Tournament of Champions ™
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Masa Harina Turkey Breast Huancaina
Masa Harina Turkey Breast with Huancaina Sauce, Air-Fried Zucchini and Kimchi Aioli
Lorena Garcia delivered a vibrant Latin-inflected plate built on her signature sauces and a flavor-forward approach. Lorena: "I'm gonna fry this baby, and on the air fryer I'm going to add zucchini. And for the creamy side, I'm gonna do a huancaina sauce. It's one of the creamiest sauces that I have in my repertoire."
The turkey breast was trimmed to the tenderloin, marinated in buttermilk, togarashi, cumin, and oregano, then coated in a masa harina and potato starch breading and fried in the regular fryer. Lorena: "I rather see something cooked perfectly in the fryer than 10 things cooked in the air fryer but not successful."
The zucchini was simply seasoned and roasted in the air fryer: Lorena: "Here is going to be medallions of zucchini that would allow me to leave it in the air fryer. It's going to roast beautifully. Olive oil, a little bit of salt. Keeping it simple."
The huancaina sauce was built from scratch in the blender: Lorena: "The first thing I'm going to do is some garlic, some onions, and some aji amarillo, and that's going to be the base of my sauce. It goes straight to the blender with evaporated milk, then the cheeses. Cream cheese. Yes, baby."
A citrusy kimchi aioli made with kewpie mayonnaise, kimchi, honey, and citrus, plus a salsa criolla, completed the plate. Lorena: "Latin cuisine is known for the heat, for the brightness, for the citrus, for the creaminess. You have everything, all the notes in one dish."
Voiceover (Tiffany Faison): "In front of you, masa harina fried turkey breast with a creamy huancaina sauce, air fryer roasted zucchini, a citrusy kimchi aioli, and a salsa criolla. The top of the breast was removed, retaining the skin. That was then put into a masa harina and potato starch breading. The zucchini was simply seasoned and put in the air fryer, roasted. The citrusy kimchi aioli was constructed with kewpie Japanese mayo, kimchi, and a good amount of honey and citrus on the side."
{Judge}: "I have to go home and buy an air fryer. That is some of the best zucchini I've had in a long time. It's charred on the outside. It's still creamy and moist on the inside. It's really delicious."
{Judge}: "I wanted at some point to say that there's one too many elements on the plate, but there just isn't, because they all really work well together. Really happy with all these very ambitious, exciting flavors."
{Judge}: "The really brilliant part of this dish: the style is creamy. The inside of the zucchini reaches creamy to a whole other level. This sauce has been constructed so well because they're basically two cream-based sauces. Really, really nice plating."
{Judge}: "Do I wish the turkey was in the air fryer so I could give a couple more points for it? All in all, very, very delicious dish."
{Judge}: "This is like eating a rainbow. There was red, orange, yellow, green, purple. Beautifully presented. I love the play on creamy. The chef really embraced the creaminess. I wish there was another turkey piece on the side. It's a little bit small for it to be the star of the plate."
Final Score: 88. WINNER.
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