INGREDIENTS
2 butternut squash, halved and seeded
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 stick butter
1 Tbsp. ice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. cream
Kosher salt
2 oz. porchetta di testa or favorite cured meat,
thinly sliced
½ cup julienned red onion
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 lb. nettles, cleaned and stemmed
½ cup white wine
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. Crystal hot sauce
1 lb. fiddlehead ferns, washed
2 Tbsp. each thyme, tarragon and chervil, roughly chopped
½ cup crème fraîche
4 to 6 6-oz. pieces cold-smoked sturgeon
For the cold-smoked sturgeon
1 lb. kosher salt
1 lb. brown sugar
Zest of 1 orange, lemon and lime
1 Tbsp. five spice
1 Tbsp. chopped Chimayo chile
2 Tbsp. thyme
4 to 6 6-oz. pieces sturgeon
PREPARATION
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Place the squash in a shallow pan with enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.
• Roast the squash for 1 hour. Allow to cool slightly, then scrape the pulp into a blender or food processor.
• Add the olive oil, butter, vinegar and cream and purée until smooth. Season to taste with salt and reserve.
• In a rondeau, slowly sauté the porchetta di testa. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft.
• Add the nettles, then deglaze the pan with the white wine.
• Stir in the honey and hot sauce and season to taste with salt. Reserve.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the fiddlehead ferns, then remove them from the water and plunge them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.
• Combine the thyme, tarragon, chervil and crème fraîche and reserve.
• Sauté the sturgeon and reheat the other components, except the crème fraîche.
• To serve, place a small portion of the squash purée on the plate, then add the nettles mixture and the ferns. Top with the sturgeon and garnish with the crème fraîche.
For the cold-smoked sturgeon
• Combine all ingredients except the sturgeon.
• Coat the sturgeon with the cure mix and refrigerate for 1 hour. Rinse and then air-dry in the refrigerator.
• Cold-smoke the sturgeon for 1œ hours.
This article appears in Apr 1-30, 2010.