CHESTNUTS, EEL, MUSHROOMS AND ANISEED

INGREDIENTS (to serve 8):
chestnut purée (to make 400 gr)
500 gr peeled chestnuts
10 gr salt
00 gr water
Chestnut threads (to make 350 gr)
300 gr chestnut purée (see above)
6 gr butter
Roast chestnuts (to make 40 gr approx.)
100 gr chestnuts
Fennel emulsion (to make 190 gr)
100 gr liquidised fennel leaves
0.7 gr xanthan gum
Salt
100 gr extra virgin olive oil
Beurre noisette
250 gr butter
Powdered tarragon (to make 35 gr)
150 gr fresh tarragon
Mushrooms
20 gr Craterellus cornucopioides
30 gr Cantharellus cibarius
20 gr enoki mushrooms
Smoked eel
100 gr smoked eel
Garnish
Shoots of purple shiso
Burnet leaves
Yuzu jam
Crystallised orange, diced

PREPARATION:
Chestnut purée: Bring the water to the boil with the salt. Add the peeled chestnuts and cook for 10 minutes. Strain, push through a sieve and keep hot.
Chestnut threads: While still hot, mix the chestnut purée with the butter and beat until smooth. Push through a strainer to form thin threads. Use a spatula to remove from the strainer and set aside.
Roast chestnuts: Roast the chestnuts over hot coals until soft. Peel and slice thinly. Set aside.
Fennel emulsion: Mix the liquidised fennel with the xanthan gum and salt and blend in a kitchen robot for a few minutes, gradually adding the olive oil to form an emulsion.
Beurre noisette: Place the butter in a frying-pan over a medium-low heat. When the protein separates from the fat, remove the solid part of the butter from the surface and continue to cook until it browns. Pour through a cloth filter and set aside.
Powdered tarragon: Remove the leaves from the tarragon stalks and discard the stalks. Place the leaves on a plate covered with absorbent kitchen paper and cook in the microwave oven for 10 seconds at the maximum setting. Remove, move the leaves around, then repeat the operation until the leaves are completely dry but still green. Finally crush to a fine powder in a grinder.
Mushrooms: Wash and cut the mushrooms.
Smoked eel: Cut the fillets of smoked eel into 5 mm dice.

TO SERVE:
In a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil, lightly sauté the smoked eel dice and arrange at the centre of the plate.
Cover the smoked eel dice with the chestnut threads and top these with 3 drops of fennel emulsion, 3 drops of yuzu jam and 3 drops of beurre noisette.
Sauté the mushrooms in another pan with extra virgin olive oil, and place 2 trumpets and 2 chanterelles on top of the chestnut purée together with 3 enoki mushrooms.
Finish with the shoots of purple shiso, burnet leaves, crystallised orange dice and powdered tarragon.