‘Lentil Salad’ (Vegan)
Green Lentils - Apple Film - Savory Beetroot Meringue (egg-free) -. Horseradish Soymilk Emulsion - Celery - Walnut – Watercress - Citrus

For a while I’ve wanted to do a very modern vegan dish that plays on the stereotypes people often have about vegan food (ie -the use of lentils).

The recipe is based on flavours that work together brilliantly and often come together in simple salads. My idea was to work with these flavours but play with the textures and the presentation and hopefully give a modern refined twist to a simple salad.

Savory Beetroot Meringue – (I have now updated the technique for this, the one bellow works but I now make my juice based meringues the way you can see here

All the modern ingredients used in this dish can be found on


350g Beetroot Juice (this will be reduced to 300g)
35g Isomalt
20g Glucose syrup
20g Caster sugar
Pinch Salt
2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
Pinch Chilli Powder
11g Methylcellulose
1.5g Xanthan Gum

Bring the beetroot juice to a simmer and reduce it to 300g. Now whilst stirring add in the Isomalt, Glucose, Caster Sugar, Lemon Juice, Chilli Powder and Salt to taste and stir until they are dissolved. Set the mixture to one side to cool.

Take 250g of the beetroot juice mix and blend in the xanthan gum with an immersion blender. Once the mixture has thickened add in the methylcellulose and blend again until fully combined.

Now either my hand or in a kitchen aid whip the beetroot mix to stiff peaks (this may take a while but you need to persist and get it to stiff peaks).
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Once whipped to stiff peaks delicately spoon the whipped beetroot mix into a piping bag a carefully pipe small meringues onto s nonstick sheet.

Finally dehydrate the meringues at 57C for around 10 hours until dried, light and crispy (dehydrate for longer if necessary).

These can be stored in an airtight container

Apple sheet –
For the Apple Juice mix -
300g Apple Juice
3g Sodium Alginate
Pinch Salt
Grated Zest of one Lemon
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper

Calcium Lactate Solution -
100ml water
5g Calcium Lactate

Bend sodium alginate into the apple juice until it thickens. Now stir in the lemon zest, cinnamon, black pepper and a pinch of salt.
Now let the apple juice mix settle in the fridge for an hour.

Next prepare the calcium lactate solution by blending the powdered calcium Lactate into 100ml of cold water. Pour this solution into a spray bottle/atomizer.

Now spread a little of the apple juice mixture in a thin layer on a flat nonstick surface (a baking sheet or even just a flat plate will do). Now spray the apple mixture with the calcium solution, this will cause the apple mixture to begin setting. Leave it for five minutes then you should be able to gently lift and turn over the apple sheet so you can spray the other side. Leave the apple sheet for a further five minutes then cut it into strips (these will be used to roll up the lentil mixture in). Finally heat the cut apple sheets in the microwave for 20 seconds to dry them out a tiny bit. Now set to one side on greaseproof paper until ready to use.

Lentils-
125g Dried Green lentils dried (for 250g cooked)
2 bay leaves
40g Crushed Walnut
1 Carrot - Diced
1 Stick Celery – Diced
2 tabs fresh chopped parsley

Rinse the dried lentils then cook them in salted water (starting with cold water) with two bay leaves for approx 15 minutes until cooked but still retaining texture. Now drain them and rinse again with a little cold water.
Now place the cooked lentils in a bowl and mix in the diced celery, diced carrot, crushed walnut, chopped parsley and a splash of olive oil. Season to taste.

Horseradish Soymilk Emulsion

170ml Soymilk
600ml Light Olive Oil
One Teaspoon Mustard
Juice One Lemon and Zest.
2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
One Tablespoon Horseradish Puree
2 cloves Garlic

In a food processor blend the garlic, mustard, lemon juice and zest, and vinegar for one minute.

Now add the soymilk into the food processor and blend for another minute.
Now gently in a slow stream (as slow as possible) pout the olive oil into the soymilk mixture whilst blending.

As you drizzle in the olive oil while blending the mixture should gradually emulsify and thicken. Add seasoning to taste (bending it in to combine). Place some of the emulsion in a squeezy bottle and store the rest in the fridge.

Putting it together –

Take a small spoonful of the lentil mixture and place it at the bottom of one the strips of apple film and roll it up like a small cannelloni. Make up three of these for each plate, trimming them to neaten them up.

Place small dots of the emulsion on the plate swiping them with the tip of the squeezy bottle to make teardrop shapes.

Place three of the small apple wrapped lentil parcels on the plate and garnish them with a little orange zest.

Delicately place a little watercress around the plate and place a few of the beetroot meringue around the plate aswell.

Cheers

Eddie