BLACK

 

INGREDIENTS (serves 4):

Creamy black rice:

150 gr. Venere rice

2 small white onions                                                    

15 gr. butter

40 cl. chicken stock

 

Black radish with damsons:

500 gr. whole damsons

1 tbsp olive oil

1 black radish

15 gr. clarified butter

5 cl. port

20 cl. chicken stock

Turnip jelly in semi-mourning:

White jelly:

220 gr. turnip purée

30 cl. cream

3.5 gr. gelatine, soaked

Black jelly:

220 gr. turnip purée

30 cl. chicken stock

8 gr. cuttlefish ink

3.5 gr. gelatine, soaked

 

Meringue sticks:

30 gr. black Nyons olives

125 gr. egg white

60 gr. semolina sugar

1 gr. powdered egg white

60 gr. powdered sugar

8 gr. cuttlefish ink

15 ml. lemon juice

20 cl. veal stock

 

Braised veal sweetbreads:

4 white veal sweetbreads, 100 gr. each

25 gr. butter

4 leaves white cabbage

 

Others:

250 gr. black trumpets

2 cc. black Nyons olives

Salt and freshly-ground Sarawak pepper

 

Creamy black rice: Soften the onion in butter and mix with the rice. Add the stock (twice the volume of rice) and salt, cover and cook for 25 min. in the oven at 180ºC (356ºF). Before it is fully cooked, set aside 2 tbsp cooked rice. Mix with a little stock until creamy. Strain and check the seasoning. Add pepper and the cooked rice grains. Stir.

 

Black radish with damsons: Cut the radish into 1 cm slices. Blanch for 2 min. in salted water. Drain and sauté with clarified butter. Cover with port and chicken stock. Cover and simmer for 30 min. Sauté the damsons for about 15 min. over a very low heat then leave to cool. Spread the plum jam on the braised radish.

 

Turnip jelly in semi-mourning: The day before, boil the turnip purée with the cream, add the gelatine and pour into a 5 mm deep mould lined with film. Chill. Separately, heat the turnip purée with the stock and add the cuttlefish ink and gelatine. Pour into a 5 mm deep mould lined with film. Leave to stand overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, cut rings of jelly 5 cm in diameter. Form 8 checkered discs, with two quarters of white jelly and two quarters of black jelly. Chill.

 

Meringue sticks: Blanch the olives 3 times in boiling water. Drain, stone and chop. Beat the egg whites, add one part of the sugar with the powdered egg white and the cuttlefish ink. Add the remaining sugar. Carefully add the powdered sugar, the lemon juice and the chopped olives. Mould the mixture into sticks and place on sulphur paper. Bake at 150ºC (302ºF) for 3h. Leave to cool and keep in an airtight bag.

 

Braised veal sweetbreads: Blanch the cabbage leaves, drain and leave to cool. Cut in half. Plunge the olives in boiling water for 3 min., drain, stone and crush lightly. Cook the black trumpets with one tablespoonful of water, a knob of butter and a pinch of salt. Drain and cut into pieces. Mix with the olives and cabbage. Cook the sweetbreads in butter for 20 min. Remove from the pan and cover with aluminium foil. Deglaze the pan with veal stock, and add the cabbage, trumpets and crushed olives. Cook for 6-7 min. over a low heat. Return the sweetbreads to the pan and add the pepper. Serve hot.

 

 

 

TO SERVE

Serve the creamy black rice in large soup dishes and top with the sweetbreads. Place a chequered disc on another plate and add a little radish sauce. Serve the turnip with damson jam separately and accompany with a meringue stick.