Posts Tagged ‘salmon’
Gravlax-ation
Smoked Salmon is great and all, but Gravlax is my favorite cured salmon preparation. It’s Swedish, you know.
Wi nøt trei a høliday in Sweden this yër?
Cured in a mixture of Dill, Salt, Sugar, and other spices, its product has a cleaner, distinctive taste that’s not obscured by a smoky flavor.
See the løveli lakes
Making it is easy. My mother would make it for us- two full salmon filets, covered in salt, pepper, sugar, coriander, fennell seeds, and dill, pressed together (flesh side facing each other), and held down with weights.
The wøndërful telephøne system
Over three days the salmon would release liquid from the curing process, until it was ready to eat.
And mäni interesting furry animals
Go ahead, be ambitious and make it one week instead of buying lox from the bagel spot for $40 a lb. It’s easier than you think, it’ll taste better thank store-bought, and your friends will think you’re Scandinavian as hell.
Including the majestik møøse
The Gravlax tartine pictured above is one of the smørrebrøds (open-faced sandwiches) offered at Vandaag in the east village. Rounding out the gravlax were local beets and pickled veggies.
A Møøse once bit my sister…
Nice move, Vandaag.
No realli! She was Karving her initials on the møøse with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given her by Svenge – her brother-in-law – an Oslo dentist and star of many Norwegian møvies: “The Høt Hands of an Oslo Dentist”, “Fillings of Passion”, “The Huge Mølars of Horst Nordfink”…
Copper River: Simple and Spectacular
Admittedly, this food/adventure blog has taken more of a fish-heavy turn than my pork-loving self would care to admit.
The reason? I started habitually going to Dorian’s Seafood Market, a local fishmonger on the upper east side. Over the past year or so, I’ve become friendly Dorian, the owner, and have used her oceanic comestibles in previous posts. She’s been in the business for 20+ years, and it shows when you stop by the market.
About a month ago, she laid a surprise on me and had me come pick up a few pounds of Copper River Salmon, which had just been flown in from Alaska. What’s the big deal with Copper River Salmon? Take it away, TinyUrbanKitchen!
“Copper river salmon come from the Copper River in Alaska, a 300 mile long 1-mile wide river in Alaska that is well known for its salmon runs. Each year 2 million salmon swim upstream (climbing over 3000 feet in elevation!) to their spawning grounds up north.
Exactly three weeks ago (on May 16, 2011 to be exact), the the 2011 Copper River Salmon season officially opened. The fisherman have been out in the city of Cordova (right near Prince William Sound on the map), catching salmon for this season’s harvest. Currently, they are catching Copper River King (or Chinook), which is seriously among the most prized salmon in the world. It’s known for its high oil content (yay omega-3!) and juicy rich flavor.”
Needless to say, I was pretty excited about cooking it up. It was also a perfect excuse to invite people over.
With 2 lbs of it to mess with, I decided to head straight for one of my favorite cookbooks: Simple to Spectacular, by Jean Georges Vongeritchen and Mark Bittman.
The book starts out with simple recipes that get more and more complex with each iteration. I like to think that when you’re dealing with a prime-time ingredient, keeping it simple is a great way to showcase what the ingredient is all about. They had a fantastic raw/ceviche preparation, as well as a Slow-cooked salmon recipe that looked like a perfect fit for the CRS (copper river salmon).
The raw preparation was a bit slap-dash, and paired with a simple salad. I sliced the salmon thinly (Note: time to buy a Deba knife), and drizzled lemon juice, olive oil, capers, and chives over it.
I was a bit wary of the slow-cooked preparation for the salmon. I typically like to use a hot hot oven for a short, short time. Jean Georges’ recipe called for a 300 deg oven, cookin the salmon for 15-20 minutes. As for seasonings, we kept it super simple: Salt N’ Pepper.
I’m glad i followed the recipe: The CRS came out tender and perfectly cooked. We paired it with another recipe in the book: Asparagus with a shitake-cream sauce (spiked with a bit of bourbon):
The salmon itself definitely has more personality when compared to the farmed stuff. It’s a livelier flavor, and more complex. I’d love to eat it year round.
We capped off the dinner with fresh berries that had a quick run-in with the oven and some sugar in order to release the juices, paired with creme fraiche.
Keep it simple stupid? More like Keep it simple and spectacular.
Engorgeous Saturday Lunch
There’s something special about being assaulted with awesome food when you think you’re in store for just a nice, quiet lunch.
Walk by Morrell Wine Bar and you might think its location condemns it as a tourist trap. It resides smack dab in the middle of Rockefeller center, where tens of thousands of open-mouthed tourists walk by daily, with camera’s pointed up and fanny packs secured around their waists.
Don’t be a jaded New Yorker about it this time. Stop by on a nice day, get a spot on the terrace, and go to town on Jake Klein’s menu. It’s got flavor profiles that create bold and interesting matches with it’s ultra deep wine list (over 100 by the glass alone)
My girlfriend and I stopped by for a late lunch last Saturday, ordered some wonderful Txakoli, and let Jake do his thing.
I have a torrid, uncomplicated love affair with Marrow. If it’s in front of me and looks like the photo above, I eat it.
Marrow’s fascinating to me. It’s a cheap part of the cow, but a delicacy. I love that. I love that some of the cheapest things you can get off of a cow can be the most interesting and delicious. I’m kind of glad that most Americans would sneer in ignorant disgust at the idea of eating Marrow, sweetbreads, or tripe (more for me).
Speaking of awesome animal body parts, Foie Gras is always welcome in my mouth. Especially when it’s done a la Torchon. topped with a dab of roasted red pepper puree, it’s a mash up of Girl Talk proportions when paired with the Txakoli.
Same goes with this bad boy:
Honey-cured Salmon reminds me of a sweeter, simpler Gravlax. It’s way more interesting that Sashimi, and compliments the salmon’s buttery flavors.
I could keep talking about how delicious it was, but i think the photos do a better job than my words.
Check out Morrell Wine Bar when you’re looking for a boozy, delicious midtown break
Fishtagged
My blog has been a bit seafood-heavy as of late, and I promise that’ll change soon. That being said, you can’t really fault me for posting about seafood when I start to encounter dishes like the one above. This magical marine assemblage is an appetizer at Seafood upstart Fishtag.
Say hello to the Sea Urchin Crudo in Ocean Water. It’s a simple, naked dish that highlights the greatest characteristics of seafood. At its freshest (and you should only eat it at its freshest), Sea urchin embodies the flavor of the ocean: salty, briny, texturally interesting, and with a touch of sweetness. Bathing it in actual ocean water and kissing it with a touch of EVOO, lemon, and telicherry peppercorns rockets into the pleasure zone. Hello, mouth. Welcome to the ocean.
Fishtag has become my favorite non-sushi seafood restaurant of the moment. The concept rocks, the food is daring and the flavors are unapologetic.
They also have a fantastic menu design that bucks tradition in the face. Gone is the boring separation of appetizer and main. The key to the menu is the extremely accessible drink list. Drinks are grouped by type and flavor profile. It’s these types and flavor profiles that are the method to the madness of the menu. Apps are red, mains are black. It’s a great idea and points to a chef who wants to make it easy for you to drink something that compliments the dishes. Check it out here.
As for other dishes, eat the following:
The Roasted Salmon is perfect. Reminds me of Adolfo Garcia’s Unilateral Salmon at RioMar. The skin side is perfectly crispy, and the rest of the fish is perfect. The “Greek” salad sports a white anchovy vinaigrette and screams with loud and bold flavors that pefectly compliment the silky salmon.
The Tuna Confit and Baked Ricotta Bruschetta is a meal unto itself. It’s Rustic. It’s creative. It’s delicious. It’s only $10.
The other winner at Fishtag was the Grilled Branzino STUFFED WITH HEADCHEESE.
Stuffed.
With.
Head.
Cheese.
That’s amazing. It’s a Surf N’ Turf gang bang of epic proportions. The Branzino was crispy on the outside and moist with the juices of melted aspic. It was so good that I don’t have a photo of it. Sorry.
If you’re not a fan of head cheese, then perhaps you should head for greener pastures.
So if you’re looking for a little more “OMFG” in your seafood offerings, head to Fishtag.
You’re Welcome.