Basil Gelee

The Tasting Menu Series is set to begin anew on June 12th through the 14th!  The menu has been completed and preparations/advance planning have begun.  I intend to get further details of the new format posted along with the complete menu within a few days.  As for now, recipe testing has resumed!  The test that was done this weekend was a basil gelee that we "set" with Agar.  Agar is similar to gelatin except that it is heat resistant and will not melt until exposed to high temperatures (above 180 degrees).  The basil gelee is intended as a garnish for the first course of the tasting menu.  I'm very pleased to say that our first test in months was a great success...

The above photo is the finished product, basil gelee cubes.  Essentially these are fancy jello cubes that taste of concentrated basil.  In this test we were able to produce the vibrant color that we were looking for and also achieved a pronounced and clean basil flavor.  The final texture and durability of the gelee was also excellent.  The following are photos of the production of the gelee...

The production began with about a pound and a half of picked basil leaves...

The basil leaves are then blanched and shocked to "set" the color...





Next the "mold" or frame had to laid out on a sheet pan with a silicone mat lining.  This will be the form that the liquid gelee is poured into for setting/forming...

The blanched basil is then transferred to a high speed blender with some water and pureed...

The mixture from the blender is then strained to remove the solids and the basil infused liquid is transferred to a bowl where seasoning is adjusted....

A portion of the liquid is placed into a small sauce pan and the agar is added.  This is then brought to a boil and then added back to the basil liquid "base".  The boiling of this portion of the liquid with the agar "activates" the agar...

This liquid basil base is then poured into the preset frame and transferred to the refrigerator to fully set.  Agar gels set very quickly, this only took about 15 minutes to set completely...

After setting in the refrigerator the gelee is then unmolded/the frame is removed.  We're then left with large form of basil gelee that is ready to be cut into whatever form is intended...

All in all I am very pleased with the resulting basil gelee, if all our tests went this well my life would be much easier.  This recipe is a keeper and you definitely expect to see basil gelee incorporated into the first course of the upcoming tasting menu.  Again, I'll get the complete Tasting Menu posted within a few days....