CHEF RECIPEnordic-chefs.com
Green cucumber jelly croustades filled with crab and garnished with Brussels sprout leaves

Cucumber Jelly
Croustade

A delicate cucumber, celery, spinach and garlic jelly basket served with crab, horseradish cream and pickled Brussels sprouts.

Recipe by Arnis Ansons · @arnis_ansons

Ingrédients

  • 250 g cucumber
  • 100 g celery stalks
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 handful spinach
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 150 ml water
  • Agar-agar: 3% of the total weight of the strained juice

Équipement

Moule à tartelette fleur

Method

  1. Prepare the green juice: Blend the cucumber, celery, garlic, spinach, salt and water until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve or muslin cloth to remove the fibres.
  2. Calculate the agar: Weigh the strained juice and multiply its weight by 0.03 to calculate the agar needed. For example, 400 g juice requires 12 g agar-agar.
  3. Activate the agar: Reserve a portion of the juice in a small saucepan, leaving enough liquid to disperse the agar evenly. Whisk in the agar, bring to the boil and stir until fully dissolved.
  4. Combine the juice: Transfer the hot mixture to a bowl. Gradually stir in the remaining cold juice, working quickly to keep the mixture smooth. Heating only part of the juice helps preserve its fresh green colour.
  5. Keep the base fluid: Place the bowl in a warm water bath to prevent the mixture from setting before you finish dipping the moulds.
  6. Form the baskets: Dip the frozen moulds into the warm mixture for a few seconds, until a sufficiently thick layer sets around each mould. Lift out and allow any excess to drain.
  7. Unmould and serve: Once the jelly layer has set, gently release each basket from its mould. Fill with crab, horseradish cream and pickled Brussels sprouts.
Chef's note

Avoid prolonged heating of the green juice, which can dull its colour. Calculate the agar from the weight of the strained juice: juice weight × 0.03. For example, 400 g strained juice requires 12 g agar-agar.

To serve

Fill the set jelly baskets with crab, horseradish cream and pickled Brussels sprouts. Quantities and methods for these filling components are not included in the supplied recipe.

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