Hawaii is one of my favorite places in the world.  As I sit her all bundled up in layers and blankets, I can’t help but dream of being on a sandy beach in Maui at the moment. There is something magical about paddling the crystal blue waters that do wonders for my soul. Or maybe I miss the fresh, caught that day seafood, the taste of a pineapple just cut off the vine, or eating passion fruit by the spoonful. It’s the food of Hawaii that has captured my heart. The simple clean ingredients come together in the most beautiful and delicious ways. Having been a chef for years now, I have discovered that often times the simplest dishes can often be the most elegant. Great dishes don’t have to comprise of thousands of ingredients to be amazing. In fact when I was working in fine dining often the best dishes are comprised of the least ingredients, but those ingredients were the best possible. The best tip I can give you for being a good cook is: use nothing but the best ingredients and keep them simple. Like this dish of fresh caught Snapper with papaya salad and blood orange emulsion.  Simple, elegant, seasonal and delicious!

SNAPPER WITH PAPAYA SALAD AND BLOOD ORANGE EMULSION

Serves 2

 

Papaya Salad:

Ingredients:

½- large ripe Papaya, julienned

3 -heirloom carrots, julienned

¼ cup red onion, small diced

3 TBS Cilantro, chopped

1 lime, juiced

1 TBS Fish Sauce

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Blood Orange Emulsion:

2-Blood Oranges, supreme and juiced

1-Nval Orange, supreme and juiced

2 TBS Shallots, brunoised

1 TBS- Ginger, chopped fine

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Snapper:

2-Fresh Snapper Filets

Salt and Pepper

3 TBS Vegetable Oil

 

Garnish:

Fresh Lime

Scallions cut on the bias

Orange Supremes

 

Directions:

Papaya Salad:

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set Aside.

 Blood Orange Emulsion:

Set aside the orange Supremes in a bowl you will use these for garnishing your plate. In a saucepan combine orange juices, shallots and ginger. Bring to a bowl and reduce by about ¼. The mixture should be slightly thick. This takes about 5 minutes. Then whisk in the olive oil constantly whisking as you pour the oil into the pan. This is how the emulsion is formed.  Once the all the oil in whisked in. Keep it warm over low heat.

 Snapper:

In a fry pan add the vegetable oil and heat the pan on high heat for about 3 minutes or until the pan is nice and hot. Gently blot the snapper filets with a paper towel to remove any moisture. Season the filets with salt and pepper. Add the filets to the pan skin side down first. Then let cook till they remove themselves from the pan. Then flip the filets over and cook for about 2 more minutes or until the filets reach an internal temp of 125F. I like to pull my filets off the pan at 125F and let the carry over cooking take them to an internal temp of 130F.

 Plating:

On a plate first add about a ½ cup of the papaya salad down first. Then add the snapper onto. Garnish with the orange Supremes, and scallions. Drizzle the Blood Orange Emulsion over the filet and around the plate.

 *Note: an Emulsion in the culinary world refers to a mixture of two liquids that would not ordinarily mix together. For example in this recipe I make an emulsion out of reduced juice and olive oil. This is a temporary emulsion because there a binder is not present to keep it together permanently.