' WHITE ASPARAGUS , WILD PINE & CONIFER .'

White Asparagus poached in a cream sauce , Pine Genoise sponge , Toasted pine nuts , Juniper berries , Pine oil , Conifer fronds and new season pine shoots.

                     I stumbled across this pairing a few months ago and have wanted to give it a try ever  since. So when finally white asparagus made its way to the shelves, I went about foraging for a good source of wild pine and conifer trees growing in the neighbouring parklands. In this dish I infused sugar with pine needles and then used the sugar to make the genoise , which is a form of sponge named after the Italian city of Genoa. The genoise sponge is known for not using chemical leavening but giving the cake its volume through a technique of suspending the batter with aeration. Unlike a basic sponge the eggs are separated and introduced to the mix by creaming the yolks first with sugar and then down the track folding in the egg whites. The original recipe called for the use of essential pine oil of aroma therapy quality, I opted for infusing olive oil with pine needles over a low heat to make the pine oil instead, as I find the essential oil to overpowering for this application.                                                          
                      I began preparing this plate by making the genoise first. To do this I first placed sugar and pine needles in a coffee grinder and pulverised to a powder pouring through a sieve to remove the chaff. I then placed the sugar and egg yolks in a bowl and beat until tripled in size. To this I added a little green colouring and plain flour and some corn starch and whisked to form a batter. In a separate bowl I beat egg whites with a little cream of tartare to a soft peak and folded this carefully into the batter before pouring into a lined cake. The sponge was baked in a 180 deg.c oven for around 15 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to cool. While this was cooling I prepared the asparagus by chopping into pieces and poaching in a little cream and salt and pepper until soft and tender. The asparagus were then removed from the heat and set aside for plating later. To make the pine oil I simply infused pine needles in olive oil over a low heat for about 45-50 minutes before cooling. To accompany I dressed the conifer fronds and pine shoots in olive oil and toasted some pine nuts in a hot skillet. to finish I cracked some pepper medley over the dish and crushed some juniper berries for more of that alpine touch of flavour.

' GARLIC & SOUR CREAM .'

De-hydrated garlic butter sponge , Black garlic , Sour cream , White wine poached garlic , Garlic aioli , Lemon zest and garlic chives.

               In the back of everyones mind right now their thinking, 'the breath after this dish, can't do this one theres way too much garlic, pungent' . Well surprisingly this dish is full of techniques applied to garlic that brings out the under notes of a garlic clove rather than its raw pungent state. While out browsing the shelves after work this week I came across the black garlic you see. I've heard of this before but never seen or used garlic in this state. Black garlic sometimes wrongly referred to as 'black fermented garlic' is garlic which has been heat treated in its skins whole for several weeks resulting in the black cloves and not subject to microbial influence at all. Losing its pungent flavour in the process, black garlic parts flavours of tangy, sweet and syrupy with hints of balsamic vinegar or tamarind paste. Another application Garlic was used was poached in white wine also giving sweet flavours although contrasting to that of the black garlic. Two other preparations in this dish using garlic were the aioli and the garlic butter sponge and I brought in some colour and a fresh ingredient by using garlic chives to garnish. The change up and accompaniment is sour cream and a little lemon zest.  
              To make this garlic tasting I started by making the sponge first. In a bowl I beat some eggs until frothy and added some sugar and smoked salt, whisking again. In another bowl I melted a little butter with some de-hydrated garlic granules, this was then cooled and added to the eggs with some cold milk and a little baking powder, this was beaten until foamy. To this I worked in some self raising flour to form a batter, this was poured into a lined baking tin and baked at 160 deg.c. for about 20-25 minutes. Once the sponge was ready and sprang back to form when pressed, it was removed and allowed to cool before being torn apart for presentation. The poached garlic was simply simmered with a lid on low heat in a mix of butter and sweet white wine until soft and tender. The garlic was then removed and allowed to cool before being sliced thinly for plating. To make the aioli I placed egg yolks, crushed garlic, salt and sherry vinegar in a blender and blended to a creamy pale consistency, with the blender still running I trickle fed olive oil in slowly to form a creamy garlic aioli.                          
              To plate I placed a generous dollop of sour cream in the centre of the plate placing a chunk of torn garlic butter sponge to one side and some sliced poached garlic on top of the cream. In front of this display I placed whole cloves of the black garlic and a smaller dollop of the garlic aioli which was garnished with strips of lemon zest. A few lengths of garlic chive were arranged on top of the sponge and sour cream display to finish the plate off.