DESSERT NACHOS
Serves 6
This dish is Ben Roche, through and through. Ben was our pastry chef from 2004 to 2012 and is absolutely brilliant when it comes to texture and appearance.
This dish is where we begin to mess with our guests, just a little. Imagine you’re at the end of a twenty-course meal. The last thing you’d want is a plate of nachos. So what do we do? We bring you a plate of nachos. The kick is that these “nachos” are actually a dessert. The “beef” is ground milk chocolate, and the toppings are made from kiwi, mint, and pear. The “cheese” is grated frozen mango that actually melts at room temperature, simulating the gooey, melty cheese on a real plate of nachos.
TORTILLA CHIPS:
200 grams fresh corn tortillas
200 grams sugar
200 grams water
1700 grams (2 quarts) canola oil
“SOUR CREAM”:
150 grams yogurt
125 grams cream cheese
20 grams sugar
20 grams fresh lime juice
Grated zest of 1 lime
5 grams salt
MINT SYRUP:
25 grams fresh mint leaves
25 grams ice
150 grams water
30 grams sugar
1 gram xanthan gum (see Sources, here)
CHOCOLATE “MEAT”:
250 grams milk chocolate
MANGO “CHEESE”:
175 grams fresh mango, diced
40 grams simple syrup
20 grams water
1 gram malic acid (see Sources, here)
1 gram salt
0.25 gram xanthan gum (see Sources, here)
1 sheet silver gelatin (see Sources, here)
TO FINISH:
2 kiwis, peeled and cut into small dice
2 pears, peeled and cut into small dice
100 grams milk chocolate
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
Liquid nitrogen (see Sources, here; optional)
Insulated container or dewar (optional)
TORTILLA CHIPS:
Preheat a deep fat fryer or pot of oil on the stove to 350°F.
Line a sheet pan with paper towels. Cut each tortilla into 8 equal triangles. Fry the tortilla chips in 50-gram batches and transfer to the prepared sheet pan to cool.
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Place a wire rack on a sheet pan. Put the sugar and water in a medium saucepot and set over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the simple syrup into a bowl and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Working with 20 grams at a time, dip the fried tortilla chips into the syrup. Use a spider to lift them out of the syrup and transfer to the prepared rack to cool. Repeat the process until all the chips have been dipped. Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve and reserve to use to make the Mango “Cheese.”
Put the sheet pan with the Tortilla Chips in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and crispy. Let cool completely and use immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to use, up to 2 days.
“SOUR CREAM”:
Put the yogurt, cream cheese, lime zest, lime juice, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse until combined. Transfer to a piping bag and reserve in the refrigerator until ready to plate.
MINT SYRUP:
Set a saucepot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Prepare an ice bath. Once the water comes to a boil, blanch the mint leaves for 30 seconds, until tender. Immediately transfer the mint to the ice bath and allow to chill for 1 to 2 minutes, until the leaves are cold. Drain the leaves and use paper towels to gently squeeze out any excess water. Put the mint in a blender with the ice, water, sugar, and xanthan gum. Puree on high for 1 minute, until smooth. Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve and reserve in a squeeze bottle in the refrigerator for later use. Mint Syrup is best used on the day it is made.
CHOCOLATE “MEAT”:
Put the milk chocolate in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the chocolate until it breaks up and starts to form little beads resembling ground beef. Transfer to an airtight container and store at room temperature until ready to plate.
MANGO “CHEESE”:
Put the mango, 40 grams of the reserved simple syrup, water, malic acid, salt, and xanthan gum in a blender and blend on high for 1 minute, until smooth. Soak the sheet of gelatin in a small saucepan of cold water until it softens, about 5 minutes. Put the saucepan over low heat and melt the gelatin. Pour the gelatin into the mango puree and blend for 5 seconds to incorporate. Pour 200 grams of the mango puree into a pint-sized plastic container and freeze.
The next day, remove the mango puree from the container, dipping it into boiling water for a few seconds to loosen the sides if necessary. Put the mango puree block in a bowl and refrigerate to temper for 30 minutes.
Set up a food processor with a large grater attachment, and fill an insulated container or dewar halfway with liquid nitrogen. Run the tempered block of mango through the food processor to grate, and immediately transfer it to the liquid nitrogen. The grated mango will freeze into shape and should resemble shredded cheddar cheese. Use a strainer to collect the mango cheese from the liquid nitrogen and reserve in a covered container in the freezer until ready to plate. Alternatively, set a stainless-steel bowl over an ice bath. As soon as you remove the frozen mango from the container, use a box grater to grate it into the chilled bowl. Reserve in a covered container in the freezer until ready to plate.
TO FINISH:
Put 8 candied Tortilla Chips in each bowl. Top with 10 grams of Chocolate “Meat.” Mix 15 grams of diced kiwi with 5 grams of Mint Syrup in a small mixing bowl to resemble salsa and top 1 plate of nachos; repeat with the 5 remaining plates. Add 5 grams of diced pear to resemble diced onions and 10 grams of “Sour Cream” to each plate of nachos. Finally top each dish with 15 grams of Mango “Cheese.” As the mango thaws, it will melt and resemble melted cheese. Serve immediately.
