Lettuce, Smoked Almond and Olive Oil by Christian Puglisi

Combine the water and salt in a blender and process until well combined.

Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Halve the lettuce heads lengthwise and wash them carefully to remove all of the sand between the layers of the leaves.

Drain in a colander.

Place the romaine lettuce in a glass jar or a food-grade plastic container and add the salt brine, whey and horseradish.

Use a plate or something similar that fits inside the jar or container to weigh down the lettuce and horseradish to ensure that they are completely submerged in the liquid.

Seal the jar or container with a lid fitted with an airlock.

Place the jar out of direct sunlight where the ambient room temperature is 16 to 18 degrees celsius, to ferment for 5 or 6 days.

The fermentation is complete when the structure of the lettuce breaks down, becomes soft, and tastes sour. Once fermented, you can seal the jar or container with a lid and store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Heat a saucepan with a thin layer of smoke powder in the bottom over high heat until it starts to smoke, 2 to 3 minutes.

Place the almonds in a sieve and then position the sieve over the saucepan and cover with a lid. Keep the saucepan on high heat for approximately 30 seconds, until the whole saucepan fills with smoke.

Remove the covered saucepanfrom the heat and let the almonds infuse with the smoke powder for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Repeat this process two or three more times, adding more smoke powder if it burns up, until the almonds are golden and smoky.

Allow to cool. In a large bowl, soak the smoked almonds in the water overnight, covered in the fridge.

The following day, transfer the almonds and water to a blender and puree until smooth.

Transfer the puree to a superbag or fine-meshed cheesecloth, and squeeze the puree into a bowl, extracting as much of the smoked almond milk as possible.

Remove the fermented romaine lettuce from the brine, reserving 500 grams of the brine.

Cut the fermented lettuce in half lengthwise and then crosswise into 2-cm thick pieces. I

In a saucepan, warm the reserved brine and the lettuce slowly over medium heat, do not boil.

Drain in a sieve. For each serving, place a large spoonful of the warmed fermented lettuce in the middle of the plate and spray with 2 sprays of lemon juice.

Place 2 spoonfuls of the warmed smoked almond sauce on top followed by a neatly placed pile of fresh lettuce chiffonade.

Finish with a drizzle of olive oil.