Cod, Traditional Flavors Powdered

Molecular Gastronomy. To me this is a form of eating best left for those who have experienced every thrill the food world can offer and must now push the boundaries into the realm of science and mystery to get their kicks. I still become giddy when I find a baby bok choy- so creating sugar bubbles filled with maple smoke just isn't high on my list right now. When the July Daring Kitchen challenge (hosted by Sketchy's Kitchen) turned out to be a recipe from the world famous molecular gastronomy restaurant Alinea, I seriously considered opting out. Not only would it be impossible to find a skate wing within 500 miles, but the thought of making all those powders without a spice grinder or a dehydrator didn't excite me very much.

However Mr. B happened to take an unplanned business trip to the "big city" and offered to stop by Whole Foods. He asked me for a list, and when I wrote down 'skate wings' I think his eyebrows just about shot off his head. Fortunately for him Whole Foods was out of skate wings (or so he claimed) and we ended up with a fillet of cod instead. (Side Note: When it comes to procuring skate wings for this challenge I am in AWE of climbinghiak who caught his own skate while fishing in Alaska.)

So I set out to tackle my first molecular gastronomy recipe with a big dose of skepticism and (I must admit) a tiny bit of curiosity. I dried out the powders in my microwave, coming *this* close to burning a few, and then proceeded to grind them over the course of a few days. By the time I was finished I had: dried caper powder, dried cilantro/parsley powder, dried lemon peel/citric acid powder, dried red onion powder, and a dried banana chip/milk powder. That was a LOT of powders!

Once the powders were behind me, preparing the fish was actually rather straightforward. A beurre monte (created by whisking cubes of butter into a small amount of water and forming an emulsion) served as the poaching liquid for both the fish and the green beans. The poaching took place quickly. Then I spread out the powders and plated the fish on top of banana slices and the beans.

Mr. B selected a bottle of Conundrum wine to accompany the dinner, and we sat down to enjoy our first molecular meal. As I stared at the plate in front of me, I thought "this had better be worth all of the fussing". I took a piece of the fish with banana and dipped it into the powders. Once in my mouth the flavors really started to pop. Citric acid made my lips pucker, the onion powder gave everything a smoky depth, and the banana added a cool creamy texture. Very interesting.

Then I took a bite of the beans- WOW. There are no words to describe how awesome the beans tasted. They were unequivocally the best green beans I have ever eaten. Yes you simply slice them very thinly and poach them in butter, but somehow that transforms the flavor into an out of this world green bean experience. As I spooned some more beans onto my plate Mr. B watched me closely and then protested, "Leave some for me!" Apparently he thought that they were the best beans he'd ever encountered too. We didn't quite count out the rounds of beans to make sure they were equally shared, but it almost got to that point!

Would I make the fish again? No, probably not. While the powders were interesting and quite lively in flavor, I honestly would have been just as happy with a nice spice rub. However I would complete the entire challenge again just to have the recipe for those beans! So because I love all of you I'm going to share that recipe here. If you are interested in the entire fish recipe you can find it over at The Daring Kitchen.

A quick note on the wine:

Mr. B nailed it with this pairing. Conundrum is a sophisticated French-style white wine with a mouthwatering array of flavors. The nose was light and pleasing with an aroma of butterscotch. After a sip, the wine tasted honeyed with elements of apricot and banana. Yet the sweet flavor profile did not leave an unpleasant coating on the tongue, instead the wine was well balanced with a clean finish. When enjoyed with the food the wine became even more lush and the flavors mingled together in a way that elevated both the wine and the food to new heights.

Green Beans in Beurre Monte (Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

300g fresh green beans
1 stick butter, cubed and cold
115g water, divided
Salt

Directions:

Place 15g water in a small pot and bring it to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter, only a few cubes at a time. The butter should slowly melt and form an emulsion with the water. Place the pot back over low heat, and keep the liquid warm, but under 195 degrees. (This prevents the emulsion from breaking.)

Trim the ends off of the green beans and then slice them into very thin rounds (about 2 mm).

Add 100g of water to the buerre monte (you should have equal amounts of buerre monte and water) and bring it to a boil. Add the green bean slices into the pot and boil over high heat. Cook the beans, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has almost evaporated and then pan is starting to look dry. (About 4 minutes.) Remove pot from heat and season beans with salt to taste.