Snapper | Kombu-Braised Fennel | Pomegranate | Saffron Velouté
My riff on a Persian-inspired mise for Tai Snapper.
Concept is a zero-waste dish that plays off of the old school American hotel dish Celery Hearts Victor, wherein a whole celery is braised in beef stock.
In this case:
Fish bones are used to make a fumet, kombu is added to make it a dashi. Dashi is used to poach whole fennel bulb, which gets chilled, quartered and seared for what is essentially a reverse-braise.
Fennel poaching fumet dashi is then spiked with saffron, roux-thickened and acid balanced with a bit of lemon.
Fronds and stem of fennel get tossed with pomegranate arils, shallot, picked parsley in a simple unadorned 3:1 champagne vinaigrette.
This was the first plate-up for a menu tasting; planning to use a skinnier filet and the sauce has a bit more run to it after tinkering.
by arimondry
3 Comments
Sounds delicious, the direct top down photo is never going to highlight what you’ve done. Nobody views their plate from this angle.
I appreciate that you’re just opening it up for discussion but you’re not presenting it in the best light here, think about how food looks when you’re eating it vs when you’re cooking it.
Don’t put anything wet on that crispy skin, it will get soggy
The colours and combos are great I think it just needs a touch of tweaking, I love the salad, but the sauce is super thick
How many course menu, I would thin the sauce and then form the salad into a loose crescent shape with the fish half on it and the fennel on the side facing away from you, but it’s hard to describe in Text but it’s just a couple suggestions.