Cut the shallots in half and clean them. Now cut them. Then add a drizzle of oil to a hot pot and glaze the shallots on a low heat. Also add the salt. Meanwhile cut the button mushrooms in thin slices. Add them to the pot and panfry the mushrooms till golden brown. Really take your time for this.
Meanwhile make a herb bag from the thyme, the pepper grains and the cloves. Now bind this together. I use a coffee filter.
Then deglaze the pot with the white wine and the sushi vinegar. Reduce this till it’s almost completely gone. Then add the herb bundle and the water. Let it simmer on a low heat for around 3 hours.
After that we need to pass it through a sieve. For that first weigh your pan. This one weighs 930 grams. Now pass it through a fine sieve that’s lined with a kitchen paper to clarify it. Let it drain for at least 30 minutes, so you don’t waste a single drop.
Then add the madeira to the broth and reduce it till your left with 300 grams. The pan weighs 930 grams, so to check if it has reduced to 300 grams the total amount needs to be 1230 grams.
Then add the agar powder and mix it well. Now bring this to a boil for at least 30 seconds. Then pour it into a bowl and let it cool down in your fridge.
Once it has cooled down completely transfer it into a blender and blend it till smooth.Â
Now I always vacuum my gels. By doing this you will remove the air bubbles and that will leave you with a lovely clear and intense gel.
You can keep the gel for 3 days in your fridge and if you want to freeze it for a couple of weeks. If frozen be sure to let it defrost in your fridge. This way the gel will keep it's thick texture.
