Striped Bass with Slow Roasted Vine Tomatoes
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Grilled Striped Bass with Slow Roasted Vine Tomatoes, Mini Quiche and Whipped Yukon Gold Fondue
Chef Jonathan Waxman on his plan: "Fish and eggs, they're kind of synonymous. So I just wanted to make like an egg kind of fluff thing that I do for brunch sometimes. And then the braised lettuce as sort of a base for the fish, and the tomatoes and the little mashed potato thing on top. Maybe it's too many items, but that's me."
On preheating the muffin tin: "Preheated, always. So when the mixture goes in, boom."
On the tomatoes and the base: "I have a trick where I fire blast tomatoes in a super hot oven until they char. I want a little bit of acidity to go along with the fish. I want to make a brown butter sherry vinaigrette to braise lettuce as a base for the fish, and then the tomatoes as the sauce."
On grilling the bass: "I cook with striped bass in New York all the time. So my plan with the striped bass is to put them on the grill. Always do the skin on. That's where all the nutrients are. Grilling fish is really difficult. The only thing that's harder is grilling chicken."
On channeling the randomizer: "I was trying to really channel the randomizer. I think as a judge, that's the thing that most cooks really fail on. I was thinking about what I could whip, and I could either whip the tomatoes or the potatoes."
On his philosophy: "I don't think I really have anything to prove anymore. My sort of history speaks for itself. Winning is fabulous. If it happens, great. The more important thing to me is how well I cook my dish."
On plating: "Braised lettuces with a brown butter shallot sauce. A little muffin. Little quiches. And then the fish."
Voiceover (Tiffany Faison): "In front of you is grilled striped bass with slow roasted vine tomatoes, a scallion and paprika mini quiche, braised lettuces, and whipped Yukon and garlic fondue. The bass was simply seasoned and grilled. The vine tomatoes were seasoned and slow roasted in the salamander, then treated to a sherry and white wine shallot reduction. A quiche base was whipped and placed in the muffin tin to create the little mini quiche. Yukon golds and garlic were cooked and then butter whipped, creating the Yukon gold fondue adorning the top of the dish."
Marcus Samuelsson: "There are a lot of really good flavors here. I really like that acidity brought in with the sherry vinegar. I think the usage of the tomatoes, rustic and chunky, I really think that's a nice touch. And the fish is cooked beautifully. Absolutely perfect."
Scott Conant: "I thought that ate really nice and creamy. Flavors are all in here. It's a great dish with a super nice, moist fish. Plating wise, it just feels a little rushed to put together."
Nancy Silverton: "I think that everything together ate really well, the flavors really well, beautiful colors. For me, I think the biggest challenge was the description. The tomato didn't eat like a slow roasted tomato to me."
Post-judging, Jonathan Waxman: "I think they're absolutely right. It was rushed. I mean, you don't do a competition for a long time, and you are a little rusty." Score: 80 or 82. Winner unknown, result not captured in transcript.
