Cavaillon Melon, Aka Shiso, Cardoon Flower Honey, Red Sweet Corn, Lemon Balm, Calendula Petals, Borage, Tiger's Milk Gel
This is a dish that ended up really straddling the boundaries between savory and dessert. It has huge elements of sweet, salty, sour and bitter flavors throughout. This wasn't necessarily intentional. When I'm thinking up a dish, I try to take a look at everything I have available from the markets and start to think about what will go well together. I try to do this without any preconceived notions of where the dish will be placed within a meal. I also, more recently, stopped choosing a protein or a main component to build the rest of the dish around. If you've been following me this spring and summer you may have noticed the almost complete absence of animal proteins due in part to this philosophy.
This dish started to come together at the market. I got some really great baby melons that I immediately decided to keep as whole as possible. So I simply peeled the melon, cut it in half and marinated it in a some cider vinegar for a bit. I then placed it on the plate and filled the cavity with the honey. This particular honey is from bees that had first pollinated apple blossoms before moving on to cardoon flowers. It is very lite, floral and amazing.
The tiger's milk gel, commonly called "leche de tigre" and used in ceviche, was made using Jalapenos. I blended the chiles with sugar, water and vinegar and strained the juice out. I combined it with agar agar and heated it until it melted. The liquid was then chilled to set the gel before being blended and passed through a tamis. I placed the gel in a squeeze bottle and squirted little drops onto the plate.
The red corn, which is incredibly sweet, was just sliced off the cob and served raw for some texture. I also think that corn retains it;s sweetness when left raw.
The rest of the components were arranged around the melon. The shiso added a splash of color, along with a spicy, bitter flavor to counter the sweetness of the melon and honey. While the flowers and lemon balm complemented them.
Product:
Cavaillon Melon - Culton Organics
Red Sweet Corn - Culton Organics
Raw Cardoon Flower Honey - Culton Organics
Aka (red) Shiso - Weaver's Way
Jalapeno Chilis - Culton Organics
Lemon Balm - My Garden
Borage Flower - My Garden
Calendula Flowers - My Garden
This dish started to come together at the market. I got some really great baby melons that I immediately decided to keep as whole as possible. So I simply peeled the melon, cut it in half and marinated it in a some cider vinegar for a bit. I then placed it on the plate and filled the cavity with the honey. This particular honey is from bees that had first pollinated apple blossoms before moving on to cardoon flowers. It is very lite, floral and amazing.
The tiger's milk gel, commonly called "leche de tigre" and used in ceviche, was made using Jalapenos. I blended the chiles with sugar, water and vinegar and strained the juice out. I combined it with agar agar and heated it until it melted. The liquid was then chilled to set the gel before being blended and passed through a tamis. I placed the gel in a squeeze bottle and squirted little drops onto the plate.
The red corn, which is incredibly sweet, was just sliced off the cob and served raw for some texture. I also think that corn retains it;s sweetness when left raw.
The rest of the components were arranged around the melon. The shiso added a splash of color, along with a spicy, bitter flavor to counter the sweetness of the melon and honey. While the flowers and lemon balm complemented them.
Product:
Cavaillon Melon - Culton Organics
Red Sweet Corn - Culton Organics
Raw Cardoon Flower Honey - Culton Organics
Aka (red) Shiso - Weaver's Way
Jalapeno Chilis - Culton Organics
Lemon Balm - My Garden
Borage Flower - My Garden
Calendula Flowers - My Garden