feature
GO FOR
GROUPER
Preetam Pardeshi, executive chef of WaterSound Beach Club, shares the recipe and inspiration for the Club’s hottest dish. BY ABIGAIL ABESAMIS DEMAREST
YOU CAN FIND GROUPER on almost every menu on 30A, but chef Preetam Pardeshi has come up with something truly unique for Club Members to enjoy. The dish is blackened grouper with wilted baby spinach and Parmesan risotto, topped with blue crab and lemon beurre blanc. Is your mouth watering yet? Chef Preetam explained that the dish features Italian influences, drawing upon his experience working in a fine dining Italian restaurant under his mentor, Giovanni Parella. “At that time it was a pasta and seafood restaurant, so we used to pair different items with risotto,” he said. His grouper dish for 30°86° at WaterSound Beach Club is a twist on a recipe he’s been playing around with since 2006. He’s swapped out the ricotta cheese in the risotto and creamed spinach for aged Parmigiano-Reggiano and spinach sautéed with garlic and olive oil. The resulting dish is much lighter and packed with flavor. It’s topped with lemon beurre blanc, which melds the flavors of the grouper, spinach and risotto together, and blue crab — a 30A favorite for crab cakes. “We use the same crab meat as a topping to add to the seafood variety in the dish,” chef Preetam said. “I’ve gotten great feedback from our Members since I’ve started putting the dish on the new 30°86° menu,” chef Preetam said. “We’ve kept it on there because guests tell us they will make a special trip to the Beach Club just to eat that dish. On a recent weekend, we had around 35 to 40 orders (of grouper) a night.” He noted that the grouper dish is here to stay and will continue to be a 30°86° dinner feature. For anyone cooking up this dish at home, chef Preetam recommends substituting grouper with any white fish if you’re unable to find it at your local grocery store. You can also go big and throw grilled lobster on top instead of blue crab.
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WINTER/SPRING 2021
EXPERIENCE MAGAZINE
Chef Preetam Pardeshi Executive Chef St. Joe Hospitality
