Green Garlic Custard

Ingredients

For the Green Garlic Broth:

• 50g Good quality unsalted butter, such as Plugra
• 150g Green garlic, sliced thin
• 500g Vegetable stock
• Shiro dashi
• Sea salt

For the Custard Base:

• 480g Green garlic broth, at 155F
• 3 Whole large eggs

For the Seaweed Vinegar:

• 100g Junmai ginjo sake
• 150g Rice wine vinegar
• 70g Sugar
• 150g Cold water
• 30g White soy sauce
• 20g Dark soy sauce
• 10g Shaved bonito flake
• 15g Konbu seaweed
• 1g AO Nori (Available from specialty Japanese markets)
• 1g Dried sea lettuce (Available along the coast of CA)

For the Crispy Broccoli:

• 4 Broccoli heads
• Grapeseed oil for frying
• Salt

For the Pickled Broccoli Stems:

• 6Broccoli stems, peeled and diced
• Rice wine vinegar, to cover
• Salt

To Finish:

• Bottarga (Cured Mullet Roe) for shaving
• Broccoli or Mustard Flowers

Instructions

1. 1
   For the Green Garlic Broth: Brown the butter over medium heat in a saucepan, being careful not to burn it. Once brown, lower the heat, and add half of the sliced green garlic and stir to sweat. Do not brown the garlic, just melt it in the butter until tender. Add the veg stock and bring up to a simmer. Once simmering, add the remaining raw green garlic. Cook this mix at just barely a simmer for 45 minutes. Strain through a fine strainer, and discard the green garlic pieces. Keep the broth hot at 155F, and season to taste with the shiro dashi and sea salt.
2. 2
   For the Custard Base: Pour the hot green garlic broth into a blender. Turn it on to low speed, and incorporate the eggs one at a time. Strain the custard base through a fine strainer. Portion out 45g into small heat proof bowls, and wrap loosely, but all the way around with plastic wrap. Steam at 212F for six minutes. The custard should jiggle but be set in the center.
3. 3
   For the Seaweed Vinegar: Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Add in the sake to the hot pan and let it boil off most of the alcohol. Add in the rice vinegar, sugar, water, and the soy’s. Bring back up to a simmer, then remove from the heat. Immediately add in the shaved bonito and the seaweeds. Cover the pot with a lid or plastic wrap and let cool to room temperature. The ingredients should marinate for a minimum of four hours. After it has cooled and marinated, strain the liquid and discard the solids. Thicken with a cornstarch or kudzu starch slurry if desired.
4. 4
   For the Crispy Broccoli: Using a sharp pairing knife, shave the small florets off of each bunch of broccoli. Fry the florets in a small strainer, in grapeseed oil that is 360F. Once the florets turn bright green and begin to get crispy, transfer to a tray lines with towels to collect excess oil. Season with salt and transfer to a dehydrator until ready for use.
5. 5
   For the Pickled Broccoli Stems: Vacuum seal the stems in the vinegar and salt. Let sit for one hour before use.