An orthocentric finger food: the recipe

Cooking is often compared to an art, and the egg is considered a form of perfection that only nature can create; we chefs can only try to imitate it. With this recipe, I wanted to reinterpret the image of the egg as a container of explosions of flavor in the mouth, an edible experience that delights the senses with every bite!

The miracle came true using puff pastry. A ballet of crispy layers, just golden in the oven, melts in the mouth and allows the succulent filling to intoxicate our palate. The shape is that of an "egg," hollow inside, eaten in one bite, and strictly by hand!

The genesis of the orthocentric finger food recipe

It all starts with a good puff pastry, which you can buy ready-made or, with a little patience and skill, you could also make at home. The pastry should be light, smooth, and velvety, like a blanket, the kind used especially this month, in the evenings when the temperatures have dropped and the hint of autumn is beginning to creep in. The egg, however, would be nothing without a filling that contrasts with the fragrance of its casing with soft and creamy textures, yet no less rich in flavor.

This is how my idea for “Egg without the chicken” was born because my cuisine is orthocentric and totally plant-based!

An orthocentric finger food that can be eaten in one bite: a puff pastry egg filled with avocado cream, onion, and lemon zest, tofu cooked at a low temperature in coffee water, and a crunchy sprinkle of mixed seeds and crushed coffee beans.

The recipe

Preparation

INGREDIENTS (recipe for 4 eggs)

For the eggs

• 1 package of rectangular puff pastry

For the coffee tofu

• about 300g of white tofu
• 10 cups of Milani Coffee – Pure Ethiopia
• Salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil to taste

For the avocado sauce

• 3 perfectly ripe avocados
• ½ chopped white onion
• 1 lemon (2 cl juice and grated peel)
• Salt, black pepper to taste

For the gasket

• 50g toasted mixed seeds (such as sunflower, pumpkin and flax seeds)
• 10 roasted coffee beans (I used Caffè Milani – Puro Etiopia beans)
• Coarse salt
• Lemon zest (3 obtained with a potato peeler)

Procedure

1. TOFU : While you're making coffee with the moka pot, cut the tofu block into 1cm x 1cm cubes. Once the coffee is ready, place the tofu and coffee in a container and let them steep overnight. Then drain, pat dry, and toss in a pan, browning it with oil, salt, and pepper (you can also add bay leaves for flavor). Pat the tofu dry with paper towels.
2. AVOCADO SAUCE : Place the avocado pulp in a blender along with the chopped onion, salt, pepper, 2 cl lemon juice, and lemon zest. Blend until smooth and creamy. You can also pipe it into a piping bag to fill puff pastry eggs. If you're making the sauce a few hours ahead of time, transfer it to a container (adding the avocado seed you removed) and cover with plastic wrap. It will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days without turning brown.
3. MIXED SEEDS : Blend the mixed seeds, a few pieces of coarse salt, the lemon zest and the coffee beans in a pulse blender to obtain a salted lemon seed crumble.
4. EGGS : Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Open the puff pastry and use a pastry cutter (or an upturned teacup) to cut out evenly sized discs. Place them on a sheet of parchment paper and then on the baking sheet, spaced well apart. Bake for 5-7 minutes until puffed. Let them cool and then carefully remove the lid from the egg using a teaspoon, trying to keep the base intact and creating a hollow.

Plating

Using a piping bag (or a teaspoon), fill the egg with the avocado sauce.

Place the tofu cubes on top and then sprinkle everything with the seed and coffee crumble.

The plating is already inspired by the advance of autumn with material colours with some green incursions (spirulina powder)

A delicious orthocentric finger food

Prepare this recipe to amaze your guests, as amuse bouche or as an appetizer; or as a light dish to eat at home, in the office, or wherever you prefer.

Claudio Di Dio
Communications Consultant for Plant-Based Products | Orthocentric Chef | Vegan Food Creator