Grilled Salmon Dolmades, Pine Nut Lemon Sauce

dolmades dolmades, dolma, dolmades image, salmon dolmades

GRΣΣK MΣZΣ MAKΣΦVΣR
Grilled Salmon Dolmades, Pine Nut Lemon Sauce

grilled dolmades, pine nut lemon sauce

Hello and welcome to the 5 Star Makeover Taverna, a unique virtual restaurant specializing in Greek mezes, featuring a twist on classic ingredients and recipes. My contribution to the Taverna is Grilled Salmon Dolmades with a Pine Nut Lemon Sauce. Here, grape leaves are stuffed with fresh Alaska King Salmon that has been grilled on a cedar plank, along with sticky brown rice, crumbled feta, chopped kalamata olives, and fresh dill. The grape leaves are brushed with olive oil and cooked over a hot fire until the grape leaves start to crisp and char. The tangy sauce is make from pine nuts, lemon, red pepper flakes, dill, and olive oil. Grilled lemons accompany the platters.

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For Your Next Party: The Black Course

black course, short rib in grape leaf, mole

the black course:
negra modelo beer braised beef short rib with chile de arbol
wrapped in a grape leaf with oaxacan black mole sauce
black mission figs, shiitake mushrooms

crispy grape leaf chip, sesame ash, black sesame seed, cacao nibs

Of the seven courses we served at our fundraiser dinner, the black course is my creative favorite. I looked to Mexican cuisine experts – Chefs Rick Bayless, Patricia Quintana, and Javier Plascencia for inspiration. I learned about making sesame ash while Guest-Chef-for-the-Day at Moto Restaurant in Chicago last January and had been wanting to try Chef Homaro Cantu’s modernist technique in a dish ever since.  What appears to be ash is black sesame seed oil converted into a powder. It serves visual interest as well as a flavor complement to the sesame seed in the mole.

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