Hass avocado, garden vegetables, Marcona almonds
- Main
- Medium
- 4
- 3 hours
PT3H
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.
Ingredients
Leek ash
- 1 large leek , trimmed and halved lengthwise
Salted avocado
- 50g of salt
- 1l water
- 2 Hass avocadoes , peeled and halved
Almond milk
- 300g of flaked almonds
- 600g of water
Almond purée
- 9g of Maldon salt
- 5g of gellan gum type F
Barigoule Celeriac Ribbons
- 250g of white wine vinegar
- 250g of water
- 250g of white wine
- 250g of olive oil
- 6g of Maldon salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 garlic clove , crushed
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 1 head of celeriac , peeled and sliced 1mm thick on a mandolin
Lemon Vinaigrette
- 100g of lemon juice
- 100g of lemon oil
- 100g of olive oil
- 5g of salt
Blanched Vegetables
- 1 baby fennel , trimmed
- 1 tenderstem broccoli stem , trimmed
- 1 romanesco , trimmed
- 1 handful of fine beans , trimmed
- salt
Quinoa Mix
- 800g of water
- 19g of salt
- 105g of quinoa
- 20g of bulgur wheat
- vegetable oil
- 5g of beansprouts
- 1 tsp chopped chives
Compressed baby gem and mustard vinaigrette
- 75g of white wine vinegar
- 150g of olive oil
- 125g of rapeseed oil
- 25g of wholegrain mustard
- 2 baby gem hearts , trimmed and cut in half
Toasted marcona almonds
Dressed leaves and vegetables
- nasturtium leaves
- land cress
- pissenlit
- radicchio
- treviso lettuce
- breakfast radishes , base trimmed and stored in an ice bath
- baby courgettes , shaved into ribbons with a grater or mandolin
- courgette flowers
Equipment
- Vitamix
- Thermomix
- Super bag
- Mandoline
- Vacuum bag and machine
Method
Preheat the oven to 250°C/gas mark 9
Place the leeks on a foil-lined tray and cook until blackened, about 90 minutes
- 1 large leek , trimmed and halved lengthwise
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
- 50g of salt
- 1l water
- 2 Hass avocadoes , peeled and halved
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
- 300g of flaked almonds
- 600g of water
Thermomix 750g of the almond milk with the salt and gellan gum F on speed 4 until it reaches 85°C
- 9g of Maldon salt
- 5g of gellan gum type F
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
- 250g of white wine vinegar
- 250g of water
- 250g of white wine
- 250g of olive oil
- 6g of Maldon salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 garlic clove , crushed
- 1 sprig of thyme
Add the celeriac and cook for one minute, then chill
- 1 head of celeriac , peeled and sliced 1mm thick on a mandolin
For the lemon vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together
- 100g of lemon juice
- 100g of lemon oil
- 100g of olive oil
- 5g of salt
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
- 1 baby fennel , trimmed
- 1 tenderstem broccoli stem , trimmed
- 1 romanesco , trimmed
- 1 handful of fine beans , trimmed
- salt
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
- 20g of bulgur wheat
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
- 25g of quinoa
- vegetable oil
Mix together 60g of the cooked quinoa, all the bulgur wheat, the puffed quinoa, mung bean sprouts, chopped chives and 2 tbsp lemon vinaigrette
- 5g of beansprouts
- 1 tsp chopped chives
For the compressed baby gem and vinaigrette, whisk together all the ingredients apart from the baby gem
- 75g of white wine vinegar
- 150g of olive oil
- 125g of rapeseed oil
- 25g of wholegrain mustard
Compress the baby gem hearts with all of the mustard vinaigrette
- 2 baby gem hearts , trimmed and cut in half
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
- nasturtium leaves
- land cress
- pissenlit
- radicchio
- treviso lettuce
- breakfast radishes , base trimmed and stored in an ice bath
- baby courgettes , shaved into ribbons with a grater or mandolin
- courgette flowers
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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Hass avocado, garden vegetables, Marcona almonds
