What's special about this week?
a) Christmas!!!!
b) Final Week of 2017
c) Final Round for Steemit Iron Chef 2017
d) All of the above!
Did you guess (d)?? =)
To celebrate all of that, I made a dish that represents the season while keeping in line with the theme of the week to use 2 or more of the ingredients featured during the past 16 rounds.
DISH NAME (Appetizer)
Christmas Colours on a Plate
This is a plate of big, bold flavours and colours to spice up the holiday season! The key ingredients in my dish are Avocado (Green!), Tomato (Red!), and Sweet Red Pepper (Red!). I also used some Apple and Onions in the making of the components.
Component #1: Red Seafood-Tomato-Paprika Base
Tomatoes and sweet red peppers are roasted together with a red onion and garlic cloves to bring depth to their natural flavours. A sprinkling of chilli flakes add a little kick while the Seafood Cooking Brine brings the flavour profile of the base in line with the Cold Seafood Patty it surrounds.
Ingredients Used in the Red Seafood-Tomato-Paprika Base
4 Meat Tomatoes, chunked
2 Sweet Red Peppers, deseeded and chunked
1 Red Onion, peeled and chunked
3 Garlic Cloves, peeled
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Black Pepper, freshly ground
Red Chili Flakes
Seafood Cooking Brine
How to Make the Red Seafood-Tomato-Paprika Base
Place tomatoes, peppers, onion, and garlic on a lined tray, season with olive oil, salt, pepper, and chilli flakes and bake at 200°C till nicely roasted (30 min).
Transfer to a pot, add in Seafood Cooking Brine, and blend with a stick blender till smooth.
Strain the soup to get a smooth base.
Component #2: Cold Seafood Patty
The natural flavours of fresh white tiger prawns and small squids are enhanced with an army of binding and aromatic seasonings.
Ingredients Used in the Cold Seafood Patty
Whole Squid, cleaned, boiled for 2 min in a homemade brine and drained
White Tiger Prawns, boiled in their shells in the same cooking brine till a few start floating to the top (reserve the Seafood Cooking Brine for use in the Tomato Base)
Sea Salt
Black Pepper, freshly ground
Olive Oil
Homemade Garlic Herb Butter
Juice of Quarter a Lemon
Tabasco
Japanese Mayonnaise
Whole Grain Mustard
Maple Syrup
Fresh Basil, chopped
How to Make the Cold Seafood Patty
Drain, peel, and devein the shrimps. Mince the shrimps and squid with a knife.
Mix with all other ingredients and compress mixture into a thick layer. Use a glass to cut out a circle.
Component #3: Avocado Creme
Avocado is a smart healthy way to introduce creaminess into any dish, sweet or savoury. A good splash of acidity, generous sprinkling of salt, and coriander (fresh or dried) bring avocado to life like nothing else. The lime juice also keeps it green! =)
Ingredients Used in the Avocado Creme
Avocado, ripened
2 Tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3/4 Tbsp Lime Juice
Sea Salt
Black Pepper, freshly ground
Fresh Coriander, crushed
How to Make the Avocado Creme
Mash and blend everything together till smooth.
Component #3: Lemon-Garlic Emulsion
Lemon and garlic go very well with seafood. I incorporated both aromas in a thick emulsion that will grace the dish.
Ingredients Used in the Lemon-Garlic Emulsion
1/3 cup Sunflower Oil
Juice of 1/4 lemon
4 Garlic Cloves, crushed
Sea Salt
Gelatine mixed in water, whipped, heated, and rewhipped
How to Make the Lemon-Garlic Emulsion
Blend everything together till smooth. Chill for at least 3 hours to allow the flavours to develop.
Assemble the Plate!!
Spoon the Red Seafood-Tomato-Paprika Base into the bottom of the indented plate. Place the Cold Seafood Patty in the center.
Arrange a Salad Mountain of Colourful Radish Sprouts, Japanese Spinach Leaves, and Thin Apple Sticks, on top of the patty. Top with a Trimmed Prawn Half.
Pipe mounds of Avocado Creme all around the Salad Mountain.
Decorate the Red Base with mounds of Avocado Creme, semi-peeled Seedless Red Grapes, Sprouts, and Japanese Spinach Leaves at random intervals. Drizzle some Lemon-Garlic Emulsion over the base.
