Beautiful Garnishes to Elevate and Impress
Written by Eric Keener
The most important factor of a good meal, is that the flavors, textures and colors all come together wonderfully. The last piece of the puzzle is making sure it looks beautiful. Garnishes and presentation can be the factor that take a great meal and make it excellent. Here are some very simple recipes for making really impressive and tasty additions to your dishes.
Squid Ink Tuille
Dainty, unique, complex, crunchy and tasty! The first time I tried this was on a late night and it took me at least 10 tries to get the ratios and portions right. Now, having done it a few times, I can get it first try and you will be able to also!
Add high heat oil to a clean, small, frying pan. Just enough to fully coat the bottom.
Heat oil over high heat.
In a small mixing bowl, thoroughly mix 1 part flour to 9 parts water (make at least 1 cup or 250 ml of batter). The consistency will be very watery but if you keep the ratio correct, it will turn out well.
I add about ½ teaspoon of squid ink so that my lace tuile turns black, but you can use a few drops of food coloring to change the color as desired (red tuile looks like beautiful ocean coral).
Once you’re ready to add the batter to the oil, give the batter a quick stir in the bowl and then using a large spoon or small ladel, pour an amount of batter in the pan. Start by trying 1 tablespoon of batter ― there is a little trial-and-error in this step (see note below) but thankfully, it is quick and easy to try again with slightly more batter or slightly less oil.
When you first pour the batter in, it looks like black, boiling sludge. This is just the water starting to boil and evaporate. It will definitely splatter, so have a splatter guard handy. Make sure not to stir the batter or move the pan while it bubbles and pops. You will see the sludge start to form holes where the bubbles come through and then you will see the tuile will start to crisp up and harden. This generally takes about 1 minute.
Keep the tuile crisping until the edges are matte and starting to lift from the pan. Most of the oil should be absorbed into the tuile but some left in the pan is normal.
Very gently, remove from the pan and place on a paper towel to dry. It’s crazy fragile so lift and place carefully.
Add more oil to the pan, let it heat and do steps 6-8 again until your batter is gone or until you have enough tuile.
Depending on your plating creativity, it looks really neat when the tuile is broken into angular chunks about 2” (5 cm) in length and placed at the top of the food on the dish. If using a smaller dish or bowl, consider leaving the tuile whole and placing it as a “lid” to the dish. Sometimes the element of mystery is a fun addition to the dining experience. Note that it will absorb moisture and become soggy if left touching moist food or broth.
The tuile should be used the day it was made as it will generally become less crunchy the longer it sits out in the open air.
Note:
The trial and error part is getting the right ratio of batter to depth of oil in the pan. You will need to figure out how much batter to add for how deep your oil is.
Parmesan Crisps
Parmesan crisps are really great because of how easy they are to make. Just be careful, they can be very overpowering in taste so use sparingly.
Preheat your broiler (overhead grill).
Place a baking sheet or parchment paper in a baking tray.
Loosely grate some parmesan cheese in a pile. The desired size and amount of crisps that you’re making will determine how much cheese you use. For this example, start with about ½ cup of grated cheese.
Spread the mix evenly on the paper or baking sheet - aim to have very small holes speckled all over where you can see the baking sheet below (think of it as making a mesh sheet) ― if the mixture is too thick in spots, it won’t crisp up and will stay oily and soggy.
You can choose to include additional (dry ingredient) flavors here as well by lightly sprinkling a pinch of italian herbs, crushed red pepper, truffle powder, cracked pepper or garlic salt over the top of your cheese layer.
Place the baking tray in the broiler, keeping a very close eye on the parmesan mixture. Cook times will vary based on heat, thickness of cheese, etc, however it shouldn’t take more than a couple minutes. You want as much moisture and oil to come out of the parmesan as possible, but you also don’t want to let it burn.
When the edges are starting to dry, take it out and immediately cut it into strips or triangles with a circular pizza slicer or knife (press down, don’t slice or it will tear) or use a cookie cutter to cut it into circles. You can also cut it into long strips, immediately lay it over something round like a rolling pin (while it’s still warm and pliable), and then put it in the freezer ― it will harden in the shape you’ve set it in.
If cooked until the cheese is nearly dry, you can make the crisps a day in advance to help save time for cooking your dish but they should generally be enjoyed the day they are made. Just remember that it is potent so a little bit goes a long way.
Flavored “Caviar” Pearls
A stunning way to enhance the flavor, texture and appearance of your dish. Think caviar or tobiko but with a flavor you control! They are the consistency of grapes without the skin on, are pretty durable and are packed with flavor. For this example, I used balsamic vinegar for a caprese inspired salad (full recipe here), but you can use things like yuzu, soy sauce, or lime as well.
Ingredients:
2/3 cup (160 ml) olive oil
2/3 cup (160 ml) balsamic vinegar (or any other flavored liquid, like citrus juice or diluted tabasco sauce)
2 grams (a pinch) agar-agar
3 cups (700 ml) water
Method:
Pour olive oil into a pint glass or medium carafe. The thinner and taller the vessel the better so you don’t use as much oil, but wide enough to still draw out pearls with a spoon once they are set.
Place oil into the freezer for 30 minutes.
Begin heating the balsamic vinegar in a saucepan over medium heat.
Add agar-agar and stir constantly.
Bring to a boil while stirring constantly then immediately remove from heat.
Remove oil from the freezer.
Using a syringe or pipette, draw up the balsamic mixture and begin to slowly drop into the cold olive oil. The larger the droplets, the larger spheres they will form. A good size to aim for is about the size of a peppercorn.
Using a spoon, gently transfer the balsamic pearls to a bowl filled with the water. Give them a good stir to rinse the oil off of the pearls. then strain through a sieve/fine mesh strainer.
The pearls will last up to a week in the refrigerator and you can reuse the olive oil afterward so there is no waste!