Hello folks. Chef Peter at Matisse here, sitting in the garden on this beautiful Sunday afternoon. Just wanted to touch base with you, if you haven’t been here in a couple weeks. I’ve changed a few dishes in the summer, and one of them was the Chilean Sea bass. I have it on the Summer Menu, and I’ve done different variations of this dish, and I think this one really says summer.
It’s pan seared, as I do everything. French technique, everything is always pan seared with very little olive oil. The olive oil I use is not fruity nor does it have a lot of notes about it. I guess we call it notes in the olive oil. I use olive oil in a mix to not impart flavors.
I use very little bit of oil just to get a nice sear on the dish, and then finish it in the oven. And that’s basically what French cuisine is. It’s a hot sauté and then finished in a very hot oven. So that we sear in the flavors. We have a nice crispy outside on the fish, and it makes for an interesting texture.
When you bite into the fish, you have this soft, creamy center with the outside, it’s got like a little shell that kind of pops a little bit in your mouth. So that’s the Chilean Sea Bass to start. Then, we decided to put it on a vanilla scented basmati rice, and it’s just so subtle. In fact, I made it today and the vanilla is just a really subtle flavor, that kind of enhances the dish. Also, I decided to go with peaches. Peaches are a nice summer item that adds a sweet, savory kind of flavor on the dish. I do a pepper honey on it, which makes it a little savory, but there’s still some sweetness of the peach. And then, I do an avocado mousse. And on that mousse, we lay a zucchini flower that’s stuffed with lump crab meat and pan fried. And again, it’s a textural thing. It’s got a little crunch. Then we just finish the plate with some baby greens, and then there’s a peach chili jus. It’s a peach flavor profile again, and for this I’ve added chili flavor into it a little bit.
Not hot, but a sweet kind of chili, just the right amount of spice. And then I do a Thai coconut curry as an enhancer that ties the whole dish together. And if you could just imagine all those flavors going on in your mouth, you’d go, I don’t know if that would work, but things work here at Matisse.
People always say to me, “We look, we read your menu, and we look at the menu and we say, how could this possibly work?” And every time the dishes come out, people will come to my window as I’m cooking and are just amazed that we’ve put these ingredients together and it becomes harmonious dish for the palate to enjoy.
That’s what I do here at Matisse. I take food that’s not necessarily special by itself, and I enhance it. I take simple things and make them better. That’s what chefs are supposed to do. We’re supposed to use our imagination and really open our minds to the possibilities of what we can do.
My food is a form of art. My art, put on a plate. And we call it Matisse, Artful Cuisine.
We now have a summer menu in place for only a couple more weeks. I was actually thinking the other day about the fall, and how I’m going to change some dishes on the menu. Some will remain, but it’ll be tweaked. Most of it’s going to be new for fall.
The garden season is coming to an end and so is the summer menu. If there’s some dishes that you love, it’s time to get them now. They won’t be around much longer. See you soon. Love you! Chef Peter at Matisse.