Eat Drink Sing #5: ART Restaurant & Lounge/Madama Butterfly

Seattle Opera offered a challenge to five top chefs at local restaurants: create an appetizer and cocktail inspired by one of this season’s operas. We've been posting with recipes for the creative, mouthwatering pairings they invented all week long, and this is the final one. So blast your favorite opera recording on your sound system and get cooking!

Madama Butterfly Recipes created by ART Restaurant & Lounge

Chef Kerry Sear
Four Seasons Hotel Seattle
99 Union Street
206.749.7070

With Pike Place Market's bounty as inspiration, executive chef Kerry Sear and his team serve urban Northwest cuisine in a welcoming and lively atmosphere at ART Restaurant & Lounge. Order from a carefully crafted wine list; try a TV or Tasting Tray, four courses, served at once; then finish with dessert prepared by the restaurant's pastry star.

Kerry Sear

Breakfast: 6:30 am – 11:00 am; brunch: Sat and Sun, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm; Lunch: Mon-Fri 11:00 am – 2:00 pm; Dinner: 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm; Happy Hour: Sun – Thu, 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm; Lounge: 2:00 pm – Midnight

Appetizer: Sake Cured Arctic Char, Quail Egg, Radish, Mache, and Pickled Plum Vinaigrette
Serves 6-8


Cure:
1 lb Arctic char fillet (skin on, scaled)
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp coriander seeds
3 tbs kosher salt
3 tbs sugar
1 tbs fresh shiso leaf, minced
1 cup sake
8 quail eggs hard-boiled and sliced
½ cup radish, thinly sliced
1 cup Mache lettuce

Vinaigrette:
2 tbs Japanese pickled plums, minced
1 tbs ginger, grated
1 tbs scallions thinly sliced
2 tbs rice wine vinegar
1 tsp mirin
6 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper

Heat black peppercorns and coriander seeds in a small skillet over medium-high heat until spices are fragrant, shaking skillet constantly.

Crush spices in mortar pestal. Transfer spices to small bowl and add in sugar and kosher salt.

Using a small knife, poke small holes through skin of the Artic Char. Rub 1/3 of spices on skin. Sprinkle shiso on the bottom of a baking pan. Place Char skin side down on top of shiso. Rub remaining spices on top of fish. Pour sake over the char and rub into the fillet. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing onto fish. Place a plate on top of plastic and weigh it down with heavy cans. Refrigerate for 2-3 days.

In a small bowl, mix the ginger, scallions, pickled plums, rice wine vinegar, and mirin together. Slowly whisk in the olive oil blend until the vinaigrette starts to emulsify and combine.

To serve, slice thinly 5-6 pieces of Arctic char and place on a plate. In a small bowl, mix the Mache and radish together with dressing. Season with salt and pepper. Place the salad mixture on top of the char. Add the hard-boiled quail egg on top and serve.

Patricia Racette as Madama Butterfly at the Met

Cocktail: Melon Butterfly
1½ oz honeydew melon juice
½ oz simple syrup
¾ oz limoncello
2 oz Hou Hou Shu Sparkling Sake
Add juice, simple syrup, and limoncello to mixing glass with ice. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Top with chilled sparkling sake. Garnish with orchid and fresh mint sprig.



Seattle Opera's EAT-DRINK-SING Recipes are also featured in the company's 2011/12 Souvenir Book, a glorious treasure-trove of information about the company, the operas we'll be presenting this season, and the art form of opera. Subscribers receive their complimentary copy of the Souvenir Book beginning in July 2011; CLICK HERE for subscription information.