Red Mullet, Banana Guacamole, Cucumber Campari

I thought long and hard about whether or not this dish would make it to the Internets.  One side of my brain was impressed with its own resourcefulness, while the other side simply reminded me that THIS DISH SUCKED!

Well, let me clarify.  The crispy, pan seared red mullet paired with the creamy sweetness of the banana guacamole far from sucked.  In fact, they were both delicious together.  But the entire origin of this dish was built around my desire to create a sauce based on one of my favorite spirits, Campari.

This all started while at my favorite place to get a drink, Milk & Honey.   We were debating the merits of Campari (I love it, friend hates it) and asked the bartender to whip us up two drinks featuring the bitter beverage.  I watched as the barkeep muddled cucumber with the Campari and let the flavors marinate for a few minutes.  Sure enough, the bitter Campari had the distinctive underlying flavor of cucumber, which was an excellent touch.  Friend still hated it, of course.

I wondered what it'd be like to muddle the cucumber with Campari and reduce it until syrupy in texture.   Sure enough, the flavors concentrated but that meant bitter beyond belief.   Said friend also hated this dish (yes, I'm a glutton for punishment).

I still wonder whether the idea of a Campari reduction could work.  Maybe the bitterness of Campari could be balanced with the sweetness of a gastrique?  We shall see.....

Comments

[steamy kitchen]

Banana Guac...I love it! What did you put in it besides the obvious?

[joe]

woops. forgot to add the link to my previous banana guac post. i've added the link, but you can read more about it here:

http://blog.foodienyc.com/2007/04/banana_guacamol.html

[mymymichl]

Good luck with Campari Joe. I've tried just about too many drive you crazy things with it, and fell on my nose. What it boiled down to was to just drink it as an aperitif. The people who make it probably tried a million ways to sell more of it, and they're still at square uno.

Michael

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