LaSalette Restaurant and Niepoort: July Recipe: 10 Chefs 10 Wineries Portuguese Wine Pairing

To showcase the incredible versatility of Portuguese wines with food, Wines of Portugal is launching an exciting new culinary-focused program in the United States this April. The program, known as “10 Chefs / 10 Wineries,” will match ten Portuguese wineries with ten of America’s top chefs, culminating iphn an online cooking series and limited edition printed recipe guide that will be available to trade, press and consumers by the end of the year. (Photo and credits: http://www.winesofportugal.com/us/food-and-wine/10-chefs-10-wineries/)

Chef Manuel Azevedo, La Salette Restaurant Sonoma California

Wine: Niepoort “Redoma Branco 2011” www.niepoort-vinhos.com

 

Chef Manuel Azevedo’s dream to champion Portuguese cuisine throughout the United States and beyond was born at an early age when he would assist his mother, the restaurant’s namesake, prepare recipes from their former home in the Azores Islands. It has been more than a decade since LaSalette welcomed its first diners, and the LaSalette family continues to invite you to join them in their second decade of proudly sharing Chef Azevedo’s interpretation of modern Portuguese cuisine. credits (http://www.winesofportugal.com/us/food-and-wine/10-chefs-10-wineries/la-salette/)

Recipe: Baked Stone Bass, Grilled Yellow Corn, Sautéed Collard Greens, and Raw Sauce

Cherne Assado no Forno com Molho Cru, Milho Amarelo Grelhado e Refogado de Couve Galega

The corn:

1 ½ cups (218 grams) yellow corn

3 tablespoons (39 grams) butter

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

The collard greens:

6 cups (180 grams) collard greens or about 12 leaves, sliced 1/8 -inch thick

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons (42 grams) extra virgin olive oil

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

The arctic char:

4 (5-ounce/145-gram) stone bass fillets, skin off

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground white pepper

The raw sauce:

2 medium shallots, 1/8 -inch dice

2 cloves garlic, 1/8 -inch dice

¼ cup (59 grams) white wine vinegar

½ cup (112 grams) extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon (15 grams) puréed tomato

¼ cup (10 grams) minced flat leaf parsley

2 teaspoons (9 grams) fine sea salt (or to taste)

Piri piri sauce or other hot sauce

This dish is very popular at the restaurant – diners really enjoy the exciting flavor combination of the fish with the bitter collards, the sweet corn, and the acidic raw sauce. You can substitute stone bass with arctic char, salmon, or halibut; whatever’s the freshest fish available. You should note the size of the collard cuts is important. One eighth of an inch wide delivers perfect results; any thinner and they’ll cook too quickly and become mushy; any thicker and their bitterness can get overwhelming. Slicing the collards 1/8 -inch wide is the ideal size for sautéing and brings out just the right amount of bitterness and flavor.

Molho cru is traditionally served on fried fish such as sardines or Spanish mackerel. In the summer months when heirloom tomatoes are at their peak of freshness, combine equal parts molho cru and tomatoes and serve it over just about any seafood from grilled sardines to steamed mussels to baked grouper. Ideally you should use this sauce immediately after it’s prepared so its freshness shines through. Leftover sauce makes a terrific marinade.

For the corn:

Grill the corn and then cut the kernels off the cob. Place the cut kernels in a pan and briefly sauté them with the garlic butter and enhance their flavor with salt and pepper to taste.

For the collard greens:

Pour olive oil into a sauté pan and heat on medium heat. Lay the cut collard greens and garlic in the pan and sauté them for about 8 – 10 minutes, until they turn a deep green color. Taste intermittently and enhance their flavor with salt and pepper to taste. Try not to let the collard greens sit for more than 15 minutes before serving.

For the stone bass:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (232° C). Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper. Add vegetable oil to a large ovenproof sauté pan and sauté one side of the fillets on the stove on high heat. Turn the fish over and place the pan into the oven. Bake until cooked through, about 2 – 3 minutes – it will depend on the thickness of the fillets.

For the raw sauce:

Combine the shallots, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, and tomato puree. Enhance the flavor with piri piri sauce and salt. The hotness of the sauce and flavor of the salt should be identifiable. Stir in the parsley just before serving.

To serve:

Warm up the corn and collard greens. Make a nest of collard greens in the center of each plate and spoon the corn into the nests. Lay the stone bass on top of the nests. Spoon some raw sauce onto the fillets. (recipe and  photos credits: http://www.winesofportugal.com/us/food-and-wine/10-chefs-10-wineries/la-salette/)

Read my article of LaSalette here. Visit LaSalette’s website and order the LaSalette Cook Book  – Cozinha Nova Portuguesa by Chef Manuel Azevedo and many other products. You may also the cook book on amazon at the links on this page under cook books.

Credit: http://www.lasalette-restaurant.com/

It contains 360 pages, over 270 recipes, and the beautiful photographs by Portuguese photographer Henrigue Bagulho will leave you craving the flavor of Portugal, and inspire you to try the recipes. What a perfect gift for the special Portuguese foodie in your life!

LaSalette Cook Book – Cozinha Nova Portuguesa Chef Manuel Azevedo: Order below

LaSalette

452 1st St E, Sonoma, CA 95476

707.938.1927

http://www.lasalette-restaurant.com/

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