#Recipe
Belly, potato and pineapple
Rafael Gomes, chef of the Escama restaurant (Oporto) and Portuguese semi-finalist in Chef Balfegó 2023, presented this magnificent dish during his time in the competition.
Elaboration
Brine
Mix all the ingredients in a pan, except the aromatic herbs, and boil.
Once it boils, add the thyme and rosemary and let it cool.
Belly
- Clean the belly, cut into 400g pieces and brine for 2 hours. Drain, dry well and vacuum seal. Reserve in a box with water and ice for 3 days in the refrigerator.
- Brush the pieces with olive oil, roast them over the coals only on the skin side, add the thyme and rosemary directly to the coals to create a little smoke and let rest for about 8 minutes.
Tuna juice
- Separate the joints from the spine and reserve the liquid inside.
- Slowly caramelize the julienned onions.
- Add the tomato concentrate and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the roasted bones and cover with the chicken stock. Let it reduce slowly for about 40 minutes. Strain and mix together with all the previous preparations.
Flavored vinegar
- Add all the ingredients in a bag and vacuum seal.
- Bake in a ronner at 82ºC for 2H. Strain through the chinois and reserve in the refrigerator.
Coal oil
- Put the oil and the garlic clove in a frying pan with a lid.
- Add 2 to 3 well-lit charcoal stones to the oil and cover immediately.
- Let the oil cool and infuse for approximately 90 minutes.
Pineapple gel
- In a bowl, mix the vinegar and pineapple juice. Remove 1/3 and boil.
- Once well dissolved, pass through a strainer and let it rest until very cold, approximately 1h15.
- Blend well in the thermomix and let it rest for a few minutes. Reserve cold.
Pineapple chutney
Mix all the cut ingredients together with the pineapple gel and season.
Potato soufflé
- Cut the potato very thinly with a mandoline, dry the slices well with paper and spread them on a board.
- Sprinkle half with cornstarch and lightly brush the other half with beaten egg white. Superimpose one half on top of the other and cut in a circle.
- Fry at 190ºC to fill with air. Dry on paper and season with salt.
Smashed potato
- Bake the potatoes at 180ºC. Once ready, remove the skin and pass through a strainer. Dry the potato a little over medium heat, add the cubed butter little by little, and add the milk and sausages, stirring constantly. Adjust according to season and reserve in pastry bags.
- Bake the potatoes at 180ºC, once ready, pass them through a sieve and discard the skins. Pour the pan over medium heat, gradually add the diced butter, add the milk and stir constantly.
- Season and reserve in a pastry bag.
Pineapple sauce
- Mix the ingredients with a mixer.
- Remove the air in the vacuum machine, let it rest cold for about 30 minutes.
Herbal oil
Bring the herbs to salted water. Drain well and mash with olive oil. Let drain overnight.
Caramelized onion (juice)
- Chop the onion very finely and put it in a frying pan over low heat with a splash of olive oil and butter and let it caramelize very slowly. Stir frequently, approximately 1h 30/2h.
- After browning, add the wine and the rest of the ingredients. Let reduce and reserve.
Ingredients
Brine
- 150 g salt
- 2 g white pepper
- 100 g sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2l water
- 1 spring of thyme
- ½ spring of rosemary
Belly
- 1kg tuna belly
- 2l brine
- q.b olive oil
- 3 springs of thyme
- ½ spring of rosemary
- q.b flower of salt
Tuna juice
- 1l chicken stock
- 1 sweet onion
- 2 tbsp concentrate tomato
- 5 g caramelized onion
Flavoured vinegar
- 1.3 kg peels + pineapple center
- 15 g ginger
- 5 g green chile
- 1 g sechuan pepper
- 5 g cardamom
- 2 star anise
- 25 g lemongrass
- 1 l cider vinegar
- 10 g basil
- 10 g mint
Coal oil
- 3 charcoal stones
- 1 garlic clove
- 600 ml vegetable oil
Pineapple gel
- 200 g pineapple vinegar
- 400 g pineapple juice
- 8,6 g agar agar
Pineapple chutney
- 20 g pineapple gel
- 10 g chopped pineapple
- 1 spicy green malagueta pepper
- 1 kaffir lime
- 1 or 2 drops of coal oil
Potoato Souffle
- 2 potatoes
- q.b corn starch
- q.b egg white
- 1 l vegetable oil
Smashed potato
- 500 g potato
- 100 g whole milk
- 175 g unsalted butter
- q.b salt
Pineapple sauce
- 0,4 g xanthan gum
- 200 g pineapple sauce
Herbal oil
- 300 g basil
- 300 g coriander
- 300 g mint
- 1l virgin olive oil
Caramelized onion (juice)
- 500 g sweet onion
- 25 g butter
- 50 g Madeira wine
- q.b white wine vinegar
- q.b sugar
- q.b salt