Recipe: How to make Cala's trout tostadas

Gabriela Cámara first wowed diners at Contramar in Mexico City. Since opening Cala in 2015 — the chef’s U.S. follow-up — Bay Area diners have been lucky enough to be able to get a taste of Cámara’s cooking without having to grab their passports.

The focus of the kitchen at the Hayes Valley restaurant is decidedly seafood-centric. It also encourages Bay Area diners to think outside the box when it comes to what might be considered familiar Mexican dishes.

Take for example, Cámara’s mussel tamal: a light and fluffy masa is formed around still-in-their-shell mussels then wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed until tender. The juice from the mussels, as they open, delicately perfumes the masa with a lovely brininess.

Then there are Cala’s signature trout tostadas. Crispy house-made corn tortillas are topped with thinly sliced, rosy-hued trout that’s complemented by a slather of smoky chipotle mayonnaise, slices of perfectly ripe avocado and crunchy flecks of deep-fried leeks. It’s the kind of dish where each component is on full display, so only the freshest, best-quality ingredients will do (see Tricks of the Trade).

Not only is it one of the most satisfying dishes on the menu, it captures the essence of Cámara’s incredibly thoughtful cooking: simple, refined, elegant.

Sarah Fritsche is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sfritsche@sfchronicle.com. Twitter/Instagram: @foodcentric

Makes 8 tostadas

Fried leeks

½ cup thinly slice leeks

2 cups vegetable oil

Chipotle Mayonnaise

5 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 chipotle chile in adobo

Kosher salt to taste

Tostadas

½ cup soy sauce

1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

Juice from 1 lime

8 ounces cleaned and skinless trout loin, thinly sliced sashimi-style

8 corn tostadas, about 4 inches wide

1 ripe, firm avocado, thinly sliced

For the fried leeks: Fill a medium bowl with cold water and add the sliced leeks. Agitate, making sure you get the rounds to separate while you rinse them. Remove the leeks from the water and set them to dry completely over a paper towel.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees in a medium skillet. Fry the leek rounds until lightly golden, about 1 to 1½ minutes, stirring them to make sure they don’t over-brown. Take them out of the oil and set them on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Let them dry (this is essential to getting them crispy).

For the chipotle mayonnaise: Mix the mayonnaise in a blender with the chipotle chile until smooth. If you want your mix to be less spicy, remove the seeds from the chile before adding to the blender. Season to taste with salt.

Tricks of the trade

Select the freshest fish: First off, establish a relationship with a reliable fishmonger. If choosing a whole fish, its eyes should be bright, gills should be tulip-red and the skin and scales should be bright and reflective of light. Flesh should be vibrant and fairly firm to the touch. Don’t be afraid to take a deep whiff to make sure the fish is at maximum freshness — seafood should have a pleasing aroma that’s like a crisp ocean breeze. (For more tips on selecting fresh fish, click here.)

Knife skills: First and foremost, to get perfect sashimi-thin slices of trout, you’ll need a very sharp knife — any knife will work, but a long, slim blade is best. Angle your knife so it’s about 45 degrees and cut diagonally against the grain, in a single smooth motion.

Make your own mayo: Store-bought is perfectly fine, but why not up your game with homemade mayonnaise. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together 3 extra-large egg yolks, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon fine sea salt. Beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is smooth, then slowly begin to add canola oil, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mayonnaise begins to thicken. You can then add additional oil in a slow, steady stream until you reach your desired thickness. In total, you’ll end up using about 1½ cups oil. (See more tips and techniques for crafting perfect emulsions here.)

Pick the perfect avocado: Look for fruit that are heavy for their size. Avocados ripen off the tree, so leave unripe fruit on the counter until soft (you can store in a paper bag to speed up the ripening process), then store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Ripe fruit will give slightly when gentle pressure is applied, but avoid squeezing, which can cause bruising.

Let’s talk tortillas: With so many great places to get fresh tortillas in the Bay Area — including San Francisco’s La Palma Mexicatessen and La Gallinita Meat Market or Sonoma’s El Molina Central and La Finca in East Oakland — there’s no need to buy humdrum supermarket tortillas. Get the good stuff.

If you’re crisping your own: To crisp tortilla shells without deep-frying: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Place tortillas in a single layer on 2 baking sheets. Bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the tortillas from the oven, and raise the temperature to 350 degrees. Rub both sides of the tortillas with a little bit of canola oil, then return them to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, until they start to color on the edges.

For the tostadas: Mix the soy sauce with the orange and lime juices in a medium bowl. Place the slices of trout in the soy mixture for about 5 minutes, making sure all the slices are in contact with the liquid.

Spread each tostada with about 1 teaspoon of the chipotle mayonnaise, or however much is needed to lightly cover the tostada. One by one, remove the trout slices from the marinade and set 3 to 4 slices over each tostada, making sure to cover the mayonnaise. Place a pinch of fried leeks on each tostada and finish with a thin slice of avocado. Serve immediately.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.sfchronicle.com/recipes/article/Recipe-How-to-make-Cala-s-trout-tostadas-13299353.php