7 minute read
GROUPER DELISH Chef
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.
Chef Preetam Pardeshi Executive Chef St. Joe Hospitality
Parmesan
Blackened Grouper with Wilted Baby Spinach, Parmesan Risotto, Blue Crab and Lemon Beurre Blanc (Yields 4 servings)
FOR THE PARMESAN RISOTTO
5 cups vegetable stock 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 cup onion, diced 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice, uncooked 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1/2 teaspoon white pepper 4 ounces Parmesan, grated 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped ‣ In a large saucepan, bring vegetable stock to a simmer. ‣ Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil to the pot and swirl to coat. ‣ Add onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. ‣ Add the Arborio rice and salt. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. ‣ Add 1/2 cup of warmed stock. Cook for 2 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently. ‣ Stir in 1 1/2 cups of stock. Cook for 4 minutes or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. ‣ Add in the remaining stock 3/4 cup at a time, stirring nearly constantly.
Wait until each portion is absorbed before adding the next, about 20–25 minutes total. Reserve 1/3 cup of stock for the last addition. ‣ Stir in the reserved stock, butter, white pepper and cheese.
FOR THE BLACKENED GROUPER
1/4 cup smoked paprika 2 tablespoons dried thyme 2 teaspoons onion powder 1 1 1 1 / / 2 teaspoons kosher salt 2 teaspoons garlic powder 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2teaspoon dry mustard 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper/2 teaspoon ground red pepper 1/2 cup butter, melted1/2 cup butter, melted 4 6-ounce grouper fi llets 4 6-ounce grouper fi llets 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon olive oil ‣ Preheat a 12-inch cast iron skillet for 10 minutes. ‣ In a small bowl, stir together paprika, thyme, onion powder, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, mustard and red pepper. Pour melted butter in a shallow dish. ‣ Dip each fi llet in butter, turning to coat. Sprinkle both sides of each fi llet with the spice mixture, then pat gently to coat. ‣ Add olive oil to the skillet; the oil should smoke. ‣ Place fi sh in the hot skillet, skin side up. Cook, covered, until browned; 3-4 minutes. ‣ Flip the fi llets and cook, covered, until the fi sh fl akes easily with a fork, 3-4 minutes more. Remove from heat.
FOR THE WILTED BABY SPINACH
4 teaspoons olive oil 4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the side of a knife 1 pound fresh baby spinach, 1 pound fresh baby spinach, washed and drained kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste Spinach ‣ Heat a large skillet over high heat until hot. When hot, add the olive oil and garlic. ‣ Sauté for 3–4 minutes until the garlic is golden on both sides. ‣ Add the spinach to the skillet and toss with oil to coat. Reduce the heat to medium and stir. ‣ When the spinach is just wilted, about 2 minutes, remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
FOR THE LEMON BEURRE BLANC WITH BLUE CRAB
1 1/2 cups good quality dry white wine 1/ 1/ 2 2 cup fresh lemon juice teaspoon lemon zest, minced teaspoon lemon zest, minced or very fi nely grated 1 teaspoon shallots, minced 1 teaspoon shallots, minced 1 teaspoon garlic, minced 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, minced 2 tablespoons heavy cream 2 tablespoons heavy cream 3 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cubed sticks cold unsalted butter, cubed 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste) 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 cup jumbo lump blue crab meat ‣ In a heavy, nonreactive saucepan, combine the wine, lemon juice, Lemon Zest lemon zest, shallots, garlic and thyme. Cook over medium-high heat until the liquid in the mixture reduces to 1-2 tablespoons, about 4 minutes. ‣ Add the heavy cream and cook until the liquid in the pan reduces to 1-2 tablespoons, about 4 minutes. ‣ Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the butter one cube at a time, whisking constantly, until all the butter is incorporated into the sauce. Each addition of butter should be almost completely melted in before adding more. This will take roughly 10–15 minutes total. ‣ Remove sauce from heat, then whisk in the kosher salt and pepper. ‣ Add the crab meat and serve warm.
TO ASSEMBLE
‣ Place the hot Parmesan risotto in the center of the plate. ‣ Place the wilted baby spinach half on the risotto and half on the plate. ‣ Carefully place the blackened grouper on top of the risotto and spinach. ‣ Top with beurre blanc sauce with chunks of crab meat, then garnish with fresh chopped fl at leaf Italian parsley.
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