Known for its local and meat-centric dishes, Vancouver's Wildebeest also serves up great seasonal seafood dishes that reflect the Pacific Northwest. This dish, with wakame, mussels, cod and cabbage, captures the restaurants essence. You can find it on its menu, or if you're feeling ambitious, you can try it at home.
Wakame butter
Add wakame to a boil and pour hot water over it to rehydrate until plump and pliable. Once the wakame has been rehydrated, remove it from water and place on cutting board.
Finely chop the wakame and let cool for a few minutes.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the butter and chopped wakame together, mixing thoroughly with a whisk.
Cabbage
Finely chiffonade (cut into thin strips) the cabbage and season well with salt. Let sit for 20 minutes.
While you are waiting on the cabbage, add the soy sauce, white wine vinegar and sugar to a pot over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil.
Once boiled, pour the mixture over the cabbage and let steep for 20 minutes. Remove from liquid and let it dry before you sauté it later.
Mussels
Prepare colander by placing it over a bowl large enough to hold it and catch liquid from it.
Heat a heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add mussels, fennel and onion. Cover with lid for 30 seconds. Then add the white wine and immediately cover again. Steam the mussels and occasionally give to pot a good shake.
Once the mussels have opened, place in the prepared colander.
Let mussels cool slightly then remove from shells and place in fridge until you are ready to use.
Pass the collected mussel stock through a fine strainer into a sauce pot.
Garlic veloute
Place the sauce pot with the mussel stock onto the stove top. Bring to a simmer.
Add garlic to the pot and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and place in a blender. Add spinach and blend thoroughly. The spinach will help your stock stay green.
Pass your stock once again through a fine strainer into another pot. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, and add one large tablespoon of the whipped cream.
Cod
Season your fish well with salt and place in a Ziploc bag with a tablespoon of the wakame butter. Squeeze out any excess air and fully seal the bag.
Bring a large pot of water to a slow simmer on your stove top. Place the bag of cod into the simmering water and cook until done. This will vary depending on how hot your water is.
You can check the doneness of your fish by sliding a cake tester into the thickest part. If you get no resistance your fish is cooked thoroughly.
Assembly
Bring the velouté to a boil over high heat, and add the mussels back into it to warm them.
Sauté the cabbage, making sure to char it.
Pour the velouté and your mussels into your serving bowl. Then add cabbage over mussels.
Remove the cod from the bag, season it with some finishing salt and place gently on top of the cabbage.
