Atlanta Food & Wine Festival 2014 Inspires

Cooking is as much about food and technique as it is about experiences. Atlanta's Food & Wine Festival 2014 in Midtown provided memorable lessons that I had to apply quickly or risk forgetting.

Sous vide, pickled seaweed, escabeche, thin fillets of fish cured in a sugar/salt mixture . . . the topics intrigued and inspired immediate imitation.

Corvina Escabeche with Spring Vegetables, a photo by atl10trader on Flickr.

Let's start with the escabeche, (es-kah-BECH-ay), a classic Spanish preparation often paired with oily fish such as mackerel, corvina, or bonito. Its Mediterranean at its essence. Add olive oil to a saucepan at medium heat and the following:

• 3 - 4 tomatoes, cored and sliced 1/5 inch thick 
• 1large onions, thinly sliced into half moons
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• bay leaf (remove when finished) 
• 2 Ts of combined basil, oregano, 
• 1 t. of cumin, coriander each 
• salt, pepper
• carrots or turnips (optional, cubed into bite sizes)
• 2 Ts of Espelette Basque Vinegar (or something unique from Whole Foods)

and cook very slowly (3 - 4 hours), covered, over lower heat (I use a 2 out of 10 setting on my induction range so that it cooks caramelized from the inside out vs. fried and charred from the outside in).  At the very end a splash of your best Spanish vinegar tops it off. This makes enough for 6 people.

Prep for fish:

• Portion the fish into 4 - 5oz pieces, 3/4 inch thick (no more) - ask fishmonger for 30oz if serving 6.
• Mix a 1/4 cup of equal parts salt and sugar. Use a tablespoon to spread the mix on a flat dish upon which you'll place the fish. This is now considered face down. If there is a skin on the fish, it is now facing you. Leave face down for 15 minutes.
• Either sous vide the fish at 53 degrees C for 20 minutes or you can prep a pan with medium-hot olive oil and sear with the skin side down for 3 minutes before completely removing from heat.
• If your fish has no skin, make your own! I use sheets of dried seaweed you can get at Trader Joe's and place 1 or 2 on what I designate the skin side. Continue as in the previous step. Delicious.

The whole thing, escabeche and fish, are served cold or at room temperature on a hot day.

It'd be a shame to not eat this al fresco.

This dish and the recipe is what I derived from notes taken during the Food & Wine demonstration and conversation with Asheville NC's Katie Button who is the talented Executive Chef of Cúrate, the authentic Spanish tapas restaurant continually earning rave reviews since its open in March 2011. Many thanks Katie!

Here is an image of the gazpacho I made to introduce the fish:

Tomato & Cantaloupe Gazpacho with Swiss Chard Dolma, Carrot Halva Over Avocado Aioli, a photo by atl10trader on Flickr.

So long as they don't start patenting food recipes, imitation is the highest form of flattery. How else are you going to learn? Let me hear how you fare and what you choose to pair with the fish!

Spring Dinner: Mediterranean Fish Dish & Radish Relished

Relish the Radish, a photo by atl10trader on Flickr.

Spring brings the cooking itch to a fever pitch. So many good ingredients make their appearance as the farmers' markets remerge from their hibernation. It can be overwhelming on what to choose for a spring evening meal.  Food writers like Kitty Greenwald thankfully know this and make it their mission to help.

Inspired by her recent article from the WSJ (Weekend Edition, April 6 - 7, 2013, "Relish the Radish"), I assembled this salad and added my own garlic onion pesto as a finishing touch. Matched with the salad was a Mediterranean cod dish with olives, roasted peppers, spring onions, and oregano. It made for a beautiful meal on a blissful spring evening.

Fish Dish: Mediterranean Cod, a photo by atl10trader on Flickr.

Recipe for the radish and fennel salad is below along with the wine pairing.


Radish and Fennel Salad
Total Time: 15 minutes Serves: 4

In a large bowl, toss together 8-10 small to medium radishes, thinly shaved, 1 fennel bulb, thinly shaved, ½ tablespoon picked fennel fronds, 4 tablespoons toasted pine nuts, 2 ounces crumbled sheep's milk feta and 1½ tablespoons thinly sliced shallot. Season with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon lemon zest and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Toss salad with enough dressing to coat. Garnish with extra fennel fronds, feta and pine nuts, if desired.

—Adapted from Jenn Louis of Lincoln and Sunshine Tavern, Portland, Ore.

Garlic Onion Pesto Dressing
Total Time: 5 minutes

Roughly chop half a garlic onion (which looks very similar to a leek) by taking 1/4 from the green top end and 1/4 from the white bottom end (cut and discard the very bottom with the root ends).  Put into a high speed blender with 1 cup of olive oil.  Blend until frothy and thoroughly infused.  Drizzle a line on the plate and serve the salad on top.

Wine Pairing:
Can't go wrong with a Carneros, CA Chardonnay.  In this case a bottle of 2008 Vine Hill Winery Chardonnay, Clements Ridge Vineyard.  Lots of lemon notes and enough body to compliment the freshness of the fennel and radish as well as the zesty tomato base of the fish.