Festive food blog even in the Publiek restaurant

The high point of the cosy holidays is behind us once again, but there are traditionally any number of opportunities to stretch this out in January, like New Year’s receptions or New Year’s letters that are read aloud in intimate or extended family circles. We’re also having a hard time letting go of all that partying. And because it’s still dark and cold outside, we want to share another little culinary tip to get the year off to a good start.

On 14 December 2017 – right before the end-of-year holidays – we and Spaas had the honour of providing the ambience for one of the last food blogger events of the year. The evening’s location was restaurant Publiek in Ghent, where Flemish foodie Olly Ceulenaere was manning the kitchen. The star chef had the special challenge of creating a holiday menu that used the sponsors’ specific ingredients. And he succeeded masterfully.

Naturally, they couldn’t cook with the candles, but given that we are revamping our range for hotels, restaurants, and the catering industry in 2018, this was the perfect opportunity to put some of the new Spaas creations to the test.

The first starter consisted of Jerusalem artichoke with ox heart and sour cream, followed by roasted yellow beet with egg yolk and tomato. The main course was pickled pork tenderloin served with celeriac and mushrooms.

Then the fabulous, low-sugar dessert was presented: apple with fennel seed cream and yoghurt foam. Lastly, the night was ended beautifully with a delicious cup of coffee and Ghent cuberdon candies, colloquially called ‘neuzekes’ (because they look like little noses).

We don’t want to keep this low-sugar dessert from you. It’s an original holiday dessert and a healthy alternative after all those sweets in recent weeks. Make sure you take the necessary preparation time.

Recipe
Apple with fennel seed cream and yoghurt (for 4 people)

‘8-hour’ apples

900 g syrup: 600 g water and 300 g Pure Via® (sugar-free sweetener)
100 g lemon juice
4 g sea salt
5 g star anise
3 g five-spice powder

Boil everything together and then allow to cool. In the meantime, peel the apples and place them in a pot with the syrup. Cover the pot.
Place it in the oven for 8 hours at 90°C.
Allow to cool and then finely dice the apples.

Apple granita

1 L apple juice
250 g ‘8-hour’ apples syrup
juice of 1 lemon
2 leaves of gelatine
1 g xanthan gum (available at the chemist’s)

Heat everything together until dissolved and then freeze it for 8 hours.
Grate the frozen mixture into a lovely granita with a fork or grater.
Add this mixture to the dish right before serving.

Fennel seed cream

132 g cream 35% fat
5 g toasted fennel seeds

Bring these to a boil and then let it infuse for 12 minutes. Then pour the mixture through a fine sieve.
Over low heat, beat together with:
32 g egg yolk (from approximately 3 eggs)
6 g Pure Via®
3.9 g gelatine
Allow to cool in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours

Yoghurt foam

100 g Greek yoghurt
10 g ‘8-hour’ apples syrup

Pour the whole mixture into a whipping siphon with three canisters
Garnish with the toasted fennel seed

If you do not have a whipping siphon, you can beat the yoghurt together with 1 egg white until fluffy.

Serving tip: Dispense a circle of approximately 8 cm of fennel seed cream on a plate. Place the pieces of apple on top and then cover with a layer of yoghurt foam. Finish with the apple granita. And voilà, enjoy!

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