Noodle Cook attempts Paper Chef #7

There was not really any time to enter the Paper Chef #7 competition due to short time My Little Restaurant was established on-line. The competition was already closed when the details were worked out.

The first attempt started at breakfast, when it was discovered a breakfast of honey poached date and apple oat-bran porridge with skim milk, an egg and a cup of tea with skim milk pretty much covered the four ingredients (buttermilk, date, egg and honey) for the competition. On checking the other entries, this breakfast would be the most boring and unimaginative entry since the inception of the competition!

The next attempt was at dinner with a main course and dessert:

• Slow cooked rolled rib beef with wilted greens, house-made parsley garlic buttermilk spatzle (German egg noodle), semi-dried tomato, honey glazed baked apples, poached red dates, apple salsa, soya sauce, balsamic and red wine vinegar reduction.
  
  
  
• Honey glazed baked apples and dates on crispy tapioca buttermilk tuile, to be served with ice-cream.
  
  
  
  The approximate steps were:

1. Lightly brush honey over thinly sliced pink apple and bake in a moderate oven. Glaze with more honey when cooked.
   
   
   
2. Make spatzle using egg, plain flour and buttermilk. Season with parsley, garlic, and pepper. Cook in boiling water.
   
   
   
3. Make the tuile by pouring a slurry of tapioca starch, egg white and buttermilk into an electric waffle iron.
   
   
   
4. Poach the dried red dates. Reserve the water for the sauce reduction.
   
   
   
5. For the apple salsa and reduction, firstly sear the beef and remove. Then add fruit juice to deglaze the frying pan. Add finely diced apple, soya sauce, balsamic, red wine vinegar. Removed the cooked apple. Add fennel seeds, more fruit juice, vinegars, soya sauce and date poaching water for the sauce.
   
   
6. Assemble the dishes as shown above. Drizzle the reduction over the beef and spatzle. Add slivers of green apple peel for garnish.

Sadly, this entry did not make it to the competition....