SNAPSHOTS: Corton's Autumn Tasting Menu

 

A glass of acidic white wine from the Loire Valley in France set the mood for a delightful reunion with old friends. On a chilly November evening, we dined at Paul Liebrandt's Corton in Tribeca. 

Daniel and I've eaten here a few times. On each occasion, we leave the dining room feeling satisfied by the food (on our last visit, my friend declared that the monk fish was the best he's ever tasted!) and we've always been delighted by the Chef's creative use of ingredients – seaweed butter, curry powder,  gelatin, and pectin. Posted below are snapshots (courtesy of Daniel) of our last meal at Corton.

 Amuse 1 of 4: Gruyere stuffed crispy "corn nut" topped with smokey paprika.

At Corton, the Chef treats you with a series of amuse bouches.

Amuse (continued... #s 2-4):
FRONT: Soft-boiled quail egg BACK: round potato croquettes and curry flavored buttery cheese crackers

A close up: delicate quail egg

Foie course.

FRONT: Foie torchon

BACK: Chilled foie mousse with poblano pepper gelée; pistachio cracker; lentil soup (not pictured)

 

Close up: Reduced balsamic drizzled on burrata ice cream swimming in lentil soup with pickled red onions. 

In Italian, "burrata" means butter, referring to the cheese's buttery texture; it's created from leftover mozzarella curds.

Squid a la plancha with delicious squid jus 

(We couldn't help ourselves: We all wound up slurping the briny liquid from the bottom of the bowl!)

Pork belly with cranberry beans

Foie gras and truffle croquette, curry powder, fennel fronds.

Tandoori seasoned monk fish (cooked in the salamander!) with cauliflower, romesco florets, and dehydrated broccoli chips.
Our table mate exclaimed, "This is the best fish I ever eaten!"

 Partridge dish served with pork belly, partridge sausage, chips, edible flowers and a mini croquette. Plate is drizzled with coffee-infused chicken jus.

Wagyu beef with trumpet mushroom, cippolini onion

Did you know? Wagyu beef is the American version of Kobe beef. Like Champagne, Kobe beef can only come from a particular region of the world. Wagyu refers to the cow's breed. At most auctions, the best (and most expensive) Wagyu comes from Japan, then American, and finally, Australia.

Close up: potato prepared three ways

(sous vide, puréed, and crisped aka fried)

 Grape pana cotta on top of a chocolate disc sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds, sliced concord grapes, and grape sorbet

Puff pastry with dehydrated pineapples

Red Bell Pepper Gel

Bell Peppers always look so happy at the market. Shiny and radiantly showing off their colors – red, yellow, orange, and green. Grilled with olive oil, sauteed with onions, juiced for vinaigrette dressings, and gelled –Yes, bell pepper gel! – these beauties are so versatile.

It's a great vegetarian condiment that works best with meaty heavy hitters like tacos and burgers. At the restaurant we used it as a garnish for a seared lamb chop dish (described in an earlier post). It'll taste nice swashed on a grilled steak. But, the gel works well with lighter fare too – try dotting it on a tomato and mozzarella salad.

It's also a fun way to sneak in a vegetable, especially when I'm cooking for someone who refuses anything from the produce section.


Red Bell Pepper Gel
6 Bell Peppers, stems and seeds removed
1.25 grams agar agar
salt to taste


What You'll Need:
Blender
Fine mesh strainer
Small pot
Scale
Squeeze bottle

1. Rough chop bell peppers and juice in blender

2. Strain. (Reserve the bell pepper pulp for goat cheese spread – recipe below.)

3. Reduce the juice by half using a low flame burner.

4) Using the scale, measure out 125 grams of juice. Return to heat.

5) Whisk in 1.25 grams agar agar. Bring mixture to boil. Then immediately remove from heat.

6) Refrigerate in a flat dish.

7) Once it completely solidifies, scoop bell pepper mixture into the blender. Add salt to taste. It will turn into a gel.

8) Move into a squeeze bottle. Serve.


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Bell Pepper Cheese Spread

3 oz goat cheese or cream cheese
Red bell pepper pulp to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper to taste

1) Soften goat or cream cheese in a medium bowl with a spoon

2) Mix in bell pepper pulp to taste

3) Crack some black pepper to taste. Serve.

Raspberry "Caviar"

This past Sunday, Chef Bing Liu (of Corton) and I decided to have a little fun with Agar-Agar. It's made from dehydrated seaweed and well renowned restaurants around the world use this ingredient because it solidifies liquids – like orange juice – without adding any trace flavors. At most specialty stores you can find it as a white powder or in a beige flaky form. (Most chefs prefer the powder because it dissolves instantly and some suspect it gives you a more accurate measurement.)

When I was cooking, we used it for a savory red bell pepper fluid gel that dotted a Moroccan-style Colorado rack of lamb. A quenelle of eggplant puree mixed with finely chopped yellow and red bell peppers rested on one side of the chop and a puff pastry filled lamb bacon roll covered in a spicy Harissa rested beneath. A simple cold black pepper Greek yogurt sauce rounded out the dish.
The pastry department also used agar agar for sweet raspberry and strawberry "caviar" beads. Agar Agar is a great vegetarian alternative to gelatin – and, it's also easy to use. Put it this way, if you can make stove-top Jello (aka boil water), then you can work with agar-agar.

Now rather than reveling at these techniques only at restaurants, go ahead and make it yourself at home.
Bing and I recorded our raspberry "caviar" experiment and I'll post it soon! The video shows the beauty of spherification – a technique that requires just two ingredients: juice and agar-agar.

Happy eating.

Agar Agar Raspberry "Caviar" 


Ingredients:
3 containers of raspberries
1.5 grams agar agar

1/2 pint (1 cup) of vegetable oil
Ice Bath


What You'll Need

2 medium sized metal mixing bowls 

1 large boiling pot of water (approximately 3 Quarts or 12 cups) 

1 small sauce pot
1 large bane or deep sauce pot
1 Chinois or large fine mesh strainer
1 Paper towels
1 Spatula
1 Whisk
1 Small squeeze bottle

Plastic wrap

Scale (that measures grams)

1 Small fine mesh strainer (optional)

1) Bring water to a rolling boil.

2) Empty raspberries into a mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
    Set on top of the boiling pot of water.

3) Once raspberries start releasing juice, remove from heat.

4) Wet enough paper towels to line the large strainer. Place strainer on top of a bane or large pot.
    Using the spatula, scape all the berries from the bowl into the paper towel-lined strainer.

5) Lift berries inside the paper towel and squeeze gently into the strainer over a bowl or sauce pot.
    This will yield 150 grams (or 5.3 oz of juice). Place strainer with berries aside; let it continue to drain.
    Reserve extra juice for later.

6) Bring the juice to a boil and whisk in the 1.5 grams of agar agar

7) Pour – or if you're a real stickler, strain the warm mixture again – into the squeeze bottle.

8) Place 1/2 pint of vegetable oil into an ice bath. Gently squeeze the raspberry mixture into the chilled oil to create "caviar" beads.
    Tip: it's best to move your hand in a circular motion as you squeeze

9) Strain "caviar" from the oil. Store in leftover raspberry juice.

10) Then serve!
      I like it inside an ice cream sandwich; topping Greek yogurt, shortbread or chocolate cake. It's also a fun addition to a fruit salad with fresh mint!