This is a very hands-on dish packed with lots of strong flavours. The duck offal confit is made from duck heart and gizzards glazed with a rich duck sauce. They have a very meaty and intense flavour.
This is accompanied by a broccoli custard (a purée with a custard consistency) which has lots of viscosity.
The next element is a cheese foam made with Tunworth, a soft rind English Camembert style cheese. Firstly, make a light potato mousse to emulsify the cheese into, then put it in a cream whipper gun to aerate the mousse for a very light cheesy flavour.
The dish is finished with a stalk of tempura-battered purple sprouting broccoli and grated truffle. The broccoli is best towards the end of the season when it’s wispy and ready to flower because it has lots of leaves. Dip it in tempura batter and fry it in dripping or groundnut oil.
Marrying up the various textures is where the elegance of the dish comes from. Amalgamation is key.
1/ Plate Selection I chose to serve this dish in a conical Japanese-style ramen bowl, which is steep-sided with a little raised nib in the bottom. It’s white with a cream coloured rim which, when you look from above, created a frame around the dish.
2/ Truffle Oil Fill the gap around the edge of the dish with chive and truffle oil. The aromatic truffle flavour combined with the piquancy of chive add an extra dimension. The contrasting colour also adds visual interest.
3/ Cheese foam The cheese foam is added next, allowing it to pool in the bottom of the dish.
4/ Hidden Element Place the offal in the centre then “hide” it with the tempura broccoli. This hidden element is pleasant discovery for the diner.
5/ Finger Food The tempura broccoli is intended to be eaten with your fingers and dipped in the cheese foam. We want diners to get stuck in!
6/ Garnish Finish with fresh grated truffle for a decadent yet rustic appeal.
