>Mirabelle and Southern Beauty

Per Se restaurant Tasting of Vegetables menu course #9

>TASTE OF MIRABELLE
"Southern Beauty" Sake Sponge Cake, Yogurt-Scented Puffed Rice,
Compressed Plums, Phyllo Shreds and Toasted Almond Ice Cream

Or per Per Se

>"SAVEUR MIRABELLE" Nanbu Bijin Sake Genoise, Yogurt-Scented Puffed Rice, Compressed Plums, Kataifi Tuile and Toasted Almond Ice Cream

Lovely plating with red plum reduction sauce, a tiny sprig of micro shiso in plum gelee to show off these beauties.

Mirabelle (from Larousse Gastronomique):
A small yellow plum with a firm sweet-tasting flesh; it is grown mainly in Alsace and Lorraine - the Metz mirabelle is regarded as one of the best varieties. Mirabelle plums are stewed, made into jam, preserved in syrup, and used to make a white brandy. They are also used in flans and tarts. In Lorraine, mirabelle brandy is protected by an appellation.

Genoise/Genoese sponge
A light sponge cake which takes its name from the city Genoa. Genoese sponge is made of eggs and sugar whisked over heat until thick, then flour and melted butter are added to the cooled mixture. It can be enriched with ground almonds or crystalized (candied) fruits and flavored with liqueur, the zest of citrus fruits, vanilla, etc. Genoese cake (which should not be confused with Genoa cake) differs from ordinary sponge cake in that the eggs are beaten whole, whereas in the latter the yolks and whites are usually beaten separately. Genoese cake is the basis of many filled cakes. Cut into two or more layers, which are covered with jam, cream, fruit purees, etc., it is coated, iced, and decorated as required.

Kataifi, finely shredded threads made with phyllo/fillo dough -->

Tuile
A crisp thin petit four, in the shape of a curved tile. The basic dough (sugar, shredded (slivered) or ground almonds, eggs, and flour), sometimes with added butter and flavoured with vanilla and orange, is spread onto a baking sheet. The tuile acquired its characteristic shape by being bent over a rolling pin while still hot, then left to harden. Flat round tuiles (called mignons) are stuck together in pairs with meringue, then dried in the oven.