Pickle, continued from Page 6
bright colors – purples, orange, pinks, and greens – and equally luminous flavors are a commonality among these sharing and discussion-inspiring crowd pleasers. At Local Mission Eatery, a daily changing combina- tion featuring the likes of Black Twig apples, Water- melon radishes, baby fennel, carrots and baby green cherry tomatoes takes center stage on the menu. At Heart, their popular pickle plate introduces diners to curried vinegar Brussels sprouts, locally foraged and in- house pickled sea beans and a host of other triumphant experiments. Monsalud offers diners an adventure, “Don’t just give them a cornichon,” he says. Not to say that good old fashioned dills are a bad
idea – a crowd favorite at Ogden’s Root 246, for instance, will always be the burger, largely for its house-made pick- les – but it’s important to elaborate for the cure-craving public. Ogden uses pickles to play with sweet and savory: pickled persimmons atop seared scallops, Maytag blue cheese soufflé with sweet-sour roasted pear and candied or pickled gypsy peppers in desserts such as plum tart. Copley’s personal favorite is pickled mussels, which
get white wine vinegar, balsamic or chili sauce accompa- nied by either red onion or sweet corn and always a side of
cold beers. He also recognizes that in some dishes, pickles might not be everyone’s taste, so he often separates the accompaniment in a ramekin so that “if they don’t like it, you haven’t spoiled their meal.” Guests do tend to come around though. At Comstock, the “Hangtown toast” has glorified the once inauspicious pickled egg, marrying their innate richness with brininess, slicing them over artisanal toast and dressing them with oyster vinaigrette and bacon, continuing to bring guests back many times.
Pickled pink It is no surprise that the ancient art of pickling has
picked up speed in the past few years. The procedure of pickling produce not only yields a delicious, multipur- pose product, but the process can be quite fun. When wagering where to start, Copley urges, “Get out to the market, get inspired and bring it home.” Monsalud agrees; seasonal items, in abundance,
are cheap and ripe for pickling. In order to determine the brine or treatment, he suggests thinking ahead to what purpose the pickle might serve. For example, his star anise and ginger watermelon rind is a great com- plement for soy and is paired with shiso-soy marinated pork belly.
YELLOWTAIL TATAKI WITH EDAMAME, WATERMELON RADISH, CUCUMBER, PICKLED WATERMELON, DASHI GELEE, SESAME AIOLI
[Serves 6]
INGREDIENTS 12 oz yellowtail, sashimi grade
1 Tbsp blackening spice, such as Paul Prudhomme
1/4 cup edamame, blanched and peeled 1/2 watermelon radish, peeled and sliced paper thin
1/4 cup hothouse cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced small 1 Tbsp lemon oil
[Pickled Watermelon] 1/2 seedless red
8
watermelon, diced large into 36 pieces 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 Habanero chili METHOD
Combine sugar and vinegar in a small pan and heat to dissolve, add chili and chill.
Combine watermelon and pickling juice in a crio- vac bag and seal.
[Dashi Gelée] 1 cup water
1/2 sheet dried kombu 1/2 cup Bonito flake 2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce 5 gelatin sheets
METHOD
Combine water and kombu in a pot and bring just to a simmer and re- move kombu. Add bonito flakes and sugar, let sit 2 minutes and strain. Add soy sauce. Bloom gelatin and add, then pour out onto a plastic wrap lined sheet pan
to form a thin layer. Cut into desired shapes.
[Sesame Aioli] 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1 lemon, juiced 1 Tbsp sesame oil
METHOD Combine all sesame aioli ingredients together.
Coat yellowtail in black- ening spice and sear over very high heat on all sides very quickly. Wrap immedi- ately in plastic wrap and place in an ice bath to chill. Combine the cucumber and lemon oil.
Slice yellowtail very thin and lay on the plate with the edamame, cucumber,
PHOTO BY SARA KRAUS
watermelon radish, the pickled watermelon and top with the dashi gelée and dots of sesame aioli.
Executive Chef/
Partner Trey Foshee California Modern La Jolla, CA
Culinary Trends | Mid Winter 2011
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