Barbecue Lamb Belly Tostada with Sesame Barbecue Sauce, Passion Fruit Zabaglione, and Plantain Emulsion 

Matt was assigned Daniela Soto-Innes's iconic lamb belly barbacoa with plantain tortillas to reinvent. 

Matt: "I've eaten at Daniela's restaurant in New York City multiple different times, so very familiar with her food. This isn't necessarily in my wheelhouse, but I moved from New York to Austin, Texas, so I start to figure out how can I tie this in to where I am and where I've been." 

Matt: "I love the innovation commandment, and I know I can really excel at this and make it my own. I'm playing off of the great Mexican cuisines and the barbecue of Austin, Texas. What drew me into Texas was just the spices and the bold flavors, and I wanted to have more fun with fine dining in Austin. For my innovation, I'm excited to lean in on a little bit of this Austin theme, making barbecue lamb belly on top of a tostada. One of the ways I'm going to innovate the dish is through creating more of a barbecue-esque touch to this lamb belly. I'm grilling the lamb because I want some of that smoky flavor and then brining and curing with flavors of pastrami." 

Matt: "In order to get the brine flavor into it, I'm actually going to pressure cook it in the brine, so it basically speeds up and pulls all that flavor into the lamb belly." 

Matt: "Going to make plantain emulsion. Plantains are in the oven. This plantain emulsion is the way I'm innovating Daniela's plantain tortillas — make a nice sweet puree with them. It plays off of and has a similar flavor and texture as queso, but in a very nice sweet and delicate way." 

Matt: "So with the passion fruit, I'm going to make a zabaglione instead. I'm going to bring the fat through a kind of a hollandaise base that we're going to do with the iSi. That's going to aerate it. Bringing a little bit of that French technique into the Mexican culture." 

Matt: "One of the ways that I'm trying to innovate the dish is by bringing it together as one individual dish, rather than deconstructed build-your-own like she had. So I'm adding it all onto a tostada. Just lightly press them down and lay all the garnishes over the top, so it's kind of more of a flakier texture." 

Matt (presenting): "Wanted to have fun with the play between my new home, Austin, Texas, and New York. So you have barbecued lamb belly tostada with sesame barbecue, passion fruit zabaglione, and plantain emulsion." 

Suzanne Goin (during plating): "Can you tell us a little more about the tortilla?" Matt: "These were flour, so I added masa to the outside to try to dust them."