A New Look for an Old Friend....The Avacado Learns French

Since moving out to Southern California, my outlook on produce has considerably changed. The over all quality in there agriculture is phenomenal. Yet, even with its outstanding standards in production you can find wonderful alternatives. For example, one of the most used and beloved items in California cuisine is the avocado. Every once in a while it is a bit difficult to find the perfect Cali one and when that's the case I turn to Mexican Avocado's. Whether the dish requires a soft truly ripe fruit or one that gives just enough resistance for garnishing, they have it.

Through out the past two years that I have been out west, the uses of this fruit has seemed one sided. There is the quintessential guacamole, the addition of it to salads, wraps and the occasional soup.

What keeps its use so one sided? Is the Avocado doomed to forever bathe itself in cilantro, onions, jalapenos and lime juice? Being a firm believer that foods from different regions can transcend there flavors and textures, I think not.

With that said, the problem can be found not with how its used but with what style of cuisine it is used in. The Avocado seems to frolic between Latin American food and Californian styles. It should at least be given a chance to travel overseas.

Having thought about the season, its uses, mouth feel and flavor, the following recipe takes the avocado away from its humble abode to the land of croissants and brie. Using a variation of the french fines herbs minus tarragon (sorry tarragon lovers....no dice), beautiful plating techniques and there belief in preserving the goodness of fine products this is what I have come up with.

Avocado and Herb Crusted Salmon
on Sauteed Arugula, Spring Carrots, Baby Zucchini and Snap Peas
with a Red Wine Vinaigrette and fresh Herbs


Herb Crust
1c whole grain bread crumbs
1 1/2tbs Avocado
1tsp pickled capers (strained no liquid)
1tsp curly leaf parsley
1tsp chervil
1/2ea Meyer lemon (juiced)
1ea pinch Meyer lemon zest
1tsp chives
1tsp minced white onion
1/2tsp garlic paste (1ea clove should do it)
1tbs extra virgin olive oil
s/p to taste

Salmon
6-7oz piece of salmon (skinless)
1/2ea Meyer lemon
1tsp red wine vinegar
1tsp Meyer lemon zest
1tbsp blended olive oil
s/p to taste

Arugula
3-4 cups uncooked arugula
1tsp small diced white onion
1tsp sliced garlic
1tsp blended olive oil
s/p to taste

Spring Carrots, Baby zucchini and Snap Peas
2ea spring carrots
2ea baby zucchini
3-4ea snap peas
1tbs curly leaf parsley
1tsp chervil
1tsp chives


Red Wine Vinaigrette
1tbs red wine vinegar
3tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 drop Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp Honey (substitute with simple syrup if you don't want a honey flavor)
1pinch curly leaf parsley
1pinch chervil
1pinch chives

Garnish
3slices avocado
1pinch curly leaf parsley
1pinch chervil
1pinch chives
1/2ea Meyer lemon
s/p


Method and Techniques

First things First:
Bring one small pot of water to a boil for carrots and snap peas
Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Have one saute pan for vegetables and one for the fish...if your like me you will have to wash one right after you sear the fish so that you can saute the arugula then carrots, zucchini and snap peas hopefully you have two saute pans to make dirty for your lovely local dish washers ie: roommates, onlookers and sometimes innocent by-standers (they are my favorite!!)

Red Wine Vinaigrette:
In a mixing bowl add red wine vinegar, honey, Dijon and a pinch of s/p. Slowly mix in extra virgin olive oil. Once it has all come together add fresh herbs and keep it to the side until plating.

Herb Crust:
First chop all herbs, capers and mince white onion set aside. Take the avocado and split it in half. Using a spoon take out pit then scoop out the rest. Flip it over so that the bright green portion of it is showing with the pit side down. slice it thin reserving three middle pieces for garnish. Put aside. The rest of the slices you want to half, then cut length wise into a small dice (being careful with it isn't extremely important as it will break up a bit when mixing the crust). Zest the Meyer lemon put aside. After zesting the lemon juice it reserving 1/2 for crust and the other half for a quick marinating of the salmon. For the garlic paste take one clove (peeled and the but end cut off) and crush it with the side of your knife. If this makes you uncomfortable feel free to hit it with a mallet...feels good to release that tension huh. After crushing the garlic mince it up thoroughly. Occasionally swipe the side of your knife through it as if you where spreading peanut butter on bread. After it resembles a paste put aside.
In a small mixing bowl place bread crumbs, capers, herbs, lemon zest, salt and pepper mix. Set aside. In another small bowl mix lemon juice, garlic paste and olive oil until everything is well incorporated. Now combine everything into one bowl. The breading should be moist but not soaking wet. If it forms a loose ball yet still sticks a bit good job!

Salmon:
Take the portioned piece of fish out rinse then pat dry. Chop the herbs set aside. The reserved Meyer lemon juice and zest should now be mixed with the olive oil, red wine vinegar and fresh herbs. Poor over fish season and set aside for about ten minutes while you prepare the vegetables and vinaigrette. Poor about 2 tbs of blended oil into small bowl or mise en place dish for cooking it. After preparing the vegetables and vinaigrette you can now start the fish. Heat up a small saute pan. Poor in oil pat the fleshy side of the skin dry to avoid burning yourself and wait for the pan to get almost smoking hot. Put fish in fleshy side down sear for 4-5 minutes or until a solid browning of salmon has occurred. Once seared turn off heat and put it on a small baking tray ,rare skin side down (and yes the tray should be oiled a bit). Ball up a fair amount of the herb crust then smear, covering the salmon... use as much or as little as you want...it is the only direct carbohydrate used in this dish so no worries. Have fun with it. After covering your lovely sear place on hold until you have started blanching vegetables. Once the vegetables are in water place in oven for 6-7 minutes or until desired temperature is reached once cooked hold aside for plating. (plating should not take more than 1 minute so be prepared with the veg before finishing fish in oven...over cooked salmon is no bueno)

Arugula:
Small dice the white onion and slice the garlic thin. Have the arugula washed and dried. Heat a saute pan with a little bit of blended olive oil toss in white onion and garlic slices. Do not brown them. After sweating the garlic and onion mixture add arugula and saute until wilted. Season with salt and pepper place on a plate with paper towel to soak up the leached liquid. Keep warm

Vegetables:
Peel the spring carrots and then cut in half. Place in boiling water 2-3 minutes
Clean the snap peas, pinching the ends off and peeling it down the side removing the stringy membrane. Drop snap peas into the simmering carrots for 1 minute then strain the peas and carrots cool them down in ice water and hold until you have the zucchini ready.
Wash the baby zucchini, cut off dirty ends then cut in half. Heat a saute pan up, add some blended olive oil, sear the zucchini and carrots. After you have a good amount of color on the two add snap peas, s/p and fresh herbs. Turn the heat off and hold warm for plating.

For Plating:
Take the drained arugula and place off of the center of your plate. Put the mixed vegetables on the other side of the arugula so that the center of the plate is covered leaving a fair amount of space around the edges. Place the Salmon on top of your beautiful vegetable base. Season the three slices of avocado, squeeze a bit of Meyer lemon juice on it sprinkle with a bit of herbs then place on top of the crusted salmon. Give the red wine vinaigrette a stir. Spoon some on the fish and avocado garnish, then spoon more around the edge of your plate. Sprinkle some of the herb mix around and serve. Enjoy.

Wine Suggestion

It can be a crisp refreshing white such as a vouvray or a nice oak-barrel chardonnay with a full body. If whites are not for you a simple Rose or light pinot noir will work.

A creamy chardonnay would work fine with this dish.
I like:
The Winery at La Grange
Fetcher's Chardonnay
2007
Virginia

A light Refreshing Rose

Iron Horse
Brut Rose (sparkling)
2005
Green Valley, Sonoma CA

a little bit of this.....

Some things that have been done

EveryBody Needs To Check THis OUt

This is something that everyone who talks about doing well for the environment needs to know, understand and practice.

Please take a look

lets see

Inspiration from an art show

A three course dinner

For this dinner I started by marinating a 6oz piece of wild Alaskan salmon in grapefruit, orange, lime juice (also lightly peeled the zest and broke it up to release its oil for an aromatic touch), vegetable oil, lemon thyme, salt, pepper and parsley. I let this sit for roughly twenty-twenty five minutes.

While the salmon marinated in the refrigerator, I turned and started on the veg chopping and prepping the asparagus, and citrus salsa with grape tomatoes, shallots, lemon thyme, parsley, orange, lime and grapefruit juices and segments. For the asparagus I put some salted water on to boil and trimmed them to the desired length and blanched them until they were firm in the center but soft on the outside. I wanted to cut the asparagus in shorter pieces to use as a bed for the fish while leaving a few wonderful pieces longer to use as a garnish of sorts. With the veg working, the salsa composed I turned to sear the fish and start on the salad and cheese plate.

The salad is made up of mixed greens (radicchio, red leaf, endive, green leaf, arugula and baby spinach) tossed with fresh herbs that match the ones used previously in the marinade and in the salsa (lemon thyme and curly leaf parsley). Now, I like to prepare my own mixes of the various green to be able to control certain flavor profiles wanted in what ever it is being created. The store mix is always fine to use just try to check them thoroughly and make sure it is a reputable company.
Try to purchase locally and if ever possible purchase your greens at farmers markets for an unbeatable level of quality. The cherry tomatoes used in the salad were picked up at the Santa Monica farmers market.

"They tasted like CANDY"!!!!!

I found them to be lovely for the salad and having them be so ripe and sweet enabled me to use them to balance a slightly more acidic vinaigrette than usual.

For the Vinaigrette: take the three different citrus fruits and squeeze them dry!!! If you prefer a sweeter vinai use more orange then lime or grapefruit. For this particular version the bitterness of the grapefruit and the sharp acidic grip of the lime was left to shine. This was set up to mingle quite nicely with the soft brie from France. With the flavor profiles set and the mission laid out I next added fresh chopped herbs, salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil. It does not have to be emulsified just stir it all together let rest and re-stir it before use. For an added touch take the vinaigrette and mix in small diced fresh tasty tomatoes. This will, depending on the flavor profile of the tomatoes, either soften your vinai with a sweet enhancement or build a stronger acidic base. So play with it how ever you like but what ever you do don't forget to mix it all together with greens, salt and pepper. Mix, Plate, Eat and Enjoy.


The cheese plate was a smaller version of the salad with the addition of sliced multi-grain baguette and citrus salsa.







"Le fromage sont tres bien", can actually be heard when eating it.

With the Salad and the cheese plate happily completed my attention was brought back to the Salmon. With it developing a lovely golden crisp around its edges I decided it was time to place it in the oven. The oven was preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit prior to this whole engagement. With it cranking away the fish only took 3-5 minutes to finish (depending on how you want it). I prefer my salmon more on the rare-medium rare side...so much in fact one could foresee it flopping out of the pan.
After pulling the salmon from the oven. Start by tossing the salad together and placing it off set from the center of the plate. Next reheat the white asparagus toss with herbs, salt and pepper. Place the smaller batons as a foundation in front of the salad and hold aside the larger cuts for garnish. Then put the salmon onto the base of white asparagus. Garnish with citrus "salsa" and asparagus. For a touch of elegegance lightly drizzle some vinaigrette on the outside edges of the plate.

Pop the Cava and enjoy a glass with your meal.