Chocolate tasting

Sweet temptation

Few weeks ago, I have  followed a chocolate tasting given by Dominique persoone . It was a unique experience because I must say that the tasted chocolate pralines were special. In flavor and combination that we could taste.

Dominique Persoone has  two very nice shops where you can be buy and taste his chocolate.  In Brugge ” The Chocolate Line” and also a very prestigious branch in Antwerp, at in the” Palace of Napoleon” on the Meir shopping aria.

After several rather unusual  combinations, witch tasted wonderful,  we were then invited to a lunch with the theme of  chocolate seen differently .
Chocolate viewed differently:
To start:

Wolffish with white chocolate, oloroso sherry, almonds, Pepito pasta, esplettepepper and sea aster.

A wonderful and so unexpected  combinations! The fish was very fresh and the combination with the white chocolate was really a delight on your tongue. The spice esplettepepper was really very nice in this combination. Just sublime!
Then as the second starter

In Cacaobutter fried sea bass fillet, cream of goat cheese, roquette salade, sugar snaps and olive oil with tangerine.

you will find this recepis at the end of this  blog. The sea bass was baked on its skin, he was also super fresh and crispy fried, delicious and definitely recommended to try it out yourself.
Next  dish was a meat dish and very delicious.

Guinea fowl breast with witlof, coffee sauce with Valrhona Ashanti chocolate, oven fried chateau potatoes.
Simply sublime! The slight bitterness of the witlof and coffee where in hamony with  the light sweetness of the  Ashanti chocolade, it was delicious. In the witlof season (september- november) I will bring this recipe back to your attention.

The last dish we had was also  a meat dish

Iberico pork cooked at low temperature, infusion of bergamot with cocoapepper and sechuanpepper, orange, ravioli with chocolate and mashed potatoes with corn.

Very good overall, but the only comment was that the mashed potatoes did not really merge well  with the ravioli in structure, not pleasant in the mouth. This was a dish that was least appreciated by all member at the table, not because of the combination; it was v tasty but the potatoes and corn were not pleasant in the mouth, opposite the delicious ravioli. Pity!

The recipe of this tasting I’ve chosen for you is:

seabass baked on his skin

In cacaobutter fried sea bass fillet, cream of goat cheese, mosterdsla, sugar beans and olive oil with tangerine. (4 pers.)

Composition

• 4 nice bass fillets with skin
• 0,5 dl cream
• 12.5 g Callebaut cocoa butter Mycrio
• 125 g goat cheese
• 1.2 g Xantaanpoeder
• 1 bowl of sugar snap
• 50 g roquette salade
• 1 cup olive oil with tangerine La Chinata
• Pesa
• 4 kumquats

Preparation:

• Warm the cream and mix it the goat cheese , xantaanpouder, pepper and salt.
• Set aside in the refrigerator.
• Blanch the sugar snap peas 3 minutes in salted water and refresh them in ice water. Mix the washed mosterdsalade with the mandarin olive oil.
• Descale the sea bass fillets, rinse and pat then dry . Get them trough the cocoa butter (mycriopouder). Heat a non stick coating pan, make sure your pan is very and hot fry the fillets 2 minutes on the skin side and 1 min on the other side.

Finish:

• Arrange salad on your plate, place the sea bass filet on top, make a scoop of ointment of goat cheese and sprinkle with a little salt.
• Decorate your plate with the chopped kumquats.

Some additional information on cocoa butter

Cocoa Butter

Production Process
Cocoa butter:
is the main ingredient of cocoa bean. Which contains half the cocoa butter. It is very important for the hardness, brilliance and speed with which chocolate melts in the mouth.

Production Process
Cocoa Butter is made by hydraulic pressing of cocoa beans. It is a natural fat, pale yellow to orange depending on the species composition of cocoa and may vary.The liquid cocoa mass is at + / – 90-100 ° C in a filter press and placed under high pressure (up to 80 tonnes / dm ³) compressed. The pressing takes about 25 minutes, leaving a dry cake remains. The cocoa butter has run away from pressure, is collected and used for various purposes.A solvent extraction can be applied to extract the butter from the cake that remains after the pressing, this type of butter must be refined.
Chocolate is of good quality cocoa butter processing. Chocolate of inferior quality being replaced by hydrogenated vegetable oil.
The Netherlands is by far the largest producer of cocoa butter within the EU. In 2006, the production of cocoa butter from around 200 million kg. This represented a value of over 650 million euros. France follows at a distance with 320 million euros. Cocoa Butter is mainly used as raw material for chocolate products, but also for the manufacture of cosmetic products.
Cocoa butter is used in making chocolate. This is the chocolate counching. Previously the law required that only chocolate with cocoa butter as fat components was made today other fats may also be used. Due to the low melting point of cocoa butter that near the body temperature melting chocolate in the mouth.
Besides cocoa butter is widely used in cosmetics, particularly in lip balm and other protective ointments. Again, the low melting point is important: it provides a simple smearing of the product over the body.

The other recipes of this tasting will certainly follow!