I have had a purveyor keep calling me about some beautiful fish he had coming off the coast of Hawaii. I believe around this time of year all the Tuna are going south, so I decided to get some wild line caught Swordfish. The season for Swordfish only last for a couple months. They also had in season Blue and Emerald Snappers, however they were a little to expensive. I can not be selling $42 menu items given the situation with our economy. Perhaps, I could but we need to sell more than 2 orders. Swordfish was a great deal considering it was caught yesterday and delivered this morning. It was some of the best sushi grade Swordfish I have worked with in a while. I wanted to leave nothing to waste. I cut out the loins and sectioned off the belly. I cured the belly with ginger, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, salt, sugar, thyme, shallot, garlic and confit it in duck fat. It was cut into thin strips and made into a warm salad. The salad consisted of cured tomatoes, celery leaves, shaved carrots, tat soi, chive, cilantro and a meyer lemon vinaigrette. The loin was simply grilled and served with a parsnip-mushroom puree and Syrah gastrique. I really enjoy leaving nothing to waste and utilizing the fish in 2 different preparations. I believe it is the only way a chef can demonstrate his/her true integrity for a product. JM
