Previously, on tastingmenu.wordpress.com –
* https://tastingmenu.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/steamed-lobster-with-nobu-sauces/
In looking for a new recipe to try I came across: Salmon Hummus in World Of Nobu (p. 300-301). In reading through the recipe, I realized I would be making hummus on my own for the first time, So the hummus ingredient list from the recipe combined with the
15.5 oz can of chickpeas, drained (I would have to reserve 2 T of the canning liquid)
suggested measurements from Bon Appetit (https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/classic-chickpea-hummus) would look like:
tahini for the hummus
1 15.5 oz can chickpeas, reserving about 1 1/2 T of the canning liquid
1 garlic clove pureed (1/2 t grated)
1/2 c tahini (6 T)
3/4 t salt
1/4 t cumin
2 T lemon juice
5 1/4 t yuzu juice
3 T extra virgin olive oil
salt to add
along with the cumin
how much is one grated clove of garlic?
To the tahini, I would add in salt, cumin, garlic, lemon and yuzu juices
to add the lemon juice
…and the yuzu juice
and set that aside while I turned my attention to the chickpeas. As it would turn out, the original guidance for 1 to 1 1/2 T seemed low
To puree the chickpeas
and made it difficult to puree the chickpeas into a smooth paste. So I upped the guidance to 2 T (4 half tablespoons) and that seemed
1 1/2 T reserve liquid didn’t seem enough to make a smooth chickpea paste
to do the trick. So into a mixing bowl, I transferred the chickpea paste and then added the reserve tahini mix. And while I supposed
Beginning to assemble the hummus
could use a hand mixer, I patiently blended the mix with a fork as if I were beating eggs. Once I got that blended, in went the extra
Adding the olive oil to the blend
virgin olive oil to be further hand mixed.
hummus all finished
With the hummus finished and set aside, I turned my attention to the cucumber ‘salad’. The thing I noticed about the Chef Salazar’s cucumber salad was that it called for a deseeded jalapeno and serrano as well as another plain serrano in this version of the jalapeno dressing. Additionally, I noticed that Chef Salazar also called for extra virgin olive oil in jalapeno dressing instead of grapeseed oil.
1 large jalapeno and two serrano’s (together about the same size of the jalapeno)
So for this jalapeno dressing, I would deseed and de-rib the jalapeno and a serrano, and just split the remaining serrano.
desseeded,de-ribbed jalapeno/serrano and simply split serrano
In order to make it easier to blended the chilis with the rice vinegar, I chopped up the chili’s before they went into the food processor
primary ingredients for the Nobu Mexico jalapeno dressing
with the vinegar and garlic. Once the puree was done, I dissolved in the salt and then added 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. To
Completed jalapeno dressing
finish making the cucumber ‘salad’, the cucumber ‘salad’ garnish recipe would turn out to be:
1 persian cucumber per person
cleaning up the cucumbers
2 julienned cucumber (seeds removed)
a little chopped cilantro
chopped shiso
4 tablespoons jalapeno dressing
sprinkle of yuzu juice (2 tsps for garnish)
a julienne of cucumber
Into a different mixing bowl, I mixed the julienne of cucumber with 4 tablespoons of the jalapeno dressing and the sprinkled into 2
completing the cucumber salad
teaspoons of yuzu juice. I handed mixed the ‘salad’ and set it aside to ‘marinate’ while I went about preparing the salmon fillets. I was
juli Belly cuts of ORA NZ salmon
very fortunate to find that Marty’s (next door to Whole Foods Newtonville) was carrying tranched ORA NZ salmon. I wiped the salmon fillets dry and seasoned them each with 4 3-fingered pinches of 4:1 salt/pepper mix. The salmon went into my countertop oven (midlevel rack) at 500 degrees to broil for 8 mins. The salmon turned out to be perfectly cooked and that probably spoke to the quality of the ORA NZ salmon.
Plating the dish began with laying down 4 tablespoons of the hummus, siding it with a nice group of the julienned cucumber salad and
Salmon Hummus, Nobu Mexico City
then placing a piece of salmon atop the hummus. The dish was completed with single line of drizzle of olive oil across the salmon and finished with a sprinkle-shake of shichimi togarashi to add a little more richness and punch to the dish. My wife was a little bit skeptical about the pairing of the hummus with the salmon but was very surprised how well it matched. I thought the meal was also quite enjoyable. Perhaps next time when I have fresh cilantro and shiso on hand, I’ll add a judicious amount of finely minced cilantro and shiso. Thank you Chef Salazar and Matsuhisa-sama. This was a fun dish to make and I learned something new!
