Chef Chris Cronin Wins the Seafood Throwdown

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Photo: Chef Cronin fillets a whole fresh Pollock donated by Kylers Seafood Market

Chef Chris Cronin (Farm & Coast Market) bested Henry Bousquet (Culinary Arts Instructor at NB Voc-Tech) to win last week’s Seafood Throwdown by two points.

Chefs worked with whole fresh Pollock, donated by Kyler’s Seafood Market, and local produce from the New Bedford farmers market. They were allowed three ingredients from their own kitchens and then had an hour to prepare and present their dish to the judges.

Judges Diane Nanfelt (co-owner of Kylers Seafood Market), Heather Atwood, author of In Cod We Trust, Maria Lawton, author of Azorean Cooking: From My Family’s Table to Yours, and Andy Tomolonis, author of Organic Hobby Farming: A Practical Guide to Earth-Friendly Farming in Any Space judged the dishes on originality, appearance, taste, and use of the whole animal.

With more than 100 people in the audience, samples quickly ran out. Chef Cronin stayed on to prepare more food using a third Pollock that Kylers donated to the winning chef.

The Seafood Throwdown, which took place in Custom House Square on Thursday, September 8th, was presented by New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, in collaboration with the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, Mass in Motion New Bedford/New Bedford Farmer’s Market.

The attached recipes were collected from the chefs by food writer Heather Atwood who is in the process of compiling a Seafood Throwdown cookbook.

The New Bedford Farmers Market takes place weekly from 2-6 pm (until 7pm on AHA nights) and is located in Custom House Square.

Located at 38 Bethel Street in the heart of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is dedicated to preserving and presenting the story of the commercial fishing industry past, present, and future through archives, exhibits, and programs. The Center is open to the public Thursday-Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.fishingheritagecenter.org.

Chef Chris Cronin’s Grilled Pollock with Pancetta and Squash Confit in a Beach Rose Harissa Fume
serves 4-6

For the confit:
Ingredients
2 cups diced pancetta
2 cups small dice (peeled) butternut squash freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:
1. Heat a wide skillet to medium high heat. Toss in pancetta, and cook for about 2 minutes, just to start browning the meat. Then lower temperature to medium low. Let pancetta cook more slowing. tossing the pan occasionally to distribute the dice. Season with freshly ground black pepper.

2. After pancetta has cooked about 5 minutes, add squash, and toss together. Let pancetta and squash cook slowly together for about 20 minutes. The squash should be very soft, but not still separate from the pancetta, which will be brown and crispy.

For the Fume
makes 3 1/2 cups

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
fish carcass and head, cut up to fit in the skillet 1 cup white wine
2 cups cold water
1-2 tablespoon rose petal harissa (recipe below) 1 tablespoon cold butter

Instructions:
1. In a large skillet heat oil to medium. Add onion, carrots, and garlic, and cook to soften for about 15 minutes. Do not brown.

2. Add carcass and head to pan, and cook for 5 more minutes, raising the temperature to medium high. Once the bones are starting to brown, add the white wine, and deglaze the bottom of the pan. Cook for 5 minutes, and remove from heat. Let sit for 10 minutes.

3. Add 2 cups (or to cover) cold water to the pan, and bring back to a very low simmer. Just when it starts to bubble, turn off the heat, and let sit for another 10 minutes.

4. Strain through a clean dish cloth or fine cheesecloth.

5. The broth should be very clear at this point. Return to a sauce pan, and heat. Whisk in the harissa to taste and the tablespoon of cold butter.

For the pollock:
serves 4-6

Ingredients
2 pounds skinned pollock fillets about 1 1/2”- 2” thick, or 1 whole pollock, filleted, head and carcass reserved
olive oil
salt and pepper

Instructions:
1. Rub fillets with olive oil, and season both sides with salt and pepper. (Carcass and head, if using, will go into the fume.)

2. Heat a grill or grill pan to medium high heat. Brush with oil. Lay the fillets on the grill, and do not move for 4 minutes.

3. Turn the fillets, and cook the same way, not touching them, for 3 more minutes. Test to make sure fillets are cooked through, and remove from heat. Keep warm.

To Serve the dish:
1. Serve the dish in shallow soup bowls. Ladle a 1/2 cup (or more to taste) of fume into each serving bowl. Lay the grilled pollock fillet in the broth, and spoon pancetta and butternut squash confit over all. Chef Cronin served his dish with steamed boo chop and shards of thinly sliced fennel.

For the rose petal harissa (optional)
makes approximately 3/4 cups

Ingredients
1 red pepper
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped (scant 2/3 cup / 90 g in total) 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
3 hot red chiles, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup fresh rose petals
1/2 teaspoon rose water
pinch sugar
splash red wine vinegar

Instructions:
1. Place the pepper under a broiler or directly on the flame of a gas burner. Turn the pepper occasionally, but cook until it is charred black and papery on the outside. With tongs, transfer to a kitchen counter and cover with a turned-over bowl. The pepper will steam and cool at the same time. Peel the pepper and discard its skin and seeds.

2. Place a frying pan over low heat and lightly toast the coriander, cumin, and caraway seeds for 2 minutes. Grind them in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.

3. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet to medium heat, and fry the onion, garlic, and chiles for 10 to 12 minutes, until a dark smoky color and almost caramelized.

4. In a blender or food processor blend together all of the paste ingredients, including the rose petals, the rose water, and the pinch of sugar until smooth, adding a little more oil if needed. Taste for balance, and add salt and splash of vinegar if needed.

5. When cool, store in a sterilized jar in the fridge.

Chef Henry Bousquet’s Cornmeal Crusted Pollock in Brown Butter
(and recipes for accompanying dishes)
serves 6

Ingredients:
2 pounds pollock fillets, skinned, and divided into 6 pieces
2 egg whites
3 cups cornmeal
salt and pepper to taste
2 sticks unsalted butter
sea salt

Instructions:
1. Lay out two pie dishes or shallow pans. Loosely whip together, just to loosen, the egg whites in one. Spread the cornmeal out in the other and season with salt and pepper. Dip the fish fillets in the egg white, and then in the cornmeal. Rest on wax paper while you are heating the butter.

2. Melt the butter in a wide skillet. Let the butter get very hot, and let it foam up and turn brown. Once it does that, remove from heat and let it sit for a minute, cooling down. Then, bring it very gently back up to medium high heat. Add the fish fillets, and let them cook to brown and crispy, 2 1/2 -3 minutes per side.

Sprinkle with sea salt, and serve immediately with Pimento Moida Aioli, Fennel and Purple Cabbage Salad, Chef Bousquet’s Salad, and Butternut Squash Polenta. Recipes below.

Chef Bousqet’s Pimenta Moida Aioli
makes almost 2 cups of aioli

Ingredients:
2 egg yolks plus a pinch of Pimenta Moida
1 1/2 cups olive oil or grapeseed oil, which is lighter
1 tablespoons Pimenta Moida
salt

Instructions:
1. In a medium bowl whisk together egg yolks and pinch of Pimenta Moida.

2. Very, very slowly at first, begin to drizzle the olive oil into the egg yolks, stirring very hard with a wooden spoon at the same time. The egg yolk should only thicken. Continue very very slowly pouring in the olive oil, always stirring. Once you have added at least a 1/2 cup, you can add the oil a little bit faster, but never too fast.

3. Once the olive oil is completely stirred in (This will take about 10 minutes), stir in the remaining Pimenta Moida. Taste for salt.

Chef Bousquet’s Fennel and Purple Cabbage Salad
serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 small head purple cabbage
1 small bulb fennel
1 tablespoons salt
2-3 tablespoons, or to taste, Pimento Moida Aioli

Instructions:
1.Thinly slice cabbage and fennel. Toss vegetables together in a large colander, and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. Rinse the vegetables under cold water, and squeeze out all the moisture. Return vegetables to a large bowl, and toss with Pimento Moida Aioli to taste.

Chef Bousquet’s Butternut Squash Polenta
serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 small butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds) peeled and diced
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
4 cups fume (see recipe below) or cold water
1 cup corn meal
1 tablespoon fresh oregano

Instructions:
1. In a medium saucepan on medium high cook diced squash with 2 tablespoons butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Simmer until squash is tender, adding a little water if the squash gets too dry.

2. In a separate medium sauce pan put the cold water or fume. Add cornmeal in a stream while whisking at the same time. Bring water up to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes, or until polenta is thick and bubbling.

3. When polenta is thick, whisk in 1/4 cup butter and 1/2 tablespoon salt, tasting for seasoning.

4. Gently bruise the oregano, rubbing a few leaves between your hands. Add that to the polenta. Finally, fold in the butternut squash. Serve with Cornmeal Crusted Pollock in Brown Butter.

Chef Bouquet’s September Salad
serves 6-8

Ingredients:
4 ears roasted corn
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion or scallions
1/4 cup chopped fennel fronds
2 tablespoons olive oil, or to taste
1 tablespoon Pimento Moida, or to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Remove the kernels from the roasted corn. Toss all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Taste for seasoning.

Chef Bouquet’s fume
makes 4 cups

Ingredients:
4 cups water
fronds and stems from 1 fennel bulb, chopped
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
2 corn cobs
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions:
1. Put all ingredients in a pot, and simmer for 30 minutes.

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