I have never eaten at the high-end and highly regarded restaurant Alo. I had a reservation last fall, but I had to cancel at the last minute because my boyfriend got food poisoning, which may or may not have been caused by a takeout mutton curry left in the trunk of a car during an unseasonably hot September afternoon.
After that, I couldn’t get another table, as the restaurant was booked for weeks. So when the opportunity arose to get a recipe from Alo chef Patrick Kriss, I hustled to the third floor restaurant in a Victorian building at 163 Spadina Ave. at Queen St. W.
Alo is a tasting menu restaurant with ambitious plates that would easily earn a Michelin star if the guide came to Canada. Past dishes included buttermilk sorbet with dehydrated pea dust, and a morsel of yellowtail tuna belly sandwiched between paper-thin buttered white bread.
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Kriss is partnering with meal kit company Chef’s Plate and Stella Artois this month to devise a fail-proof meal for the home cook: roasted chicken with chilies and garlic, potato salad and parmesan, and green beans with almonds.
“Trying to cook like (the restaurant) at home is intimidating and expensive,†Kriss says. “No one wants to cook like this on a Sunday afternoon.â€
Kriss opts to share a Salmon Sashimi With A Simple Yuzu Vinaigrette recipe with me that takes minutes to put together — perfect for a summer entertaining appetizer.
This is a simplified take on a dish at the restaurant: a raw sea bream drizzled with a yuzu dressing. Kriss swapped raw sea bream for salmon, and bumped up the portion size from amuse bouche to appetizer.
“Sushi-grade salmon is much easier to find at a Japanese grocer or fishmonger,†Kriss says. “You can also use sushi-grade tuna and this works on cooked fish, too.†It’s garnished with Sturgeon caviar for a salty bite, but you can skip it if you don’t have it, he says.
Delicate herbs like minty shiso leaves (available at Japanese grocers such as Sanko and the fish counter at J-Town), are subbed in for baby cucumber the size of fingernails that the restaurant uses. The dressing is made of Yuzu juice (readily available at Japanese and Korean grocers), oil and myoga, a Japanese ginger that looks like a flower bud and tastes like mild, sweet ginger with an onion crunch (available at Sanko and J-Town). Though in lieu of myoga, a touch of regular ginger works.
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The key to this dish is using the best fish possible and keeping the flavours simple, Kriss says, adding that a dish always needs an acidic component. “Acid clears the palate. If you have a dish without an acidic component, the first bite is tasty, the second bite is good, but you’re bored by the third bite,†he says. “This gets you ready for the next bite.â€
Salmon Sashimi-Style With Ginger-Yuzu Juice
Sushi-grade isn’t a regulated term and it’s up to the retailer to deem if its fish is fit to consume raw. For the freshest catch, visit a busy fishmonger as high turnover means the fish isn’t sitting out for long. Fresh fish is best eaten immediately, but it will keep for a day in the fridge.
Shiso, cilantro, daikon sprouts, or any finely chopped Asian herb for garnish
Using a sharp knife, divide salmon into four even pieces, cutting across the grain. Set aside to let salmon warm up slightly.
In a small bowl, whisk together yuzu juice, oil and myoga. Taste and season with salt and sugar to taste.
Plate dish by arranging salmon pieces on individual plates. Drizzle with a spoonful of dressing and finish with a dollop of caviar, if using, and garnish with herbs.
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