Yellow Cauliflower Heart with Cecina, Avocado Pesto, Corn Wafers, and Homemade Teriyaki: Joia's Recipe, created by Executive Chef Sauro Ricci for Pietro Leemann, promises to turn a simple vegetable into a star dish. The team, led by kitchen chef Raffaele Minghini, shares tips for execution.

"Nature as it is"

Yellow Cauliflower Heart with Cecina, Avocado Pesto, Corn Wafers, and Homemade Teriyaki

Serving for 8 people

For the cauliflower

500 g cauliflower
A pinch of aromatic herbs and a splash of extra virgin olive oil

Method

Remove the larger outer leaves of the cauliflower and keep the basal and small ones. With a small knife, obtain beautiful florets resembling the entire shape, blanch them in salted water for 4 minutes, then roast them in the oven at 200°C for about 12 minutes.

For the cecina

200g water
130g chickpea flour
20g extra virgin olive oil
3g salt
2g baking powder
125g cooked cauliflower (trimmings)
A bit of chopped aromatic herbs

Method

Chop all the cauliflower trimmings with a knife and season them with oil and aromatic herbs, then roast them in the oven for about 7 minutes. Create a mixture with water and chickpea flour, oil, salt, and baking powder, add the cooled chopped cauliflower, and cook fritters in a well-oiled pan, about 3 minutes per side over medium heat. Use a 6cm diameter cutter to regulate.

For the corn wafers

300g water
50g corn semolina

Method

Mix the flour with water to make a polenta, then cook it over low heat for about 20 minutes. Roll it very thin between two sheets of parchment paper and let it dry completely in a dehydrator or in the oven at 50°C. Break the obtained wafers into 5cm pieces and fry them in almost smoking hot oil.

For the pesto

200g ripe avocado
30g celery
10g lemon juice
10g whole grain mustard
2g salt

Method

Mix the avocado pulp well with the other ingredients and put it in a pastry bag.

For the sauce

60g balsamic vinegar
100g tamari
50g mirin
50g carrot puree
50g water
A pinch of chopped thyme
6g kuzu

Method

For the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and thicken with kuzu, gently simmering the mixture for a couple of minutes.

To decorate

Cauliflower leaves
Dill or fennel sprouts

Method

For plating, place the cecina in the center of the plate, pipe a generous ring of avocado around it, and place the roasted cauliflower in the resulting cavity. Decorate with leaves, herbs, and wafers to reconstruct the miniature cauliflower shape. Glaze with the sauce in front of your guests.