Salmon Roe & Corn Purée Cucumber Wheel With Shiitake Mushroom

Ingredients (serves 10 to 15)

2 English cucumbers (washed and cut into 1/4-inch rounds)

8 ears of corn (shucked & corn kernels removed from the cob)

4 sprigs of thyme

1 bay leaf

1/2 lb cream cheese

1 4 oz jar of salmon roe

1 oz package of micro bok choy

1 oz corn starch

10 oz shiitake mushroom (stems removed)

Sea salt, for garnish

Olive oil, for garnish

Directions

Begin by removing the stems from the mushrooms. Dehydrating the mushrooms will be the most time-consuming task in this recipe. Leave at least 10 hours to properly dehydrate the mushroom caps.

To do this, place the caps of the mushrooms on the racks of your dehydrator. Set it to medium heat for about eight to 10 hours. If you do not have a dehydrator, you can spread the mushroom caps evenly over a sheet tray and place them in an oven set to 150 degrees. Be sure to use the convection fan if it is available on your oven.

While this is happening, place the corn cobs (kernels removed and set aside) in a large stock pot and fill with enough water to cover the corn cob. Add the thyme and bay leaf and let simmer for about three hours to really infuse the corn flavor into your stock.

After three hours, strain the stock. Warm the corn kernels in the hot strained stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Purée the entire mixture, then strain it through a fine sieve. Return the hot corn purée to the stock pot. Make a cornstarch slurry with 1/4 cup of water and an ounce of corn starch.

Whisk the slurry into the warm corn purée over medium low heat. Whisk until the purée begins to thicken, then fold in the cream cheese and season to your liking with salt.

When the mixture becomes thick, transfer it to a shallow cooling dish. Cover and cool in the fridge for at least three hours. When the mushrooms are dried, grind them into a fine powder using a spice grinder and set aside until you are ready to assemble.

To assemble, take one of the cucumber wheels, squeeze some corn purée on top, then add the salmon roe, a bit of sea salt, and a drizzle of olive oil. Finish with the micro bok choy and some shiitake powder.