We had one of Mary Milan’s colleagues over for dinner last night. I had originally planned to make Pan Roasted Salmon with Pancetta and Sweet Potato Hash but Whole Foods only had wild Copper River salmon which I am sooooo over. Yeah, yeah, they’re only around for four weeks but they taste kind of like sockeye which you can get all year round.
The black cod looked great so I got that instead, but this lead me into the quandry of having to deal with expectations of “black cod” and Chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s now quotidian miso-glazed preparation, which everybody and their mother is doing. When the fish monger handed me my fish, he gave me some hand and eye signals telling me which aisle I could find miso paste. Whatever. I’m soooo over miso glazed black cod.
Don’t get me wrong, miso glazed black cod is great. But the fish, also known as sable, can be made other ways. To prove that, here’s an alternate preparation. You can substitute for salmon if you want but I think you’ll find the buttery texture of the black cod goes quite nicely with the smokiness of the hash and the acidity of the dressing. (by the way, all of the recipes I’ll be posting here qualify as “recipes so easy, it makes me want to crap my pants”).
PAN ROASTED SABLE w:: sweet potato and pancetta hash, pomegranate dressing
(for four)
1 1/3 lbs. of black cod, cut in to 4 portions
Butter
1/2 lbs. of pancetta, cut thick and cubed
3 small yams or sweet potatoes, scrubbed and diced into 1/4 inch cubes
1 small leek, cleaned and sliced
1 spring onion (green onion will do) cleaned and sliced
1 can of artichokes, rinsed, and chopped (you can prepare artichokes from scratch if you want)
9 sage leaves, 5 cut and 4 whole
4 garlic cloves, chopped, plus 1 for dressing
1 small shallot
A pinch of saffron
Red wine vinegar
Pomegranate syrup (you can get it at specialty shops or you can reduce pure pomegranate juice down to a syrup. Alternatively, you can leave it out)
Dijon mustard
Honey
Lemon juice
Olive oil
First, start with the hash. In a large saute pan over medium high heat, render the fat from the pancetta, about 5 minutes. Remove the pancetta from the pan, add a dab of butter to the fat and add the sweet potatoes and leeks. Return to heat. Saute over for 10 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes start to soften and caramelize. Add artichokes, chopped garlic, spring onions, and pancetta and saute for another 5 minutes. Fold in chopped sage, season with salt and pepper, and let it cook over low heat to finish.
While sweet potato hash is cooking, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a medium, oven safe saute pan over medium high heat, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan and 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Season the fish with salt and pepper and sear, flesh side down, in your hot saute pan until they are golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. As the fish is searing toss in your remaining sage leaves. Once golden brown, flip the fish and give each fillet a baste with the olive oil/butter in the pan and let it finish in the overn (4-6 minutes depending on thickness).
While the fish is finishing, start your dressing: in a food processor, put your garlic, shallot, pomegranate syrup, red wine vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, saffron and honey. Buzz it and as it’s going, slowly add olive oil (remember, 2 parts oil to 1 part acid). Season with salt and pepper.
Mound your hash in the center of the plate, place the fish on top of the hash and drizzle the plate with your dressing.
Yummy in the tummy.
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