Marissa Scarna, Head Chef | Fish by José Andrés, MGM National Harbor Resort & Casino, Oxon Hill, Md.
One of the best sellers on last summer’s menu at Fish by José Andrés was an Idaho farmed trout dish that had a “peachy” air about it. Marissa Scarna explains that a standard offering is a whole roasted trout from Idaho’s Snake River Canyon. “For the summer I wanted to use heirloom tomatoes and peaches. We stew them together along with onions and green peppers,” she says.
The trout fillet is cooked in the restaurant’s charcoal oven, which crisps the skin and gives the flesh a smoky flavor. “We finish it with fresh Sun Gold tomatoes and peach ‘air,’ definitely my new favorite thing!” says Scarna.
She describes the peach air as “a flavorful liquid that creates an air-in-water emulsion that holds its texture. The air coats the palate, but due to its light density, does not linger.”
