People say “distance makes the heart grow fonder.”
But when you migrate, distance also sharpens your senses.
The longer I’ve been away from Colombia and my hometown, Cali, the more I’ve come to cherish the flavors I grew up eating.
Leaving your country helps you develop a special sensitivity towards familiar flavors. As you move and explore unfamiliar settings, they reveal something unique about them.
Let me tell you the story of my fig leaf bonbon.
Green figs (brevas) are widely grown in Colombia. We pick them while unripe and cook them in a syrup made with panela, lime, and cinnamon to enjoy as dessert served with arequipe (our dulce de leche).
Fig leaves are a different story, though. We never use them.
However, a few years ago, I was in Barcelona teaching one of my classes. There, I discovered that the same fig leaves we raked and threw away in Colombia were used in Spain to make the most delicate perfumes I had ever smelled.
When I returned to Las Vegas, I told Kyoko (my assistant) that I wanted to make that beautiful scent into a bonbon.
It turns out her father had a tall fig tree in his garden, and that he was thrilled to pick some of its leaves, wash them, and send them to my kitchen to dehydrate.
So there I was with these leaves I had grown up passing by, but that I was now seeing in a new light. All thanks to my trip to Barcelona and the kindness of Kyoko’s father.
The pieces started falling into place, and the creative process for my bonbons went something like this:
1. I rediscovered figs (which I used to have in Colombia) and fig leaves in Spain.
2. Dried figs reminded me of raisins, and rum and raisins are a classic pair.
3. Spain is right next to Portugal, and Porto wine is one of my favorites.
4. Instead of rum and raisins, why not make a fig and Porto jam?
5. Let’s give Kyoko’s father’s fig leaves the place they deserve and make a dark chocolate ganache with them.
Migrating is not the only way to jump with this sensitivity from place to place, from idea to idea.
But as a chef, I’m a strong believer that you should try as many flavors as possible so you can scrap the beliefs you’ve carried from your culture about ingredients.
Distancing yourself from the familiar will make you see the world with brand-new taste buds and create a story that you and your customers will cherish far more than you can imagine.
I hope you enjoy my recipe!
-Melissa
Recipe Time
Fig Leaf Ganache Recipe
AW: 0.80 | SHELF LIFE: 50 days at 16°C or less
YIELD: 2 molds | 56 bonbons
MOLDS: 3 cm half-sphere molds by Cacao Barry
INGREDIENTS
· Cream 35% Fat (Start with 235 g) | 172 g
· RARE TEA CELLAR Dried Fig Leaves | 7 g
· Dextrose | 22 g
· CHEFF RUBBER Sorbitol Powder | 46 g
· Glucose Syrup | 68 g
· Butter 82% Fat | 64 g
· VALRHONA Andoa 70% Dark Couverture | 232 g
· Total Weight | 611 g
METHOD
· In a pot, warm the 235 g of cream to 80°C.
· Remove from the heat, add the fig leaves, cover, and let infuse for 30 minutes.
· Strain and rescale 172 g into a different pot.
· Add all the sugars and butter and warm to 40°C.
· Melt the chocolate to 40°C in the microwave.
· Pour the fig leaf infusion over the melted chocolate.
· Hand-blend for 1 minute to emulsify.
· Transfer the ganache to a piping bag and pipe at 32°C.