L2O Blog

Roasted Garlic

There is a magical flavor to roasted garlic, a flavor that makes it good on its own already, especially when you leave the skin on, and cook it slowly, then it gets enough sweetness to balance with the natural intense flavor.

When traveling in Vietnam, the chicken soup flavored with fresh ginger and garlic was always available on the side of the road. And it was light, delicious and full feeling. Lamb roasted with garlic, chicken jus flavored with roasted garlic, or even this creamy mashed potato with a hint of roasted garlic flavor. Chopped finely and roasted with tomato makes the best spaghetti or roasted whole and pureed will make that white bean soup an enjoyable part of the meal. In a very simple manner or incorporated with other flavors garlic just stands up.

I use roasted garlic with bouillon and jus in several preparations at the restaurant: pork jus with roasted garlic as a base for the pork-truffle sauce and beef bouillon with roasted garlic for the Shanghai bouillon. With the right measure it brings lightness, links ingredients and and creates balance. 

Green Leaves, Meyer Lemon, Murray Salt to Enhance The Appetite

Shaping the Dough

Butternut Squash Emulsion

Butternut squash, even if they all look the same, actually has a lot of variation in terms of flavor and sweetness. At their best they are just like a baked apple, like candy. At their worst they're like a bad mashed potato, very starchy. After working with the product for several weeks, it has not been really easy to have a consistent product. A great butternut squash puree has to be smooth and sweet, but not greasy. After some disappointment, we started thinking about how can we bring the product to its peak on a daily basis. The answer took us some time but this what we come up with. 

We peel and dice the squash, then season it with olive oil and salt. It is baked at 140ºC with 30% humidity and emulsified in a blender. We also juice some butternut squash meat in the raw stage. 

We also steam some butternut squash meat, then puree and freeze dry it.

Then we combine the three components together over low heat until the freeze dry butternut squash has dissolved. The mix is emulsified with butter and passed through a fine sieve.

Chocolate Orange Brioche

Olive Bread, Another Kind

Orange Croissant

Short Rib Black Trumpet Cabernet Sauvignon Film

Brioche Tete Cooling Down

Red Onion Roll