Chef Eric Ripert Goes to Melbourne
So far on his Cooking Channel show “Avec Eric,” Le Bernardin chef Eric Ripert has been to Korea, Puerto Rico, and Australia.
This Saturday, he continues his Australian journey in Melbourne, where he visits the famous Queen Victoria Market and hits some of the city’s best restaurants. What he learns: Melbourne is home to great diversity in food, from Middle Eastern to Greek to Persian.
Upon his return to New York City, Ripert makes a dish that pulls from Melbourne’s array of flavors: hamachi seared in tandoori spices with cucumber quick-pickled in green mango purée. It sounds complicated, but there’s not much to it, really. The cucumbers just require slicing before they’re plunged into a mixture of vinegar and sugar for a few minutes. The tandoori fish? It’s just a slab of fish that’s been rubbed with dry spices, olive oil, and lemon juice and then seared on both sides. The spice mixture is then used again as a sauce, drizzled onto the plate of fish and cucumbers.
Ripert plates the dish beautifully with a ring mold and a julienne of basil.
Episode 8 of the third season of “Avec Eric” airs Saturday, April 18, at 9:30 a.m. EST/8:30 a.m. CST on the Cooking Channel.
More clips from the show:
Ripert demos how to pan-sear fish to perfection