In Good Taste: A Seafood Feast
Celebrating the season’s bounty at home with FIG chef Mike Lata
A Seafood Feast
Ask James Beard Award-winning chef Mike Lata about the difference between cooking at home and at his renowned restaurant FIG, and his answer may surprise you. “There really isn’t one,” he says. “It’s all about sourcing the best ingredients possible and protecting their integrity.”
When Lata recently gathered friends for dinner at the home he shares with girlfriend Emilee Cleary, seafood—sustainable and mostly local—was the inspiration. “Right now I’m focused on sustainable seafood. It’s a big topic here that needs to be better represented.”
Appetizers
For the first of two seafood starters, Lata chose an indulgent, generously portioned tasting of American paddlefish caviar served on homemade potato chips with crème fraîche and chives. “I know this caviar is harvested sustainably,” he says, peeling open two big chilled containers of the glistening grey-black eggs. “It’s expensive, but there’s a lot of value in eating it at home. Indulging in substantial portions would be cost-prohibitive in a restaurant. Here, I can serve it for friends, and we can go at it with gusto. It’s fun to be able to enjoy it on a scale that redefines the experience.”
The second appetizer showcases South Carolina’s white shrimp. “I like to celebrate our local shrimp,” Lata says as he tucks a couple inside a beautiful Bibb lettuce leaf. “Poaching them properly is one of the best ways to preserve their delicate texture.” The fresh ocean flavor of the shrimp is complemented by the crunch of the lettuce and the velvety and bright bagnarotte—a sauce he fondly remembers from his time spent cooking and eating in sunny Nice. “It’s a classic for a reason,” Lata says. “It just works with seafood.”
First Course
Lata begins deftly carving chilled raw fillets of locally caught wahoo into cubes for a crudo that he’ll serve tonnato style. Once again, the importance of careful sourcing becomes clear. “Wahoo is a great fish, but it can dry out pretty quickly when cooked,” he explains. “So when you buy it fresh from a reputable fisherman and know how long it’s been out of the water, you can serve it raw.”
Serving the fish tonnato style is a stroke of inspiration that, like many of Lata’s carefully crafted dishes, is borne of Italian tradition. “This is inspired by the classic vitello tonnato dish,” he explains. “It’s a beautiful puréed sauce with tuna and anchovies that enhances the flavor of the wahoo.”
Thinly sliced celery hearts and leaves, anchovies, and a sprinkle of fleur de sel garnish the crudo and add that bright Lata touch. “The celery gives the crudo a fresh, astringent flavor and a nice contrast of texture,” Lata explains as he plates the last crudo to pass around.
Second Course
With the appetizers circulating, Lata heads back to the kitchen to crack some golden-yolked Sea Island farm eggs for a coddled egg dish that has been an evolving favorite at FIG. The eggs are added to cocottes filled with a sauce made from puréed caramelized onion and Carolina Gold rice. After they’re baked until barely set, he tops them with sautéed local stone crab, sweet corn, chanterelle mushrooms, and a parmesan foam. “The beauty is that you can change the topping seasonally,” says Lata. “It’s elegant yet surprisingly easy to do at home, and its creamy texture makes it a showstopper for guests.”
Entree
The main event—a locally caught grouper roasted whole in a salt crust—makes for a beautiful presentation. Lata fills the cavity of the fish with fragrant orange slices and sprigs of rosemary and thyme, then evenly covers it with a sealing mixture of egg whites, water, and kosher salt. Once cooked, he cracks open the now golden crust to reveal its steamy and intensely flavored ivory flesh. Simply topped with an herbaceous, jewel-green salsa verde of parsley, mustard, anchovies, and olive oil, the grouper is a revelation.
Alongside, the chef offers up a colorful platter of farro succotash. He sources the farro piccolo from South Carolina’s Anson Mills, the only grower of the heirloom Italian spelt wheat in the country. Lata tosses the nutty, toothsome grain with sautéed fresh field peas, butter beans, sliced baby zucchini, and cherry tomatoes. “We use farro from Anson Mills year-round,” Lata says. “It’s easy to adapt at home, too, because you can choose whatever vegetables are in season and serve it hot or at room temperature.”
Dessert
When entertaining at home, Lata likes to keep dessert on the lighter side, and for this feast, it’s panna cotta with blueberry compote. “You need something sweet after dinner,” he offers, “but more often than not, everyone’s full. To keep things lively, we like to serve a light, refreshing dessert.”
Chilled White Shrimp with Bibb Lettuce & Sauce Bagnarotte
4 cups water 1 lb. white shrimp, heads off and shells on 1 head Bibb lettuce, washed and separated into cup-like leaves Sauce bagnarotte (find recipe at charlestonmag.com) Lemon, cut in half 1/4 lb. cherry tomatoes, sliced For the sauce bagnarotte: 2 cups mayonnaise, preferably Duke’s 1/2 cup ketchup 1 oz. cognac Juice of one lemon 1 Tbs. Worcestershire 10 dashes Tabasco 2 oz. heavy cream Salt to taste
Pour water into a large saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the shrimp, cover, remove from heat, and let the shrimp cool in the water. Drain and shell. To serve, place one or two shrimp in each lettuce cup. Top with a dollop of sauce, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a slice of cherry tomato. For the sauce bagnarotte: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Chill at least two hours.
Photo by Peter Frank Edwards
Wahoo Crudo, Tonnato Style
Wahoo Crudo, Tonnato Style
1 1/2 lbs. fresh wahoo fillet, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, chilled
Tonnato sauce (recipe follows)
1 tsp. thinly sliced chives
2 tsp. minced shallot
2 tsp. preserved lemon, minced (optional)
Kosher salt, to taste
1/4 cup loosely packed celery heart leaves
2 ribs celery heart, very thinly sliced
4 small radishes, shaved thin
4 marinated white anchovies, or boquerones, quartered
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
Fleur de sel, to taste
For the tonnato sauce:
1 can quality olive-oil packed tuna
4 marinated white anchovies
1 Tbs. salt-packed capers, soaked for one hour in two cups water and drained
1 Tbs. lemon juice
2 dashes Tabasco
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and finely ground white pepper, to taste
Wahoo Crudo, Tonnato Style
Combine the cubed wahoo with just enough of the tonnato sauce to coat the fish. Stir in chives, shallots, preserved lemon, and salt.
Arrange a pile of the fish in the center of the plate and scatter a portion of the celery leaves and heart, radish, and anchovies on and around it. Drizzle with oil, then sprinkle with fleur de sel.
For the tonnato sauce:
Place first six ingredients in a blender and purée until smooth. With the blender still running, slowly stream in the olive oil and season with salt and white pepper. Chill.
Coddled Sea Island Egg with Stone Crab, Sweet Corn, Chanterelles, & Croutons
Coddled Sea Island Egg with Stone Crab, Sweet Corn, Chanterelles, & Croutons
Soubise/rice mixture (recipe follows)
8 eggs
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1/2 lb. chanterelle mushrooms, halved lengthwise
2 cups sweet corn, cut from the cob
1/2 lb. stone crab meat
Parmesan foam (recipe follows)
Croutons (recipe at charlestonmag.com)
For the soubise/rice mixture:
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 Tbs. diced onion
1 cup cooked Carolina Gold rice
10 oz. heavy cream
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and finely ground white pepper, to taste
For the parmesan foam:
1 cup heavy cream
1 (2-oz.) piece parmesan rind
Salt, to taste
1 drop black truffle oil
Coddled Sea Island Egg with Stone Crab, Sweet Corn, Chanterelles, & Croutons
Preheat oven to 425°F and bring a kettle of water to a boil. Place eight eight-ounce cocottes (or stoneware ramekins) in a large roasting dish. Ladle about one-quarter cup of the soubise mixture into each, then gently crack an egg on top. Add enough hot water to the roasting dish to come halfway up the sides of the cocottes. Bake in the oven, watching carefully, just until the egg whites turn opaque and the yolk barely warms through, approximately eight to 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium sauté pan. Sauté mushrooms until tender, approximately three to five minutes. Add corn and crab and toss to warm through. When ready to serve, distribute crab mixture equally among the cocottes, sprinkle with croutons, and pour a spoonful of parmesan foam over each.
For the soubise/rice mixture:
Combine butter and onion in a medium skillet on very low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 30 minutes. Stir in the rice, cream, bay leaf, and pinch of salt. Cook for five minutes, remove bay leaf, and purée in a blender until very smooth. Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt and white pepper.
For the parmesan foam:
In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer and remove from heat. Add the parmesan rind and let it steep for 20 minutes. Remove rind, season to taste with salt and a drop of black truffle oil, and reserve.
When ready to serve, aerate the parmesan-infused cream by briefly pulsing with an immersion blender or in a regular blender.
Whole Roasted Salt-Encrusted Grouper with Salsa Verde
3 large sprigs rosemary
8 sprigs fresh thyme
1 orange, sliced
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 whole 6-lb. grouper, gutted and scaled
1 (1 lb.) box kosher salt
4 large egg whites
Water
Salsa verde
For the salsa verde
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. minced
1 cup loosely packed fresh flat leaf parsley leaves
2 marinated white anchovies, or boquerones
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove
Juice of one lemon
Salt, to taste
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place the rosemary, thyme, orange, and pepper in the cavity of the grouper. In a bowl, combine the salt and egg whites, adding a little more of either until the mixture is the consistency of wet sand. (If still a little dry, add a touch of water.)
On a baking sheet, make a half-inch-thick layer in a shape big enough to hold the fish. Place the fish on the salt mixture and then cover evenly with the remaining salt mixture. Pack it evenly around the fish until it forms a tight seal.
Bake until the crust turns brown and a thin knife inserted into the center of the fish is warm to the touch, or until the fish reaches an internal temperature of 140°F when measured with an instant read thermometer, approximately 35 to 45 minutes.
When the fish is done, carefully remove the salt crust in pieces, peel away the skin, and distribute the fish fillets among plates. Top with the salsa verde.
For the salsa verde
Place first five ingredients in a blender and purée until smooth.
Using a microplane, grate the garlic into the mixture to taste. Stir
in the lemon juice and salt to taste.
American Wild Sturgeon Caviar with Homemade Potato Chips & Creme Fraiche
Peanut or canola oil for frying
1 lb. new potatoes, very thinly sliced
Fine sea salt, to taste
8 oz. American Wild sturgeon caviar, chilled
2 cups crème fraîche
4 Tbs. minced fresh chives
Fill a large heavy pot no more than halfway with oil, and heat to 275°F. When the oil is hot, fry the potato chips in batches, making sure not to crowd the pot, until the chips are golden and crisp.
Remove the chips to drain on a paper towel-lined plate and immediately sprinkle with fine sea salt to taste.
Serve the caviar chilled in a bowl, surrounded by crushed ice in a larger bowl. Using a mother-of-pearl or other non-metallic spoon for the caviar, invite guests to top their own chips with crème fraîche, a
generous helping of caviar, and a sprinkling of fresh chives.
Farro Succotash
3 Tbs. plus extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 red onion, diced
1 sweet chili pepper, such as Jimmy Nardello or banana, thinly sliced
6 small zucchini (three to five inches long), thinly sliced
3/4 cup cooked butter beans
3/4 cup cooked black-eyed peas
1 cup corn
3 cups cooked farro
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3-5 fresh basil leaves, torn
8-10 small okra pods, halved lengthwise
Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, approximately two to four minutes. Add chili and zucchini and cook until softened, approximately two minutes.
Add the butter beans, peas, and corn and cook until they are warmed through. Stir in the farro and cook until it is incorporated and hot. Stir in butter and season with salt and fresh ground white pepper. Add basil leaves and stir to incorporate. Remove the mixture to a serving bowl or platter.
Heat the remaining one tablespoon of olive oil in the same pan over medium-high heat. Add the okra, cut-side down, and sear for two to four minutes. Garnish the farro with the seared okra and a drizzle of olive oil.
Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Blueberry Compote
Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Blueberry Compote
1 cup ice
1 cup water
1 envelope gelatin
24 oz. heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. buttermilk
Blueberry compote (recipe follows)
8 Tbs. crushed amaretti cookies, approximately 8 cookies
Mint leaves, washed and torn
For the blueberry compote:
1 lb. fresh blueberries, divided
2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Blueberry Compote
Put ice and water into a small saucepan and sprinkle the envelope of gelatin evenly over the top of the water. Let stand for five to 10 minutes. Heat the saucepan over very low heat until slightly warm and stir to dissolve the gelatin. Remove the mixture from the heat to cool.
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cream, sugar, and vanilla to a simmer. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Stir in the buttermilk. Stir the dissolved gelatin, strain, and pour into eight- to 10-ounce glasses. Let set in refrigerator for at least six hours or overnight.
To serve, top each with two tablespoons of compote, one tablespoon of crushed amaretti cookies, and a few mint leaves.
For the blueberry compote:
Combine half the blueberries with the sugar, lemon, and salt in a small pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining berries. Pour into a bowl and set aside. The compote can be made up to three days in advance if stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
