branzino Archives - Taste With The Eyes

Loup de Mer, Beurre Blanc Grenade à la Le Bon Georges

Loup de Mer, Beurre Blanc Grenade, Poireaux et Carottes à la Le Bon Georges

Loup de Mer, Beurre Blanc Grenade
Poireaux et Carottes à la Le Bon Georges

She says, “One of my favorite meals ever in Paris @le_bon_georges.” And of the truite she exclaims, “It was so delicious!!!!”

My long time blogger friend, the fabulous Stacey, of Stacey Snacks travels to Paris every year with “Mr. Snacks” (her husband) and treats us all to dozens of images of Paris…and makes us painfully jealous with her food photos from their trips to the City of Light.

I fell in love with one photo in particular, the Trout with Pomegranate Beurre Blanc from the most charming classic Parisian bistro, Le Bon Georges. I just had to make the dish at home, but with no recipe and only a photograph to be my guide.

Trout was not readily available, but Loup de Mer was. Loup de mer is also known as Mediterranean Seabass or Branzino. Its character is delicate and unique. The meat is moist and buttery, flaky yet smooth, firm yet tender, silky and velvety. The skin is thin and delicious especially when sautéed to a crisp. The loup de mer fillets worked perfectly for my re-creation of the dish.

Truite au Le Bon Georges — Photo Credit: Stacey Snacks at Le Bon Georges, Paris, from Facebook

I took a look at Le Bon Georges’ instagram account to get a broader feel for the restaurant in order to re-create the atmosphere. I was especially drawn to the beautiful image of Dubarry Cauliflower Cream Soup with Truffles and a glass of Champagne near a window.

Loup de Mer, Beurre Blanc Grenade, Poireaux et Carottes à la Le Bon Georges

Loup de Mer, Beurre Blanc Grenade, Poireaux et Carottes Recette

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Wild Mushrooms

Wild Mushroom Still Life

There was absolutely no way I could resist the fantastic selection of exotic mushrooms for sale at the Torrance Farmers Market. Chanterelles, Black Trumpets, Cordycep Militaris, Chestnut Royale, Wood Ear, Persimmon Enoki and Blue Foots to name a few… I paired them with Pink Peppercorns from my neighborhood trees to create a mysterious and colorful Wild Mushroom Still Life. Due to their psychedelic deep lilac colored stems, the Blue Foots just had to take center stage.

The Mushrooms

blue

blue foot (pied bleu) – highly perfumed aroma and flavor, cook before eating

gold

chanterelles – nutty with a fruity aroma
cordeycep militaris – savory earthy-nutty flavor
persimmon enoki – impossibly fruity!

black

black trumpet – buttery woodsy smoky flavor
chestnut royale – porous texture absorbs other flavors (like butter) well
wood ear – crunchy gelatinous texture

After the photoshoot, what did I do with all those various wild mushrooms?

Sautéed Branzino with Cordycep Mushrooms

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Persimmon “Pico de Gallo”

Pan-Seared Branzino (Mediterranean Sea Bass)
Fuyu Persimmon “Pico de Gallo”

The fuyu’s shape and size, plus its firm but supple texture is somewhat reminiscent of a tomato…which gave me the idea to try it as a substitute for that unseasonal fruit in a wintery version of pico de gallo. The Korean market where I often shop has huge displays of both fuyu and hachiya varieties of the persimmon, in season October through February. This salsa fresca is savory but has a hint of honey-apple sweetness. It has bracing acidity from the fresh lime juice and medium spiciness from the jalapeno. In addition to making a bright refreshing topping for this sea bass we thoroughly enjoyed it paired with a crispy-skin salmon too.

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Loup de Mer à la Provençale #CookForJulia

Loup de Mer à la Provençale
Prepared in Honor of Julia Child’s 100th Birthday

Crispy Skin Mediterranean Sea Bass
Provence-Style Salad with Anchovy
Roquette, Green Bell Pepper, Red Onion, Tomato, Cucumber, Olive
Herb Garlic Vinaigrette

IMG_1525 julia child with large fish — Original Photo by Paul Child

“Simca, Paul, Patricia, and I… penetrated into this beautiful courtyard and were seated at a little white table beneath a leafy trellis. It was a splendid lunch, moving from apéritifs to pâté of fresh duck livers and truffles, thick slices of pain brioche, a timbale, tomatoes and a green salad. But the real reason we were there was for the loup de mer.” Julia Child, My Life in France

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Pan-Seared Branzino, Cucumber Salmoriglio, Borage Blossoms

Pan-Seared Branzino, Cucumber Salmoriglio, Borage Blossoms

Here we are on the sparkling azure Mediterranean. I’m in the cucina with Chefs Norma and Debi, cooking for opening day of our virtual ristorante Ciao Fiore! Norma is in the process making ricotta fresca for the extravagant antipasti tavola, and Debi is using sodium alginate and calcium chloride to craft the strawberry caviar which will top her lavender & mascarpone panna cotta as a part of the fabulous dessert course.

My job is to execute the main course, and with the risotto already done, imagine my delight as the fishing boat pulled up to the dock, loaded with just-caught branzino! Fresh from the sea pan-seared fillets will be served with salmoriglio, a Sicilian fish sauce made with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and herbs. For our grand opening, this particular version of the classic sauce will be enhanced with Meyer lemon confit, red chiles, cucumber, and Castelvetrano olives. Borage blossoms will finish the dish, with their sweet cucumber flavor accenting the sauce while their bright blue hue mirrors the sea.

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