SMELL THE GLOVE
Serves 6
I was putting on a new pair of leather gloves and was struck by the scent of saffron that permeated them. So what goes with a leather glove? Vanilla bean raisin puree, of course, and a smoked cookie, juniper ice cream, candied hazelnuts, pine yogurt, and you’ve got to have a chocolate hand.
Scent is just as important as taste when it comes to dining. This dish imparts wonderful smoky aromas by asking the diner to eat the course while wearing a smoked leather glove on their dominant hand. It’s a little over the top and ridiculous but the flavors of the dish are truly delicious. The experience of the leather glove is mirrored in the dish, and the flavors are all complemented by the aromas of the smoked leather. Enjoy this dessert with a glass of Scotch and it will be the perfect ending to any meal.
VANILLA BEAN RAISIN PUREE:
200 grams raisins
135 grams water
Seeds scraped from 20 grams whole vanilla beans
0.5 gram xanthan gum (see Sources, here)
1 gram salt
JUNIPER ICE CREAM:
250 grams whole milk
35 grams sugar
10 grams nonfat dry milk powder
6 grams juniper berries, ground
20 grams (about 1 large) egg yolk
SMOKE COOKIE:
300 grams all-purpose flour
15 grams cocoa powder
15 grams Lapsang souchong or other smoked tea, ground to a fine powder in a spice grinder
3 grams salt
225 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
110 grams sugar
30 grams (about 2 large) egg yolks
CANDIED HAZELNUTS:
100 grams raw hazelnuts
15 grams honey
20 grams sugar
1 gram salt
TO FINISH:
Micro-greens
Scotch
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
Pacojet (see Sources, here) or ice cream maker
6 leather gloves
6 glass biospheres
Spray bottle
Smoking gun or Super Aladin Smoker (see Sources, here)
VANILLA BEAN RAISIN PUREE:
Put the raisins, water, vanilla beans, xanthan gum, and salt in a blender and puree on high speed for 1 minute, until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and transfer to a squeeze bottle. Reserve at room temperature until ready to plate.
JUNIPER ICE CREAM:
Put the milk, sugar, nonfat dry milk powder, and juniper in a medium saucepot and stir to dissolve the sugar and milk powder. Set over medium heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let the mixture steep for 10 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and transfer to a clean pot. Whisk in the egg yolk and set over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring, until the mixture reaches 180°F. Transfer the ice cream base to a Pacojet canister and freeze overnight. The next day, run a full cycle of the Pacojet and keep in the freezer until ready to plate. Alternatively, chill the ice cream base in your freezer and then freeze it in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.
SMOKE COOKIE:
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Put the flour, cocoa, smoked tea, and salt in a bowl and whisk to blend. Reserve. Beat the softened butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-low speed until light and creamy. With the mixer running, add the egg yolks to the butter and sugar and continue to beat until the egg yolks are absorbed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed. Add all of the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar and mix on low speed for 1 minute, or until you have a uniform dough.
Lay a piece of parchment paper on the countertop and scoop the dough out onto the center of the paper. Cover it with another piece of parchment paper and roll out to a thickness of ¼ inch. Line a sheet pan with a silicone mat and put the dough in the parchment paper on top of it. Bake for 15 minutes, until the cookie is cooked through. Remove from the oven and let it cool to room temperature.
Once cool, crumble the cookie into the bowl of a food processor. Grind the cookie into a powder and reserve in an airtight container until ready to plate.
CANDIED HAZELNUTS:
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Put the hazelnuts and honey in a mixing bowl. Toss to coat the nuts. Add the sugar and salt and toss again. Line a sheet pan with a silicone mat and spread the nuts out in an even layer on the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the nuts are a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Put the Candied Hazelnuts in a food processor and pulse to grind them into a fine crumble but not a powder. Store in an airtight container until ready to plate.
PINE YOGURT:
Put the yogurt, pine extract, and juniper in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Transfer to a squeeze bottle and reserve until ready to plate.
CHOCOLATE HAND:
Put 100 grams of the chocolate and the cocoa butter in a stainless-steel mixing bowl set over a pot of simmering water to create a double boiler. Melt the chocolate to 135°F. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in more dark chocolate, 1 piece at a time, until the temperature reaches 88°F. Place the bowl back on the simmering water and bring the temperature to 93°F to temper the chocolate. Transfer the chocolate to a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Lay your hand on a piece of parchment paper and trace it with a black marker to make a stencil. Lay another sheet of parchment paper on top of the stencil so you can see the hand through the paper. Trace the outline of the hand stencil with the piping bag full of chocolate and let the chocolate outline set up for 30 seconds. Fill in the outline with more tempered chocolate until you have a solid chocolate hand. Repeat to make 6 hands. Store in the refrigerator on a tray lined with parchment paper until ready to plate.
TO FINISH:
Place 6 leather gloves on the table and cover each with a glass biosphere. Stretch plastic wrap over the top of the biospheres and trim the excess plastic with an X-acto blade. Cut a slit in the plastic and insert a smoking gun. Fill the biospheres with smoke and smoke the gloves for 1 to 2 minutes. While the gloves are smoking at the table, put a 30-gram spoonful of Vanilla Bean Raisin Puree on each plate and drag the tip of a spoon through the puree in a line to create a swoosh. Top with some Smoke Cookie powder and crumbled Candied Hazelnuts.
Add three 10-gram dollops of Pine Yogurt around the plate and then a quenelle of Juniper Ice Cream. Top with a Chocolate Hand and garnish with microgreens and a spritz of Scotch. Upon serving the desserts, remove the biospheres and let the smoke dissipate. Ask your guests to wear the smoked leather glove on their dominant hand while eating, to accentuate the smoky notes of the dish.
