James Gaag’s Chipotle Glazed Sweetbreads, Wagyu and Coriander

For the Veal Sweetbreads

Ingredients:

• 1kg cleaned veal sweetbreads, soaked
• 200g butter
• 3g salt
• 2 star anise
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 10 black peppercorns
• 1 juniper berry
• 1 tsp coriander seeds

Method:

1. Place all the ingredients into a Vacuum bag and sous vide at 75*C for 45min.
2. Chill completely and then remove the membranes and sinew before portioning.

For the Wagyu Sirloin

Ingredients:

• 1 Wagyu sirloin steak, or any high quality local beef
• Salt
• Pepper

Method:

1. Cut the meat into loins and season well with salt and pepper.

For the Chipotle Glaze

Ingredients:

• 5cm thumb ginger
• 6 sticks lemongrass, crushed
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 sticks cinnamon
• 1 star anise
• 300ml mirin
• 200ml sake
• 250ml light soy, green lid only
• 100ml honey
• 50g treacle sugar
• 500ml tomato sauce all gold
• 1500ml hoisin sauce
• 2 chipotle peppers

Method:

1. Sweat the chopped garlic, ginger, lemongrass, cinnamon and star anise.
2. Add the sake , mirin and reduce it down.
3. Add the soy sauce, treacle, honey and reduce by ½ .
4. Add the tomato sauce, hoisin and chipotle and cook on a low heat until thickened.

For the Corn Puree

Ingredients:

• 1kg frozen corn
• 250g butter
• 200ml cream
• salt to taste

Method:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a pan, wrap the top in clingfilm and steam/sweat the corn until it’s completely soft and has lost most of its moisture.
2. Remove lid/clingfilm and reduce rapidly with the cream until thick.
3. Blend to a smooth puree and season, pass and set aside.

For the Coriander Espuma

Ingredients:

• 250g butter milk
• 500g crème fraiche
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 150g chopped coriander
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• salt
• pepper
• 2 leaves gelatine

Method:

1. Heat the buttermilk and crème fraiche with the onion and garlic and allow to infuse.
2. Strain the mixture and whilst still hot, blend it with the coriander, lime, seasoning and gelatine and pass through a sieve.
3. Chill completely and fill into an espuma gun and charge twice.

For the Miso Dressing

Ingredients:

• 140g white miso paste
• 50ml ponzu
• 1 tsp sambal olek
• 100ml rice wine vinegar
• 300ml canola oil

Method:

1. Combine the miso, ponzu, sambal and rice vinegar in a blender and slowly emulsify in the canola oil.

For the Teriyaki Sauce

Ingredients:

• 200ml mirin
• 200ml sake
• 150ml light soy
• 200ml water
• 150 g sugar
• 30g peeled ginger root
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
• 1 bunch leeks grilled

Method:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a pot and reduce it very very slowly until it is fragrant and syrupy.

For the Garnish

• Baby radishes, sliced
• Confit lemon, julienned
• Micro herbs
• Popcorn
• Corn dust(pulp from the corn puree, dehydrated and blended)
• Baby sweetcorn in the husk, blanched and braaied.

To Finish

1. Dust the sweetbreads in seasoned flour and crisp in a hot pan with clarified butter. Once crisp, glaze liberally in the chipotle glaze and slice in half.
2. Sear the wagyu in a ripping hot pan after seasoning well. Slice thickly and dress with miso dressing.
3. Arrange both the sweetbreads and the wagyu attractively on a plate, dot with sweetcorn puree, miso dressing and drizzle with teriyaki. Finally espuma on the coriander emulsion.
4. The baby corn is brushed with more of the dressing, and sprinkled with popcorn, sweetcorn powder and chopped coriander and served alongside.
5. Finally the plate is garnished with micro herbs, sliced radishes and confit lemon.

Recipe courtesy of James Gaag at La Colombe in South Africa.