Taste With The Eyes

Dungeness Crab Nigiri

🦀 Dungeness Crab Nigiri 🦀
Miso-Garlic Mayonnaise, Shiso Leaves, Chives

The sweet ocean-y taste of Dungeness crab is complemented by the fresh herbal notes of shiso leaves – reminiscent of mint, lemon, anise, and basil. The miso mayonnaise adds creamy, nutty, garlicky, and umami characteristics. This two-bite nigiri sushi is a morsel of delight with a complex sweet/savory/herby flavor.

Dungeness crabs get their name from the port of Dungeness, Washington. They are found along the West Coast of North America, typically from Alaska’s Aleutian Islands to Point Conception, near Santa Barbara, California.

Dungeness Crab Nigiri

Dungeness Crab Nigiri Recipe

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Basque Matcha Cheesecake

With the addition of one single component, Japanese Matcha Green Tea Powder, the now-famous cheesecake has morphed into something completely different. Here, the cake has a gorgeous striking green color, and the flavor has also changed dramatically. The recipe brings together ingredients from Basque and Japanese cultures for a novel fusion dessert.

We’ve made Basque BURNT Cheesecake several times, and it is always a big hit. With no fruit topping, no crust and five simple ingredients – cream cheese, sugar, salt, eggs, and cream – it is astonishing how absolutely fabulous the original cheesecake actually is…it is baked in a very hot oven so the top and bottom caramelize where the insides remain soft and luxurious.

The cheesecake recipe was originally developed by Santiago Rivera, Chef of La Viña in San Sebastian, Spain. The Chef says, “Its popularity amongst our clients have become La Viña Restaurant’s Cheese Cream Cake a great classic of the San Sebastian cuisine.”

Matcha Green Tea has an intense and complex flavor profile with vegetal grassy flavors, a unique sweet nuttiness, and savory umami notes.

The vibrant green hue is due to the high concentration of chlorophyll in the leaves, a result of the bushes being covered up in shade for about 3 weeks before harvesting. The whole leaves are steamed, dried, and then finally stone ground to a fine powder.

Basque Matcha Cheesecake

Basque Matcha Cheesecake Recipe

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Crispy Skin Black Cod, Spinach Dashi

Here is a black cod dish inspired by Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, but probably not in the way one would think. The legendary chef’s arguably most popular recipe is Miso Marinated Black Cod. A preparation that is absolutely worth every accolade. We recently enjoyed his signature black cod fillet at Nobu Paris Las Vegas, along with several other incredible dishes.

But here, I am preparing Alaska black cod simply, sautéed with crispy skin. It is served over a complex broth inspired by Nobu’s cookbook Nobu West where he shares a soup made with watercress (or spinach), dashi, and soy milk.

Black cod’s silky-rich luxurious flesh and its contrasting crispy skin are complemented by the extraordinary broth where spinach brings bright earthy green flavor and color, dashi adds umami and hints of the sea, tamari for salty notes, soy milk for a light creaminess, and rice vinegar for acidity. Steamed white rice is served on the side, it is heavenly dipped in the spinach dashi. Micro watercress is a nod to Chef Nobu’s original recipe.

Crispy Skin Black Cod, Spinach Dashi

Nobu's Miso Black Cod @ Paris Las Vegas — Nobu’s Miso Black Cod @ Paris Las Vegas

Crispy Skin Black Cod, Spinach Dashi Recipe

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Lamb Shanks with Cassoulet Beans

Lamb Shanks and Cassoulet Beans

Slow-Braised Lamb Shanks
Smoky Cassoulet Beans
With Kalamata Olives and Cherry Tomatoes
Gremolata Condiment

This is the second of two quick, slow-braised lamb shank dinners. QUICK and SLOW? Yes, as the lamb shanks are already slow-braised, from the refrigerated section at Costco. Are they as good as home-cooked braised shanks that take 2 1/2 hours? Of course not, but for a fast impressive meal, they rock. And the beautiful beans here are cooked one day ahead so assembling the entire dish takes less than 30 minutes.

The beans from Rancho Gordo are grown in California from classic French Tarbais seed stock. This white runner bean was developed over generations by French farmers to be the foundation for a traditional cassoulet. The combination of beans, olives, and tomatoes simmered with smoked paprika and red wine paired with lamb is heavenly.

Gremolata – a mix of chopped fresh parsley/lemon zest/garlic – adds an invigorating freshness and brightness to most braised meats. It builds another interesting layer onto this outstanding dish.

Lamb Shanks and Cassoulet Beans

Lamb Shanks and Cassoulet Beans Recipe

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Parisian Tuna Tartare

Albacore Tuna Tartare in the “French Steak” Style

By many accounts, Restaurant Le Duc was the first in Paris to serve Nouvelle raw fish beginning around 1975, including salmon tartare and tuna tartare. In 1984 at Chaya Brasserie in Beverly Hills, Chef Shigefumi Tachibe put tuna tartare on the map. But STEAK tartare appeared in bistros long before, as early as the late 19th century in France.

This Parisian version of tuna tartare has none of the current popular ingredients – no avocado, no sesame oil, no ginger, no soy sauce. It is prepared in the old style of French Steak Tartare with classic components including onion, capers, pickles, and egg.

The sauce is a combination of mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Instead of the standard raw egg yolk, a hard boiled egg yolk is pressed through a course mesh sieve to make a rich fluffy addition to the condiments.

Sushi-quality raw albacore tuna has a soft, buttery texture and mild flavor. The meat of albacore tuna species is white or pale pink in color. Albacore is simply lovely in this Parisian style first course, which is equally stellar as a happy hour appetizer with a glass of Rosé…

Parisian Tuna Tartare