Upper-crusty dishes

About 10 years ago, the word "encrusted" entered our vocabulary. Chefs began to experiment with certain ingredients to form an unusual crust for chicken and fish, resulting in such dishes as sesame-encrusted salmon with an Asian citrus sauce.

After years of preparing simple chicken and fish dishes, I too began to experiment. It happened by accident one day when I came upon a shaker of toasted sesame seeds in the grocery store. I bought it and recreated fillet of salmon with a sesame-seed crust on a pool of citrus sauce.

Besides sesame seeds, there are myriad ingredients you should have on hand. Pecans and almonds are marvelous with chicken cutlets. Whenever I make pan-fried trout, I always dredge the fish in cornmeal. Crushed peppercorns, meanwhile, add zing to tuna.

Although "encrusted" foods appear to be a recent trend, let’s not forget classic steak au poivre. This French dish has been around for ages and is nothing more than a fillet steak rolled in crushed peppercorns and seared in a hot pan.

Sauces are important when preparing certain encrusted dishes. The aforementioned citrus sauce, either straight or with an Asian flair, is a light and refreshing enhancement for rich fish such as salmon and tuna.

Here are recipes for encrusted chicken and fish.

Salmon with a Sesame Crust and Citrus Sauce

Ingredients:
4 (6-ounce) fillet of salmon
Olive oil
Handful of toasted sesame seeds spread out on a plate
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Juice of 2 oranges
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoons soy sauce, or to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Wipe the fillets dry with paper towels. Using a pastry brush or paintbrush, smear the fillets with olive oil. Dip each fillet into the sesame seeds.

Place the fillets in a shallow baking dish. Place the fish in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Check for doneness. The fish should be slightly translucent inside.

While the fish cooks, make the Asian citrus sauce.

Place the lemon juice, orange juice, lime juice and soy sauce in a small non-reactive saucepan. Heat gently on medium.

Remove the fish from the oven. Place the fillets on each of four warm plates. Spoon some sauce over the fish and serve.

Serves four.

Note from Phyllis: I always keep orange juice, bottled lemon juice and bottled unsweetened lime juice in my refrigerator. You can make the sauce with these juices.

Chicken Cutlets with a Pecan Crust

Ingredients:
2 whole large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half
Olive oil
Handful of pecan pieces, roughly chopped in the food processor
Leaves from 2 fresh sprigs of rosemary, optional
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place the chicken cutlets on a sheet of plastic wrap. Cover with another sheet of plastic wrap. Pound each cutlet into 1-inch thickness. You can use a metal meat pounder or the bottom of a pot.

Wipe the cutlets dry with paper towels. Brush them with olive oil. Place the chopped pecans on a plate. Dip each chicken cutlet into the pecans. Coat both sides. Sprinkle on the rosemary leaves, if using. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Place the chicken cutlets in the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes. Check for doneness after 20 minutes.

Serves four.

Brook Trout with a Cornmeal Crust

Ingredients:
4 whole brook trout fillets
Cornmeal for dredging
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Pat the trout dry with paper towels. Place the cornmeal, kosher salt and pepper on a plate. Mix well to blend.

Dredge each brook trout in the cornmeal mixture. Set aside.

Heat the butter and oil on medium-high in a large skillet. Add the trout, flesh side down, into the pan. You may have to use two skillets if you do not have one skillet large enough for the trout. Cook the trout for about five minutes, or until the cornmeal mixture turns golden. Using two spatulas, turn each trout over and cook, skin side down, for about five minutes.

Serves four.

Note from Phyllis: Fortunately for us, brook trout are sold fresh, already filleted and without the head. If you wish, you can sauté a small handful of sliced almonds in butter and top the fish with the almonds.

Seared Ahi Tuna with a Peppercorn Crust

Ingredients:
4 (6- to 8-ounce) top-quality ahi tuna fillets
Olive oil
Handful of black peppercorns, crushed
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons peanut oil, or more, if needed

Directions:

Wipe the tuna with paper towels. Set aside.

Pour some olive oil onto a plate. Carefully dip the outside edge of each tuna fillet into the olive oil. Place the crushed peppercorns along with kosher salt onto another plate. Carefully dip the outside edge of each tuna fillet into the crushed peppercorns. Set aside.

Heat the peanut oil on high in a heavy skillet, preferably cast iron. When the oil is very hot, sear the tuna fillets a few minutes on each side for rare tuna. If you prefer your tuna medium rare, sear a minute or so on each side.

Serves four.

Note from Phyllis: Ahi tuna is sometimes called sushi-quality tuna. The Asian citrus sauce is also good with this dish. I like peanut oil when I sear fish over very high heat. If you don’t have peanut oil, use canola or vegetable oil.

Steak Au Poivre

Ingredients:
4 New York strip steaks or boneless rib-eye steaks
Crushed peppercorns
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions:

Pat the steaks dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the crushed peppercorns onto the steaks and, using the back of a small spoon, spread the peppercorns evenly over the sides of the steaks. Sprinkle with kosher salt.

Melt the butter and oil over high heat in a large skillet. A cast-iron skillet works well. Add the steaks and sear for a few minutes on each side for rare steak. Sear a minute or two longer for medium rare.

Serves four.

Note from Phyllis: You can deglaze the pan with a dry red wine and reduce for a few minutes for a delicious sauce. Steak au poivre should have a distinctly peppery taste, so if you don’t like pepper, don’t make steak au poivre.