I Am the Smartest Person Alive

Ferran Adria of Spain is widely regarded as the best chef in the world. His restaurant, elBulli, has been voted the best restaurant in the world the past three years in a row. He is only open six months out of the year and receives a WHOPPING 2,000,000 reservation requests for his available 8,000 seats each year. It is, without question, the most sought after reservation in the world.

I am lucky enough to have a few of his cookbooks. Now, he is absolutely cutting edge in his use of techniques, equipment and ingredients to comepletely blow your mind and alter the way you think about food. Many of the 'avant garde' chefs of today are copying his moves from 10 years ago. He is, in my mind, the godfather of modern cooking.

Well, I decided that I was going to go after some of his recipes. Most of them are WAY out of reach. But I am going to start small, and every now and again, I am going to try to attempt something and put it on here.

A few weeks ago, I bought a foam siphon for making foams for food applications. My journey through the elBulli recipes begins with a cocktail and blood oranges, which are in season briefly and something with which I have been dying to make a recipe out of.

Vanessa loves cocktails with Campari (a bitter Italian liqueur), so this was a big bonus. It was wonderful. The funky science behind it ensures that the foam stays on top and very slowly dissolves away into the cocktail. Like magic.

AMERICANO (Blood Orange Juice with a Campari and Vermouth Foam)

CAMPARI/MARTINI FOAM
200 g Martini Rosso
200 g Campari
100 g blood orange juice
2 ½ 2g sheets gelatine (previously rehydrated in cold water)
½ liter ISI foaming canister
1 N2O cartridge

ORANGE JUICE
500 g blood oranges

FOAM
1. Heat the blood orange juice and dissolve the gelatine in it.
2. Remove from the heat and mix with the remaining ingredients.
3. Sieve and fill the cartridge using a funnel.
4. Foam and leave to rest in the fridge for 2 hours.

JUICE
1. Squeeze the oranges
2. Sieve the juice and place in the fridge.

FINISH
1. Fill the glasses halfway with the very cold orange juice.
2. Top the glasses with the foam. It should not be too cold, as this would change its density.