FareStart's Guest Chef on the Waterfront winning entrée

Designed by Chef Hans Reisinger

Smoked Monkfish with Horseradish-Lemon Cream Cheese, Yakima Valley Corn Purée, Arugula, Crème Fraîche and Orange Tobiko

Bell Harbor International Conference Center

Makes 24 small bites

Salt sugar marinade for smoked monk fish

2 lbs monkfish
8 oz sugar
8 oz salt
Fresh thyme, picked
Garden dill, picked
Coriander, whole crushed
Black peppercorn, whole crushed
Bay leaf

For the monkfish

• Clean all the loin, taking off all of the gray membrane. It's almost like taking the silver skin off pork tenderloin. When the loin is very clean, take the mixed-together salt-sugar mixture and cover the monkfish for 24 hours overnight in the refrigerator. Simply put plastic wrap over a bun pan and let it marinate in the salt.

• The next day you will see that some water has come out of the fish and the fish is firmer than before. Rinse all of the salt off the fish and let it run under water for awhile to let all the excess salt out.

• Put it on a sheet pan with a grate and let it dry in the fridge overnight.

Method: hot smoking monkfish

Tip: You can brush your fish with some honey or oil and brown sugar to help attract the smoke.

Using some wood chips (we use apple wood), get the wood chips to burn and place in your barbecue without heat and let the monkfish slowly smoke. You might have to re-ignite your wood chips more than once to get the amount of smoke flavor you want. The fish will take about 30 minutes to cook depending on how hot the barbecue gets from the wood chips. If you want less smoke on your fish, simply turn on your barbecue to very low to help increase the internal temperature. Take the fish out and let cool in the refrigerator at least two hours. This can be done the day before you are planning your event.

Yakima Corn Pancakes

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 extra large egg
Corn puree
    Take three ears, yellow or white, of corn and cook until tender (when at simmer--a
    good 7-10 minutes) with 2 cups of salt water or light chicken broth. Puree the corn
    mixture in a bar blender or emulsion mixer. Let cool down and pour into pancake
    batter.
1/2 cup milk

Method

• Make your corn puree.

• In a mixing bowl, place dry ingredients and then add beaten egg and corn puree. Add 1/2 cup milk or until the mixture has a not-too-thick consistency that can be ladled out.

• Let the batter rest for 1/2 hour in the refrigerator; add liquid if necessary.

• Cook pancakes on griddle. You can either make small silver dollar pancakes or the suggested method is to make a large pancake and cut out small cakes with a pastry cutter.

Lemon Cream

8 oz cream cheese
Zest and juice from one lemon
1 tsp horseradish
Salt and pepper

Method

Whip cream cheese in mixing bowl until it gets soft. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula and beat again. Create lemon zest from micro plane or use box grater. Juice the rest of the lemon and place all in the cream cheese. Add horseradish and season to taste with salt and fresh pepper from the mill.

Assembly of dish for service

• On a clean surface, cut out your pancakes using a pastry ring.

• In a pastry bag or using a pastry spatula, carefully pipe your lemon horseradish cream cheese on the pancake.

• Carefully place some arugula on top of the cream cheese.

• Cut medallions form your smoked monkfish filet and place on top of arugula.

• Top monkfish with crème fraîche and tobiko.

• Place carefully on platter and serve.

August/September 2011

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