So what are we looking at exactly? A pan seared filet of salmon with mashed potatoes and grilled zucchini, served with a lemon beurre blanc. The niblets on top are a bit of fried shallot, added at the end because I wanted a bit more height.
Now, how did this change from the original idea? Originally I had been wanting to go for a skin-on filet, but there were some technical difficulties (read: sticking), so I scrapped that idea, removed the (remaining) skin, and went for a fresh sear on the filet. Turned out alright, although there's a speck or two of black on there.
I also had originally planned on a triangular stack of zucchini strips (and higher), but this way is a lot more... let's say realistic. For one, it takes a lot less product, and two in a restaurant setting you don't want someone to take five minutes to build a log cabin of vegetable. Four strips makes a nice base, lifts it off the sauce, and gives a decent serving. I was trying to decide where to put the potatoes... either in the middle of said stack or around the outside. Changing the stack to something more manageable allowed for the potatoes to just go on top and act as a further socle (fancy-speak for "food that lifts other food higher").
Now I'm not about to say it's perfect, but I'm pretty pleased with it, and the chef was too. The sauce is a bit heavy (granted this is after a good 2 hours of seeping over the plate), the grill marks on the zucchini are a little weak (if I were to do it again I'd just go for a single set of lines and make sure they're solid), and again the sear on the fish didn't happen as planned. It did, however, take second place (did I mention that they get judged at the end of class? Usually by a group vote, but Friday we were short on time and the chef picked the ones he liked best out).
Back to the drawing board for me, though... with Monday comes plate #3.
No comments:
Post a Comment