Here at Element Seafood, we can all deftly wield an oyster knife. However, our culinary skills extend beyond mere shucking. Mouthwatering pork belly braises, thin-sliced sea clams drizzled with sesame oil, and cauldrons of impossibly rich soups go a long way towards keeping the office kitchen warm. So when there’s an Element Seafood potluck, you know the table will not include store-bought brownies.
For this dinner, we wanted to focus on a few of Element Seafood’s lesser known items: abalone, sardines and swai. After all, it’s no good if we know and love a particular food, but many of our chefs and customers are not familiar with it. Then, we decided each person should be responsible for making two seafood dishes, and that maybe we needed some appetizers and pasta and dessert on top of that. Just in case there wasn’t enough food.
So, our informal gathering quickly turned into a full-blown, multicourse seafood dinner party. There was something aquatic in every dish; even the bruschetta had anchovies in it. “Wow,” Nellie commented. “We’ve got our own Feast of the Seven Fishes tonight!” It may have been a few months late, but I’m pretty sure the Italians approve of seafood extravaganzas any time of the year.
Have you tried or worked with abalone, sardines or swai? In the next few weeks, we’re going to share the results of our culinary experimentation and give suggestions for recipes and to showcase these flavors. We hope you can cook up a Feast of Seven Fishes of your own!