May 10, 2022 – Maybe you take recipes as gospel and reenact them precisely as their good creator intended. Perhaps you work them like rented putty and re-shape them aggressively. Maybe you love recipes purely for the photos.

Aaron Koseba treats recipes a little bit differently. He’s cheffed at acclaimed Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago with Justin Cogley, before coming to Carmel with Cogley to be Aubergine’s chef de cuisine. After a half decade there, Koseba spent the next five as CDC for Michelin three-star Single Thread.

But the reason Edible wanted his thoughts on recipes didn’t involve any of that. It was because his dazzling recipe and performance at Fin + Forage’s recent Catch and Cook competition, in which he took first place. (See recipe, below.)

”Recipes offer guidelines, inspiration and perspective for me,” he says. “Depending on what I want to make, some recipes must be followed precisely. [But] cooking can be like jazz, you never have to cook the same dish twice.”

For a dish the event judges nearly scored perfect, he intended to spear a monkeyface prickleback and prepare it like an eel might be prepared in Japan. He ended up with black rockfish, and nailed the cloud-like tempura preparation, but it was the sauces that really captured appetite and imagination. He crafted a traditional tentsuyu sauce made from the rockfish bones, confit of wild nori with wild spring onion, and a purple sea urchin and lime sauce.

Virtually every bit of the fish was used, and every major element of the recipe caught, harvested or foraged, including the serving elements of wild seaweed and eucalyptus bark.

Though she finished just out of the top three, UC San Francisco researcher and Oakland resident Daisy Valdivieso shone as brightly as anyone who entered because of her resourceful sourcing and heady recipe.

While an amateur cook and novice spearfisherman armed only with a pole spear, she pulled off quite a coup with her “garden-to-sea” burger with nopales fries. (See recipe, below.)

She wanted to make something that works with any fish, whether a more celebrated sport fish or a more humble (and underrated) species.

“Personally I really wanted to work with perch since it’s great to diversify our catch and work with all types of fish,” she says. “The fish burger is perfect for that; it also works with any garden veggies, so you can throw in whatever’s in season or local when you’re wanting to make it—it doesn’t have to be the veggies I used.”

Drawing inspiration from star free diver Kimi’s Werner’s catch-and-cook YouTube channel, Valdivieso made it her own by using what she had available in her garden, making her own cast iron bread, crafting kombucha kelp pickles, and adding uni to the sauce. (After seeing uni pasta sauces online, she thought, Why can’t this umami go in an aioli?) Then she brainstormed what locally occurring product would make a good accompaniment.

“I’d never made [nopales] as fries before but I played around with the idea before the competition—if you ask my housemates, they’ll tell you I was constantly asking them, ‘What if I tried this or that?’” she says. “It was the perfect excuse to try things I hadn’t before, even just getting my own sea salt straight from the ocean. I had a lot of fun with it.”

Event ringleader Eric Keener saw nothing less than the essence of the event in what she caught and cooked.

“She basically made the entire thing with grown or foraged stuff outside of the oils and powders,” he says. “That’s ridiculously impressive.”

When it comes to recipes, Edible asked her if she’s exacting or spiritual in her approach to following instructions.

“It really depends…if a recipe uses ingredients and methods I’ve never used before, I’ll give it a close follow the first time I make it,” she says. “Other than that, I’m really into Werner’s catch and cook style—who isn’t—where she encourages everyone to just use what you have and what’s local where you are. She rarely puts measurements and works more intuitively and experimentally. I try to be more adaptive like that.”

Which proves to be a delicious way to proceed.

Here appear those two competitors’ recipes (which turn out to be several recipes masquerading as one overall dish), along with two bonus recipes from two other top finishers.

Tempura Fried Rockfish with Assorted Dipping Sauces Courtesy Aaron Koseba

Fish Marinade Ingredients Rockfish, skin on, scales removed Sake 1 lime, juice and zest 1 lemon, juice and zest 1 orange, juice and zest

Method Combine the liquids in equal parts in a bowl for marinating. Remove the scales from the fish, take care to leave the skin intact. Fillet the fish and reserve the fins and head for tempura if desired. Split head in half and rinse blood clean. Reserve the bones for the smoked dipping sauce. Remove the unwanted pin bones from the fish. Portion the fish into uniform pieces that are easily handled with chop sticks, about 1.5” squares. Add the fish to the marinade bowl and allow to sit, cold, for up to 3 hours.

Tempura Dredge and Batter Ingredients 1 C cornstarch 1 Tbsp baking powder 1 Tbsp Salt 1 C flour 1 C water 1 C vodka

Method Mix the water and vodka. Pour into the dry batter ingredients and mix, making sure that the batter isn’t too thick or thin. Remove the fish from the marinade and pat dry with a towel. Toss a portion of the fish in the dredge to coat. Shake off all excess powder. Add the fish into the batter. Pull the fish out of the batter and let a fair amount of batter run back into the bowl so the fish is only lightly coated. Immediately add the battered fish into a pot of neutral oil that is around 325-350 degrees F. Fry until light golden color. Remove from oil and let drain on a rack.

Dip 1: Wild Nori Confit Ingredients ½ C nori or sea lettuce ½ C wild spring onion (substitute white onion if needed) 3 Tbsp shallot ½ C olive oil ½ C avocado oil 1 clove garlic Dark soy sauce (koikoshi) Rice wine vinegar Salt

Method Carefully cut seaweed from rocks in a clean ocean area. Inspect the seaweed and remove any sand or organic debris. Next, blanch the seaweed in fresh water for 5 minutes and chill in ice water. Drain it well and chop to a medium consistency. Finely chop the onion, shallot and garlic. In a small pot, add the oil and chopped alliums. Warm gently for 3-5 minutes until translucent then add in the chopped seaweed. Gently cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour over low heat. Turn off heat, cover and let. Season to taste with the dark soy sauce, salt and rice wine vinegar. Finish with fresh sea bean.

Dip 2: Smoked Bone Stock Ingredients 3” piece of dried kombu kelp 1 cup smoked rockfish bone stock 1/3 C mirin 1/3 C light soy sauce (usukuchi soy sauce) Grated ginger

Method Rinse the fish bones in cold water to remove any blood. Pat dry to remove the water. Smoke over any choice wood for 3-5 minutes to achieve delicate sweet smoke. Infuse into 3 cups of warm water and dried kombu kelp for about 13 minutes. Strain gently and reserve (this stock can also be substituted with dashi). Combine the smoked stock, mirin and soy sauce. Warm to combine, taking care not to boil. Add the ginger to taste once you remove from the heat source. Reserve at room temperature if you are serving immediately, otherwise chill and warm again before serving.

Dip 3: Sea Urchin Sauce Ingredients ½ C urchin roe (uni) 1 lime, juiced Shiro Tamari Yuzu Kosho

Method Crack open the urchin and remove the orange piece of gonad, carefully separating any dark tissue or decomposed seaweed. Rinse gently in sea water. Blend the urchin roe and pass through a fine mesh sieve/strainer. Season the blended urchin roe with fresh lime juice, shiro tamari and yuzu kosho to taste. Reserve over ice or in the cooler until ready to serve.

Open Faced Garden-to-Sea Burger with Fried Nopales Courtesy Daisy Valdivieso

Kelp Pickles Ingredients 6” section of young bull kelp stalk 1 tsp cayenne pepper 2 cloves of garlic, rough chopped 1 bunch fresh dill, chopped 3 radishes, sliced 2 cups kombucha vinegar ½ C sea salt 3 cups water

Method Rinse the kelp well then peel the outer layer with a veggie peeler. Use mandolin to slice into thin slices. Add kelp slices, garlic, and dill to a clean mason jar. Heat the vinegar, water and salt in a small pan. Once it starts to boil, pour it into the mason jar and seal with a lid.

Urchin Sauce Ingredients ½ C mayo ½ lemon, juiced 1 bunch fresh dill 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard 6 fresh urchin, gonads rinsed and reserved 1 tsp fresh cracked pepper

Method Mix all ingredients and blend until smooth.

Burger Ingredients 2 perch filets (or substitute rockfish), minced ¼ onion, diced 1 egg 1 bunch parsley, diced 1 sweet Italian pepper, diced 2 Tbsp coconut oil 1 tsp salt 1 tsp cayenne 1 tsp pepper 1 tsp smoked paprika 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced 3 leaves of chard or kale, with stems, diced 4 sweet peas, diced ½ carrot, diced

Method Filet the fish and remove skin. Add the coconut oil, carrot, onion, peas, chard, garlic and peppers to a frying pan over medium high heat to sauté. Add the egg and the sauteed ingredients into the fish and mix until smooth. Shape into burgers and fry both sides in coconut oil until golden brown.

Bun Ingredients ½ Tbsp active dry yeast ½ C lukewarm oat milk 2 C all purpose flower 1 egg ¾ tsp sea salt 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp sugar Sesame seeds

Method Dissolve active years in the lukewarm oat milk. Mix the flower with the eggs then add sugar, sea salt, and olive oil. Pour in milk and yeast mixture, mixing thoroughly. Knead for 5-7 minutes. Add to an oiled bowl and cover with cloth. Let rise for 40 minutes. After the rise, cut into 4 equal parts and shape the buns. Let it sit in cast iron pan for 15 minutes. Whisk an egg and coat the buns in the egg wash, then sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Cook in the cast iron skilled on low heat for about 20 minutes.

Nopales Fries Ingredients ½ C corn starch 6 C sunflower seed oil ½ C flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1 nopales paddle 1 tsp baking powder

Method Clean the nopales spines off using a knive, sliding across surface. Cut off the edges of the nopales. Boil the paddle for 10 minutes to remove slime texture adding the baking powder at the very end. Mix the flour, corn starch, salt and cayenne pepper in a shallow dish. Remove the nopales and cut into thick fries. Add them to the dish and thoroughly coat with the seasoning. Heat the sunflower seed oil over high heat and add the friest until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on rack, seasoning to taste with salt.

Plating tip: Build the burger and garnish with lettuce, nasturtium flowers, allium triquetrum flowers, and lemon zest. Pile the fries and sauce on the side.

BBQ Fish with Seaweed Salad and Crispy Rice Cakes Courtesy Dan Silveira

Seaweed Salad Ingredients 3-4 large bull kelp fronds ½ Gal ocean water ½ Gal fresh water 3 tbsp sesame oil (High Quality) 3 Tbsp Soy Sauce 1 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce Sesame seeds 1 Tbsp garlic, finely chopped 2 Sprigs green onion, chopped 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced/micro planed

Method Combine the liquids and bring to a boil. Clean the kelp fronds of any organic matter then add to the boiling water to blanch until they turn vibrant green. Leave them in water for 2 more minutes, then bring them out and shock them in an ice bath. Reserve the kelp water for steaming the rice. Pat them as dry as you can and remove all slime with a towel. Slice the kelp into 4” pieces and julienne lengthwise to make very thinly chopped seaweed strands. Mix the strands with the sesame oil, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame seeds, garlic, green onions, and ginger.

Crispy Rice Cakes Ingredients 1.5 C seaweed water from above 1 C glutenous, short grain rice 3 Tbsp mirin 3 Tbsp rice vinegar 1 Tbsp white sugar Vegetable oil Bonito flake Furikake seasoning

Method Thoroughly rinse rice, until water runs clear. Bring the rice and water to a boil in a sauce pan and then turn down to simmer. Cook until rice is done, and water is absorbed. Using a rice cooker is much easier if the option is available. Let the rice cool in the pan. In a small sauce pan, heat the mirin, rice vinegar and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Pour over the rice and gently mix it up. Place it on saran wrap, cover with a separate sheet of saran wrap, then press it down until it is all about a ½” thick layer. Set it in cooler or refrigerator for 1-3 hours. When done, heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Cut the rice into 2” squares and fry them; flipping regularly to avoid burning. Once they are golden brown, they can be sprinkled with bonito flake and furikake seasoning. They can be stacked next to your fish and used to stack fish on top of for consumption.

Barbecue fish Ingredients 1 Whole Rockfish, gutted Salt and Pepper Garlic powder

Sauce Ingredients 1 C parsley, finely chopped 3 full green onions, finely chopped 2 heads of garlic, finely chopped ½ C red and orange bell pepper, finely chopped 1/8 C yellow onion, finely chopped 1 lemon, juiced 2 Tbsp Portuguese fermented chili paste ½ C Pace Picante 1/8 C balsamic vinegar 3/8 C soy sauce 1 Tbsp clam base, heaping

Method Prepare all your ingredients prior to putting the fish on the grill. Once everything is chopped, scale the fish, slice it 3 times at a deep diagonal through skin and meat, then season it. In a frying pan over medium heat, add the olive oil and garlic. Quickly after garlic starts to cook, add all the vegetables to the pan. Stir to sauté. Toward the end, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well then remove from heat. Add the fish to a deep plate and pour the sauce over the top of it to marinate and coat fish for 5-10 minutes. Pull fish out and remove most of the sauce so just the oil remains, then add on a hot grill. Flip fish after 10-15 minutes to finish cooking, basting fish with the sauce. Once cooked, add fish to plate, and pour remaining sauce over the top of it. Plate with the crispy rice and seaweed salad.

Cavatelli Carbonara in Roast Red Pepper Puree with Rockfish Crispy Fried Scales Courtesy Daniel Kim

Cavatelli Pasta Ingredients 200g double 00 Durum wheat flour 2 large eggs 6 grams of salt

Method Make a mound with the flour and create a depression in the middle. Crack 2 large eggs, begin to combine with a fork until the dough is shaggy. Knead for 8-10 minutes until dough has smoothed and let rest for 30-60 minutes. Roll out ½ inch thick ropes, cut into small sections and roll out on a garganelli board. Cook for 6 ½ minutes in the fish stock to absorb flavor

Red Pepper Puree Ingredients 1 red pepper 2 tbsp olive oil Salt and pepper to taste Rockfish livers

Method Place pepper on burner flames directly, rotating until completely charred. Remove blacked skin and chop roughly. Roast fish livers over burners until nicely caramelized. Puree fish livers, red pepper, olive and season to taste.

Carbonara Ingredients 4 oz guanciale 2 oz minced shallot Salt and pepper to taste 2 large egg yolks Chives for garnish

Method Saute guanciale in 2 tbsp olive oil. Add shallots and allow to cool. Combine with pasta, 2 egg yolks, red pepper puree and season to taste. Add minced chives.

Fish stock Ingredients 2 lbs fish heads, bones and fins 1 leek 5 cloves garlic 1 carrot ½ white onion

Method Season heads and carcasses and fry in olive oil until browned. Add to boiling water with leek, garlic, onion and carrot.

Crispy Scale Fish Ingredients Fish filet skin, scales on 1 piece of kombu 3 cups peanut oil Konbujime marinate the flesh side of the fish fillet in dry konbu

Method Sandwich in paper towels to absorb as much moisture off the scales as possible. Heat up the oil to just below smoke point, and pour over the fish scales with a spoon until the scales have puffed crispy.

Mark C. Anderson is a writer, photographer, editor and explorer based in Seaside, California. Reach @MontereyMCA by way of Instagram and Twitter.

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