Trópical Flavors
By Chef Gustavo Salazar
Photos: Andrés Benavente – Diego Mejias

  
 

Ingredients
4 tuna medallions, 250 grams each.
200 grams finely chopped cashew nuts.
30 grams butter.
50 grams shallots.
60 ml Malibu rum.
300 ml coconut milk.
30 grams mandarin gratings.
30 grams cubed ginger.

Preparation Sauce
Heat butter in a medium pan at medium temperature, add the shallots and cook for 5 minutes (until transparent).  Add Malibu rum and allow it to reach a thick consistency, add the coconut milk, the mandarin gratings and ginger. Increase the temperature to the maximum and bring it to the boiling point, then lower the temperature to medium-low and allow to reduce for 20 minutes.
Strain and keep in a hot place

Tuna
Salt and pepper the tuna.
Place the ground cashew nuts on a platter and cover the medallions with nuts.
In a hot frying pan with 3 tablespoons of oil, cook the tuna for 2 minutes* per side
*(Cook to medium.  If you want it well done, put it in the oven for 5 extra minutes)

Salad
100 grams alfalfa sprouts.
100 grams cubed mangoes.
50 grams blackberry.
50 grams cubed purple onions.
30 ml white balsamic vinegar.
100 ml sunflower oil.
15 ml mandarin juice.
15 grams mustard.
Salt & Ground black pepper.

In a bowl mix vinegar, mustard and mandarin juice, mix and add the oil a little at a time.
Add salt and pepper to taste
In a deep dish mix the alfalfa sprouts, mango, blackberries and the purple onion.
Mix with the vinaigrette right before serving it.



Pineapple sorbet with Rum syrup
10 persons
20 minutes

Sorbet
1 Kilogram of frozen pineapple (cored and cubed, 2”x2”).
200 grams sugar or clear glucose.

Blend in blender until the ingredients reach a uniform consistency
Place in a long, deep recipient and freeze

Rum syrup
125 ml water.
50 ml sugar.
25 ml dark rum.

Mix the ingredients in small pan and bring to boiling point. Reduce the temperature to medium and cook 15 minutes.
Remove from heat. Allow it to cool, then  refrigerate.

Cinnamon cookie
30 grams egg white.
30 grams sugar.
30 grams melted butter.
30 grams flour.
10 grams cinnamon powder.

Mix all the ingredients until you get a thick paste
Shape the desired forms on a sheet of butter paper
Bake at 350˚ F for 7 minutes.  Allow to cool and serve.

Pejibaye Bisque
4 personas 
45 minutos

The Pejibaye is part of the Coconut family and very liked in Costa Rica. It grows in big palm trees in clusters of miniature coconuts. The eatable part of the fruit is fibrous pulp that is in between the skin and the seed. Its fine flavour is a combination of chestnut and pumpkin with a soft smoky touch.

Ingredients                                                
1 tablespoon of butter                                                         
¼ cup of celery chopped in small pieces.
½ cup of onions chopped in small pieces.
¼ cup of carrots chopped in small pieces.
2 ½ cups of vegetables broth.
3 cups of pejibaye cooked, pealed, seeded and chopped in small pieces.
½ cup of heavy cream.
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Preparation
In a pot at medium heat, add the butter and stir fry the celery, carrots and onions until they turn light brown (5 minutes). Incorporate the pejibaye and cook the mix for 3 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, bring it to boil and cook at low heat for 20 minutes. Blend the mixture to a smooth consistency and strain it. Put the strained mix in a pot, add the heavy cream and bring it to simmer. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper. At low heat, let it cook for 5 minutes mixing constantly.



Coffee glazed beef tenderloin

with pumpkin cream purée
4 persons
1 hour

Coffee has a highly complex flavor. It has a balance of acidity, bitterness and is astringent in its basic form. Through the years there have been more than 800 different aromas identified. It is usually used as a drink, but here we propose a delicious way to incorporate it in your dishes.

Ingredients
4 tenderloin medallions of 250gr each.
1 cup of brewed coffee.
1 tablespoon of ground coffee.
1 tablespoon of cocoa powder.       
2 tablespoons of honey.                                     
3 tablespoons of butter.                           
1 tablespoon of shallots chopped in fine pieces.            
2 cups of pealed, seeded and chopped pumpkin.
½ onion.
¼ cup of heavy cream.
2 tablespoons of Brandy.
1 tablespoon of canola oil.
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Preparation
Sauce: In a small pot at medium heat add 1 tablespoon of butter and stir fry the shallots for 3 minutes. Incorporate the Brandy and reduce to a syrup consistency, add the brewed and ground coffee, the honey and the cocoa, and reduce again to a syrup consistency. Keep warm.
Purée:  In a medium pot at high heat, add the pumpkin and onions. Cover them with water and bring it to a boil, bring the heat to medium and cook them for 20 minutes (until the pumpkin is soft). Drain and remove the onions. Blend the pumpkin with the remainder of the butter and the heavy cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm
Meat: In a frying pan, at high heat, heat the oil for 10 seconds. Cook the meat for 2 minutes on each side and put it in the oven at 149° C/ 300° F for 5 minutes. Take it out of the oven and let it rest for 3 minutes. Serve and add sauce. Garnish with roasted coffee beans.