Smoked Maitake Pavé with...Smoked Maitake Pavé with Sunchoke Silk and Charred Allium Dashi

An exquisite study in plant-based umami: compressed, cast-iron roasted maitake mushroom basted in smoked tamari glaze, anchored by a velvety sunchoke emulsion and bathed tableside in a luminous charred allium and kombu broth.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   Char the halved onions face-down in a dry, smoking-hot cast-iron skillet until deeply blackened and caramelized, about 8 minutes.

2. 02

   In a pot, combine the charred onions, kombu, dried shiitake, and 1 liter of filtered water. Bring to a bare simmer (85°C/185°F) for 35 minutes, strain through an oil filter or cheesecloth, and season with white shoyu to create a crystal-clear dashi; keep warm.

3. 03

   Simmer peeled sunchoke slices in barely enough salted water to cover until completely tender (about 12 minutes). Drain, reserving 3 tablespoons of liquid. Blend on high in a Vitamix with the cooking liquid and hazelnut oil until glossy and completely smooth; season with salt and pass through a fine sieve (chinois).

4. 04

   Flash-pickle the shimeji mushrooms by heating rice vinegar with 30ml water, 5g sugar, and a pinch of salt until dissolved, pouring the hot pickling liquid over the mushrooms and letting sit for 20 minutes.

5. 05

   Blanch chives in boiling water for 10 seconds, plunge into ice water, squeeze bone-dry, and blend with 100ml grapeseed oil at high speed for 2 minutes. Strain through a coffee filter to yield an emerald chive oil.

6. 06

   Heat a heavy cast-iron skillet with a thin film of neutral oil. Place the trimmed maitake pavés flat in the pan, weigh them down evenly with a parchment-lined heavy press, and sear on medium-high until caramelized and densely compressed (about 4 minutes per side).

7. 07

   Reduce the skillet heat and glaze the compressed maitake generously with a mixture of smoked tamari and mirin, turning and basting until lacquered and deeply aromatic.

8. 08

   To assemble, spoon a warm pool of sunchoke silk in the center of shallow bowls. Perch a glazed maitake pavé atop the purée. Accentuate with drained pickled shimeji and a few drops of emerald chive oil. Pour the piping-hot charred allium dashi tableside into the perimeter of the bowl.