The poor man’s caviar by Yannick Alléno

Caviar and blinis

No need to be a billionaire to eat like a gourmet. The great three-star chef Yannick Alléno makes a demonstration with his poor man’s caviar…Proof that quality lentils can be more exceptional than black gold without any interest. So it’s now it’s up to you to bluff your guests for just a few euros and name drop Mr. Alléno to justify your daring recipe.

Difficulty: easy

Preparation : 15 min

Cooking time : 35 min

Resting time : 30 min + 2 h

PROGRESSION

For the blinis: warm the milk in a small pan, then add the yeast. Place the two flours and the salt in a salad bowl. Mix. Add the milk with the yeast and the egg yolk. Stir. Whip the egg whites into snow peaks and incorporate them delicately to the previous preparation. Allow to rest for 30 min at room temperature. Prepare the lentils: peel the carrot and cut it up into chunks. Peel the onion and the garlic. Cut the onion in two. Place in a pan with the broth, the lentils, the thyme and laurel. Bring to a simmer, then cook for 25 min. Drain the lentils. Set aside the cooking liquid. Remove the vegetables and the herbs. Reduce the cooking liquid in order to obtain 40 cl.

Dip the gelatin leaves in a bowl of cold water to soften them. Drain them carefully before incorporating them in the reduced cooking liquid. Leave in a cool place for 2 h. Add the lentils, salt, ground pepper and mix.

FINISHIING AND PRESENTATION

Pour the preparation in half of a caviar box. Place the whipped cream in a vat and whip it. Salt, pepper, add the lemon juice and the nutmeg. Mix, then pour this preparation in the empty part of the caviar box. At serving time, melt the butter in a pan. Make little mounds of dough in the pan and cook the blinis for about 1 min on each side until they are golden. Serve the caviar of lentils with the blinis.

Also discover the fig foie gras in 5 minutes and the tartine of goat cheese with mirabelles.

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Ingredients:

FOR THE BLINIS

20 CL OF MILK

12 G OF BAKER YEAST

70 G OF LENTIL FLOUR

70 G OF WHEAT FLOUR

4 G OF SALT

1 EGG YOLK

2 EGG WHITES

1 NUT OF BUTTER

FOR THE LENTILS

½ CARROT

½ ONION

1 GARLIC CLOVE

1 L OF CHICKEN BROTH

250 G OF BLACK BELUGA LENTILS

1 TWIG OF THYME

1 LEAF OF LAUREL

2 LEAVES OF GELATINE

100 G OF THICK FRESH CREAM

½ LEMON JUICE

1 PINCH OF GRATED NUTMEG

SALT AND GROUND PEPPER

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