Le Cirque's Potato Crusted Sea Bass

[smithi]

I have had the Potato Crusted Sea Bass at Le Cirque a couple of times and have loved it.  As a result, I have searched for potato crusted fish recipes on various websites and have come across a few.  For the most part, they all seem pretty similar.  

I am wondering if anyone has ever tried making a potato crusted fish fillet/steak.  

I am having company over this weekend, and would love to try it (and don't have the time to test it).  My greatest concern is that the fish cooks before the potatoes do.    Thanks.

 

[tommy]

i make a version that cooks up fine.

i use a mandolin to thinkly slice the potato.  i cover the fish with the potato and brown the potato/fish in some oil on the stove top.  i finish the fish in the oven.  works fine every time!

also try http://www.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?id=10043

[smithi]

Any help with what types of fish and thickness would be helpful as well.  Thanks.

[tommy]

i've had success with any thickness.  from a 2 inch thick pantagonian toothfish (hehe, love that name), to a 1/2 red snapper filet.  once the potato is brown, it really doesn't cook much more in the oven (potato side up in the oven).  obviously it cooks a bit, but the fish shouldn't take more than 15 minutes to finish.

[Wilfrid]

I have made it.  I find firm, white fish steaks the easiest to handle, and I admit I tend to wrap a crust around the top only (Le Cirque's crust goes all the way around).  Thin, overlapping potato slices, as Tommy advises.  I don't brown in oil first, I go straight for the oven, and once I judge the fish is close to done, I use a broiler to just brown and crisp the potatoes (need to watch that closely).  One option, which helps the potato slices adhere neatly, is to spread a very fine layer of some suitable sauce over the surface of the fish - I'm thinking of a tartare sauce or something - but really only a scrape.  I guess some soft butter would do the same trick.  Season the fish first, and then the potato layer too, of course.  If you make a little red wine reduction to accompany it, you are entitled to feel like Daniel Boulud for the evening.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Smithi - If I recall the recipe correctly, they slice the potatoes, dip them in clarified butter and then adhere them to the fish. After the fish is covered with "scales", they paint it again with clarified butter. Then they put it in the fridge for the afternoon to chill it down. It goes right from the cold fridge into the saute pan.

[tommy]

i first had this at Daniel.  it was incredible.  i think it's their signature dish.  at any rate, i think it goes all the way around there too.  the first time i made it, i tried this.  it was a bit too difficult and not worth the frustration, although it did come out very pretty.  now i just go for the top.  screw em if they can't take a joke.

[smithi]

Thanks for all the responses...you have all been very helpful.  I will try it this Sat.

[Wilfrid]

Quote: from tommy on 3:48 pm on Jan. 22, 2002

 i cover the fish with the potato and brown the potato/fish in some oil on the stove top.

This bit puzzled me when I thought about it.  Like me, Tommy, you're doing a potato crust on the top, not all the way round (because we're not charging อ for the dish).  When you brown the potato in the pan, are you putting the finish in the pan potat-side down.  And then why don't the potato slices fall off or stay in the pan when you take the fish out?

[tommy]

Quote: from Wilfrid on 5:11 pm on Jan. 23, 2002

When you brown the potato in the pan, are you putting the finish in the pan potat-side down.

yes

And then why don't the potato slices fall off or stay in the pan when you take the fish out?

because i'm just, that, good.

seriously though, i use a liberal amount of oil and they generally don't stick much.  using a spatula it's then quite easy to flip it over.  i also dump out most excess oil b4 putting it in the oven.

as you suggested, you could skip the stovetop part and just use the broiler to brown the potato at the end of the cooking.  my broiler has always sucked, so that's never been an option for me.  had it been, i would have pursued it.

(Edited by tommy at 5:20 pm on Jan. 23, 2002)

[Wilfrid]

I'm impressed.  Cool spatula work.  Don't forget to tell Steven Shaw what kind of spatula you use; might make his day.

[tommy]

Quote: from Wilfrid on 5:43 pm on Jan. 23, 2002

I'm impressed.  Cool spatula work.  Don't forget to tell Steven Shaw what kind of spatula you use; might make his day.

don't be too impressed.   i mean, i don't want to lead you to believe that it's pretty and perfect every time!! :)

[Fat Guy]

If you're really particular about the doneness of your fish and you don't cook this dish often enough to be as confident as a Le Cirque or Daniel line cook, you can try the following, which allows you to work with the fish and potatoes separately. This is something Tom Colicchio does with a couple of his fish dishes: You take very thin, uniform, circular slices of small potatoes and lay them in overlapping rows on a cookie sheet. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt and white pepper. Bake until you have a crispy sheet of scale-like potatoes. Cut pieces out of this sheet approximately the size of your fish portions. Saute or roast your fish and top it with a potato sheet, or sandwich it between two of them. You can also do something similar with alternating circles of zucchini, yellow squash, and tomato, for a more colorful effect.

[IslandMom]

I had some halibut from Alaska that I couldn't decide how to cook, and finally dipped it in egg wash, and then stuck thawed (previously frozen) loose hash brown potatoes on it, and fried it in a pan with melted butter.  I stuck the hash browns on both sides, because I like potatoes!  Mmmm, it was good, but I wouldn't deliberately seek out halibut.  Guess I'm not too crazy about it - I prefer mahimahi.

[kimwb1]

OK, just adding a little lightness here... the only way my kids eat fish is if I make a smashed Lays potato chip crust on the flounder filet..and yes, we DO call if fish and chips! LOL  ps... smashing the chips is also one of the only times they volunteer to help in the kitchen.

[tommy]

i'm not sure if this link will work.  anyway, if it does, it is a version i made using the skillet/oven method.  excuse the busy sauce.  this was made with chilean sea bass about 1/2 inch thick

sea bass with potato

[Jinmyo]

Quote: from Fat Guy on 12:32 am on Jan. 24, 2002

you can try the following, which allows you to work with the fish and potatoes separately. This is something Tom Colicchio does with a couple of his fish dishes: You take very thin, uniform, circular slices of small potatoes and lay them in overlapping rows on a cookie sheet. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt and white pepper. Bake until you have a crispy sheet of scale-like potatoes. Cut pieces out of this sheet approximately the size of your fish portions.

Hm. When done with clarified butter, I think this is Pomme Maxim.

[Jinmyo]

On another note, and more in line with the Lay's potato chip thing:

I've found that instant "mashed potato" flakes can work well in some breadings.

[Bux]

For the record, Daniel Boulud's recipe for Crisp Paupiette of Sea Bass in a Barolo Sauce.

Also for the record, Daniel says, "Paul Bocuse's Rouget en Écailles de Pomme de Terre inspired this exquisite dish of tender fish fillets wrapped in a crisp crust of sliced potatoes."

This is sort of a signature dish at Daniel. I read somewhere once that they wanted to remove it from the menu as everyone in the kitchen was bored cooking it, but too many people asked for it even when it was off the menu.

[smithi]

Bux...thanks so much for the recipe.  I'm especially looking forward to making the sauce.  I was just reading the recipe and wanted to ask your, or anyone else's opinion...

The recipe calls for 1/2 cups shallots, 1/2 mushrooms, 1 cup chicken stock and 1 bottle of wine...it then instructs the cook to reduce sauce to 2 TABLESPOONS!!!  I've reduced sauces before, but this seems a little ridiculous.  The shallots and mushrooms alone will take up 2 tablespoons, but I'll even exclude the solid ingredients from the final measurement.  

Any feedback?  

[Bux]

From my reading, it appears that you are expected to end up with eight tablespoons of sauce (1/2 cup) for the final presentation (2 tbs. for each of 4 servings). Working backwards, if you're adding a half cup of butter and a tablespoon. of cream, it would appear that the wine/broth reduction is meant to be little more than a concentrated essence, but I would make sure I had at least two tablespoons of this liquid in addition to the solids and in excess of what might be absorbed by the solids. I'll admit that two tablespoons of sauce seems a bit scant from my memory of the dish at the restaurant. Bear in mind that the solids will absorb some sauce when you strain it and that some sauce will stick to the side of each pot or utensil it comes in contact with, but also that you can't boil it down any further once the sauce is mostly butter.

One other caveat about this dish, if the fish oozes any juice or liquid after it is cooked it will thin the sauce on the plate and perhaps diminish the presentation. I think this is almost unavoidable, even in the restaurant.

There's an Ask the Chef page on Daniel's site. It promises that Daniel or Executive Chef Alex Lee will try to respond to queries within a week or two by e-mail. I don't know how well the service works.

As Daniel Boulud was executive chef at le Cirque before opening his own restaurant, I've always assumed this is the recipe that was also served at le Cirque. I've never asked anyone. It's just my assumption.

[smithi]

Thanks Bux for the feedback.  I understand how much sauce I need in the end.  I simply found it surprising that a whole bottle of wine and a cup of broth can be boiled down to 2 tablespoons (before adding the rest of the ingredients).  But then, why can't it?  I just wonder how long that will take.

When I've had this dish at Le Cirque I also remember there being more than just 2 tablespoons of sauce on my plate.  Maybe Le Cirque, over time, decided to increase the amount.  The sauce is so great...I'll just make the whole recipe for 2 servings!  

Thanks again.

[spqr]

Julia and Jacques Pepin demonstrated a dish of salmon in a potato crust in the original Cooking In Concert show for PBS. They recommended a thin fillet, so the fish would cook in the same time it took to brown the potatoes, and they served it with a quick saute of chopped tomatoe and shallots.

[spqr]

Julia and Jacques Pepin demonstrated a dish of salmon in a potato crust in the original Cooking In Concert show for PBS. They recommended a thin fillet, so the fish would cook in the same time it took to brown the potatoes, and they served it with a quick saute of chopped tomatoe and shallots.