This avocado dish from Ben Boeynaems uses a light brine to ensure that the avocado is seasoned all the way through. The avocado is then served with an array of different summer vegetables, including ribboned courgettes and compressed baby gem lettuces, as well as nasturtium flowers and dandelion leaves.
Preheat the oven to 250°C/gas mark 9
Place the leeks on a foil-lined tray and cook until blackened, about 90 minutes
Blend the leek ash to a fine powder, and place in a muslin bag
Dissolve the salt for the avocados in the water, and submerge the avocados for at least 1 hour
To make the almond milk, add the flaked almonds and water to a high-powered blender and blend for 2 minutes. Pass through a superbag or muslin cloth
Thermomix 750g of the almond milk with the salt and gellan gum F on speed 4 until it reaches 85°C
Add the gellan gum F, and turn off the heat. Turn to speed 8, and blend for 2 minutes
Chill the purée and transfer to a container to set for 30 minutes
Once set, blend the almond purée till smooth
For the celeriac ribbons, add all the ingredients except for the celeriac to a large pan and bring to the boil
Add the celeriac and cook for one minute, then chill
For the lemon vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together
For the blanched vegetables, bring a pot of water at 6% salinity to the boil. Blanch the fennel for 3 minutes, and the other vegetables for 1 minute
Refresh the vegetables in ice water at 3% salinity. Drain in a tray lined with a towel
Dress the blanched vegetables in lemon vinaigrette to taste
Place the bulgur wheat in a bowl and cover in boiling water. Cover the bowl and leave to cook for 20-30 minutes
For the puffed quinoa, fry the remaining quinoa in a pan with plenty of oil until it puffs up. Strain, and then drain on kitchen towel and season with salt
Mix together 60g of the cooked quinoa, all the bulgur wheat, the puffed quinoa, mung bean sprouts, chopped chives and 2 tbsp lemon vinaigrette
For the compressed baby gem and vinaigrette, whisk together all the ingredients apart from the baby gem
Compress the baby gem hearts with all of the mustard vinaigrette
Toast the Marcona almonds in a pan with butter, and then season with salt. Cut the almonds in half
Dress the vegetables and leaves separately in lemon vinaigrette, drying off the radishes before dressing them
To serve, put the almond purée at the bottom of the plate. Cut the avocado in half, and add to the plate, and then spoon some quinoa mix into the middle. Add the baby gem, and pile up the dressed vegetables on top of it. Finish the plate with the dressed leaves, toasted almonds, and a dusting of the leek ash
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