Fruit or consequences
New creations at McCormick & Schmick’s spark a salmon run in reverse
By Dan O'Heron 06/26/2008
At a recent wild salmon festival at McCormick and Schmick’s, I discovered that there are disturbing parallels between Ireland’s 19th-century potato famine and America’s current tomato blight.
Relax. I’m not going to get cute with plays on words like “salmon” and “salmonella.” This is about necessity, invention and unintended consequences — serious stuff.
Back then in Ireland, North Atlantic salmon was a staple. But when the rough seas were unsailable, people relied on potatoes for sustenance. When the potatoes rotted, and there was no salmon on the table, Irish fishermen had to sell their boats to buy food — from the English.
Situations like this added fire to the revolutionary spirit of the Irish that would burn hot for centuries: rotten potatoes were often used as missiles to throw at poor performers in the English theater. The Irish potato eventually got better, but it never tasted quite as good again.
I don’t think the day will come when we throw rotten tomatoes in the Pasadena Playhouse, but some striking things are happening: Health departments are besieged with calls from restaurants as to what to do about the blight; already we’re not seeing much red in salads, unless it’s a beet, and more and more pasta sauces are coming out of cans.
Instead of shouting “thank heaven for Ragu,” one chef, José Alfredo Olmos at McCormick & Schmick’s, has dropped the hot tomato from the menu and come up with at least one delightful substitute: Featured as an opener in a recent wild salmon special dinner was Olmos’ signature Copper River martini (the glass without the gin). Normally in this lomi-lomi Hawaiian-style sushi recipe, pieces of raw, cured ivory salmon are mixed with sweet tomato relish.
But Olmos was inspired to use watermelon relish instead. “After I dropped the tomato, I tried everything for this dish — mango, pineapple, cucumber — but it wasn’t until I hit on watermelon that I came up with just the right sweetness and texture,” he said.
Compared to the tomato-based martini I’ve eaten before, this watermelon version was much better. Now, I’m not about to pounce on my garden and tear tomato stems into limp shreds, but if I get a few more of these goodies it will put a little wither on the bloom. How about seasoned butter on spaghetti instead of tomato sauce?
After the martini, I enjoyed a whitefish fumé with salmon from Alaska’s Stikine River. The salmon caviar cream was made from blue cheese, cream cheese, sherry wine, brown sugar and sweet secrets. This was followed by a Wellington-style Copper River King Salmon, wrapped in puff pastry and served with a three-berry compote.
Feasting on Olmos’ salmon specialties, tasted at both this festival and at regular dinners, has allowed me to understand why the Irish got so pissed off when they couldn’t get salmon and had to sell their boats. And they never even got Alaskan salmon, often described as the world’s finest.
“Wild Alaskan salmon tastes better because they eat better — feeding on shrimp, herring, squid, zooplankton and other marine life — and their health is protected by strict Alaskan environmental standards, as long as they get past the bears,” said Olmos.
“McCormick & Schmick’s gets the freshest available,” he continued. “We follow the salmon on their runs. In June, the best sockeye and kings come from the Copper River; in July the best sockeye should come from Bristol Bay, and in August, the freshest is coho from both the Copper River and Cook Inlet.”
Flash-frozen aboard the boat, fish is helicoptered from the rivers to Seattle and jetted here daily. “We get the whole fish,” said Olmos, which means “we save money over buying processed filets. And our guests have thicker slabs than they can get from pre-packaged goods.”
Olmos employs a variety of cooking methods: The fish comes grilled, pan-seared, steamed, charbroiled, baked and planked on cedar. With skin on in dry heat, he can make the salmon crackle beneath the knife: crisp on the outside, dewily moist within.
He’s clever with desserts too. At the salmon event, Olmos prepared a fresh passion fruit mousse tart with brandied apricots marinated in Grand Marnier, grilled, then splashed with Grand Marnier (this time flavored with brown sugar) and ignited.
Compatible wines for various entrees and dessert included a Kendall Jackson Chardonnay, 2006, an Italian Pinot Grigio, an Oregon Pinot Noir and a Monterey Riesling.
A most delicious aftertaste comes with the idea that salmon is actually good for you. It’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are believed to reduce levels of blood fats linked to cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association recommends that healthy adults sample a variety of fish at least twice a week — preferably oily fish, such as salmon.
Chef Olmos’ ways with salmon make such a diet regimen very easy to take.
Contact Dan O’Heron at dannyodiner@sbcglobal.net.
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