This course was quite simple, and was plated simply as well. It was just roasted tree oyster mushrooms, grits (set into cylinders--which is difficult to do, but the end result is simple), homemade ricotta, some amazing fuyu persimmon, a bit of arugula, maldon salt, and a drizzle of great olive oil. The extremely ripe persimmon and the soft, slightly tangy ricotta made this a good lead-in to dessert, while the heavily roasted mushrooms kept it firmly in the savory territory.

I pondered various sauces I could have used to tie the dish together, but in the end decided not to tie it together. I let everyone eat it as they wished, the elements remaining disparate. In that way, it was an unusual course for me, but I enjoyed the effect. Some people loved it, while some people didn't see how it fit together in the end. I doubt I'd serve this again in a fine-dining context, but it was an interesting experiment.

Ricotta
4 parts whole milk (raw if possible, otherwise avoid UHT-pasteurized milk)
1 part buttermilk

Combine the two milks and heat them on a stovetop to around 82C (180F). Turn off the heat and wait a couple minutes for the curds to fully form. Spoon or ladle the curds into a fine mesh strainer and let them drain until they've reached the desired consistency. For this application, I am guessing that I let them drain for around 10-15 minutes.

Cylindrical Grits

First, oil a sheet of acetate with a bit of olive oil. Then wipe off the acetate with a paper towel. The oil will leave a fine film. Then prepare cannoli molds by cutting pieces of the oiled acetate about half an inch longer than the cannoli molds, and about 1.5 times the inside circumference of the cannoli molds. Roll up each piece of acetate and put it inside a cannoli mold, pushing the acetate until it is flush with one end of the cannoli mold and sticking out slightly from the other end. The acetate will expand slightly to more or less fill the mold. Wrap the flush end of the cannoli mold with plastic wrap, secured with a rubber band. Then secure all of the cannoli molds in an upright position (I usually just stand them all up in a quart container packed tightly enough that they'll remain straight up and down).

1 part grits
1.5 parts whole milk, by volume
2 parts water, by volume
fresh thyme
salt to taste

Bring milk, water, thyme, and salt up to a simmer, then remove thyme sprigs. Whisk the grits into the simmering liquid over fairly low heat. Stir often. Once grits appear to have absorbed most of the free liquid but are still fairly loose and a bit hard, put on heat-proof kitchen gloves and, holding a disposable pastry bag with the gloves, pour out the liquid grits into the pastry bag. Insert a funnel into the first cannoli mold. Holding the pastry bag directly over the funnel (because the grits will come spurting out as soon as the tip of the bag is cut), cut the tip of the bag. Being as clean as possible, pipe (or drain) the grits into the cannoli molds, then leave at room temperature or in the refrigerator until fully set. Once fully set, pull the grits-filled acetate out of the molds and dump the cylinders out into an airtight container. Store for up to a week.

Roasted Tree Oyster Mushrooms

Without breaking up the clumps of the mushrooms, toss the hrooms with a large amount of olive oil and salt, then roast at 400F until the side touching the pan is nicely crispy and the other sides are fully cooked through but not quite crispy, about 30 minutes. Scrape the mushrooms off of the pan and reserve in any container for up to a week. Re-heat in a 400 degree oven for about ten minutes to get the mushrooms crispy again.

Posted by Barzelay on 2010/02/22 @ 22:59 | Comments (0) | Lazy Bear, Veggies, Fruit, Grain, Cheese