Lightly Fried Eggplant, Black and White Tahini, Goats' Cheese Mousse - Chef Recipe by Leonardo De Marchi Bueno

Ingredients

For the batter:

500g besan (chickpea) flour
250g rice flour
125g potato starch
Sparkling water, as needed

Black tahini:

250g black sesame paste
5g garlic
75mL garlic oil
100g honey
200g Granny Smith apples

White tahini:

135g fresh lemon juice
500g tahini paste
300g water and ice cubes
100g confit garlic

Goats' cheese mousse:

500g goats' cheese
83g confit garlic
60g honey
500g thickened cream
2 eggplants, medium size
Water, as needed

Plating:

20g brunoise red long chilies
1 lemon
30g honey, at room temperature

Method

For the batter:

Mix all the dry ingredients thoroughly.

Add Sparkling water a little at a time to ensure the right consistency, mixing with a whisk slowly. It should be a thin batter but still stick to the eggplant when frying, similar to a tempura batter.

A too thin batter will result in a soggy and not crispy eggplant, while the thick batter will make the inside cake-y.

For the black tahini:

Roast the sesame seeds in a pan and transfer to a Thermomix while still hot/warm.

Blend it at 70 C until it forms a smooth paste.

Add all the other ingredients and keep blending at full speed, adjusting with water if the consistency of the sauce is off.

Season with salt. Let it cool down and reserve it in a piping bag.

For the white tahini:

Blend all ingredients in a blender until it forms a smooth paste.

Season with salt and reserve in a piping bag.

For the goats' cheese mousse:

In a food processor, blend all ingredients except the cream to a smooth paste, it should become more fluid as you blend it, just be careful so it does not get warm.

Using a stand mixer, whip the cream to medium peaks and fold the goat’s cheese mixture.

Reserve it in piping bags.

For the eggplant ribbons:

Using the medium-sized eggplants, cut them in half lengthwise and from there, using a knife or a meat slicer, cut 37 mm slices.

Reserve them in cold water so they don’t oxidise.

Plating:

Fry the eggplant slices using the batter previously made for about 2 minutes on each side.

Let them rest and dry for about 30 seconds. Place them on a tray and drizzle honey on threads using a bottle, then sprinkle some salt flakes and the chopped chilli, and using a zester or a microplane, zest the lemon on top of it.

Pipe 4 dots of each tahini on top of it and the goat’s cheese mousse on the side so it does not melt on the plate and you have one of the best eggplant dishes of your life!