Blini With Asparagus Caviar, When Three Year Olds Do Molecular Gastronomy

Asparagus Caviar

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So, I'm working more on dishes for my first Herbivoracious dinner party. I want the amuse bouche to be traditional buckwheat blini with creme fraiche and asparagus caviar. The caviar is made using the spherification technique pioneered by Ferran Adria. You need sodium alginate (derived from seaweed), and calcium chloride. (A good source for this stuff is WillPowder if you want to play). You can also make big balls, "raviolis", worms and so on.

The technique isn't really hard, in fact a three year old can do it!

When Kids Do Molecular Gastronomy in Their Jammies

... ok, well, maybe a 3 year old can't make perfect little caviar pearls, but believe me she can have good fun trying! Yes, I'm a proud Dad, but I was also thinking that my daughter is probably the only 3 year old in the world who at this exact moment is doing molecular gastronomy.

I wasn't totally happy with the asparagus balls because I really wanted them to be clear, but these came out opaque. If I filter the liquid to make it clear, there isn't much taste left. Oh well, more screwing around to come.

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The basic schtick is:

• Puree whatever you want to spherify, and strain as needed. It can't be anything too acidic, for that you need a different magic powder.
• Add about 0.3% alginate by weight to the liquid and blend the heck out of it. Ideally let it sit for awhile so the bubbles come out.
• Make a solution of about 0.7% calcium chloride by weight of water. You don't need much, a small bowl is good. A bowl where you can fit a strainer (see pic above) works well so you can just lift it out and catch all your caviar at once.
• Have another bowl of clear water handy too.
• To make caviar, fill a syringe (with no needle) or a small squeeze bottle with the alginate mixture. Start dripping little drops into the calcium chloride solution. Experiment with how hard you squeeze, how high above the water you drip and so on to get nice little spheres.
• Drain and dip in the clear water to rinse off excess calcium chloride.
• Pop in your mouth and experience a sense of wonder.
• If it isn't working well, up the percentages as high as 0.5% alginate and 1.0% calcium chloride.

To do worms, put the syringe under water and squeeze. To do ravioli, fill a spoon with the alginate solution and kind of lower/tip it in. Play!

I tested the blini and creme fraiche separately, and just to have the asparagus taste in the mix I roasted one little tip. Tasted pretty good I think. I'll let y'all know how the final version comes out.

Blin With Creme Fraiche and Roasted Asparagus

Recipe: Raw White Asparagus Salad with Watercress and Romano - Vegetarian

White Asparagus Salad with Watercress and Romano

I'm starting to test recipes for my first Herbivoracious dinner party. My first event is going to be an asparagus tasting menu, a celebration of Spring coming to the Northwest. It isn't for a few weeks, and neither is local asparagus! I'm having to test with California spears for now.

(By the way, the first dinner is full, but if you are interested in attending a future event in Seattle, drop me a line at herbivoracious [at] gmail [dot] com, with "dinner" in the subject, and I'll keep you posted).

This salad has been marinating in mind for a bit. No pun intended. I wanted to do something with thinly sliced raw white asparagus, which has a nice vegetable sweetness and crunch to it. In this version I paired it with watercress, cipollini onions, aged pecorino romano, and a grapefruit vinaigrette. Everything worked really well, but the vinaigrette needs some work to bring out more of the citrus flavor. Grapefruit is a lot less acidic than lemon, so that makes sense to me. I think next time I will try using more of the zest and a little bit of a neutrally flavored  vinegar.

Here's an approximate recipe:

White Asparagus Salad with Watercress and Romano
Vegetarian
Vegan if you omit the cheese
Serves 1 - multiply as needed

• vinaigrette: 2 parts good olive oil, 1 part fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, 1/2 t. grapefruit zest, salt to taste
• 2 spears of thick white asparagus
• a few paper thin slices of cipollini onion or shallot
• handful of watercress, arugula, or mache
• 4-5 paper thin slices of pecorino romano, or parmigiano reggiano
• salt and pepper

1. Drizzle and whisk the olive oil into the lemon juice vinaigrette to emulsify, then add the zest and salt to taste.
2. Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus, peel, and slice very thinly on a diagonal bias.
3. Cut the cheese with a vegetable peeler.
4. Just before serving, toss the asparagus, onion, and greens with the dressing, arrange on plate and top with the cheese and a bit of finishing salt and black pepper.

Event: Seattle Restaurant Review 360

Late breaking news: here's the roundup!

Tofu Hunter and I were chatting about the idea of both reviewing the same restaurant.  It occurred to me that we could take it a step further and invite all of the food bloggers in our fair city (and visitors too) to participate. Everyone would bring their own perspective, and we'd get to see if we all agreed or saw things very differently. If we get a good response, we could make this a regular event.

For our first restaurant, I'm choosing Txori, the tapas-style Belltown spot of Chef Joseba Jimenez de Jimenez, who is best known for Harvest Vine. I figure it would work out well because it is centrally located, and a meal doesn't have to be a big commitment. You can stop in, have a couple tapas and a drink and be out in 30 minutes if you want.

Interested? I hope you'll join me. Here's the logistics:

1. Add a comment below with your name, and your blog URL so I know you plan to participate.
2. Visit the restaurant in the next two weeks, and write a post about it. Schedule the post to go live on Wednesday, 4/9. Have your post link back to this post. If you don't have a blog, feel free to add your review in comments here.
3. Feel free to make the review as short or long as you want, no pressure!
4. On Thursday, 4/10 I'll write a roundup article linking back to everyone's reviews along with the best quotes.
5. Have some fun with it! Add any twist that makes you happy.