Cuttlefish in Black and White: Ink and Cream

Method

1. Soak the gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes.
2. Warm 40 ml of the cream to 50–60°C (122–140°F), hot to the touch but not boiling.
3. Squeeze the gelatin, add it to the warm cream and stir until dissolved.
4. Stir in 60 ml of cold cream and let the mixture cool to about 28°C (82°F), just cool to the touch.
5. Press the sea urchin through the fine sieve and stir it into the cream.
6. Whip the remaining 100 ml of cream to very soft peaks and fold it in.
7. Spoon the mixture into the piping bag and refrigerate it for 4 hours.
8. Heat the oven to 100°C (210°F).
9. Blend the 300 g of cuttlefish with a pinch of salt in the food processor for 1–2 minutes, scraping down the sides, until it forms a smooth, sticky paste.
10. Spread the paste on a large sheet of baking paper, cover it with a second sheet and roll it into an even sheet about 2 mm thick and the size of the baking tray.
11. Slide the sheet, still between its papers, onto the tray and cover the tray tightly with foil.
12. Cook for 8–10 minutes, until the paste is opaque white and just firm when pressed.
13. Let it cool on the tray, then refrigerate it for 15 minutes.
14. Blend the 100 g of cuttlefish with the ink until smooth and evenly black.
15. Roll the black paste between baking paper to 2 mm, cover with foil and cook it in the same way for 6–8 minutes; cool and chill.
16. Peel off the top papers and cut four 15 cm white discs around the plate with a sharp knife.
17. Cut four 3 cm black discs with the cutter.
18. Squeeze and strain all the citrus juices into the small wide saucepan.
19. Simmer over low heat for 30–40 minutes, until reduced to about 4 tbsp of thick syrup that sets on a cold plate; watch it closely at the end so it doesn't burn.
20. Warm the olive oil with the chilli flakes over low heat for 2 minutes, then let it cool and strain it.
21. Heat the sunflower oil in the small frying pan and fry the spaghetti for about 1 minute, until golden and crisp; drain on paper towels and salt lightly.
22. Brush a stripe of citrus reduction across each plate.
23. Pipe a line of sea urchin panna cotta alongside it.
24. Lay a white disc over the top and set a black disc off-centre on the white one.
25. Drizzle with the chilli oil, add the fried spaghetti and serve cold.

1. For the white cuttlefish layer:
2. Use a rolling pin to roll out the pulp between two sheets of parchment baking paper.
3. Place inside a bag suitable for vacuum cooking and bake in a steam oven at 85 degrees centigrade for 6 minutes.
4. Cool immediately.
5. Cut out 4 disks with a diameter of 16 cm.
6. For the black cuttlefish layer:
7. Mix together the two ingredients.
8. Use a rolling pin to roll out the pulp between two sheets of parchment baking paper.
9. Place inside a bag suitable for vacuum cooking and bake in a steam oven at 85 degrees centigrade for 6 minutes.
10. Cool immediately.
11. Cut out 4 disks with a diameter of 3 cm.
12. For the sea urchin panna cotta:
13. Heat 40 g of the cream at a temperature of 36 degrees centigrade, add the gelatin and cool it to a temperature of 28 degrees centigrade.
14. Add the remaining cream and the sea urchin pulp.
15. Incorporate the lightly whipped cream and place it in a pastry bag for 4 hours in the refrigerator at a temperature of 6 degrees centigrade.
16. For the citrus juice reduction
17. In a medium saucepan, add the citrus juices and cook over a low flame until it acquires the consistency of a jelly candy.
18. Plating and presentation:
19. Brush the citrus juice reduction on the plate.
20. Add the sea urchin panna cotta, the white disk and the smaller black disk.
21. Drizzle with fresh hot pepper oil and fried spaghetti.

The dish in the photograph was cooked by the restaurant for this story. Photo: Oleksandr Slyadnyev.