Week of March 6, 2023 Small World Seafood Update

Hello, everybody!!

Days like these, I just bubble over. Yup. Bubbles. We have a few really cool things this week that come out of necessity, adventure and ingenuity.

The first thing. Necessity. So, remember when I was telling you in the past two weeks that salmon was a little crazy? Weather issues in the North Atlantic (90 mph winds) and supply problems? Well, this week, we won't be getting any Faroe Island salmon. They can't get to the fish. We've been here before with salmon and what we did was take the opportunity to feature a cousin in the salmon family. Arctic Char!!!

Char is a smaller member of the salmon family with a really moist texture and is just one of those delicious fish that you can do anything with. Also sushi grade so you can make poke bowls or crudos with it. You can marinade it with miso glaze, you can roast it, pan sear it or broil it. It is a treat.

Next, the adventure. We are always thinking about how to take something we love that is used for a meat or another purpose and wonder if it would work with a fish. So, one of my favorite tacos is Al Pastor. Marinaded pork on a spit topped with a pineapple. A Mexican classic. Interesting story about how that came about.

Turns out that a Lebanese gentleman moved to Mexico City in the 1970's while his country was in civil war. He tries to make a business out of selling shawarma with lamb or chicken and nobody bites. So, he looks around to the tastes of his new city and creates a marinade, uses pork instead and tops off the spit with a pineapple instead of onion and voila! Al Pastor pork tacos! The original spot still exists in Mexico City. Been there.

So, we teamed back up with El Camino who made us a marinade that we experimented with. Wow! So good with shrimp! So good with grouper! So good with salmon! Just so good! Now, you can also use it with other meats if you like. You don't need much of it either. Just brush some on and let marinade for a hour. In the case of salmon or Arctic char or a fatty fish in general, a full 24 hours transforms the fish into a flavor bomb. Make a pineapple salsa or mango salsa to top it off and you have an excellent tropical dish that will transport you.

And to make things really fun, we will be featuring fresh Mahi fillet this week so there's no excuse!! Fresh mahi, especially larger fish like we will be gettting, is so moist and flavorful. Takes so werll to heavier spicing and this marinade will blow the top off! Taco week!!!

And now you are asking about the ingenuity part. Well, with shu mai and fish cakes being so popular, I was thinking about another beloved dish from another part of the world that we could enjoy. We played around with different wrappers. We played around with different fillings. We tested them out on a few of you guinea pigs until we nailed it. And we nailed it. Pierogies!!!

But wait, fish pierogies!! We made a filling of smoked trout and potato boiled in milk, garlic and thyme that is unbelievable! The smokiness in the trout is like infusing the flavor of bacon but without the bacon! We will be selling them by the dozen. They are uncooked. You drop them in boiling water right out of the freezer stirring them about to make sure they don't stick to the bottom. Once they float, let them continue to boil for a minute or so. Remove them onto paper towels and pat them dry. You caramelize a nice bunch of sliced onions in a not stick pan and then put them aside. You pan sear the pierogies on one side in butter or oil and brown for 2 minutes. Then flip, toss the onions back in the pan and let brown on the other side. That's it! Get yourself some sour cream to top them off and devour!! You've never seen these before. A true original and you get to be a part of history.

See? Maybe you have bubbles, too, now.

Hokkaido scallops are coming this week. Littleneck clams are the shellfiish of the week. Oysters will be Umami oysters from Rhode Island. Aaaand I think I've said enough.

Well, that's it for today. Thank you all for being who you are. I know, I know, lots of words. But, hey, lots of info too, no?

Peace

Robert Amar

Small World Seafood

Owner