Flavor Trends, Strategies and Solutions for Menu Development

Farmed Whole Trout from Fish by José Andrés From Seafood & The Menu’s collection of best-selling seafood menu items of 2018

On the summer menu at Fish by José Andrés, Idaho trout sees a unique pairing, with stewed Sun Gold tomatoes and the aerated flavor of peach.

Marissa Scarna, Head Chef | Fish by José Andrés, MGM National Harbor Resort & Casino, Oxon Hill, Md.

One of the best sellers on last summer’s menu at Fish by José Andrés was an Idaho farmed trout dish that had a “peachy” air about it. Marissa Scarna explains that a standard offering is a whole roasted trout from Idaho’s Snake River Canyon. “For the summer I wanted to use heirloom tomatoes and peaches. We stew them together along with onions and green peppers,” she says.

The trout fillet is cooked in the restaurant’s charcoal oven, which crisps the skin and gives the flesh a smoky flavor. “We finish it with fresh Sun Gold tomatoes and peach ‘air,’ definitely my new favorite thing!” says Scarna.

She describes the peach air as “a flavorful liquid that creates an air-in-water emulsion that holds its texture. The air coats the palate, but due to its light density, does not linger.”

From the special Sept/Oct 2018 Seafood issue of Flavor & the Menu magazine. Read this issue online or check if you qualify for a free print subscription.

 

About The Author

mm

Christine Burns Rudalevige is a seasoned food writer and classically trained cook living in Brunswick, Maine. She has worked as a chef, a farmers’ market manager, and a boutique caterer. Christine founded the Family Fish Project (a website dedicated to eating seafood at home) and later worked as a lead culinary instructor at Stonewall Kitchen. The dedicated home cook and food writer has lent her voice to regional and national media outlets, from NPR to Cooking Light.