crispy potato wrapped mahi mahi with brown butter and herb sauce

last night in a dream it occurred to me that the potato is a common link throughout almost every single nation in the world.  russia makes their vodka from these rooty veggies, south eastern vietnam uses sweet potatoes in their curries, in india potatoes are commonly used as fillers, in africa, sweet potatoes are used in stews along with lamb, and of course, in america, we have mashed potatoes, french fries, and baked potatoes.  potato latkes from poland, gnocchi from italy, potatoes au gratin from france! everyone loves potatoes!! i’d be a fool to think that potatoes are the only type of food that link countries together, but i must admit that i do have a soft spot for these veggies.

thankfully, i was in luck, seeing as i featured potatoes (russet and russian fingerling) as the main ingredient in a recent dinner.  chef michael symon (who basically is the master of creating all things divine) used potatoes as his secret ingredient in “how to cook like an iron chef”, and i was therefore inspired by one of his dishes.  seared halibut wrapped in potatoes.  so i suppose this recipe is slightly adapted from his which is found here.

Crunchy Potato Wrapped Mahi Mahi with a Brown Butter and Herb Sauce

one large russet potato
two fresh mahi mahi steaks (make sure they’re cleaned and remove the skin)
salt
pepper
olive oil
butter
a light green herb like parsely/oregano/tarragon
the juice of half a lemon
one shallot, thinly sliced

preheat oven to 375 degrees.

clean the mahi mahi, and let sit in a bowl of olive oil, salt, and pepper while preparing the other ingredients.  bring a pot of water to a boil, and while waiting, slice the russet potatoe in half, lengthwise, and then either with a mandolin, a peeler, or a knife, cut very thin slices of the whole of the potato.  these potato slices should be about quarter of an inch thick.  when the water is boiling, put the potato slices in, and cook for about two minutes.  it’s very important that you do not over cook these potatoes, or else they will be too malliable and end up as mashed potatoes.

let the potato slices cool, and then remove the mahi mahi from the bowl of oil and place on a piece of plastic wrap.  make a bed of the cook potato slices, and put the fish on top, and then with the extra ends, wrap them over the fish, ideally so that they touch.  if your slices are too small to do this, it’s okay, just put a different potato slice on the exposed part of the fish.  wrap the fish, which should now be covered in potato slices, up with the plastic wrap to ensure that the package stays intact.  set this in the refridgerator for 5 minutes while slowly heating your oil over medium heat.  you can use whatever type of oil you want, but i used canola oil.  next sear both sides of the fish covered in potatos until crispy, and then put in the oven for five to seven minutes so the mahi mahi finishes cooking.

while the fish is finishing in the oven, take the pan you cooked the fish in, and over medium heat, add half a stick of unsalted butter (if you have clarified butter, that’s even better) and fresh herbs to the pan, and cook until it reaches a nice caramel color.  upon reaching the caramel color, immediately add the juice of half a lemon, and remove from heat, stirring the sauce to take out the clumps.  set sauce aside, and then dress your fish to your taste.

a summer of food & bev.

this summer, like any of the past summers, has been spent doing various things.  one thing however, that became evident from early on, was the idea of indulging on delicious, quality, succulent food.  that was my goal, and i am pretty sure i can safely say i accomplished it.  i went without a camera for a mere 4 days in korea, but of course, those four days produced the best meals i consumed over the course of two weeks- so keep in mind, while i do feature delicious korean food in the post below, my favorite dishes (bossam & udon with soybean sauce) are not described.  they will be… once i get back to korea and take the photos i should have taken on my four day hiatus.  this compilation is self-serving, just so i can see a very small modpodge of the food i consumed over the course of summer 2010 (best one in my lifetime)… thus far.

clearly i fell in love with big bowls of greek yoghurt with wild raspberries and homemade granola in pemaquid.

and paella, chalk full of chorizo, fresh green peas, tender chicken, and roma tomatoes- created by the lovely melissa.

oh right, the paella? cooked on an outdoor stone oven… by the ocean… at our private campsite.

who can forget the classic silly’s double bacon cheeseburger? it’s how i grew up to be a healthy girl.

isaac branched out with a silly version of chicken parmesean… he’s a bit braver than i tend to be at silly’s.

summer initiation party, with meredith- hosted june 4th.  on the menu- avacado, endive, and daikon salad, cucumbers and goat cheese, parmesean rosemary ciabatta, farafelle with scallops and pernod sauce,  & sauteed brussel sprouts with proscuitto.

two of my foodiest buds- m and isaac- joining me for a little bit of hipsterdom, on top of our favorite lookout.  pbr’s included.

another group of foodies- eli, who also hails from the wunderbar 207 & juju bear, who resides in hawaii.  they helped me on my seoul adventure, with isaac.

bibim bap in jenjou.  probably the best bibim bap i’ve ever consumed.  perfectly fried egg, shredded carrots, ample amounts of bean sprouts, thinly sliced mushroom, and lots of yummy spinach.  not to mention two helpings of red pepper sauce.

don katsu.  though it’s traditionally from japan, the underground marketplace in seoul, makes a mean version of this soul-soothing meal.  the pork was fried in a way that no katsu-places in the US of A could ever replicate, the salad had an apple/melon dressing… oddly enough, i ate all of it, there were perfectly pickled radishes and carrots, delicious kimchi, and of course a nice helping of ricerice.  can you believe this was classified as a “quick” 20 minute meal…?

i certainly miss all the food stands of seoul- especially their dried seafood ones.  the itty bitty octopus/squids are really crunchy and delicious.

on the way to the bhuddist temple- the salad was really delicious, and the bulgoki was nice too.

best bbq chicken kabob ever.  ordered as spicy as you can make it, and i cried for about 10 minutes, out of both pure ecstacy/delight and pain.  i will be making many trips to seoul for this sole (seoul) purpose… hehehe, pun… did you get it?

i suppose i was right about my prediction of the rose.  it was delicious- especially after i left it to age another few months.  in combination with stale pbrs and a hot summer night, i thought the wine made me a bit classier than usual.

my typical breakfast- vegan cran and nut muffin, strawberries, mango juice dilluted, and passionfruit guava icelandic yoghurt.

you should await volume 2.  more photos to come.

PS: if my spelling is off, blame it on the ah ah ah alcohol and all of those jello-shots i did yesterday.