Omid Jaffari - Botanical Recipe preview from Spring 2010 Purely Delicious

The Spring 2010 issue of Purely Delicious has just been released and I thought it might be nice to offer you a sneak preview. One of the highlights for me is a series of botanical recipes by Omid Jaffari, an amazingly talented young chef from Australia. If you are interested in learning more about Omid, or viewing more of his beautiful photography or recipes, please check out his blog Tried. Tasted. Served. or ShiitakeBlog.com.

Copying/distribution of recipes with permission only | www.triedtastedserved.com

Pears “Poached” in Beetroot Juice with Spanish Figs & Fruit Salsa by Omid Jaffari

Serves about 4 people

For the “Poached” Pears

· 2 beetroots, juiced

· J Juice of 1 lemon

· 4 Bosc or Barlets pears, firm but ripe (with stems intact)

· 2 cups honey

· 1 strip orange rind

· 1 star anise

· 1 whole vanilla bean, cut in half

· 1 whole clove

· ½ cup coconut cream (or 1/3 cup of almonds blended in ½ cup water)

· 1 cinnamon stick, roughly crushed

For the Fruit Salsa

· 1 peach, cut into cubes

· 6 blackberries, cut into halves

· 1 orange segmented, then cut into small cubes

· 2 Tbsp honey

For the Spanish Fig Cakes

· 250g dried figs, stemmed

· ½ cup almonds

· 2 Tbsp whole sesame seeds

· ½ tsp whole star anise

· ¼ tsp ground cloves

· Pinch of ground cinnamon

· 1 Tbsp honey

· 1 vanilla pod, sliced down the centre and de-seeded

For the Lemon Infused Honey

½ cup of honey

1 lemon, zested

Method

For the “Poached” Pears

Step 1. In a large bowl, mix in all of your ingredients. Peel the pears, keeping the stems intact. Cut a small slice from the base of each pear so the fruits sit on your plate without toppling. Place each pear into the bowl. Step 2. To keep the pears submerged in the poaching liquid, cut a circle of parchment paper the size of the saucepan and set it on the surface of the liquid. Place a small plate on top of the paper so it presses the pears into the liquid. Step 3. Refrigerate for at least several hours and as long as 3 days.

For the Spanish Fig Cakes

Step 1. Using a food processor or two Chinese cleavers, mince the stemmed figs until a rough paste is formed. Step 2. Mix the figs with the almonds, sesame seeds, star anise, ground cloves, and ground cinnamon. Step 3. Add the honey to the fig mixture. Knead until a smooth and pliant ball is formed. The fig mixture will be crumbly but keep kneading until the ingredients are evenly incorporated. Step 4. Form the fig mixture into a small round patty and set aside on non-stick paper.

For the Fruit Salsa

Step 1. Mix all the ingredients into a small bowl and leave in the fridge to set for 20 minutes.

For the Infused Honey

Step 1. Place the zest of one lemon into the honey and leave at room temperature for as long as possible (the longer the stronger!)

Mounting Your Work

Step 1. Cut the pears in half and take out the core (if you see that the beetroot marinade has not penetrated to the centre of the pears, place back in marinade to stain completely). Step 2. Cut a small slice off the cheek of each pear so that they can sit flush on your display plate. Step 3. Place pears on your display plate and put a fig patty over the seed cavity of each pear. Step 4. Make a teaspoon of the salsa into a small mountain and place on top of the fig patty. Step 5. Drizzle a teaspoon of the infused honey over each pear.