But the inspiration ElBulli has provided to the culinary world for new and creative approaches to food is something that I will be able to experience over and over again.
I love books that give a behind the scenes focus of the restaurant industry and now thanks to a new book released by Simon and Schuster we can all read first hand what goes on behind the scenes at ElBulli.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentices: A Season in the Kitchen at Ferran Adrià’s El Bulli explores the remarkable system of apprentices, or stagiaires, that Adrià uses to run his restaurant and, in the process, train the next generation of culinary stars.
So what exactly is molecular gastronomy or molecular cooking? I certainly am not an authority on the subject and frankly entire books have been written on what this phrase means. I often see that chefs called molecular gastronomists don't like it and people often use the term to criticize techniques they don't understand.
Harold McGee, author of On Food & Cooking: The Science & Lore of the Kitchen calls it experimental cooking - which I applaud as a much more reasonable and accurate name. In fact, he defines molecular gastronomy, if the terms has to be used at all, as "The scientific study of deliciousness." How can anyone argue with that?!
McGee is one of the premier authorities on molecular cooking. For more great information from Harold McGee visit:
And don't let Hervé This catch you calling any form of cooking molecular gastronomy it "is a scientific activity" and the name should be reserved for tscience and research.
He argues that molecular cooking or cuisine would be a more accurate title for the actual preparation of the food. It's no surprise that one of the leading researchers on the science of food would hail from France where many of the great techniques of cooking also hail. Hervé is a French physicalchemist at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique. His main area of interest is molecular gastronomy, that is the science of culinary phenomena (more precisely, looking for the mechanisms of phenomena occurring during culinary transformations). His scientific findings are used by top chefs all over the world to improve their cooking techniques.
With some preliminary research under my belt it was time to get down to the nitty gritty. In order to create a dish inspired by ElBulli, I had to first understand beyond the catch phrase "molecular gastronomy" exactly what it is they do at ElBulli. I watched every video I could find and read every article I could find on ElBulli and at the end of the day it was very simple.
Ferran Adrià is a man obessed with flavor and he and his apprentices at ElBulli spend astronomical amounts of time devoted to the creation of vehicles that allow the diner to experience familiar and sometimes unfamiliar flavors in new and unexpected ways with the help of science. This devotion and research has earned Adrià and ElBulli the title of best restaurant in the world an unprecedented five times. They must be doing something right.
For me, a neophyte in the world of molecular cooking, I wanted to go back to the beginning and that beginning was a long long time ago.
Have you ever had jello? I have, most people I know have but if I were to ask them if they are familiar with "molecular gastronomy" or "molecular cooking" the response might be "molecu what?" Yet jello is an example of the pleasure food can bring with slight manipulations through the science of food interactions.
What would your reaction be if someone said - let me boil some meat bones, extract a substance and combine it with fruit juice, refrigerate it, and you will have a yummy treat. Doesn't sound very appetizing, it certainly is. Watch it Wiggle see it Jiggle. . .
That got me to wondering why is the term "molecular gastronomy" so demonized when jello and panna cotta - both delicious - were foods manipulated into a different form with the use of science.
In fact, most tried and true cooking techniques are based on the science of food: whipping egg whites, cooking tough meats low and slow in liquid to break down the tough muscular fibers and convert them into succulunt soft bites of heaven, emulsifying oil and vinegar (in essence oil and water which aren't supposed to mix) by whipping air into them and adding a binding agent such as dijon - all of these techniques deal with the science of food and how to change its basic form into something better.
Honestly, prior to researching this blog I thought I had little personal experience with the mysterious and controversial field of molecular gastronomy/cooking - turns out I was wrong as we all have lots of experience and we're not even aware of it.
I think molecular cooking can get a bad wrap when it is used for its own sake simply because a technique exists. In researching Ferran's food I found many of his most famous dishes have recognizeable components combined with new techniques to create a delicious bite - which seems to be the sole motivation for everything he does. In vidoes of his kitchen he is always tasting tasting tasting and if it doesn't taste right then back to the drawing board. Molecular cooking should not be all about "we do because we can" if it loses focus on the end goal.
At it's best molecular cooking elevates flavors and often will combine old techniques with new techniques to create great dining experiences. Any action, if done for it's own sake, can be criticised and should be criticised as gratutious if the end goal is sacrificed in the process. If molecular or experimental cooking or whatever the new catch phrase might be these days is used to create delicious food, even if it fails sometimes, the pursuit is still noble and I admire those dedicated to improving the world's dining experience.
The inspiration for my first dish was to pay homage to what seems to be the oldest most tried and true form of molecular cooking - gelatin. I wanted to take something people are familiar with and elevate it into a fun whimsical form.
Margarita Gelée with Salt Air
The recipe is quite simple.
For Margarita Gelée
2 gelatin sheets
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup simple syrup
1/2 cup tequila
For Salt Air
2 cups heavily salted water
2 grams Soy Lecithin
For Garnish
Fresh Lime Zest
Place gelatin sheets in cold water. Combine lime juice and simple syrup in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Squeeze excess water out of gelatin and dissolve in warm liquid. Add tequila. Pour into mini muffin tins and allow to set - about two hours.
Boil salt water until salt has completely dissolved. Pour into bowl and refrigerate until completely cool.
When gelée's have set and salt water has cooled it's time for the fun.
Add lecithin to cold salt water and blend with emmersion blender until foam begins to form at the top of the liquid.
Scoop foam out and place on small plate. Put one Margarita Gelée on top of the salt air and freshly zest lime over plate.
This bite was a party in my mouth - a tequila party - and the salt air was very salty and so much fun. It tasted exactly like my favorite margarita.
For my second dish I wanted to work with two new techniques, sepherification and foams. I picked flavors I loved and focused on the individual component flavors before bringing everything together.
For a great tutorial on sepherication visit: http://www.molecularrecipes.com/
Tomato Ravioli
Chlorine Bath
16 ounces bottled or filtered water
1.5 grams Calcium Chloride
For Sodium Alginate
8 ounces bottled or filtered water
2 grams Sodium Alginate
For Tomato Sauce
1 Shallot
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Clove Garlic
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
8 ounces San Marzano Whole Tomatoes
Add calcium chloride and water to bowl and whisk to dissolve. Place in refrigerator until ready to use.
Add Sodium Alginate to water in bowl and blend with immersion blender until alginate is completely dissolved. All the recipes I found said this would take longer than you would think and it did. Once it is dissolved, bring mixture to a boil stirring constantly. Return to bowl and allow to come to room temperature.
Meanwhile, saute shallots in oil with salt until translucent. Add 1 clove minced garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Add 8 ounces of San Marzano tomato liquid. Bring to a simmer and allow flavors to incorporate for about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Set up a large bowl with cold water to rinse ravioli once they are formed.
When sauce is well flavored turn off heat and allow to cool. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve and add to Sodium Alginate mixture. Stir to completely combine. Drop by spoonfuls into the Calcium Chloride bath. After a couple of minutes transfer spheres to cold water bath to rinse. Handle very carefully so as not to break the spheres.
Roasted Eggplant
2 Chines Eggplant
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
While the sauce is simmering roast the eggplant. Pre-heat oven to 350. Slice eggplant in strips and mix with olive oil, salt, and fresh ground pepper. Roast until flesh is tender and skin is crisp - about 20 minutes.
Goat Cheese Foam**
**Although delicious in flavor foam was not as foamy as I wanted
so this formula needs some adjustment. My guess - I either tried to make too small of an amount and/or I didn't put enough charge in the canister. I will be trying this one again becaues the flavor was indeed amazing.
2 Gelatin Sheets
1 cup goat cheese
1/2 cup cream
Freshly ground nutmeg
(will need whip canister)
Prior to forming the tomato ravioli, dissolve gelatin sheets in cold water. Heat goat cheese and cream in sauce pan until dissolved. Remove from heat. Squeeze excess water from gelatin sheets and add to cream mixture and dissolve. Sprinkle fresh ground nutmeg into mixture. Put into whip it can. Add charger and shake.
For Garnish
Basil Chiffonade
Truffle Salt
For Assembly
Pipe goat cheese foam onto plate. Top with roasted eggplant. Carefully place tomato ravioli on top. Sprinkle with truffle salt and basil chiffonade.
Here are some of the equipment and supplies I used in making these creations: Sodium Alginate, Calcium Chloride, Gelatin Sheets, Lecithin, a Whip it Canister, and a scale that measured both grams and ounces.
Thanks so much for your entry, Jennifer, and for putting so much effort into your recipe and post. You're absolutely right about jello and panna cotta--Ferran frequently says something along the same lines.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lisa for sharing that. What an honor to even have one similar thought to the great genious of Ferran. And thanks for writing the book - I can't wait to read it!!
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