sound of the sea
My version of Heston Blumenthal's famous dish. Have the sound on an iPod or tablet.
Ingredients
For the miso oil
- 125 g red miso paste
- 50 g white miso paste
- 125 g rapeseed oil
For the pickled kale
- 20 g water
- 7 g white wine vinegar
- 20 g rice wine vinegar
- 15 g sugar
- 1 g table salt
- 25 g kale
For the 'sand'
- 10 g grapeseed or groundnut oil
- 10 g shirasu
- 5 g kombu
- 15 g ice-cream waffle cone ground
- 15 g panko breadcrumbs fried in grapeseed oil until golden brown, then lightly ground
- 1 g blue shimmer powder
- 70 g reserved miso oil
- sea salt
For the hijiki seaweed
- 75 g hijiki seaweed
- 12 g 'thin mouth' soy sauce usu kuchi shoyu
- 10 g mirin
For the 'seashells'
- 20 g dried Japanese lily bulb
- 2 g ponzu
For the 'sea'
- 75 g carrots peeled and finely sliced
- 75 g onions finely sliced
- 40 g fennel finely sliced
- 25 g leek white and pale green parts only, finely sliced sliced
- 50 g white wine Chardonnay
- 25 g shallots finely sliced
- 5 g garlic finely sliced
- 12 g vermouth
- 150 g mussels
- 100 g cockles
- 1 kg water
- 10 g kombu
- 8 g flatleaf parsley leaves and stems
For the oysters
- native oysters 1 per portion
For the final sauce
- 400 g reserved 'sea'
- Reserved oyster juice
- Ponzu
- table salt
- freshly ground black pepper
To serve
- 10 g soya lecithin
- trimmed samphire
Instructions
For the miso oil
- Fold all the ingredients together then cover and refrigerate for 48 hours. Strain through coffee filter paper and reserve the oil (the miso can be used again).
For the pickled kale
- Place all the ingredients, except the kale, in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
- Add the kale to the cooled liquid, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for 24 hours before using.
For the 'sand'
- Place the grapeseed or groundnut oil in a small sauté pan over a medium heat until hot. Add the shirasu and sauté, stirring constantly, until they are golden brown. (If they are too dark, they will be bitter; too light and they won't be crisp enough. They will continue to brown after being removed from the pan.) Strain off the oil and drain the shirasu on kitchen paper.
- Grind the kombu to a fine powder with the panko. Add all the other ingredients except the miso oil and salt, and combine.
- Drizzle the miso oil and stir to obtain a wet sand consistency. Season with the sea salt and store covered until needed.
For the hijiki seaweed
- Season the seaweed with the soy sauce and mirin. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
For the 'seashells'
- Microwave the bulb petals in a couple of tablespoons of water for 1 minute. Toss in ponzu. Set aside until needed.
For the ‘sea’
- Put the vegetables, vermouth and white wine in a saucepan and simmer until translucent. Add water if necessary to prevent the vegetables from catching.
- Add the shellfish and cover with the water. Bring the liquid up to 85°C/185°F, then cover and infuse for 25 minutes at this temperature.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the kombu and parsley. Re-cover and allow to cool to room temperature. Skim off any impurities that have risen to the top. Pass the stock through a sieve lined with kitchen towel.
For the oysters
- Clean the outside of the oysters with cold water. Using a short, wide-bladed knife, carefully open each oyster. Strain off and reserve the oyster juice and put the oyster back in it’s shell. Cover and keep refrigerated.
For the final sauce
- Place the sea and oyster juice in a container and adjust the seasoning as necessary with salt, pepper and ponzu. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
- Place the 'sand' on a plate and sprinkle the shirasu on top.
- Place the lily bulb petals on the sand. Place separate piles of the hijiki and kale.
- Drizzle the ponzu over the seafood pieces, then place them on top of each pile of seaweed.
- Place the final sauce in a container, add the soya lecithin and foam the mixture using a hand-held blender. Spoon around the seafood to resemble the ocean: crashing on to the beach. Garnish the dish with samphire and drizzle a bit more ponzu over the top. Serve with your generic fruit-based device.