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When approaching Blis' roe, we often find ourselves incorporating ingredients that subtly harmonize, rather than compete with it - in order to highlight the roe, visually as well as on the palate. With the most recent dish "Roe with traditional garnishes," we used contemporary techniques to remove all texture from garnishes of brioche toast, onion, eggs, dill, caper and lemon. The result featured the texture and flavor of the roe as prominent characteristics. In the past, we placed the roe atop a sphere of coconut, literally putting it "on a pedestal" as the visual and flavor focal points of the dish.
Last night we introduced "Roe, plantain, ginger, papaya" onto both of our menus.
It was directly inspired by Chef Achatz's recent trip to the Cayman islands, but the idea of pairing roe based on the tropical nuances appearing within, goes back to the Trio days. During the off-times of the Cayman event, Chef Achatz discussed ideas with Sous Chef Matt Chasseur on a beach in the Caymans.
When they returned, Chef Chasseur took the initiative to develop the dish. We decided not to emphasize the roe - as in the past - but integrate it as we would another component. We small dice green, and ripe papaya separately. The green papaya is compressed with vanilla for a slight sweetness and crunch. The ripe papaya is compressed with cilantro, basil and lime zest. We gel dark rum, small dice it and macerate it with sugar. We then dehydrate it to form a crunchy, sweet, candy-like "rum rock." Small cross-sections of cilantro stem are compressed with vanilla. We make an intense, cleansing ginger liquid that we carbonate and foam with the ISI canister, resembling a ginger beer.
The combination is a reflection of our conscious desire to create rounded dishes. We balance the sweetness of papaya and plantain with the saltiness of the roe, acidity and bitterness of the lime zest and finger lime cells, sharp spiciness of the ginger, and aromatic qualities from the basil and cilantro. With so many lean components, we introduced the plantain puree as an element of richness that unifies the dish texturally with a creamy, coating mouth-feel.
We combine the papaya, pieces of freeze dried banana, basil buds, cilantro stem, finger lime cells, rum rocks and roe, all together to form a mixture that is complementary, with each element singularly identifiable on the palate. So many distinctive components are rarely eaten in one bite and create a texture Chef Achatz describes as "aggressive."
Creating a compelling presentation with this many small, individual items becomes a challenge. We found a functional and aesthetically appealing solution in the nutmeg film. The isomalt-based shell is broken up by the guest, and mixes with the other ingredients first providing prominent crunchy texture before dissolving on the palate, without stickiness. We first heat the base to hard crack temperature. While the base is hot, we spoon in the roe mixture, encasing it, as the shell rapidly cools. We present the diner with the resulting "film," in hopes to inspire the audible, tactile and emotional satisfaction of both opening a gift and first cracking the surface of a creme brulee.
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