EHL’s Institute of Nutrition R&D presents the season on a plate with a nutritious and delicious vegetarian menu to delight foodie fans of all types. As Hippocrates famously said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”, here we are reminded that behind many seasonal recipes lie specific healing properties to help us best align with the time of year. Enjoy your meal as well as your health!
From starters to desserts, garden fruits and vegetables are bursting with color and flavor in summer. From the deep red of raspberries to the tender green of zucchini flower, the summer palette of tastes is on the plate to tantalize the taste buds and delight the eyes.
These beautiful zucchini flowers are rich in fiber, antioxidants, and potassium to optimize muscle tone. Vitamin K promotes blood coagulation and vitamin C boosts the immune system. To sublimate this beautiful velvety flower, what better than a stuffing with tasty Swiss shrimps, raised ecologically and without antibiotics, thus containing neither heavy metals nor arsenic, which are unfortunately sometimes found in certain foods! To brighten up the plate, a few flowers of blue borage with its fortifying virtues. Then a few petals of dazzling nasturtium to give a little pep and peppery notes. Finally, beautiful leaves of hyssop, otherwise known as agastache, for the aniseed touch. In short, a healthy cocktail full of color and medicinal virtues. And to complete the supply of nutrients necessary for the proper functioning of the microbiota, the piquant flavors of kimchi, fermented cabbage prepared according to Korean tradition, round off this appetizer. The lactic fermentation technique makes the nutrients more digestible, nourishing the body’s microbiota, and consumes some sugars contained in the vegetables, making the meal less calorie-intensive. The lively kimchi adds a touch of acidity to this delicious starter.
Fancy a barbecue with friends? Now's the time to start making your own marinade, containing numerous ingredients that provide the nutrients our microbiota needs. A piece of meat kept in marinade for several days allows nutrients to be transferred by capillary action and interact through chemical exchange. The flame and heat of barbecuing provide a slightly bitter flavor that the body needs in this summer period, according to the principles of traditional Chinese nutrition. The zucchini that accompanies this meat, steamed or just blanched, retains all its nutritional value and provides the fiber our bodies require, for a gut in top form!
And here comes lady raspberry, poking her nose into the undergrowth! It's packed with tannins, mainly anthocyanins, which give it its bright red color and neutralize free radicals, thus acting as an anti-inflammatory. Combined with the anti-inflammatory virtues of the caffeine contained in coffee, the duo is perfect! Not to mention the cardio-protective effect of coffee, which safeguards us from certain neurodegenerative diseases. A few hazelnut nuggets, rich in omega-9s, trace elements and vitamins, and you've got a healthy, gourmet summer dessert!
This menu was co-authored by Karine Dubrit, micro-nutrition doctor, Marianne Vellieux, micro-nutritionist, and Cédric Bourassin, Lecturer Practical Arts and Head Chef at the Berceau Des Sens (BDS), Michelin-starred teaching restaurant of EHL.
All the recipes and ingredients are for 4 people. Have a great summer and bon appétit!
Starter
For the stuffed zucchini flowers
- 12 zucchini flowers
- ½ shallot (12g)
- ½ slice country ham (24g)
- 12 peeled Swiss shrimps (240g)
- 20g sourdough bread
- 15g double cream
- 1 tablespoon Calamansi vinegar
For the kimchi
- 200g kimchi
- 20g parsley
For the dressing
- Agastache and peppermint leaves
- Borage and nasturtium flowers
Preparation
Soak the bread, cut into 5mm cubes, in the double cream. Chop half a shallot. Cut ham and shrimps into 5mm cubes. Mix all the ingredients together, then stuff the zucchini flowers.
Steam the stuffed zucchini flowers for 5 min.
Blend Kimchi with parsley until smooth.
Presentation
Place kimchi pomade and 3 stuffed zucchini flowers on a flat plate. Garnish as desired with agastache and peppermint leaves, as well as borage and nasturtium flowers.
Main course
For the marinade
- 16g soy sauce
- 40g olive oil
- 16g lemon juice
- 8g Worcestershire sauce
- 1 garlic clove
- 8 basil leaves
- 8 leaves flat-leaf parsley
- 4g paprika
- 1g ichimi togarashi (Japanese chili pepper)
- 1.6g salt
For the meat
- 360g beef onglet
For the sauce
- 250g beef jus
For the side dish
- 200g zucchini
Preparation
Grate the garlic clove. Mix all the ingredients and marinate the meat for at least one night in the fridge. If possible, vacuum-seal for 5 days in the fridge. Remove the meat and chill the marinade. Sear the meat on the BBQ for 5 minutes on each side. Add the marinade to beef stock and reduce gently. Cut zucchini into strips. Blanch in boiling water for 2 min.
Presentation
On a flat plate, dress according to your desire.
Dessert
For the coffee chantilly
- 80g liquid cream (min. 30% fat)
- 8g coffee beans
- 7g sugar
- 8g mascarpone
For the hazelnut crunch
- 40g hazelnut purée
- 24g feuilletine (crumbled crispy crêpes)
- 8g chocolate
For the hazelnut cookie
- 32g egg white
- 24g sugar
- 20g hazelnut powder
- 6g corn flour
- 4g powdered sugar
- 1 pinch salt
For the hazelnut shortbread
- 72g flour
- 22g potato starch
- 40g butter
- 36g powdered sugar
- 12g hazelnut powder
- 22g whole egg
- 1 pinch salt
For the raspberry sorbet
- 75g water
- 30g sugar
- 120g raspberry
For the dressing
- 12 hazelnuts
- 12 raspberries
Preparation
Pre-brew the cream and coffee beans for 24 hours. Strain through a fine sieve. Mix the infused cream with the mascarpone, then whip up the Chantilly by adding the caster sugar.
Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie, then mix with the hazelnut purée. Add the broken feuilletine to obtain the hazelnut crunch.
Preheat oven to 200°C. Beat the egg whites until stiff, adding the salt and caster sugar in two batches. Lastly, add the sifted hazelnut powder, corn flour and powdered sugar. Spread the mixture thinly on 1 silicone baking sheet. Bake for 15min. Cut out with a cookie cutter after baking.
Preheat oven to 175°C. Mix flour, potato starch, sugar, hazelnut powder and salt. Combine the flour and the diced butter until crumbly. Add the egg and mix until the dough comes together without being too wet. Leave to rest for 1 hour. Spread the mixture thinly on 1 silicone baking sheet. Cut out with a cookie cutter before baking. Bake the hazelnut shortbread for 20min.
Freeze the raspberries in advance. Blend the frozen raspberries with the sugar and water at refrigerator temperature (3-5°C). Form into quenelles and serve immediately.
Presentation
In a soup plate, place the hazelnut cookie, add the hazelnut crunch and finally the hazelnut shortbread. Decorate with the coffee Chantilly. Add the halved hazelnuts and raspberries. Finish with a quenelle of raspberry sorbet.
Doctor in micro-nutrition
Micro-nutritionist
Lecturer in Practical Arts
Pastry Chef at the Berceau Des Sens (BDS), Michelin-starred teaching restaurant of EHL Hospitality Business School
