Armando G. Navarro, Executive Chef
El Dorado Kitchen
Executive Chef, Armando Navarro, has had a noteworthy resume packed with top restaurants along both coasts. After five plus years as Executive Sous Chef at Auberge du Soleil, Armando went to New York where he trained under some of the best chefs at Le Bernardin, Jean Georges and Daniel Boulud. He returned to California and worked at Jardiniere and Masa’s before relocating to Redd in Yountville as the Chef de Cuisine. Prior to joining Sonoma’s El Dorado Kitchen, Armando was the Executive Chef at Larkspur Restaurant in Vail, Colorado. In his role as Executive Chef of El Dorado Kitchen, Armando has infused the menus with seasonal ingredients sourced locally at the markets. His style is characterized as fresh, simple and approachable with a Sonoma sensibility.
Peach Melba
COCONUT TAPIOCA:
12 oz. Coconut Milk
36 oz. Coconut Puree
4 oz. Sugar
4 oz. Tapioca
2 t. Salt
Instructions:
Cook tapioca in a generous amount of boiling water for 10 minutes. Meanwhile bring the puree, sugar, and coconut milk to a soft boil. Add the par-cooked tapioca to the puree/sugar/milk mixture and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes until thick. (You can thin out the batch with 1/2-cup to 3/4-cup of coconut milk if end product is too thick once it is cooled.)
COCONUT TUILES:
3 egg whites
1/4-Cup Sugar
1/2 t. Salt
1/2 t. Vanilla
3/4 cup shredded coconut
Instructions:
Whip egg whites to just before soft peak. Add salt, vanilla, and coconut. Pour on to a sheet tray lined with a Silpat. Bake without fan until done at 300 degrees Fahrenheit until evenly browned.
Remove from the Silpat while still hot and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container immediately.
PEACHES:
Instructions: Make a lemongrass simple syrup with equal parts sugar and water. Throw cut, crushed pieces of lemongrass in the syrup at the start so the flavor infuses as it cooks. Allow it to cool before adding the peaches.
Boil a large pot of water. Meanwhile score each peach with a pairing knife. Blanch the peaches in the boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, then shock them in an ice bath. Peel the skin off of the peaches once they are chilled. (You may need to carefully use a peeler if the peaches are under-ripe.)
Place the peeled peaches in the cooled simple syrup and weight them down to ensure they are submerged.
RASPBERRY SORBET:
2 containers Raspberry Puree
12 oz. Sugar
.3 oz. Stabilizer
6 oz. Trimoline
2 quarts Water
2 T. Lemon juice
1 T. Ascorbic acid
Instructions:
Boil water, sugar, stabilizer, and trimoline. Chill, then blend in raspberry puree.
PRESENTATION:
Slice half of a prepared peach into sixths and slide it onto the plate/dish as a whole. Place four raspberry halves above the peach. Spoon on the coconut tapioca until most of the peach is submerged. Place a small scoop of raspberry sorbet on the peach and tapioca and top the sorbet with a coconut tuile piece.
El Dorado Kitchen
405 First Street West, Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 996-3030
eldoradosonoma.com