PORTLAND, Maine — Maine Restaurant Week kicked off March 1 and runs through March 12, so I figured I needed to head to some local spots to make some of their main dishes.
I've heard a lot about Chaval in Portland, so I wanted to see what all of the hype was about.
Let me start off by admitting something: I'm not a huge fan of seafood. Most of my life has been inland, away from the ocean, so it just wasn't a normal part of life. But I want to try different types of seafood, so I figured I'd bring you all along for the ride.
That being said, Chef Damian Sansonetti taught me how to make monkfish.
We started off with a couple of pieces of monkfish that we dusted in salt, pepper, and flour. The flour helps it brown properly and get a little bit of a crust.
Then it went into a skillet with hot oil to begin the cooking process. This is where we had to watch for color and texture to make sure the outside was crisp before basting it in butter and thyme. That gives it even more flavor. Now into the oven to finish cooking.
So, we all know how TV goes. You're shooting a segment, and you have to go with whatever happens. So naturally the fire alarm goes off right in the middle of the segment. They turned off the ventilation hoods in the kitchen for audio purposes, and I guess it all got a little too hot. Oops! Luckily, there wasn't an actual fire, and it didn't alert the fire department.
After the monkfish was finished cooking, we took it out of the skillet to rest and tossed in some garlic and spinach. Chef Damian said it's important to scrape up all of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. That's where a ton of flavor lies.
Off camera we cooked some bacon, red-wine-braised mushrooms, and a potato croquette before plating.
We artfully plated all of the different components of the dish, and now it's time to taste it.
I was excited and nervous for this part. I wanted to try something new, but I also have an aversion to tasting something I haven't tasted before (plus, I had to do it on TV, so that adds a bit of pressure).
Luckily, it all worked out, because the dish was delicious! It wasn't what I was expecting, and I mean that in the best possible way. The fish wasn't fishy. It melted into the dish with all of the other elements on the plate. It's weird how each component is so different but plays so well together on the palate. I took way too large of a bit and thus couldn't speak for a good while. That was probably the first time I was quiet for so long.
I am so glad I got to come to Chaval to try something new! It was fun to learn the process, taste something I haven't tried before, and accidently set off a fire alarm.
Thanks to Chef Damian Sansonetti at Chaval for teaching me how to make monkfish and helping me face my food fears. Happy restaurant week!