Wild garlic & cashew nut vegan appetizer

We’re going to make a beautiful wild garlic appetizer! It’s a 100% vegan, so the perfect dish for any restaurant. It’s a vegan wild garlic flan with a wild garlic & lime mayonnaise, a vegan buttermilk sauce, some beautiful marinated vegetables and delicious sourdough croutons.

The vegan wild garlic flan

2	shallots
3 grams	salt
100 grams	white wine
150 grams	vegetable broth
50 grams	cashew nuts
20 grams	wild garlic leaves
2 grams	agar powder

Cut the shallots in half and clean them. Now thinly slice them. Then add a drizzle of oil to a hot pan and glaze the shallots with the salt. After deglaze the pan with the white wine and reduce it till almost all the wine has evaporated. Then add the vegetable broth, the cashew nuts and the wild garlic leaves. Now blend it till smooth. Then while stirring add the agar powder and bring this to a boil. Once it has boiled pour it into a piping bottle and fill your desired mold. The one I use is from Mold Brothers, find a link in the description of this video. Now level the top and then let it set in your freezer till completely solid.

The tarragon vinaigrette

50 grams	sushi vinegar
50 grams	white wine vinegar
5 grams	mustard
2 sprigs	tarragon
10 drops	tabasco
3 grams	salt
100 grams	olive oil
100 grams	sunflower oil

Mix the sushi vinegar, the white wine vinegar, the mustard, the leaves from the tarragon, the tabasco and the salt. Now while mixing slowly add the olive oil and the sunflower oil. Let this marinade overnight in your fridge. The next day you can pass the vinaigrette through to a fine sieve and then keep it in your fridge for later. Be sure to mix or shake the bottle before using it.

The wild garlic oil and mayonnaise

10 grams	chives
20 grams	wild garlic leaves
150 grams	neutral oil (I use sunflower oil)

Transfer the chives into a blender and also add the wild garlic leaves and the neutral oil. Then blend it till the temperature of the oil is 65 degrees Celsius. It will heat up from the friction. After that pass the oil through a fine sieve that’s lined with a kitchen paper to clarify it. Let it drain in your fridge to prevent the oil from turning brown.

75 grams	cashew nuts
50 grams	canned chickpeas
20 grams	lime juice
10 grams	mustard
50 grams	ice
4 grams	salt
10 grams	sushi vinegar
80 grams	sunflower oil
100 grams	wild garlic oil (the one we just made)

Mix the cashew nuts with the canned chickpeas, the lime juice, the mustard, the ice, the salt, the sushi vinegar, Now blend it till smooth. Then add the sunflower oil and the wild garlic oil. Blend this till smooth and emulsified. Now transfer it into a piping bottle and let it set in your fridge for at least 2 hours.

The sourdough bread croutons

Slice a piece of sourdough bread into thin slices and place them on your cutting board. Using a slicing machine will make this a lot easier, but otherwise use a very sharp knife. Now cut the slices with a small round cutter and lay them on a silicon sheet. Then drizzle some olive oil on rounds and season the bread with some black pepper and salt. After that cover it with another silicon sheet and bake the croutons at 160 degrees Celsius for around 30 minutes till golden brown.

The vegan buttermilk sauce

1	onion
3 grams	salt
300 grams	vegetable broth
100 grams	cashew nuts
2 sprigs	thyme
1	lime (20 grams of juice)

Cut the onion in half and clean it. Now slice it in thin slices. Then add a drizzle of oil in a hot pan and soften the onions with the salt without coloring. Once softened add the vegetable broth, the cashew nuts and the thyme. Bring it to a boil, then turn off the heat and let it set for 1 hour. Then remove the thyme and blend it till smooth. Now cut the lime in half and add 20 grams of the juice to the sauce. Blend it once more. Then pass the sauce through a fine sieve and use a ladle to make this a bit easier. Now keep it in your fridge for later.

The garnish

First slice a kohlrabi in thin slices and cut it with a small round cutter. Then lay them out on a tray. Now cut a cucumber in three and cut away the seeds. Then cut it in thin slices and lay it on the tray. Also add wild garlic flower and marigold leaves. Now take some small white carrots and cut them in four. Then take a white strawberry and clean it. Now cut it in thin slices and place those on the tray as well. Add samphire tops and then also add white radish, spring onion, enoki mushroom, sea fennel leaves and white cornflower. I know it’s a lot of garnishes, but the end result will be so worth it! Keep the tray covered in your fridge for later.

How to finish the dish

First let the flan defrost on a plate. Then shake the vinaigrette and season the vegetables with a good drizzle. Now place some kohlrabi in the flan and also add the cucumber, the white strawberry, the sourdough bread croutons, the spring onion, the radish, and the white carrot. Then also pipe some of the mayonnaise in between. Then add the samphire, the enoki mushroom, the sea fennel, the marigold leaves, the white cornflower, and the wild garlic flowers. Now slightly heat up the sauce and add a couple tablespoons of the wild garlic oil. Give it a gentle mix before serving the dish with some of the delicious sauce! Like I said, the garnish is a lot of work, but it’s so worth it!