(FISH) SANDO SEASON
it's time to start sandwiching, and other cooking related recommendations
There is an anticipation for tried & true recipes coming back year after year: fried squash blossoms, fava beans and artichokes come to mind. I write often about the seasonality of cooking; and how utilizing peak season ingredients creates maximum flavor. But the excitement for the season is more so about the things I love to eat, the twinge of nostalgia I have around (food) memories – yes, that’s how I’m wired. Sandwiches fall into this “seasonal”category for me. Maybe it’s the al fresco dining that denotes we’ll be in places where forks and knives are less practical like at a picnic or on the beach. Or that by the time the weather gets good I just enjoy the simplicity of a sandwich.
This fish sando is not your average battered and fried filet o’fish, it’s a lazy fancy. A mouth-watering mix of cajun “blackened” spices on grilled fish, crunchy colorful slaw of radishes, green cabbage and whole parsley leaves, herbaceous aioli, all held together between two toasty slices of a brioche bun. It’s just begging for a table of friends, a great bottle of wine on a sunny day.
On the topic of cooking things like this fish sandwich, outdoor cooking (on grills or indoor grill pans) and making aioli – all things you need to make this recipe. We need to talk about high-heat, neutral oils. For years no oil on the market existed that could withstand the heat and master the job of a neutral oil in cooking without being refined, seed oil. IYKYK, and if you don’t refined, seed oils are horrible for you, are found in most shelf-stable milk alternatives, and used in almost every restaurant (even the really good ones) which is one of the core reasons that eating out for every meal isn’t recommended for health (sanity and pleasure is another topic). More on that from my friend Mia, a certified nutritionist, HERE.
While I’ve always been a health-minded cook but not dogmatic about it, I begrudgingly use Grapeseed and Sunflower oil in recipes because of a lack of a better alternative, and Avocado Oil wasn’t making the cut. To my relief, this Algae Oil (code OliviaM for a discount) was developed, I tested it in a few recipes, and promptly cleared the line-up of oils in my pantry. In short, it’s great, order it. Amusing anecdote: a friend of mine uses the same algae supplier to manufacture his sustainable ski and snowboards, WNDR Alpine. It appears that Algae is the wonder ingredient we all were searching for.