and smoked paprika. Bake for 15 minutes or until light golden brown.
Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle Manchego cheese into 6-8 similar-sized clumps. Sprinkle with black pepper and place in the oven with the door slightly ajar. Immediately turn the heat off. Remove tuiles after 7-10 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, egg yolk, red wine vinegar and mustard.Pour into a squeeze bottle.
To assemble, divide puff pastry leaves out to 4-6 salad plates. Carefully arrange the croutons made of greens onto the leaves. Squirt dots of dressing onto the croutons, then wedge the cheese tuiles into the leaves. Serves 4-6.
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