Ryan Shelton : “I was born and raised in San Jose, California. I started college as a biology and music student. At that time I was cooking because I had to in order to eat. I learned my first recipes – szechuan string beans and kung pao chicken – from a Chinese cookbook borrowed from my friend’s mom. The more I cooked and understood about it, the more I loved it. It is really the ingredients in my hands and the pan in front of me that revealed my passion for cooking. So I decided to drop out of biology to learn the culinary art at the Art Institute of California in Orange County. After working for Le Petit Paris, Chakra Indian Cuisine, and Pescadou Bistro, all in Southern California, I decided to round up my knowledge at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel. With that experience on my resume I was able to apply for my next position at Chez TJ in Mountain View, where we earned our first Michelin star together with Bruno”.
One of our signature desserts is the Coupe Glacée – this month’s flavor is Mojito. This dessert is a blatant example of the way we grow from our experimental failures. We started playing with the idea that we could create the texture of a liquid cotton candy by freezing lime and mint foam. Our first experiment was fairly successful, so we decided to integrate it to our menu and prepare it on a larger scale. Working with bigger quantities, however, only allowed us to obtain a very poor version of the prototype as the numerous portions did not freeze fast enough and collapsed. After a few more attempts, we came up with the dessert “à la minute” (just before it is served), using a liquid nitrogen technique that – as it turns out – makes an even lighter and frothier sorbet than what we intended.
This coupe is a great combination of flavors and textures. Besides the sorbet, it includes a dry and wet version of meringue, a mousse that coats the palate and disappears, pop rocks that mimic the soda in the mojito, and of course rum pearls. We serve the pearls on the side for those who prefer a non-alcoholic dessert.
Ryan is kindly sharing a home version of this dessert with you :
Recipe serves 4 :
- Lime Sorbet (recipe follows)
- Mint Foam (recipe follows)
- Pop Rocks (any flavor of your choice)
- Splash of Dark Rum (optional)
- Chiffonade Mint
1. Scoop sorbet into bowl
2. Top with a splash of dark rum
3. Agitate surface of mint foam with hand blender until foamy and bubbly
4. Cover sorbet with foam
5. Sprinkle PopRocks on top
6. Finish with a few strands of chiffonade fresh mint
Lime Sorbet
- 200g Spring Water
- 135g Sugar
- 200g Lime Juice
1. Combine spring water and sugar in a pot and heat lightly until sugar is
dissolved
2. Finish with fresh lime juice and cool to room temperature
3. Allow to chill completely in the refrigerator
4. Freeze in a sorbet machine
5. Transfer to freezer
(Alternate sorbet method – no sorbet machine needed!)
- about 1 pound dry ice
1. Finish steps 1-3 from above
2. Place sorbet mix in a stand mixer with a paddle
3. Set the paddle to low speed
4. Completely crush dry ice in a ziplock bag with a mallet or rolling pin
5. Slowly sprinkle dry ice into mixing bowl until completely frozen
6. Wait until dry ice is completely evaporated before transferring to
freezer
(Note – dry ice may cause sorbet to be fizzy as it melts in the mouth which
is awesome!)
Mint Foam
- 400g Spring Water
- 1 bunch fresh Mint Leaves
- 40g Sugar
- 8g Soy Lecithin
1. Heat spring water until just barely simmering
2. Pour over mint leaves and steep for 2 minutes
3. Drain mint from spring water
4. Dissolve sugar in tea
5. Add lecithin and blend to dissolve with hand blender
6. Reserve in refrigerator until ready to use
