Cauliflower Cous-Cous with Solid Aromatic Herb Sauce

By corlear

Ingredients

• For the cauliflower cous-cous:
• 1 cauliflower (1.5 lb)
• salt
• For the lamb stock:
• 2.6 lb neck of lamb
• 3/4 oz dry olives
• 1 oz onion
• 11/4 cup white wine
• 1 tsp black pepper grains
• 1 tsp dry oregano
• 1 dry bay leaf
• 3 cups water
• 1/4 cup 0.4º olive oil
• For the lamb sauce:
• 1/4 cup reduced lamb stock (see previous step)
• salt
• cornflour
• For the gingerbread:
• 13/4 oz honey gingerbread
• 1 tsp spice powder (all-spice)
• 2 tbsp 0.4º olive oil
• For the Campari gelatin:
• 1/4 cup de Campari
• 2 tsp powdered agar-agar
• For the vinegar reduction:
• 1/2 cup Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar
• 13/4 tbsp glucose
• For the fresh ginger cubes:
• 2/3 oz fresh ginger
• sunflower oil
• For the pear and apple cubes:
• 1 Granny Smith apple (31/2 oz)
• 1 Conference pear
• sunflower oil
• For the saffron:
• 10 saffron strands
• To finish:
• 1 tsp muscovado sugar
• 8 fresh juniper berries
• 8 small fresh fennel leaves
• 8 small fresh mint leaves
• 8 small fresh chervil leaves
• 8 fresh rosemary flowers
• 8 fresh lavender flowers
• 8 small fresh basil leaves
• 8 young almonds
• grated rind of half a lemon
• grated rind of half a orange
• 1 tbsp 0.4º olive oil
• Note: pine nuts can be used to replace the almonds.

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

For the cauliflower cous-cous:
1. Remove the outside leaves of the cauliflower and break off the natural sprigs so that they remain as whole as possible.
2. Use a knife to cut the surface of the sprigs as if you were peeling them, without reaching the stalks, which will be used for another dish.
3. Fill a 1/4 of the food processor with the cut cauliflower.
4. Grind in short sharp bursts of 2 or 3 seconds.
5. The processed part should look as much like cous-cous as possible.
6. Blanche in salted boiling water for 3 seconds and immediately cool in salted iced water.
7. Drain, pressing down with your hands to extract all the water and leave on kitchen paper.
8. Keep in the fridge.

For the lamb stock:
1. Chop the neck of lamb into small pieces.
2. Roast in the oven with a little oil at 355ºF. Stir occasionally so that it browns uneven. The lamb should be golden brown.
3. Deglaze and add the onion and garlic. Continue roasting until the vegetables are golden brown.
4. Skim off the fat and deglaze with white wine.
5. Roast until the wine caramelizes and completely evaporates.
6. When the juices begin to turn golden brown, add the water. Deglaze the tray and transfer the meat to a pressure cooker. Add the aromatic herbs and the pepper.
7. Cook over a medium heat, whisking all the time.
8. Once it begins to boil, lower the heat and leave it to simmer for one hour.
9. Strain and leave to cool so the fat solidifies and can be scrapped off.
10. Reduce until you have a tasty and thick stock. Sieve.

For the lamb sauce:
1. Reduce the stock and thicken it with the cornflour. It has to be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
2. Season with salt.

For the gingerbread:
1. Trim the crusts off the bread.
2. Roughly chop in the food processor.
3. Spread over a piece of greaseproof paper on a baking tray.
4. Bake at 325ºF for 6 minutes. It has to be really dry.
5. Once it is cold, mix with the spice powder and with the oil. Stir thoroughly. Keep on one side.

For the Campari gelatin:
1. Mix the Campari and agar-agar together.
2. Stirring continuously, bring to the boil over a medium heat. Remove from the heat and whisk.
3. Pour a 1/5" layer into a dish.
4. Leave to set in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
5. Once it is set, cut into 1/5 x 1/5" cubes.

For the vinegar reduction:
1. Reduce the vinegar with the glucose.
2. Reduce the mixture over a gentle heat until you have a thick sauce with the consistency of liquid caramel. Strain and put in a baster.

For the fresh ginger cubes:
1. Peel the ginger and use a meat slicer to cut it into 1/10" slices.
2. Cut the slices into 1/10" x 1/10" cubes.
3. Cover lightly with sunflower oil to avoid the ginger turning brown. Keep on one side.

For the pear and apple cubes:
1. Peel the apple and the pear. Use the meat slicer to cut them into 1/3" slices.
2. Cut the slices into 1/3 x 1/3" cubes.
3. Cover lightly with sunflower oil to avoid the fruit turning brown.
4. Keep each type of fruit separately

For the saffron:
1. Wrap the strands in foil and bake at 345ºF for 1 minute.

Final Steps & Preparation:
1. Place the ingredients in a large dish as if you were using them to make a clock.
2. Place a long strip of 2 tbsp of gingerbread at 12 and 6 o'clock. Place at one end of the gingerbread, a mint leaf, followed by a rosemary flower and a little lemon rind.
3. Place a long strip of 2 tbsp of gingerbread at 3 and 9 o'clock. Place a basil leaf, followed by a lavender flower and a little orange rind on top of the gingerbread.
4. Put a cube of Campari gelatin at 1, 5 and 10 o'clock.
5. At 2 and 7 o'clock, a pear cube topped with a crushed juniper berry, beside a small chervil leaf and then a young almond.
6. At 11 and 4 o'clock, a apple cube topped with a strand of roasted saffron, beside a ginger cube and a small fennel leaf.
7. Put a little muscovado sugar at 8 o'clock.
8. Put a drop of vinegar reduction at 10 and 4 o'clock.
9. Sauté the cauliflower cous-cous in a little 0.4º olive oil and put 6 Earl Gray piled up in center of the dish. Season with salt.
10. Heat the lamb sauce and drizzle a ring around the base of the cauliflower cous-cous making sure it does not touch the species.