Рецепт Branzino with Arugula Sauce
Armani
Ristorante hasn’t exactly barged its way into the New York culinary scene. Some wags have even suggested that Giorgio
Armani opened the place solely to be able to enjoy pasta his way. He’d made no
effort to conceal his displeasure with the heavily sauced pastas he’d been
served in New York. The restaurant, on the
third floor of the flagship Armani store at 717 Fifth Ave. (Tel: 212 207 1902),
has a lunch following that drops off the minute the store closes. It’s then that you use the entrance right
around the corner on 56th Street. But
things may well be on the upswing with the arrival of Sandro Romano.
Chef Romano in his kitchen
Chef Romano was at The Modern, the
wildly successful Danny Meyer restaurant at the Museum of Modern Art for 8
years. To salute his arrival, Florence
Fabricant of the New York Times approached the chef for a recipe to complement
an article on Greek wines. The Chef came
up with a recipe for Branzino with a semi-warm arugula sauce that the roasted
fish sits on. It has the bitterness of
arugula combined with enough citrus to give the sauce some acidity which is
very complimentary to the floral quality of Greek wines. And it’s a breeze to make, taking all of 40
minutes from start to finish.
Branzino
may be the name the fish is most commonly called in this country. But it has a number of other names including
European seabass. The French give it not
one but two names: On the Atlantic Coast it’s called Bar Commun and in the Mediterranean, Loup de Mer. In Greece, it’s called ‘lavraki’
and is so prized that Greek journalists use ‘lavraki’ when they refer to
high-value news stories. It is a
wonderful white fish and wildly popular in New York restaurants. Native to the East
Atlantic, it gets a “Best Choice” award from www.seafoodwatch.org. That designation comes because the vast
majority of bronzini are farmed in Nova Scotia.
Amazingly, this is done on
land-based farms so there’s no contamination of the ocean’s eco-system. There is something very satisfying about
knowing your fish choice is given the thumbs up by SeafoodWatch.
There’s
also great satisfaction in making this dish you dinner. For one thing, it makes
a great meatless Monday meal. And a
guilt-free one at that because not only is the fish giving you a healthy bite
of Omega 3 fatty acids, the arugula itself is one of the most nutritious of
greens. According to a recent article in
the New York Times, nutrition is being bred out of our vegetables. (http://mwr.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/opinion/sunday/breeding-the-nutrition-out-of-our-food.html?from=sunday-review)
Arugula, called Rocket in other
parts of the English-speaking world, is a great healthy choice. Arugula has only been domesticated since the
1970s, so food scientists haven’t yet messed with its goodness. It’s rich in
the cancer-fighting compound glucosinolates and higher in anti-oxidants than
many other greens. Together with some
chervil, flat-leaf parsley, lemon juice and an egg to bind the whole thing
together, it’s a revelation. The other
thing that makes this dish attractive, is the great ‘gremolata’ of pink
peppercorns, lemon zest and fresh thyme that brings color to the fish. Here is the recipe:
Recipe for Branzino with Arugula Sauce from Chef Sandro Romano of
Armani Ristorante, NYC with thanks to Florence Fabricant.
Serves 2.* Takes 40 minutes start to finish
- 1/3 cup
- plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2
- branzino or other white-fleshed fish fillets, with skin, about 12 ounces each
- 1/2
- teaspoon fleur de sel
- 1/2
- teaspoon pink peppercorns, crushed
- 1/2
- teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 2 cups
- arugula, plus a few sprigs for garnish
- 1/3 cup
- flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1 1/2
- tablespoons lemon juice
- Salt and ground black pepper
- Heat
- oven to 400 degrees. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil, add egg, cook 6
minutes, drain and set aside.
Place a Silpat or sheet of parchment paper in a
baking dish large enough to hold the fish. Brush Silpat or paper with 1/2
tablespoon oil.
Brush fish on both sides with another 1/2 tablespoon of oil and
place in dish, skin side down. Combine fleur de sel, pink peppercorns, thyme
and lemon zest and scatter on fish.
Peel
egg and coarsely chop. Into a blender, add egg, arugula, chervil, parsley, 3
tablespoons water, the lemon juice and the 1/3 cup olive oil. Process to a fine
purée. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Put fish in the oven and bake 12 to 15 minutes, until just
cooked through. Spread sauce on each of 2 warm dinner plates. Make a bed for the fish with the arugula sauce and place each fillet
on top of it. Season
fish with salt and pepper. Serve.