← W2 · Daily Plan · W4 →
Intensity: MEDIUM-HIGH | Season: Early spring — asparagus, leeks. Frozen blackcurrant.
Background all week: Sourdough starter daily feeds.
| Day | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Sweet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Mar 29 — Prep | — | — | — | Mix focaccia dough |
| Monday — Stock · Hollandaise · Asian Sides | Focaccia + hollandaise + eggs | Focaccia + namul + chicken | Poached eggs + hollandaise, namul, sunomono | Rhubarb compote + yoghurt |
| Tuesday — Lemon Curd · Rye · Pâte Sucrée | Porridge + compote | Focaccia + lemon curd + sunomono | Steamed asparagus + hollandaise (revived) | Sunomono |
| Wednesday — Rye Bake · Agar Panna Cotta · Chicken | Porridge + compote | Rye + lemon curd + namul | Chicken + pan sauce | Agar panna cotta 0.15% |
| Thursday — Beurre Blanc · Meringue · Blind Bake | Rye + lemon curd + soft egg | Rye + namul + sunomono | Poached fish or eggs + beurre blanc | Agar panna cotta 0.20% |
| Friday — Lemon Tart | Porridge + rhubarb compote | Rye + lemon curd | Eggs + beurre blanc (revived) | Lemon tart |
| Saturday · Sunday — Light Days | Rye + lemon curd | Week leftovers | Lemon tart / leftovers | — |
Snack shelf: Sesame spinach namul · Cucumber sunomono · Agar panna cotta Wed–Thu · Lemon curd on rye Tue–Sun · Blackcurrant compote on yoghurt
Fat as aromatic carrier. Hollandaise delivers butter-carried lemon — the fat holds the citrus compounds and releases them slowly and evenly on the palate. Raw lemon and plain butter separately do not achieve the same effect. Beurre blanc achieves the same with a sharper acid entry: the wine and vinegar reduction gives an assertive first hit before giving way to the same rich fat body. Two expressions of one principle, differing in acid register and temperature protocol.
Lemon in three registers. In the curd it is maximally concentrated — the week's dominant acid note. In hollandaise it functions as a cut and brightener. In vinaigrette it is one element in a balanced acid blend. Same ingredient, three different functional roles.
Blackcurrant as contrast infrastructure. At 3:1 fruit:sugar the compote reads sharply bitter-acid. On porridge each morning it resets perception. Alongside the agar panna cotta it provides the register contrast that the panna cotta alone cannot — without the compote, the dessert registers as neutral fat with vanilla. Blackcurrant's tannin edge is more pronounced than rhubarb's — use less sugar (110g rather than 135g) if the bitterness reads too heavy.
Agar vs gelatin. Agar sets at room temperature and produces a clean break — no melt-in-mouth. 0.15% is barely set; 0.20% is firm. Neither mimics gelatin. The choice is a textural intent, not a quality decision.
Hollandaise 3 yolks : 150g clarified butter : 15–20ml lemon, sabayon 55–62°C · Beurre blanc shallot + 50ml water + 35ml white wine vinegar, reduce to 2–3 tbsp → mount 200g cold butter 55–65°C · Vinaigrette 3:1 oil:acid + Dijon · Italian meringue 2:1 sugar:white, syrup 118°C poured into soft-peak whites · Swiss meringue 2:1 sugar:white, dissolve at 55–60°C · Agar panna cotta 0.15–0.20% of total liquid weight, must boil to dissolve, sets at 35–40°C · Lemon curd 27:30:24:18 juice:egg:sugar:butter, 82–84°C · Rhubarb compote 3:1 fruit:sugar, remove at first collapse · Rye 70% sourdough 70% dark rye + 30% white, 66% water excl. levain, 20% levain
Meat + Fish
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Chicken carcasses, backs, or wings (for stock) | 1.5 kg |
| Chicken thighs or legs (for Wed pan sauce) | 4 pieces (~600 g) |
| White fish fillets, optional (for Thu poached) | 2 portions (~300 g) |