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Oliveto Oceanic Dinners

 Wednesday through Saturday

June 9 through 12, 2010

At a time when many of us worry about what sort of fish we should be eating, one Californian reader kindly sent me the exemplary menu from a special seafood dinner held at Oliveto restaurant in Oakland. It's a fine example of a restaurant taking great care.
-Nicholas Lander, Food Writer, The Financial Times, London,
shortly after Oceanic Dinners, 2009
Oliveto's Chef Paul Canales and fish purveyor Tom Worthington of Monterey Fish Company, in their yearly collaboration for our now widely-known oceanic event, have described June's menu thus: it will be less sprawling than in previous years and more focused, a "curated" (as Paul says) event where each fish or sea creature will be chosen for some extraordinary characteristic or quality. Some thoughts they tossed around: "We'll balance rustic and refined. Some dishes will be more composed, developed, conceptual, fussy, or edgy. Some more traditional. There will be great fish you don't want to mess with-you keep that simple." Tom will undertake a "culinary study" of one fish, using different cooking methods and accompaniments. Diners will catch subtle reflections of Paul's 2009 trip to Japan; Tom's recent sojourn in Spain likewise will inform some of the dishes.

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MENU

Smaller items, soup, salumi, salads . . .

Crudo of local halibut, razor clams, blood clams, and Monterey Bay squid

Smoked local swordfish with Flavor Rosa and Flavorella pluots and Espelette pepper (watch video)

Terrina of brined king salmon, smoked sturgeon, and spring vegetables

Chilled octopus and pork ear soppressatas with Castelvetrano olive and smoky pimentón sauce

Yuzu and Prosecco-cured Boston mackerel with pressed cucumbers and crème fraîche

Green urchin flan with old aceto balsamico

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Roasted beets, orange cauliflower, and avocado with oenogarum and scallions

Salad of spring vegetables and sea beans with yellowtail jack botttarga maionese

Charcoal-grilled cuttlefish with preserved Meyer lemons and purslane

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Soup: chilled squid ink soup with smoked sea scallops, white shrimp confit, and Monti Iblei olive oil

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Polpettini of Monterey Bay squid with Fava beans and saffron

Fritto of steamer clam and wild fennel fritelle, smoked trout croquettes, and frog's legs

Pastas

Risotto alla pilota with baby octopus, asparagus, Fava beans, and crayfish butter

Ravioli of green sea urchin, fresh-dug Butterball potatoes, and leeks with Riverdog Farm egg yolk

Rotolo di patate of salted black cod and squash blossoms with first-of-the-season bush Early Girl tomatoes

Goat's milk ricotta cavatelli rigati with little Tomales Bay mussels, smoked bluefish, and English peas

Cannelloni rossi with lobster, local rockfish, and Morel mushrooms

Corzetti al sugo di pesce and Castelvetrano olives

Whole-milled Durum wheat spaghetti with Half Moon Bay sardines, Calabrian hot peppers, and wild fennel pollen

Wild nettle tagliolini with geoduck clams and Nocellino olive oil

Oceanic grills, roasts, sautées, and braises

Warm marinated yellowfin tuna with grilled piadina, wild arugula, and new garlic aïoli

Gratinata of sand dabs, new potatoes, and artichokes; salsa vasca

Olive-oil-poached petrale sole alla ghiotta with Tomales Bay Manila clams and Taggiasca olive panelle

Charcoal-grilled-rare yellowtail jack with Marin Miyagi oysters and fried shoelace potatoes

Black sea bass in carozza stuffed with cuttlefish and first-of-the-season zucchini

Fried jumbo softshell crab and buttermilk biscuit sandwich with sauce remoulade and fennel slaw

Charcoal-grilled smoked shellfish and duck sausage with Ceci beans

DESSERTS

White peach-Prosecco "Bellini" sgroppino

Flavor Rosa plum gelato in almond tuile shells

Passion fruit soufflé with pink peppercorn crème anglaise

Mulberry-cornmeal cake with fig-leaf ice cream

Valrhona chocolate tart with fior di latte ice cream

Georgia whilte shrimp crema fritta

Hazelnut tozzetti

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Two special wines on the list for Oceanic Dinners:

Alvarinho, Soalheiro, Vinho Verde, Portugal 2009 -- Unlike any Vinho Verde I've tasted before...significantly reduced yields resulted in amazing richness and density. Aromatic floral and nectarine notes interlace with intense minerality.

Listan Negra, "Maceración Carbónica," Los Bermejos, Lanzarote-Canary Islands, Spain 2008 -- Made from the indigenous grape, Listan Negra, this has fantastic complexity and a delightful freshness. Pure, bright cherry and strawberry fruit are complimented by an herbal note and a distinctive smoky, ashy tone surely derived from the unique volcanic soils of the island.
-Chris Ryerson, Oliveto Wine Director

(see more of Chris' tasting notes at the Oliveto Wine Journal)

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