Pan fried pluma with vongole in XO sauce, yellow beets, spring onions, endive salad and elderberry Hollandaise

This main course highlights a detail that is not so common in Swedish kitchens, but very popular in Spain. We’re talking about Pluma, a cut from the pigs back, above the chops. It is a very flavorful cut that we’re pairing with a “xo sauce” and vongole and lots of tasty vegetables. The recipe serves 10 people if you serve it as part of a menu. If you want to serve it on its own, it will serve 4-6 people.

XO sauce

• 20 g Red chili
• 20 g Ginger
• 1 large Banana shallot
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 10 g Worcestershire sauce
• 10 g Fish sauce Tra Chang brand
• 20 g Dark rice vinegar plum flavoured
• 5 g Rice vinegar
• 20 g Fermented soybean sauce
• 20 g Liura pea soy
• 10 g Ginger syrup
• 1 g Blue mussel powder
• 200 g White wine
• 700 g Chicken stock

Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Cut the chili lengthwise, remove the seeds and cut it into smaller pieces. Peel and finely grate the ginger on a grater. Heat a little oil in a pan and sweat the onion, garlic, chili and ginger over medium heat without coloring – just until they become soft and fragrant. Then add the other ingredients, except for the white wine and chicken stock. Let the mixture simmer.

Then add the chicken stock and white wine, and let the sauce reduce slowly until about one-sixth remains. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve and keep it warm under cover until serving.

Vongole

• 500 g Vongole

Rinse the vongole mussels thoroughly in cold water. Then sprinkle with 2-4 tablespoons of salt and add an equal amount of vinegar. Fill up with cold water so that the mussels are completely covered, and leave them for about an hour. This process allows the mussels to spit out any sand.

Yellow beets

• 20 yellow beets

Roast the beetroots with skins on in the oven at 150°C for about two hours, or until completely soft. Allow the beets to cool slightly and then grill them on the barbecue to give them a distinct barbecue flavor. Peel the beets and leave them to rest in an oven at 80°C.

Fresh onions

• 5 Garlic bulbs
• 4 Sprigs of lemon balm
• 3 Cloves of Garlic
• 50 g Butter

Peel the fresh onions and cut them lengthwise. Place them in a vacuum bag with the other ingredients. Seal the bag and bake in a steam oven at 90°C for about 15 minutes. Then open the bag and gently fry the onions in a hot pan until golden.

If you don’t have access to a vacuum machine and steam oven, slice the onion lengthwise and cook gently over medium heat, cut side down, in a frying pan with the butter and herbs. Remove when the onion is soft (test with a skewer).

Endive

• 5 pcs Endive
• 100 g Chicken broth
• 30 g Sherry vinegar
• 100 g Treacle
• 4 sprigs of Thyme
• 30 g Butter (room temperature)
• 5 g Salt

Cut the endives lengthwise and remove any dull or damaged leaves. Place the endives in a vacuum bag*. Bring the remaining ingredients to a boil and allow the liquid to cool to room temperature. Pour the cooled liquid over the endives in the bag and seal. Bake in a steam oven at 90°C for about 15 minutes. Then open the bag and save the liquid. Gently fry the endives with some of the liquid until they are beautifully caramelized.

*If you don’t have a vacuum machine for this step, bring the liquid to a boil on the stove. Add the endives and simmer on medium heat for about 15 minutes. Then remove the endives and do the final step where you gently fry them until caramelized.

Elderberry hollandaise

• 15 g Egg yolk
• 15 g Elderberry vinegar
• 10 g Elderflower capers
• 150 g Butter
• 30 g Chives

Melt the butter over low heat. Whisk the egg yolks, elderflower vinegar and salt over low heat in a saucepan until the mixture is warm and has a slightly creamy consistency. When the egg mixture is at the right temperature (about 50°C) and consistency, slowly add the butter while whisking until the sauce becomes smooth and airy. Finish with finely chopped chives.

Pluma

• 1,2 kg Pluma

Salt and fry the Pluma in a hot pan, then temper the meat in an oven at 110°C until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 58°C. Allow to rest.

Garnish

• 1/5 Leeks
• Herbs (herb bundle)

Cut the leeks into long, thin strips and boil them quickly for about a minute. Strain and cool quickly in cold water. Then tie the herbs together into a small bouqet.