Here's a fun dish I was playing around with today.  I was giving some cold brew coffee from a friend of mine who is working with Kohana coffee company.  I was asked to make a recipe with cold brew kohana coffee.  Most people drink their coffee in the morning or for mid day break with a piece of pastry.  I personally am not a huge fan of coffee.  The times I drink it, which is very rarely, I have to add lots of sugar and cream to make it sweet enough to drink.  There was a time when I lived in San Francisco that I was drinking mocha's on a somewhat regular basis.  During my stint there I probably drank more coffee than any other time in my life.  Trying to think of dish that would be something a little unique I thought of the coffee beans themselves for inspiration and also what people have with their coffee.  A lot of people in the morning just like a simple croissant or piece of toast with a little jam.  I took that idea and ran with it.  This is what I came up, foie gras-hazelnut coffee "bean" with pain perdu and coffee jalapeno gel.  I had all of the ingredients on hand which made the dish come together fairly easily.  

Foie Gras Torchon

1 A Foie Gras (roughly 2lb) cleaned

1 tsp of pink salt

1 tbsp of salt

1 tbsp of sugar

2 tbsp of sauternes 

 

Coffee Glaze

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup cold brew kohana coffee

1/4 cup sugar

 

Coffee Jalapeno Gel

1/2 cup cold brew kohana coffee

1/2 cup of water

1 jalapeno cut in half

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp of agar

Pinch of salt

Candied Hazelnuts

1 lb of peeled hazelnuts

1/2 cup of powdered sugar

2 tsp of water

1 tsp of salt

pinch of cayenne pepper

 

Pain Perdu (french toast)

3 slices of challah bread cut into sticks 

1 egg

1 cup of milk

1 tsp of vanilla

1 tsp of cinnamon 

 

Chocolate Glaze

8 oz of dark 63% chocolate

1 tbsp of vegetable oil

 

1/2 cup of milk for foam

1/4 cup of sliced strawberries

 

For the Foie Gras Torchon,

This you will need a few days in advance to make.  You can see my post on  torchon if you want to try and do it faster but this is the more traditional recipe.  Clean the foie gras of any blood veins and extra fat using tweezers or a knife.  Then season the foie gras with sauternes, salt, pink salt, and sugar. You want to season the foie gras aggressively so might need a little more salt or sugar.  You want to coat everything well.  The take two pieces of plastic wrap about 2 feet long and overlap them.   Place the foie gras in the bottom third of the plastic wrap in a log or sausage like form.  Then roll up the foie gras in the plastic wrap like a sausage using a pin or toothpick to prick holes in the plastic wrap to help reduce air gaps in the foie torchon.  Tie off both ends of the log with twine and place in a cryovac bag.  Seal air tight and let the foie marinate overnight.  The next day bring your sous vide machine and water bath to 140 degrees. If you don't have one just use a pot of water and try to keep at a 140 degrees.  Take the foie out of the refrigerator and place the cryovac bag in the water bath.  You might need to place something on top to weigh it down if it floats to the top of the water.  Poach for 10 minutes and then place in a ice bath for 3 minutes.  If you don't want a torchon or round shape you can at this point take the foie gras out of the bag and push it through a tamis or fine mesh sieve.  If the torchon separates you can place it into a food processor and puree until it emulsifies back together.  Then you can place in a terrine or loaf pan or on flat sheet pan lined with plastic or acetate and weigh it down overnight.   If you don't mind the torchon or round (sausage) form then keep the foie gras in the ice bath for another 3 to 4 minutes.  Then take the foie out of the cryovac bag but keeping it in the plastic and wrap the same way with cheesecloth.  Tie both ends of the foie wrapped in the cheesecloth.  Then take one end of the tied cheese cloth and tie it to a rack or shelf in your refrigerator so that it can hang like sausage.  It should be hanging freely so that gravity can weigh the torchon to a tight sausage.  If it is resting on something it won't set properly.  Let it hang overnight.  The next day it will be ready for the next step. So you need roughly 3 days to make the torchon.  

For the coffee glaze

Take water,sugar, cold pressed coffee and place in a pot.  Bring to boil and simmer for 6 minutes.  Pour into a small bowl and cool to room temperature.  

For the candied hazelnuts

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees                                                                                                        Place powdered sugar and water in a mixing bowl, mix well using a whisk.  Then add the hazelnuts to the bowl and coat well.  Season with salt  (Feel free to add spice here curry, paprika etc..) Place in the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes stirring the nuts every 5 minutes with a rubber spatula.  Take out when golden brown.  Once cooled completely chop the hazelnuts finely and place in a bowl.

For the coffee jalapeno gel

Place coffee, water, jalapeno, and sugar in a small pot.  Stir in the agar and bring to a boil.  Turn down to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes stirring periodically.   Then pour into a shallow baking dish through a fine mesh strainer.  Place int the refrigerator until cooled and set (approx. 30 min) Then take a knife and cut up the gel, place into a blender until smooth.  Place in a squirt bottle and set aside.

Take the torchon and slice 3 slices 1/2 inch thick.  Cryovac the rest of the torchon for another use later (freeze if not using within a few days).  Working quickly, using a micro melon baller, make tiny balls of the foie gras torchon and place on plate.  Place the plate back in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to keep the foie from melting.   Then gather your coffee glaze and chopped hazelnuts.  Using a small fork dip a few foie balls into the coffee glaze and then immediately into the chopped hazelnuts until the foie balls are coated well.  Place on another plate and place back in the refrigerator.  Repeat until all the balls are done.  Then smash the balls down a little bit so they are a little more flat resembling more of a coffee "bean".

Make the chocolate glaze by add dark chocolate and oil together in a bowl and place over a double boiler.  Melt and mix well.  Then take off the heat and let it cool for 10 minutes.  Then take the hazelnut crusted foie "beans"  and dip into the chocolate using dipping tools or a fork.  Place on a wire rack with a sheet pan or parchment paper underneath.  After you have done five or so "beans" take a toothpick and make a line in the bean to make it look natural.  Repeat and place in the refrigerator.  

Make your pain perdu,

Mix eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon with a whisk. Dip the bread in the batter and place in a medium hot pan with a little butter.  Cook for 2 minutes on each side.  Repeat with the remaining bread until all are done.  Keep warm.  

To bring it all together,

Place milk in a foamer and foam until light and airy.  Place the pain perdu down on the plate.  Add 5 foie coffee "beans" to the plate.  Add dots of the coffee jalapeno gel next to the "beans".  Then finish off with slices of strawberry and top the pain perdu with the milk foam.  Serve and enjoy!