Cuba Libré With a Twist


CUBA LIBRÉ MOLECULAR SHOT

This was so much fun to make and not hard at all, the longest part was waiting for the rum too cool to room temperature. These are also great to impress you guests. I will attach two links to websites that I use quite regularly one being The Red Spoon Company (This is a great site for the food additives, cooking equipment and ingredients). The other site is Molēcule-R (These guys do great little kits for people who want to have a go at molecular gastronomy).

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INGREDIENTS

– 300ml White Rum

– 300ml of Water

– 500ml of Distilled Water

– 400ml Of Your Favorite Cola

– 2Tbsp Caster sugar

– 1g Xanthan Gum

– 2.5g Calcium Chloride

– 2g Sodium Alginate

– 1 Pipette or Caviar Maker

– 1 Spherification or Slotted Spoon

– 1 Shot Glass (Preferably Clear)


METHOD

You are going to need three bowls or containers to start. In the first bowl place the xanthan gum and the caster sugar and mix to combine. Next add the water and the rum. Blitz with a hand blender, cover and refrigerate for 60 minutes. In the second bowl pour the cola into another bowl and add the sodium alginate. Blitz with a hand blender and set aside for three minutes. In the last bowl you want to make a calcium chloride bath and to do this is quite simple, add the distilled water and calcium chloride and stir to combine.

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Now comes the fun part, grab the two bowls with the cola in it and the calcium bath. Grab your pipette or caviar maker and extract the cola mixture. Next you want to drip the cola mixture into the calcium bath. Keep dripping the more you make the better your shot will look. Once you think you have enough, stir the pearls with a spoon to loosen them up.

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Presentation. Get a big scoop of the pearls with your spherification spoon or slotted spoon and tip carefully into a shot glass. Take the Rum mixture out of the fridge and into a measuring jug (it just makes it easier to pour). Pour the mixture into the shot glass and boom! You have yourself a molecular Cuba Libré shot. Enjoy 🙂

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Full credit to the guys and gals over at MOLECULE-R Flavors on youtube. Below is a link to a video on how to make the shot also.

Potage de Tomate Reconstruit


RECONSTRUCTED TOMATO SOUP

So, the next step in my molecular journey is reconstructed tomato soup, tomato spaghetti or gelification. If you explore their website (link below) it takes you to some pretty amazing and very easy and very difficult videos on how to make molecular food. I’m starting out easy and eventually when I have the equipment (which for me is only 3 items away) I will start to take on the more difficult and daring recipes, maybe EVEN some requests if people have any.

Tomato Soup 2

Tomato soup 1

INGREDIENTS

– 1 1/2 Cup of Water

– Half a Leek

– 1 Carrot

– 6 Cherry Tomatoes

– 1 Tbsp Each of Fresh Basil, Chives and Parsley

– 1 Clove of Garlic

– 1 Cube of Chicken Stock (Vegetable Stock is Fine)

– 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste

– Salt and Pepper to Taste

– 2g Agar-Agar (Specialty Ingredient)

– 1 Syringe and Clear Tube

METHOD

Combine the water, leek, carrot, tomatoes, herbs, garlic, stock, tomato paste, salt and pepper into a small saucepan, stir, bring to a boil and simmer on low heat for twenty minutes. Once complete, pour the contents into a blender and blitz until it resembles a soup like consistency.

Cover the saucepan with cheesecloth, pour the contents in from the blender and strain as much as liquid out as you can (This takes time!). Once you have the strained liquid, pour in the agar-agar and whilst stirring, bring back to the boil. Once Boiled, pour into a heat proof bowl and prepare an ice bath in another bowl.

Once you have the two ready, you will need to suck the soup into the syringe. Connect the clear tube (all shown in the video in the link below) and plunge, filling the tube full of soup. Once full, submerge into the ice bath for three minutes. place tube back onto syringe full of air and plunge the syringe pushing the now spaghetti like soup onto a clean plate. Arrange however you like and garnish with a cherry tomato, shaves of parmesan cheese and a few drops of quality olive oil.

Full credit to the guys at MOLECULE-R Flavors on the Web and Youtube.

Link to video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDSvaCkGivE

Specialty ingredient:

Agar-Agar can be obtained at most supermarkets in the Oriental section, at any Oriental Deli or the website below

http://www.redspooncompany.com/index.php/ingredients/modernist-cuisine.html