BABY SEPIA WITH SAKE LEES AND KOJI RICE

Brine:

1 litre water

100 gr salt

Sepia:

8 baby sepias

100 gr brine (see above)

Sake jelly:

100 gr sake

0.7 gr agar agar

Parmesan cream:

100 gr milk

100 gr cream

200 gr Parmesan

Koji rice:

100 gr water

50 gr koji rice

Salt

Squid stock:

1 kg squid trimmings

1 litre water

Ink sauce:

500 gr squid stock (see above)

100 gr onion, fried until soft

12 gr squid ink

60 gr butter

1.5 gr xanthan

Salt

Cep mushrooms with kasu:

300 gr fresh mushrooms

200 gr kasu

Tempeh:

300 gr Ganxet beans

1.5 gr fungus spores (Rhizopus Oryzae)

Rice tempeto:

200 gr rice

Water

Tempeh (see above)

PREPARATION

Brine: Mix the ingredients until the salt has fully dissolved.

Baby sepia: Wash the sepia, remove the mouth, cuttlebone and eyes. Place in the brine for 4 minutes, then remove and dry on kitchen paper, without tearing the delicate skin. Set aside for preparation just before serving.

Sake jelly: Pour 50 gr sake into a pan and add the agar-agar. Stir well and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and, when the temperature reaches 40ºC, add the rest of the sake. Pour the mixture into a container to obtain a depth of 3 mm. Chill until set, then cut into 0.3 cm dice.

Parmesan cream: Grate the parmesan. Mix the milk with the cream and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and add the grated parmesan. Cover with kitchen film and leave to infuse for 15 minutes. Blend and pour through a fine strainer.

Koji rice: Place the koji rice in a pan with the water and a pinch of salt. Place the pan in the fermenter at 55ºC for 2 hours. Drain off any remaining water, retaining the koji rice. If necessary, season with salt.

Squid stock: Fry the squid trimmings, add the water and boil for 30 minutes. Strain and set aside.

Ink sauce: Brown the onion, add the squid ink then immediately add the squid stock. Reduce to one third. Strain, texturise with xanthan and form an emulsion with the butter. Season.

Cep mushrooms with kasu: Thinly slice the ceps and marinate in kasu for 12 hours. Remove and cut very fine.

Tempeh: Soak the Ganxet beans in water for 12 hours. Remove the skin from each of the beans. Boil the beans for 15 minutes, then strain and leave to cool. Sprinkle the beans with the fungus spores and stir to ensure the spores are well distributed. Transfer the beans to perforated plastic bags to make the tempeh. Ferment at 30ºC for 26 hours. Remove from the bags.

Rice tempeto: Boil the rice in plenty of water for 10 minutes. Strain and leave to cool. Mix 200 gr of cooked rice with 100 gr tempeh in the Thermomix. Transfer the mixture to a vacuum pack and cook at 50ºC for 6 days.

Salad burnet / Thyme flower

Sear the baby sepia in a frying-pan.

Serve some ink sauce over the base of the plate, and add a few drops of parmesan cream. Around the sauce, place four dice of jelly, a few drops of rice tempeh, four pieces of cep mushrooms with kasu, and three teaspoonfuls of koji rice. Arrange thyme flowers on the rice. Finally, place the baby sepia on the ink and finish with a sprig of salad burnet.