Squash blossom stuffed with mushrooms. Jorge Vallejo at Aúna

The restaurant opens onto a panorama where the vegetation helps you escape the city, perhaps heading towards the countryside, to find a cuisine of product and seasonal ingredients, adjectives almost worn out from being repeated so often in kitchens, but which in this case reflect comfort and create an atmosphere of closeness.

Ingredients for pumpkin blossoms

• 12 pumpkin blossoms.
• 1 liter of vegetable oil.

Ingredients for the creamy mushroom filling

• 900 g of white silk.
• 14 g of garlic.
• 340g of white onion.
• 30 g of epazote.
• 10g of spring onion.
• 16 ml of yuzu kosho.
• 60g of macha sauce.
• 2 egg yolks.
• 520g of cream cheese.
• 80 g of Chiapas cheese.
• 60g of whipping cream.

Ingredients for tempura

• 70 g of corn starch.
• 100 g of flour.
• 500 ml of mineral water.
• 1 egg.
• 1 g of fine salt.

Ingredients for macha sauce

• 30 g of mulato chili.
• 30g of ancho chili.
• 200 g of white silk.
• 2 g of morita chili.
• 20 g of garlic.
• 16 g of peanuts.
• 16 l of cashew nuts.
• 400 ml of vegetable oil.
• 10g of white miso.
• 2 g of refined sugar.
• 6 g of fine salt.

Ingredients for guava chutney

• 60 g of guava.
• 40 ml of water.
• 24 g of refined sugar.
• 2 g of lime zest.
• 5 g of spearmint.
• 10 ml of white vinegar.

Preparation of the creamy mushroom filling

• Roast the mushrooms and chop them finely.
• Sauté the onion and garlic over low heat with a little oil. Set aside.
• Cream the cheeses with the egg yolk and heavy cream. Add the remaining ingredients until you obtain a smooth purée.
• Fill a piping bag and set aside.

Making tempura

• Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
• Beat the egg.
• Add the mineral water and egg to the dry ingredients mixture.
• Mix until you obtain a smooth and light dough.

Preparation of macha sauce

• Ferment the white mushrooms beforehand with 4g of salt, for at least 7 days.
• Separate the liquid from the ferment and set aside.
• Dice the mushrooms. Clean the dried chilies, removing veins, seeds and stem.
• Fry the peanuts and cashew nuts in vegetable oil until they turn golden brown, then remove from heat.
• Fry the chilies and garlic in the same oil, without exceeding 100°C, until golden brown but not burnt. Remove from the heat and stop the cooking process with the juice from the fermented mushrooms.
• Add the white miso, 2g of salt and the sugar.
• Blend the mixture until you get a slightly coarse texture and add the chopped mushrooms.

Guava chutney preparation

• Cut the guavas in half and remove the seeds. Dice the remaining pulp.
• Cook the fruit with water and sugar until you get a jam-like texture.
• Add the lime zest and vinegar. Simmer for 5 more minutes, until it reaches a syrupy consistency. Stir in the finely chopped mint.

Finishing and plating the squash blossoms

• Select the flowers and remove the pistil.
• Fill each flower three-quarters full and close them with the tips of the petals.
• Dip the stuffed flower in the tempura mixture until it is lightly coated.
• Fry the flowers in oil at 230°C for approximately 2 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Drain the excess oil on a tray lined with paper towels.
• Serve the flowers accompanied by the macha sauce and guava chutney.