Smoked okra, undercooked shrimp and okra caviar

Roberta Sudbrack

For 8 people

8 okra “steaks”
20 g of okra seeds
2 tomato steaks, skinless and seedless
Japanese mix of dry peppers (like Shichini-togarashi)
Extra virgin olive oil with low acidity
16 big shrimp, extremely fresh
Marine salt
Refined sugar
Salt flower
Freshly ground black pepper

 

Grill the okra in a hot frying pan or in a grill until they are slightly burned.
In order to make the okra steaks, open them in half and remove all the seeds and fibers. Keep the steaks and the seeds frozen. Wipe and remove the peels of the shrimp. Whiten it quickly using boiling water with salt, just for a few seconds until it changes its color. Dip it immediately in a water and ice bath to stop the cooking and reach the desired texture. Slice the shrimp in a slicing machine using its length and very thin foils. Arrange the foils in a well stretched way above a butter paper sheet and season it with salt, sugar, freshly ground pepper and a thread of olive oil. Stuff the the okra steaks with the foils of shrimp and keep them cold. Tomato roe: cut the frozen tomato steaks in very small cubes, same size of salmon roe. Keep them cold. Season the okra seeds with salt and a thread of olive oil.

Arrangement
Display, at the bottom of the plate, some of the tomato roe, okra seeds and Japanese pepper. Sprinkle delicately the olive oil of low acidity. Cut the okra in half and arrange both halfs upright in the middle of the plate. Conclude with some more okra seeds and salt flowers. Serve cold.