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Does this sound like a good flavor profile?

6K views 49 replies 15 participants last post by  flipflopgirl 
#1 ·
Got hired for a tasting menu gig. I'm going Mediterranean, as I have much experience and would love to play around with the basics that I've learned.

How about an advieh/panko crusted pan-seared trout with a caper-dill aioli?

I can try this soon, but am curious as to how the advieh would play against the capers and dill, and if anyone's tried this combination before.

Peace
 
#2 · (Edited)
That doesn’t sound very Mediterranean?? And no I don’t think the advieh would work with the aioli. Pick one or the other but I wouldn’t marry both.

I think you’re trying to do too much. Mediterranean food is fairly simple. You wouldn’t have cinnamon with capers with dill with garlic with turmeric etc...

For example a pan fried trout (forget the breading, just lightly floured), deglaze the pan with lemon juices, capers and maybe sprinkle with Panko that was fried in olive oil, maybe some fresh parsley.
 
#25 ·
That doesn't sound very Mediterranean?? And no I don't think the advieh would work with the aioli. Pick one or the other but I wouldn't marry both.

I think you're trying to do too much. Mediterranean food is fairly simple. You wouldn't have cinnamon with capers with dill with garlic with turmeric etc...

For example a pan fried trout (forget the breading, just lightly floured), deglaze the pan with lemon juices, capers and maybe sprinkle with Panko that was fried in olive oil, maybe some fresh parsley.
Doesn't sound very Mediterranean? You mean you've never had beef schawerma with tzaziki sauce? If not, do it.

I agree, I would not have cinnamon with capers and dill and garlic, but advieh, shawerma, ras al hanout, etc? I have. Which is why I believe this would work.

I like your recipe idea.
 
#4 ·
I don't think they have trout in the Mediterranean, do they?

@french fries is spot on, I think. Med food is very simple.

Try using a more substantial fish such as cod or if feasible, halibut. Place the fish in a pocket made with parchment. Add blanched, young white or red potatoes largely diced, diced tomatoes, diced onion, sliced Kalamata olives, salt/pepper, cumin, fresh ground coriander see (toasted first), cayenne pepper, capers, a couple crushed cloves of garlic, lemon zest and a pinch of cinnamon.

Close up the parchment pouch and bake @ 350'f for about 30 minutes or until the fish is flaky and the potatoes are tender.

Good luck. :)
 
#7 ·
I agree, I think the cinnamon and cardamom, tumeric, etc would not go great with the caper/garlic aioli. There are, however, a lot of med. chili peppers that might be nice in a breading or coating...Aleppo (or at least, Aleppo style as I don't think you can get true Aleppo pepper powder right now), Espelette pepper, even Turkish Urfa Biber might work.

I don't think they have trout in the Mediterranean, do they?

:)
Try using a more substantial fish such as cod or if feasible, halibut.
Halibut and Cod are no more native to the Med. than trout...?? (I assume you weren't talking about salt cod, which, while not native, has at least a long tradition?)

Listen, I think trout is fine. If you do it with a med. flair and are inspired by the flavors I have no problem. I also don't see how he's "trying to do too much" when he's literally said 2 things that will be on the plate. I agree that the advieh is not the right spice for the dish, but I think trout and lemon/garlic/caper sounds fine.

I've done brown butter aioli's several times before, that might be a good base flavor for the capers and trout.

I do think that you'll need more on the plate, as I don't see some aioli and a piece of fish on a plate as a "course." What is the rest of your menu?
 
#5 ·
Hey redbeerd,

Have you tried it yet?

I think it could work if you have a real delicate hand on the advieh. But I always think there is a way to make unusual combinations work though! This is a little further out of the box to make me comfortable but, until I tried your presentation, I won't condemn the flavors.

A favorite treatment of mine, with Capers, is pressing out excess liquid, "frying" for 4-5 minutes in Olive Oil at 250F until they open and lose more moisture, without browning them, then putting on paper towel in 250F oven for 30 min. Nice garnish with the open, uncolored look, and concentrated flavors. Works for me at least...

Sounds like a fun event! I hope you can find time to post the final menu, and the photos that the waitress/bartender/dishwasher will take too!

Good luck!
 
#29 ·
Not yet. My evening is slotted in September, which gives me time to work out any kinks I may come across. But I DO need to try this soon.

Yes, one must be delicate with spice combos like advieh and all its kin.

I'm genuinely interested: what is so out of the box about this idea? I got the idea by Mediterranean-izing the common American fried fish with tartar sauce. Except for the depth of flavor of the advieh, all the other elements of the flavor profile are pretty much the same: white flaky fish, creamy sauce with green acid element...

You might be onto something with the capers as a garnish idea...would give a better element to the presentation, too.

If someone happens to take photos, I'll be sure to post 'em.
 
#30 ·
I agree, too. I did not post the menu, just the idea for the seafood element of the menu.

Trout is found in the Med. Advieh isn't Med, per se, but VERY similar to the Arab-centric spice mixes found in the Med. Garlic aoili is called "toum" in the Arab Med. By adding a bit of yogurt, dill, and capers to the aoili, I can effectively turn it into a radical tzakiki sauce.

Though I haven't shared to many recipes of my own in my time on this fine site, my philosophy for my culinary endeavor is essentially, "Making the familiar new, and the new familiar". I try to learn how one's grandmother would cook the food she grew up on. I try to learn to do it well. So well, in fact, that if I fed it to one's grandmother, she would approve. Then, I will try to take that and give it to someone who has never had it before, but with a flavor profile and a presentation that would entice one who normally wouldn't go there, and make them repeat customers.

I am The Poor Gourmand.
 
#33 ·
Thanks for asking! I'm really overwhelmed at the interest from y'all; most of y'all are Kitchen OGs that are the reason that I began to frequent this site. I am not worthy!

So, then...

Kalamata Olive & Oyster Mushroom Tapenade Crostini- Tapenade over roasted red pepper hummus on toasted pita rounds

Cucumber & Tomato "Spaghetti" Salad- Spaghetti-spiraled cucumbers with cherry tomato "meatballs", red onions, and tzatziki sauce.

Batata Harra- Spicy, pan-seared potatoes with truffle oil (yeah...I know) and cilantro-garlic-walnut pesto

Pan-Seared Trout- Advieh crusted w/ caper/dill aioli (though the Sgt Major has me thinking about frying-out and sprinkling the capers...)

Grilled Lamb Kebabs- ground lamb marinated in parsley, shallots, and personal spice blend with zataar (toasted thyme, coriander, cumin, sesame, and sumac), chargrilled, with honey-sambal sauce and toum (garlic aioli).

Mandarin & Prickly Pear Sorbet w/ Champagne- a shot with a scoop
 
#16 ·
The general idea of Mediterranean food is to keep things simple wth transparent flavors that allow the proteins to shine. The heavy Persian spicing is not quite Mediterranean.

Most Greeks would be horrified if you put anything other than salt and freshly squeezed lemon juice on their fish. Anything more and they claim that they can’t taste the fish anymore. This is extreme but is the basic idea of Mediterranean philosophy.
 
#31 ·
The general idea of Mediterranean food is to keep things simple wth transparent flavors that allow the proteins to shine. The heavy Persian spicing is not quite Mediterranean.

Most Greeks would be horrified if you put anything other than salt and freshly squeezed lemon juice on their fish. Anything more and they claim that they can't taste the fish anymore. This is extreme but is the basic idea of Mediterranean philosophy.
I understand everything that you've typed. However, my understanding of Mediterranean cuisine is that it includes:

Greece, Italy, and Spain; North African countries, such as Algeria, Libya and Morocco; and Middle Eastern countries, such as Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.

This provides a very wide spectrum for the palate, and it's how I approach Med food.
 
#17 ·
All,

I would love to take two years to drive from Morocco to Spain along the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Then do a Mediterranean tasting menu from each of the countries! Of course, it goes without saying, that I would exclude any North African and Middle eastern food...

Right?
 
#18 ·
Aioli is very typical in Mediterranean cuisine (Spain, Provence, Malta, Sicily), as are capers and dill. Advieh is Persian/Caucasian, but there are plenty of similar Eastern Mediterranean spice blends for fish (masgouf, etc), so I think it would work well. The caper-dill aioli is essentially a sauce tartare/remoulade, and plenty of sauce tartares have gherkins pickled with cinnamon. Sounds delicious to me.

Also, I disagree with the idea that Mediterranean food is simple and light. Lasagna, pastitsio, moussaka, paella, cevirme, etc. are all Mediterranean and heavily spiced and very hearty. Mediterranean cuisine isn't inherently heavy or light, it's just a way of combining flavors & foods native to a certain region, not an ideology. I also think sometimes people (not specifically anyone here, just in general) are a little too ethno-centric about the Mediterranean and completely ignore the substantial Middle Eastern/Islamic influence on Mediterranean cuisine and focus too heavily on one or two very small parts of the European Mediterranean.
 
#43 ·
OG it is.

I went out and purchased half a pound of steelhead trout. I thought I had some neutral panko at home, so I didn't buy any. Turns out I had garlic panko..."f*!K it". I poured advieh into the panko and mixed well. I seasoned the trout with salt and pepper and breaded the meaty side in the advieh panko. I heated up about 1/4"-in. of canola oil and placed the filet, panko side down, into the oil. Gave it about a minute, to crustify the coating. Yes, I just invented the word crustify. *full disclosure*, I didn't have the heat high enough for a good, golden crust. I flipped the filet and placed into a 350 degree Farenheit oven for about 6 minutes.

The garlic wasn't necessary, but palatable. The advieh worked out wonderfully, when used in subtle amounts, which I did.

With the proper amount of salt, the advieh stands up well and does in fact become the foundation for whatever else one would wish to do with the seasoning.

It will cap off my menu for the event.

thank you all...my OGs.

RedBeerd
 
#44 ·
warm and cool ... fire and water....
it is hard to find the proportion to balance theese two. One or the other can easily give and perish. Evaporate, die.
so is with warming, colorful advieh and cooling dill/caper aioli
Can you find the balance? you must try.

I would maybe pair advieh/panko trout with cardamom spiced youghurt cool sauce adorned with crunchy radishes
I would pair dill/caper aioli with steamed fillet of delicate milky fish adorned with sprouts and sprinkled with honey/mustard based sauce/vinaigrette
just wondering
 
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