The show is really heating up and with the final on the line this week is huge!

This week’s challenge is gourmet cooking and nice plating. To keep my trend of international dishes, I chose to go Mediterranean this time. The trick to gourmet cooking is to make it look simple but with flavors that will blow your mind. Mixing textures and colors will make the plate playful and inviting. Give it a try and check out the episode to see how I do!

Bronzino:

4 Bronzino filets (Skin on but no bones)

6 different colored bell peppers (cleaned and cut in half)

1 lemon

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

2 TBS chickpea flower

½ TBS Coriander and Cumin blend

2 Tsp salt

1 Tsp pepper

¼ Cup chopped parsley

Start by rubbing oil on the peppers and roasting in the oven at 500 degrees. They take about 20 min but watch them so they don’t burn. While the peppers are in the oven the fish can be prepared. In a large bowl, mix together the coriander blend, 1Tsp salt, chick pea flower, garlic and onion powder. Coat only the skin side of the fish in the mixture. Next, place the fish on a hot oiled pan skin side down. Allow the fist to cook for about 3 minutes. As soon as the skin starts to brown, it can be moved to an oiled backing dish. Top each piece with the remaining salt and pepper, and a sprinkle of olive oil. Place lemon rounds along the tops and then finish toping with parsley. Now, it’s time to remove the peppers and turn oven down to 400 degrees. Once the oven cools down a bit place fish in about 5 minutes, again paying attention not to burn it. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the skin and julienne into strips. The fish should be served on top of the peppers either with or with out the skin. I chose to go skinless for the show since it sits a bit before judging and I did not want a soggy final product.

In the show I topped the fish off with a simple tappenade of chopped green olives, red olives, capers and truffle oil.

Israeli Salad:

This recipe is a staple at all family meals in my home. Great for any summer day.

1 Large cucumber chopped fine

4 Roman Tomatoes Seeded and chopped

½ Cup Chopped parsley

¼ Cup chopped mint

2 TBS Olive Oil

½ Juice of a Lemon

1 Tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Place all ingredients in a bowl, stir and let sit of 30 min in the fridge. I prefer to drain off the extra liquid before serving and top with good crumbled feta cheese.