Easter is here, and chefs across the F&B industry in India are gearing up with simple, classic, exquisite and innovative culinary fares. While some like to stick to the traditional flavours and keep it effortless, others go all out to give the festive food an elaborate and novel touch. Also, a few swear by an eclectic mix of both. Dipender Tiwari, Corporate Chef, QLA, Mehrauli Delhi, belongs to the latter group. He has curated an incredibly exotic menu with myriad tastes and something to offer for everyone in the family.
Explaining why he chose the recipe of Avocado Pretzel for Easter, he shares, "The dish symbolizes the new life or birth as Easter is to celebrate for the resurrection of Christ. The avocado pretzel is created to look like a fertile land that is pretzel bun has newly grown pea shoots and micro greens around the vibrant avocado relish."
He equally thoughtfully selected the gnocchi recipe, as he says it is a very versatile dish in Europe during the festive Easter season. Pairing the potato dumpling with broccoli and mustard signifies entry into summer and is a great way to celebrate the festival.
Chef Dipender's third dish is dedicated to the little ones. Elaborating on it, he articulates, 'As Easter is a Christian family festival, I wanted one festive grub that children love to see and eat on our menu. That is how I decided to put this jello pie on our menu. Also, its citrus flavour makes it a perfect addition for welcoming summer."
Let's explore what his menu looks like.
Avocado Pretzel
Whipped ricotta, green peas, mint dressing, seeds cracker
The avocado pretzel is my interpretation of a toast, which is an essential part of the Easter fest as it's a family gathering where kids enjoy lots of pies, toasts and tarts. I have used pretzel bread as a toast with superfood avocado relish in this dish, which has rich fatty flavours with summery zing added by lemon juice and zest.
Exotic avocado pretzel, Image By: Qla, Delhi
Ingredients:
- Avocado- 150gm
- Jalapeno- 10gm
- Ricotta cheese- 15gm
- Heavy Cream- 10gm
- Lemon – 5gm
- Green peas – 25gm
- Mint – 20gm
- Olive oil – 15ml
- Dijon mustard – 1gm
- Chia seeds – 10gm
- Flex seeds – 5gm
- Sunflower seeds – 2gm
- Pumpkin seeds – 2gm
- Pretzel bun – 1no
Avocado green peas relish
In a bowl, take chop avocado and green peas, add chop jalapeno chilli, olive oil 5ml and lemon juice with salt and pepper to taste. Mix all to make avocado relish.
Whipped ricotta cheese
Take ricotta cheese in a bowl, add heavy cream, lemon juice and zest with salt and pepper to taste and whisk until a foaming mixture is made.
Mint dressing-
In boiling water, put mint leaves and cook for 10 secs. Take the leaves out, and later, blend in the grinder along with Dijon and olive oil until smooth dressing forms.
Multi-seed cracker
Method
- Soak chia seeds, flex seeds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds in 200ml water for about 1 hour.
- Later spread the mixture on a silicon pad or butter paper over a baking tray. Spread the mixture thinly and evenly, sprinkle some sea salt and bake about 165c for 30 min.
Pretzel bun recipe - 4 buns
Ingredients
- Warm water- 150gm
- Unsalted butter – 30gm
- Salt- 5 gm
- Flour – 250gm
- Milk- 20gm
- Yeast- 3 gm
Method
Mix yeast with warm water first. Then add flour, milk, and salt to the warm water mixture. Make dough with all the above ingredients. Roll the dough into long strained and make a round with a closing end to form a knot shape. Let the dough proof for 30 minutes.
Later make a poaching liquid as follows-
- Water – 200gm
- Salt – 5gm
- Baking soda- 50gm
- Sugar- 20gm
Method
- Simmer the above mixture for poaching.
- Add the above-proofed bun to the poaching liquid for 15 secs.
- After taking out from poaching liquid, put it on the baking tray and brush the bun with milk. Later bake at 180c for 14 mins.
Assembling the dish
Take the one pretzel bun on top, place the avocado green pea relish, then add some whipped ricotta cheese, drizzled with mint dressing garnish with some mint and pea shoot leaves.
Ricotta Gnocchi, Mustard
It is an assortment ricotta dumplings, charred broccoli, shallots, pommery cream sauce, grana. Ricotta gnocchi is made with roasted potato mash and ricotta, making it fulfilling and satisfying. The mustard adds a sour, pungent taste that balances the rich cheese taste into balanced flavours. Adding broccoli lends the dish an earthy note with the required fibre.
Exquisite ricotta gnocchi, Image By: Qla, Delhi
Ricotta Gnocchi Recipe
Ingredients
- Potato – 380gm
- Flour- 60gm
- Ricotta cheese- 90 gm
- Parmesan – 20gm
- Salt – to taste
- Pepper – to taste
Method
- Roast the potato in the oven at 180c for 30mins. Peel the potato while hot and mash it into a fine paste. Add flour, ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese until smooth mixture forms.
- Make a round 20 gm ball and a hole at the centre with your thumb. Blanch the gnocchi in boiling water until the gnocchi balls start floating. Keep aside.
Mustard cream sauce
- Garlic chop- 8 gm
- Onion chop – 15 gm
- White wine – 10 ml
- Thyme- one sprig
- Heavy cream – 15 ml
- Vegetable stock – 15ml
- Butter – 10gm
- Pommery mustard- 10gm
Method
Sauté garlic and onion with some thyme in a little olive oil. Later add some white wine and vegetable stock. Cook for 2mins then add cream and cook for another 5mins. Add butter and Pommery mustard and remove the sauce from the fire. Check salt and pepper for taste.
Charred broccoli and shallots or baby onions
Take a pan, put on a slow fire, add olive oil, add half-cut onions and give colour slowly. Meanwhile, boil broccoli florets for 30 secs in water and add the florets to the same pan of onions. Now add the gnocchi to the pan which was kept earlier and give colour; when all are brown, keep them aside for plating.
Assembling
Take a round plate and put the mustard sauce at the bottom; place the gnocchi along with shallots and broccoli. Garnish with some micro greens.
Easter Jelo Pie
The USP of this delicacy is that it is a light and refreshing layered dessert, which is not baked but made into an orange ganache to fill in the almond tart along with citrusy lemon curd. This makes it a super-rich, creamy texture with citrus flavours.
Decadent dessert for Easter, Image By: Qla, Delhi
Pie recipe
Ingredients
- Flour- 90 gm
- Butter unsalted- 60gm
- Sugar- 30gm
Method
Mix all the above ingredients together to form a dough. Roll the dough flate, cut froma round ring, and put that into a pie tart mould.
Later bake that at 180c for 10mins. Keep aside!
Orange ganache
Ingredients
- Orange zest- 5 gm
- Orange juice- 30ml
- Ellen vire or heavy cream – 30ml
- Mascarpone cheese- 20gm
- Callebaut white chocolate- 20gm
- Agar agar – 4 gm
Method
Warm the cream, then add orange juice and zest. Add agar agar and cook for a while, then remove the cream mixture from the heat and add mascarpone cheese and white chocolate mix well all the above to form a smooth mixture. Set aside.
Lemon curd
Ingredients
- Lemon juice- 30ml
- Unsalted butter – 80gm
- Egg yolk- 50gm
Method
Take a steel bowl over the double boiler. Mix all the above ingredients and cook until a smooth, shiny mixture forms.
Assembling the dish
Take the baked tart first; fill the orange ganache with a piping bag into the tart. Later add the lemon curd over the orange ganache. Keep refrigerated for 1 hour before serving. Cut the tart into quarters, and garnish with some fresh orange segments.