GESTALT with wasabi
/Let’s talk about GESTALT.
As we all know, GESTALT is that middle part of the working part of the creative process. You create crap (ABORTIVE ATTEMPTS), then step back and assess the damage: what’s missing? What needs to go? What is wrong with this picture?
One of the key aspects of Lichtenbergianism is that it applies to every area of creative endeavor, not just the “arts.” My fellow Lichtenbergian Turff is a bigwig Corporate Tool (his description) and uses the Precepts to train his programmers and managers, for example.
I was reminded of this last night as I prepared dinner.
But first let me promote the app Paprika Recipe Manager. I was forced to find a new recipe app after the one I had been using drifted into obsolescence, and all the reviews said Paprika was the one to get. They were right. I have enjoyed its capabilities to download recipes, to shunt recipes into the grocery list, and to plan meals for the week. It’s awesome.
Anyway, after a week of not cooking (Thanksgiving, handled by my Lovely First Wife, and then a weekend of no running water after a leak shut us down on Friday morning), I was grateful to be back in the kitchen. I had planned the following recipe:
This is a very old recipe of mine, which I selected mainly because I had a leek in the refrigerator that I needed to use. I don’t remember the last time I made the dish, so I thought it would be good to revisit it. Here’s what happened.
First of all, pick a spelling for fillet and stick with it. (Just noticed that…) Second, what did I mean by “wasabi sauce”? Wasabi mustard sauce? Hm. I decided to go with a mixture of wasabi and mayonnaise.
Then I decided to add some lemon juice to the fillets before grilling. The time on the grill is just wrong unless you have thicker fillets; 6 and 4 minutes is a better choice.
The leek straws still are not snappy; the cornstarch/flour mixture simply falls off in the fryer. Maybe oil them next time to give the flour something to adhere to?
Then I bethought myself, what if I toasted some pine nuts to add to the salmon? A little crunch is always good.
And as it all came together, I wondered if ponzu sauce would add an extra fillip to the flavor profile. A little taste-testing confirmed that it would indeed.
So in the end, a recipe that would have produced a perfectly acceptable entree turned into a knockout dinner. (I eschewed the home fries in the notes and just ordered out french fries. Sue me.)
No, I don’t have a picture of the dish; it occurred to me that this was a great GESTALT post only after eating it all.
See all the notes I scribbled before I forgot all the ideas that I put into practice? That’s GESTALT, and now I have SUCCESSIVELY APPROXIMATED the recipe to something new. Notice also the note “find ponzu glaze”; that’s another GESTALT wherein I’m thinking that a reduced ponzu glaze on the salmon would up that flavor profile under the wasabi mayonnaise. Next time, for sure.
End result:
Salmon with Wasabi and Leeks
Difficulty: Easy Servings: 2 Source: Dale Lyles
Ingredients
2 salmon fillets
3 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp ponzu sauce
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
salt, black pepper, white pepper
1 leek julienned
¼ cup flour
¼ cup cornstarch
½ tsp wasabi
¼ cup mayonnaise
Directions
Toast the pine nuts at 350° for 5 minutes.
Mix the flour and cornstarch in a bowl. Sprinkle with kosher salt and white pepper.
Julienne the leek, then toss the straws in a little oil, then in the flour mixture to coat. Let rest.
Wash and dry the fillets. Place top down in lemon juice and ponzu sauce to marinate.
Heat the grill and fryer.
Sprinkle the fillets with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Grill the fillets till done, approximately 6 minutes on one side and 4 on the other.
While the salmon is grilling, blend the wasabi and mayonnaise in a small bowl.
Deep fry the leek straws in two batches, about 30 seconds each. Keep warm.
Place a fillet on a plate, add wasabi sauce, and top with pine nuts and leek straws.
