Fruits de Mer
After rappelling food journalist, Mark Anderson, down a huge cliff, swimming a triathlon distance of hunting and diving, and meeting our chef on a private beach, we prepared quite possibly the best meal ever made at the ocean’s edge. We had a delightfully elevated scallop ceviche (recipe) and this Fruit de Mer recipe which was basically thrown together once Chef Colin saw what ingredients we had collected. We were elated to learn that Mark’s article about the adventure landed us a spot on the cover of Edible Monterey Bay Magazine! You can read that article here.
Some people prefer to spend their time with intricate woodworking projects, others painting, some working on cars. Well, if time in the kitchen is one of those things you enjoy, this is a recipe, well more of a project, that we recommend giving a shot. The main focus is the base layers of flavors and textures and the fun part is you can top it with just about any kind of seafood you enjoy. This is a recipe that will add fantastic tools to your culinary belt and little techniques that can be applied to countless other dishes.
If you decide to embark on this lovely journey of delicious culinary creations, please please keep us in the loop!
Ingredients:
Squid Ink Chicharrónes
1 Cup Small Tapioca Pearls
2 Cups Seafood Stock (Fish, Shrimp, Lobster or Crab)
1-2 tsp Squid Ink
Sea Salt to Taste
Sourdough “Sand”
2 Slices Sourdough Bread, crust removed and cut into ½ in cubes
3 Tbl Butter
1 Tsp Meyer Lemon Zest
Sea Salt and White Pepper to taste
Sea Lettuce Foam
150 ml Milk, warmed
150 g Butter, melted
200 gr Potato (cooked and put through a ricer)
35 ml Sea Lettuce or other Seaweed (puréed smooth)
Sea Salt and White Pepper to Taste
Optional Garnish: Crispy Fried Seaweed, Society Garlic Blossom, Onion Flowers, etc
Lemon Froth
350 gr Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
250 gr Water
50 gr Honey
3 gr Soy Lecithin
Prawn Powder
100 gr butter
200 gr spot prawn or other prawn shells
Sea salt and white pepper to taste
50-80 gr Tapioca Maltodextrin
Methods:
Squid Ink Chicharrónes
In a small pan over medium-low heat, add the tapioca and the seafood stock. Stirring constantly, cook until the stock is completely absorbed into the tapioca. Approximately 8-12 minutes. It should resemble soft polenta and be thick and spreadable. Add squid ink and season to taste with sea salt. Spread evenly onto parchment or a silpat as thin as possible without any gaps (approximately 1/16 inch thick.) Dehydrate at 155 degrees for 2-4 hours or until completely dry and easily snaps in two. In hot oil (375 – 400 degrees) carefully fry the desired size broken pieces until they puff up (15-30 seconds) and pat dry onto paper towels. Reserve at room temperature until plate up. Holds well in sealed container at room temperature for up to 10 days.
Sourdough Crumble “Sand”
Preheat oven to 350. In a small pan over medium heat, melt the butter then continue to cook until light brown in color. Remove from heat. Add the sourdough cubes and toss well. Place on a sheet pan and bake until golden (about 5-7 minutes). Let cool. In a food processor, place the toasted bread cubes, salt and pepper. Pulse until uniformly blended. Reserve at room temperature until plate up. Holds well in sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Sea Lettuce Foam
In a medium bowl, place the warm milk, melted butter, seaweed puree and riced potatoes. Mix well, and season to taste with sea salt and white pepper. Pour into an ISI Whipper container. Release 1-2 Whipper chargers into the container and shake well. Reserve for plate up. Holds well for 2 hours at room temperature.
Lemon Froth
In a small bowl, mix well the lemon juice, water, honey, and soy lecithin. Place an immersion blender (stick blender) into the liquid and pulse until a foam forms. Skim the foam off the top. Does not hold long (5 minutes-ish), so do just prior to plating.
Prawn Powder
In a medium pan over medium heat, place the butter and prawn shells. Cook, stirring frequently, for approximately 15 minutes. Making sure the butter does not burn. Let come to room temperature add sea salt and white pepper to taste. Pour into a blender and pulse until well blended. Pour through cheesecloth or a fine sieve. Now pour the strained prawn-flavored butter into a bowl with the maltodextrin, whisking constantly. Using a fork helps to disperse the butter into the maltodextrin. Add enough maltodextrin to form a powder with the prawn butter, it may take more or less depending on yield of butter from the shells. It may help to push through a strainer. Reserve at room temperature until plate up. Holds well in sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days
Assorted Ocean Goodies
Whatever is legal to take, edible and sounds like it would go well in the dish - get creative! We used Mussels, Limpets, Crab, Scallops, Fish Roe, Rockfish, Etc. All seared in brown butter or regular butter for approximately 1-2 minutes or until done.
Plate Up:
In appropriately sized bowls, discharge the seaweed-potato foam from the ISI Whipper to fill 80% of the bowl. Add seared seafood as desired into the foam. Add 3-4 of the squid ink chicharrones. Then Sprinkle the sourdough sand around the edge to create a feeling of the seashore. Dab the lemon froth randomly around on top. And then the prawn shell powder as desired. Finish with the flowers and fried seaweed garnishes.