A Plates Power + Tahini Kitchen Sink Salad Recipe
There are many factors that can help a dish achieve greatness. Flavor, texture, temperature, and contrast are just a few. This week I want to focus on one that isn’t often discussed. Plating and presentation. I’m really taking a hard line when I say that the plate and organization of a dish can affect its flavor. It’s a tough thing to believe. A lot of it has to do with our brains and emotions that certain presentations can make us feel. A butchered oyster won't taste as good as one that’s shucked perfectly. A cappuccino with flawless foam art will taste better than one in a to-go cup. Eating anchovies or sardines with your eyes closed will taste better than if you watch it come all the way up to your mouth. Besides condensing your senses, there is a reason why professional food tasters are required to blindfold themselves during tasting sessions. The look of things can change our taste and how we feel about certain foods. If done well, chefs can use this to their advantage.
A Powerful Dish
This tuna ‘poke’ is brought to us by The Essex in Old Saybrook, CT. After posting this on Instagram a friend of mine responded with ‘that looks powerful’. I couldn’t agree more. This is a great example of plating forcing you to feel an emotion. It’s hard to describe, but your brain chemistry is changing. Clean, warmth, and intimidation are a few things that immediately pop into my head. The sauces' golden color with bright ivory white punching through makes this dish feel hot. However, the tuna was perfectly cold. The clean lines and juxtaposition of texture makes this dish a little standoff-ish. Almost as if you are being asked to ruin a painting. These simple things all add to the experience of eating. No, presentation is not going to turn a poor tasting dish into a great tasting one. But it will make a great tasting dish feel like a perfect one. This is a prime example of that.
Composition
Oyster Club in Mystic CT often uses the whole fish when preparing dishes. Pictured here is Monkfish. The sauce is made with miso and Monkfish bone marrow. Not something you get everywhere. Besides the harmony of flavors and texture, there is another important facet to a dish. Composition. A base of creamy grits or polenta (I cannot remember which) settles at the bottom. While the fish is split across the top. Sauce is draped over one side creating a beautiful crescent. And last but not least, a high quality olive oil is pooled below to the right. As you eat this dish, you can pull the monkfish apart into the sauce or base. Which gives the patron a choose-your-own adventure style meal. You can slowly incorporate oil into each bite, or mix with the base. Up to you. This dish is composed of roughly 4-5 parts. However, the power is now with you. It’s sometimes instinct for a lot of us to mix everything together. Or eat each one at a time. Next time you are given a plate with beautiful composition take a beat. Think about it. What would you do?
All Roads Lead to Rome
A good plate puts its food on stage. Pictured here is some crudo from my time in PR. I’d be lying if I remembered where this was. I do remember that this was local fish. What I love about this plating is its simplicity. No matter how or where you look, your eye is drawn to the delicate fish in the center. Not just because of the plate's lines pointing you to your delicious fate, but because of the contrast between the fish and the delicate dollops of sauce atop each fillet. This style will also make you focus on certain flavors. It’s obvious there is a palate refresher/garnish on the side of this plate, but the draw and focus from the plate's visual cues will inherently change how you taste the fish. Call me crazy, but it's trying to make you focus. You look at the plate. It makes you think about the fish. You taste the fish. And just like that it tricked you into being more mindful. You will now look up at your friends and say something like ‘What did you say? Sorry I was distracted’. A thing of beauty.
Tahini Kitchen Sink Salad Recipe
This salad is one of my favorites to make. If you only end up making this salad for the next 2-3 months until summer, don’t blame me. All the flavors blend together so well. Put it this way, I used to go to Sweetgreen. Now I just make this salad. The best part? It lasts really well in the fridge for around 4-5 days. Recipe below: