Chef William Dissen shares recipes from new cookbook ‘Thoughtful Cooking’
Chef William Dissen’s sockeye salmon crudo features outstanding ingredients.
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First cooking contestant to beat multi-Michelin-star chef Gordon Ramsay Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, North Carolina-based chef William Dissen knows his way around the kitchen. Author of newly released cookbook Thoughtful Cooking: Recipes Rooted in the New SouthNow that he’s finished writing his book, Dissen knows his way around a keyboard.
The book includes popular dishes from the hills and valleys of Appalachia with a sustainability theme, including a recipe for sockeye salmon crudo. This is the perfect raw seafood dish to cool down the summer heat with Jimmy Nardello’s chili being one of the most signature. Typical ingredients.
Named after the son of an Italian couple who immigrated to Connecticut in the 1800s with chili seeds from their home village in their pockets, Jimmy Nardello is botanically classified as Capsicum annuum and is a surprisingly sweet traditional A variety of chili peppers that can add flavor and a refreshing crunch to many dishes.
“Jimmy Nardello is not your cousin from New Jersey who works in waste management,” Dissen told InsideHook. “This is a sweet Italian frying pepper that can be sliced and eaten raw or roasted over an open fire for an even deeper flavor. There are many farmers around Nashville who grow this pepper each year. It’s one of my favorites. I like that it’s long and thin. It adds a bit of spice and sweetness, and I think it goes well with raw fish.”
And that’s exactly what “crudo” is in Italian, meaning “raw” and not to be confused with its Peruvian cousin, ceviche.
“Fish is close to me, and I love eating crudo with sparkling wine in the summer,” says Dissen. “It’s refreshing to eat raw seafood outdoors in the shade on a hot day. It’s delicious, not heavy, and usually very vibrant and flavorful. I’ve never made this recipe in a restaurant, but I really enjoy it in the summer.”
Disen’s slightly sweet and spicy crudo is a classic summer dish, not only because of its temperature, but also because it uses a lot of sockeye salmon as its base ingredient.
Salmon is a fish that is regularly available around the world. “In the U.S., especially in the middle of summer, sockeye salmon is plentiful,” says Dissen. “It’s considered one of the most sustainable fish species on the planet, and it’s also very susceptible to freezing. We sell salmon that is flash frozen at sea, so it’s available in stores all year round.”
So, this is a frozen work. But Dessen says it’s even better if you can get it fresh.
“With crudo, we want to bring out the full flavor of the seafood,” he says. “If it’s fresh fish, it’s almost like eating Japanese sashimi, seasoned with fresh citrus and olive oil, rather than sliced straight to the plate. It adds a bit of acidity. I love using acidity in cooking because I feel like it doesn’t overpower something with fatty fish like salmon, and when combined with oily fish, the right amount of acidity really enhances the flavor of the fish. I think it brings out the fat and flavor of the fish.”
Here’s how to do it:
William Dissen’s Sockeye Salmon Crudo
Preparation time: half an hour
Cooking time: half an hour
total time: 1 hour
material
- For the pine nut za’atar:
- 2 ½ tablespoons ground sumac
- 2 tbsp. toasted pine nuts
- 1 1/2 tablespoons toasted benne seeds (sesame seeds can be used instead)
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- For Crude:
- 1/2 cup ruby red grapefruit juice
- 1 pound sockeye salmon (bones removed)
- 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 torpedo onion, stem removed and sliced into 1/4-inch rings
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 Jimmy Nardello peppers (sliced)
- 12 cherry tomatoes (cut into quarters)
- 1 ruby grapefruit (supreme cut)
- 1 cup purslane
direction
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Prepare the zaatar: Stir sumac, pine nuts, benne seeds, thyme, and salt in a small mixing bowl. Transfer to an airtight container until ready to use. It can be stored at room temperature for about 1 month.
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Place grapefruit juice in a small saucepan over medium heat and simmer until reduced by half, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a small container, cover and refrigerate until cool.
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Place the salmon in the freezer for 15-20 minutes until firm to the touch.
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Heat a small cast iron skillet over high heat until very hot, 4 to 5 minutes. Arrange the torpedo onion rings evenly in the skillet and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the onions are completely charred on one side. Transfer the onions to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and steam for 5 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and separate the onion into small rings. Set aside to cool.
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Remove the salmon from the freezer and place it skin side down on a cutting board. Using a very sharp knife, cut through the flesh as close to one end of the fillet as possible, stopping before cutting through the skin. Rotate the blade so the flesh and skin are parallel to each other. Grasp the skin with your other hand and pull the skin towards you, moving it back and forth to separate it from the body. The skin should be completely removed. Trim away any uneven edges of the fillet and cut it into two long pieces, using the natural seam in the middle of the fillet as a guide.
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Holding the knife at a 45-degree angle to the fish, slice the fish as thinly as possible (about 1/8 inch thick) without breaking the fish apart. Transfer the fish to each of 4 plates. If not serving immediately, transfer the fish to a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until needed.
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