SNOWMAN

Serves 6

Chicago winters are no joke, so we decided it would be fun to serve a snowman in the dining room while there was all that snow on the ground outside. For our snowman, coconut foam with black lava sea salt eyes rests on a cube of marlin tartare with pineapple and flambéed rum. He looks like he’s melting into the dish below him. Coconut-pineapple snow rains down on the plate as the snowman sinks into the fish. The bright flavors of this dish will lift your spirits in the dark days of winter—or any other time you choose to enjoy them.

COCONUT FOAM:

1 young coconut

5 grams fresh lime juice

15 grams sugar

1 gram salt

2 grams Versawhip (see Sources, here)

2 grams xanthan gum (see Sources, here)

FISH:

180 grams nairagi (striped marlin) fillet

20 grams rum

40 grams pineapple, diced into ¼-inch cubes

30 grams reserved coconut flesh, diced into ¼-inch cubes

Grated zest of 1 lime

15 grams fresh lime juice

SNOW:

20 grams coconut milk powder (see Sources, here)

20 grams freeze-dried pineapple powder (see Sources, here)

20 grams grated lime zest

TO FINISH:

6 grams black lava salt

6 grams pink Himalayan sea salt

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:

2-inch square molds

COCONUT FOAM:

Lay the young coconut on its side on a cutting board and use a cleaver or chef’s knife to shave away the white husk and reveal the nut inside. Once the top of the nut is exposed, stand the coconut up on your cutting board. Use the bottom corner of your blade to make 4 cuts in the top of the young coconut, 1 to 2 inches below the peak, forming a small square at the top. The easiest way to do this is to hold the blade at an angle above where you want to make the cut and then swing it downward and let it sink it into the coconut. Once all 4 cuts are made, turn the blade sideways and use the bottom tip to pry the lid off the top of the coconut. Pour the coconut water into a container and reserve. Alternatively, you can use a cleaver to split the coconut while holding it on top of a container to catch the water, using extreme caution not to cut your hand in the process. Use a spoon to scrape the soft white meat out of the shell. Trim off any brown spots. Reserve the coconut meat.

Put 200 grams of coconut water, the lime juice, sugar, salt, Versawhip, and xanthan gum in a mixing bowl. Use an immersion blender to combine all the ingredients. Once the powdered ingredients have dissolved, switch to the whisk attachment or use a stand or hand mixer to whip the coconut to a stable foam with soft peaks. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large plain tip and reserve in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

FISH:

Use a long slicing knife to remove all the skin from the fish and discard. Dice the marlin into ¼-inch cubes and reserve in a covered container in the refrigerator. Put the rum in a small sauté pan set over medium-high heat and very carefully allow it to catch fire to cook off the alcohol. Once the rum stops burning, remove from the heat and let cool.

Put the fish, rum, pineapple, diced coconut, lime zest, lime juice, and salt in a medium mixing bowl and stir to combine. Portion into 30-gram balls and use 2-inch square molds—those silicon ice cube trays work great—to form into cubes. Wrap with plastic wrap and hold in the refrigerator until ready to plate.

SNOW:

In a mixing bowl, combine the coconut milk powder, pineapple powder, and lime zest, whisking to blend. Store in an airtight container until ready to plate.

TO FINISH:

Put 1 square of fish in the center of each plate. Pipe 3 balls of the Coconut Foam on top of the fish to create the snowman. It’s okay if he melts a little bit—he’s in a tropical environment, after all. Place 2 black lava salt crystals on the snowman for the eyes, and 1 pink salt crystal for the mouth. You can also add 3 buttons with the black salt. Use a tea strainer to sprinkle Snow around the plate. Repeat with the 5 remaining plates, and serve immediately.