Kimchi Toast and Smoked Cheese Sauce - Chef Recipe by Pepe Dart.

Ingredients

Focaccia:

750 g flour
550mL water
14 g salt
7 g dried yeast
25 g sugar
1 Tbs olive oil

Smoked cheese sauce:

500 g quality smoked cheddar
250mL cream
250mL milk
1 tsp guar gum
Pinch salt

Kimchi:

1 Chinese cabbage
2 garlic cloves
2 Tbs gochujang (chilli paste)
1 Tbs brown miso
20mL black vinegar
10mL soy sauce
1 Tbs rice flour

Method

Focaccia:

Add all ingredients to a bowl. Mix well – consistency should be a wet sticky dough.

Leave in fridge to prove 24-48 hours.

In a well-oiled tray fold out dough, fold onto itself 3 times, cover and leave to prove in a warm place for 2 hours.

Once doubled in size, knock back down with fingers and prove for a further 20 minutes

Place in oven 200 C for 10 minutes, rotate and cook for further 10 minutes, rest on a cooling rack.

Smoked cheese sauce:

Add cheese, cream and milk to a pan and bring to a simmer while stirring.

When cheese is melted, add a pinch of salt.

Put in a blender, add guar gum, blend for 2 minutes which will thicken and stabilise the sauce.

Leave to cool.

Kimchi:

Chop and wash cabbage. Dry well and salt generously, leave for 1 hour.

Wash well to remove salt grains.

In a blender, add the remaining ingredients and blend to make a paste.

Add paste to cabbage, mix well.

Put in a large airtight jar and leave for 1 week. Burp the jar every couple of days.

Refrigerate until ready to use.

Kimchi toast:

Cut a wedge of the bread, slice into it but not all the way through.

Pipe in cheese sauce, stuff with kimchi, add extra smoked cheese and put in over at 200 C for 6 minutes.

Serve hot.

Recipe provided by Daph's Restaurant