Fun at a Fish Class

Cooking School, Sur la Table style, was a special treat this week. Armed with gift certificates from her mom Meg, Hilary and I set out to master five Fabulous Fish Dishes... all in two hours. 

Chef Instructor Alex looked young enough to be a high school student (he wasn't) but certainly knew his way around a kitchen, even one with 16 students and work stations! The ingredients were prepped and well-organized ahead of time, 3 kitchen assistants kept things moving and offered guidance as necessary, and our fellow students were a friendly, positive crowd. 

Omigosh, it was a high-energy, fast-paced session.
The menu featured:

• Soy-Honey Lacquered Salmon over Scallion Fried Rice
• Cumin Grilled Halibut with Chipotle Tartar Sauce and Cabbage Ribbons
• Lemon-Thyme Roasted Snapper Fillets with Tomatoes and Olives
• Seared Tuna Salad with Citrus-Sriracha Salsa
• Prosciutto-Wrapped Scallops over Arugula-Parmesan Salad

We worked in teams of 4, sharing the cooking and the tasting after each  preparation. I tried to grab a photo or two for each recipe, but somehow the fork won out over the iPhone for several dishes. The images are blurry, but hey! I was busy cooking... or eating. 

The menu began with marinated, prosciutto-wrapped scallops, and just one bite left me craving more.

The seared tuna was my personal favorite, and the accompanying sriracha spiced citrus salsa was outstanding. I'll be serving that salsa with other dishes.

Several long minutes of fast whisk action needed to reduce the brown sugar-soy cooking sauce for the salmon fillets, but oh! what a delicious glaze it yielded.

The halibut was swapped out for true cod, brown sugar substituted for honey, and we did not prepare the tartar sauce or the fried rice, but those were little hiccups in an otherwise terrific class. The preparation and cooking techniques were useful, the results showcased a variety of flavors that ranged from amazingly good and spicy to okay-but-needed-tartar sauce. 

Conclusion: we felt comfortable enough with each recipe do this at home... and so we did, the very next night. Check back soon for the at-home versions of Seared Tuna Salad with Citrus-Sriracha Salsa and Soy-Honey Lacquered Salmon over Scallion Fried Rice.

Tomatillo Pork Tinga

aka Mexican Pulled Pork

Another south-of-the-border inspired dish. What is there about the bright, tangy, sour-citrusy taste of roasted tomatillos that gets me every time? I love how those flavors complement the smokey zing of chilies, so much so that I decided to replace the traditional sweet red tomatoes in this Pueblan dish with a handful of fresh green tomatillos. Mmmmm, good decision. It took tinga into a new level of flavor. It was still comfort food with shredded meat and potatoes in a spicy sauce, but oh! what a sauce.

A Rick Bayless recipe was my starting point, as is often the case with Mexican dishes. (My three Bayless cookbooks are splattered and stained from years of use, always a good sign for a cookbook.)  I think this tinga variation is a winner; homey, if not quite authentic, Pueblan cooking. A winner? Oh, yes! its a new favorite chili-like recipe that's terrific served in a bowl - or in a tortilla - or in so many other presentations. See below for several other tasty ideas and give tinga a try. I think you'll like it.

Tomatillo Pork Tinga

adapted from a Rick Bayless recipe in Mexican Everyday

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

4-6 medium red-skin boiling potatoes, cut in ½” cubes

2 pounds pork shoulder, cut in steaks or in small chunks

3 fresh mild chilies (Anaheim or poblano), roasted & peeled

2 small jalapeños, roasted & deseeded

6-8 large fresh tomatillos, husked, rinsed and roasted

1 medium white onion, in ¼” slices

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced or crushed through a press

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

½ teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried cilantro

1 tablespoon ground chipotle powder (optional)

1 cup low-sodium chicken stock (more, as needed)

For serving:

corn tortillas, warmed

1 cup crumbled queso fresco or shredded jack cheese

small bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

avocado, pitted and chopped in small dice (optional)

Directions:

   1. Place the pork in the bottom of a good-sized heavy pot or Dutch oven, at least 4-quart with a 10 to 12 inch diameter. Scatter the potatoes on top of the meat.
   2. Roast the chilies and tomatillos until charred. Seed and peel the chilies (or not, if you’re after more heat). Toss the chilies and tomatillos into a blender (be sure to capture all of the juices as well as the flesh) and puree with a few pulses.

   3. Add the remaining 7 ingredients, onion through 1 cup chicken stock and pulse a time or two just to mix, not to puree the onions.
   4. Pour the mix evenly over the pork and potatoes, cover and cook in a 300 F oven for 2 to 2½ hours until the pork is completely tender. Add more chicken stock if the sauce becomes too thick (unlikely).

   5. Remove the pork steaks or chunks from the pot; use two forks or your fingers to break into smaller pieces or shreds.
   6. If there is a lot of liquid in the pot, ladle it out and boil rapidly until reduced and somewhat syrupy. Return the meat and the liquid back to the cooking pot and stir it all together. The meat will absorb some of that loose sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary (salt? hot sauce? green tabasco?)
   7. Serve with the warm tortillas, crumbled cheese and avocados for making soft tacos. Or serve in a bowl with toppings to enjoy like chili. Or use the mix to top a crispy tostada, stuff a burrito or enchilada, fill a torta or quesadilla or an omelet, or even top a baked potato or rice.

Notes:

• Some tinga recipes call for chorizo to be crumbled and fried, then added to the sauce at the end of cooking, just before serving. Other recipes use the rendered chorizo oils to sauté the onions at the beginning of the recipe. Either option sounds delicious.
• For a more carnitas-like treat, after step 5 fry the meat in a bit of oil until the edges crisp, then mix with the sauce and serve. 
• Use a slow-cooker to make this a fix-it-and-forget-it recipe: slow-cook on high for 6+ hours, and you can hold on the “keep warm” function for another 4 or more hours. This would be a useful game day feature when schedules are unpredictable.