SHF #17: Yo quiero El Bulli's yoghurt tacos

Sometimes I think the toughest part of being Canadian is knowing the correct way to spell a word.  Take yogourt, for example, or is that yoghourt, yoghurt or yogurt?  You see, Canadian English typically uses British spellings, not American, but every once and a while we like to let our orthographic hair down and come up with a little something of our own.  For some reason, "yogourt" happens to be one of those rare words that is uniquely Canadian.

I mention this because I was unsure how to spell "yogourt" correctly (read, the Canadian way), which is a real handicap when writing a post about it.  I ended up running to the fridge to check the spelling on one of our containers.  "Yogourt" it is, then, for me and,it seems, for mes frères et soeurs franco-canadiens.  For some reason, French-Canadians also spell the word yogourt, and that too is a variant (the standard French being yaourt).  Finally, something beyond hockey on which the two solitudes can agree.

But enough about yogourt spellings, let's talk about "yoghurt" tacos (that's the spelling on the recipe, so I will use it in that context only), our dairy themed dessert for Sugar High Friday #17, hosted by Spittoon  Extra.  As some of you may have read, I now have a copy of El Bulli: 1998-2002, a cookbook with which I've become somewhat obsessed.  Lucky for me, Ferran Adria seems to like his yogourt, because he uses it frequently, and, in this dish, he uses it almost exclusively.

The dish is really two separate preparations: a yogourt powder-laced croquant, and an olive oil and  Greek yogourt filling.  The croquant is a mixture of glucose, isomalt, and fondant heated to near molten levels and then doused with "powdered yoghurt."  Powdered yogourt caused no end of misery for Rachel and me, because, quite frankly, we're still not sure what it is.  My best guess is that it's powdered yogourt culture, so that's what we used (we finally found it at Vital Planet, a natural foods store in the north St. Lawrence Market), and the results were excellent: a sweet, crispy sugar candy, with a striking ivory tint.

The yogourt filling gave me fits too.  You'd think Greek yogourt would be abundant in Toronto, but you'd be a fool for thinking it, actually.  I finally found both cow and goat's milk Greek yogourt at Greek House Food Market on, where else, the Danforth (aka Greektown). I'd never had it before, but it is spectacular.  It's got the richness and texture of sour cream -- and with approximately ten percent fat, it should -- while retaining that familiar tang.  Rachel took one bite, and was off to the kitchen sprinkling spoonfuls of it with crunchy demerara sugar and humming in milkfat-induced bliss.  Even the muscovado sugar in the topping is not as common as I'd thought, necessitating some phone calls and visits to high-end grocery stores (FYI, Whole Foods Toronto carries it).  Worth the effort, muscovado is completely different -- and darker -- from other sugars, though, and one that we'll be using in future treats.

The filling is not just Greek yogourt.  Adria's twist is to ever so slightly thicken the yogourt with gelatin and then accentuate its flavour with a little olive oil.  The first time I tried to make this filling, I ended up with a dairy lump swimming in an oil slick (ah, memories of vanilla mucus). It wasn't until I reviewed the US version of the recipe, with its volume measurements, that I had an inkling of the problem with the UK version I was using, with its weight measurements: by mass I was using the correct amounts, but by volume I was using just half the yogourt I needed, but one third more olive oil than needed.  When I switched to the US volume measurements the yogourt filling came out perfectly.

On its own, the yogourt filling is nothing special.  If anything, the tang of the yogourt is not an ideal match for the olive oil.  The minute we paired the filling with the sweetness and crunch of the croquant shell and topped it with a little muscovado sugar, all the flavours and textures fell into place.  The sweetness and crispness of the shell balance the fattiness of the filling, and allow the fruitiness of the olive oil and the rich, treacle taste of the muscovado topping to shine.

I'm going to toot my own horn here.  The taco shells are made by grinding the yogourt croquant into a powder which is then stenciled onto Silpat in circles only four centimetres in diameter.  These croquant powder circles are heated in the oven and then bent into the distinctive taco shell shape while still warm.  It is a labourious process, and the result is the tiniest taco you will ever see.  The tacos in the photo are bite size. 

Whether you spell it yogourt, yoghurt, or yogurt, El Bulli's tacos are a delicious way to highlight the versatility of a common ingredient while showcasing the creativity of one of the world's great chefs.

SHF #17 + SHF + sugar high friday

Comments

[Ivonne]

Bravo, Rob, bravo!

It looks magnificent and as always, your post is such a treat.

Kudos for hunting down the Greek yogourt/yoghourt/yoghurt/yogurt in Greektown. I shall make note of that.

My compliments to the chef!

[Tania]

What a delightful dessert, Rob! I so enjoyed reading about the process of making these little treats. Stunning photo, too!

And I choose to spell it "yoghurt."

[Lexi]

It's Yoghurt in Swedish ;) but I guess we've just adapted to some english version of it...
Those tacos look delicious :)

[Alanna]

Yes but what a BITE.

[linda]

Wow...looks and sounds great! You must have been very busy making this...

[TBTAM]

I am in awe. I grovel at the foot of your kitchen counter. I am a mere speck of dust in your presence, oh great ones...

[rob]

Ivonne, thanks for the kudos. If you're a yogourt fan, I can't recommend Greeky yogourt highly enough.

Tania, you're not alone in your spelling choice. I asked some friends at work today, and they said they too spell it "yoghurt."

Lexi, thank you for visiting, and for the compliment. I don't suppose the Swedes need worry about variant spellings of yogourt....

Alanna, thank you.

Linda, it does take a bit of effort, but none of it is especially complicated. I'm certain that even a very inexperienced cook could make this dish if they had the right equipment.

TBTAM, you flatter me. Most of the recipes in the El Bulli cookbook demand a remarkable amount of effort, yes, but they aren't nearly as intimidating as you may think.

[Danielle]

Those are the most charming tacos I have ever seen. Wow, that cookbook is pricey, though.

[MM]

Duuuuuude! We are not worthy! We are not worthy!

That is one fab yoghurt (yes, spell it with me!) dessert. I love Greek yoghurt and just have it drizzled with honey ... soooo good. So, how many of those did you make in the end and how long did it take you guys? I am super impressed again. You guys rock!

[Christine]

Wow I love that shot! I need to try making greek yogourt in my yogourt maker.

[Cate O'Malley]

Never would have imagined Yogurt Tacos, but they look fantastic!

[Cin]

wow, sounds fascinating, Rob!

[tami]

geezus - two El Bulli recipes in recent memory. Showoff.

:)

Looks amazing..

[rob]

Danielle, the book is very pricey, yes, but, in its defense, you're not going to find recipes like these anywhere else.

MM, thank you. It probably takes only 15-20 minutes to make the croquant -- as long as you've got a reliable digital thermometer, it's easy. Then you've got to reduce to powder in a food processor, that's also quick and easy. Mixing together the yogourt filling is probably another 15-20 minutes. The really time consuming part is the actual assembly: the first time I made the tacos, I didn't use enough croquant, so I ended up with thin shards (that I had to just regrind into powder). When I finally did use enough croquant, I made too many at once, so they were hardening before I could bend them into shape. I eventually found that I could only reliably make two shells at a time -- that really slows things down. So far, we've probably made 12-16 tacos. I've set aside a little of the yogourt croquant powder for another recipe, however.

Christine, I'm glad you enjoyed the photo. Having just enjoyed my first experience with Greek yogourt, I would certainly be making some if I had a yogourt maker.

Cate, I never would've imagined them either. That's the best part of the book. You wouldn't believe how often you look at a dish and think, "Well I never woulda thought of that."

Cin, it really is fascinating, like a new world.

Tami, thanks. I actually have a couple of other El Bulli recipes almost ready to go too. They're a lot of fun, actually, especially when they turn out well.

[Andrew]

Cant really add much to the deserved praise above - aprt from thanks for taking part in my round of SHF.

[rachel]

MM, what kind of honey do you find is the best on yogourt? "Drizzled with honey" was my first thought, but I didn't think my Billy Bee would do it justice!

[MM]

Rachel, I found some clover honey which works OK with it but the best honey was actually some North Island New Zealand honey which I had hand carried with me. I once used some royal jelly honey which was lurking around but it tasted kinda weird. I occasionally chopped up some toasted almonds and sprinkled that on top of the yoghurt and honey. Works a treat too but not like the yoghurt tacos! Man, I can't get those out of my brain!

[keiko]

Rob, this looks incredibly good, let alone looking pretty!