Ca

Tome du Soleil Levant

Tome and the Rising Sun

Once upon a time, all dairy farmers in Franche-Comté produced and supplied milk to support production of Comté cheese. However, those who lived in the outlying areas were vulnerable to the vagaries of the weather, and were sometimes unable to make it to the nearest dairy (fruitière). So they began to manufacture their own cheese, calling it Morbier after the village in which it was first made. Morbier is instantly recognisable by the black band running horizontally through its middle. Nowadays, the band is made from vegetable charcoal, but traditionally the black layer had a practical purpose, protecting the evening curd overnight until it could be covered by curd from the next morning’s milking. Farmers originally used soot taken from the pot in which the evening milk was heated. In 2000, Morbier was awarded AOC status, followed by PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) in 2002. Morbier is made from the unpasteurised milk of Montbeliarde and French Simmental cows, and cellar-matured for a minimum of 45 days at 7 - 15°C.

  • 12
  • 3 h
  • 1 h 30 min

Ingredients

  • For the sweet pastry:
  • 100 g butter
  • 25 g sugar
  • 25 g icing sugar
  • 2 eggs yolks
  • 125 g flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • For the crème pâtissière
  • 100 ml milk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 eggs yolks
  • 35 g sugar
  • 5 g cornflour
  • 25 g single cream
  • 10 g fresh spinach
  • 12 g pistachio butter
  • For the herb crème pâtissière
  • 150 g cold crème pâtissière (500 ml milk, 120 g sugar, 4 egg yolks, 30 g flour)
  • 45 g chopped mixed herbs (tarragon, lemon balm, dill, coriander, chervil and basil)
  • 60 g fresh spinach
  • For the tartlets
  • 60 g Tome des Bauges
  • For the coconut mousse
  • 150 g coconut milk
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 15 g sugar
  • 1 leaf vegetarian gelatine
  • For the Italian meringue
  • 3 egg whites
  • 35 g sugar
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 100 ml cream
  • For the herb jelly
  • 200 ml water
  • 2 tbsp yuzu juice
  • 8 g agar-agar
  • 20 g sugar
  • Herbs (lemon balm, basil and mint)
  • For the lime sauce
  • 100 ml water
  • Herbs (lemon, basil and mint)
  • 20 g sugar
  • 8 g pectin
  • Juice of 3 limes
  • For the herb sauce
  • 5 sprigs sorrel
  • 10 mint leaves
  • 2 tbsp salted water
  • 3 tbsps lime sauce (see above)
  • To finish
  • 240 g Morbier
  • 60 small mint leaves
  • 60 small basil leaves

Method

Make the pastry

 

  1. Combine the butter, sugar, pinch of salt and egg yolks, adding the flour at the end to make a dough.
  2. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours, then roll out and use to line individual tartlet tins.
  3. Bake blind, with pie weights (rice or lentils), for 18 minutes at 140°C, then a further 12 minutes without the weights.

 

Make the crème patissière

 

  1. Heat the milk. Meanwhile, cream the sugar with the egg yolks and cornflour.
  2. Pour the boiling milk onto the cornflour mixture, return to the heat and stir until thickened.
  3. Cook the spinach in boiling salted water, whizz in a food processor and sieve to extract the chlorophyll.
  4. With a stick blender, mix the hot crème pâtissière with the spinach and the pistachio butter.

 

Make the spinach and herb crème pâtissière

 

  1. Cook the spinach to a purée and strain through a very fine cloth.
  2. Mix all the ingredients (crème pâtissière, spinach and herbs) gently with a spatula.

 

Bake the tartlets

 

  1. Spread a layer of the herb crème pâtissière in each of the cooked tartlet cases, topped by a layer of plain crème pâtissière.
  2. Finish with diced Tome des Bauges. Bake in oven for 12 minutes at 170°C.

 

Make the coconut mousse

 

  1. Bring the coconut milk to the boil.
  2. Pour the hot liquid onto the creamed sugar and eggs and cook over a low heat.
  3. Soften the gelatine in cold water and drain; mix into the warm cream.
  4. Strain.

 

Make the Italian meringue

 

  1. Make a sugar syrup by heating the water and sugar to 115°C.
  2. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks.
  3. Pour the syrup slowly in a steady stream over the egg whites.
  4. Cool for 3 minutes.
  5. Stir the Italian meringue into the coconut mousse, followed by the cold whipped cream.
  6. Transfer to half-sphere moulds and chill in the freezer.
  7. After 15 minutes remove, make a hollow in each half-sphere using a spoon, return to the freezer and freeze until set.

 

Make the herb jelly

 

  1. Boil the water with the yuzu juice and sugar and remove from heat.
  2. Whisk in the agar-agar.
  3. Simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes, stirring all the time.
  4. Leave to cool. Cover a baking sheet with cling film and spread the chopped herbs on it.
  5. Pour on the cooled liquid so it does not scorch the herbs. Chill until set, about 5 mins.
  6. Use a cookie cutter to cut 12 rounds, and cut the rest into strips for decoration.

 

Make the lime sauce

 

  1. Boil the water with 10 g of sugar and infuse with the herbs (lemon balm, basil and mint) to make an herb syrup.
  2. Boil the water with the herb syrup and lime juice.
  3. Mix the pectin and the remaining 10 g of sugar, add to the liquids and whisk for two mins.

 

Make the herb sauce

 

  1. Chop the sorrel and mint, and blanch for 30 seconds in boiling salted water.
  2. Blend to a very smooth consistency in a small food processor.
  3. Season with the lime sauce.

 

To assemble

 

  1. Fill the half-spheres of coconut mousse with the herb sauce.
  2. Place the rounds of herb jelly over the top of the hollows to close.
  3. Turn the half-spheres over and decorate with jelly strips, diced Morbier and the small mint and basil leaves.
  4. Just before serving, place the decorated half-spheres in the crème pâtissière-filled tartlet cases.
  5. Arrange each tartlet on a plate, on a ring of herb sauce.

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Sugio Yamaguchi

As a child, Tokyo-born Sugio Yamaguchi didn’t eat much. “My mother was a good cook, but I hated the school canteen, and I’d never finish what was on my plate,” he remembers. “It probably wasn’t because I didn’t like eating, but because what I was given didn’t taste good.” At the age of 16, Sugio found a job with a Korean chef, who taught him how to cut up meat, slice vegetables and make sauces. By now he was becoming more enthusiastic about food; the French variety though, rather than sushi. After Catering College, he worked for two years to earn enough money to take him to France, a country that would change his life. Sugio opened his restaurant, Botanique, in 2015.

See his tips