Because of my upcoming exam I need some ideas about a tomato sauce, which will fit well on pan fryed sea bass and also a popato dish which will suit everything well. In my mind there was a classic tomato fondue and rosti, but I want opinion from the people with more experience than me.
Thank you for your help.
For an exam, I would probably go with a galette or Anna for the potatoes. Shows a bit more finesse and technique while still maintaining the flavor and texture profile you would want in your accompaniment.
In my mind, tomato fondue and rösti do not go together at all. And culturally either. Much like I wouldn't serve sushi with melted cheese, I wouldn't serve a tomato sauce with a potato dish.
In my mind, tomato fondue and rösti do not go together at all. And culturally either. Much like I wouldn't serve sushi with melted cheese, I wouldn't serve a tomato sauce with a potato dish.
I believe there is a little confusion caused by referring to tomato fondue as a sauce. It is not so much a sauce (like a marinara) as it is more a classical French hot garnish used for a variety of dishes such as fish. Potatoes Anna is also classical French and a relatively somewhat blank canvas, so in my mind I can see it working.
I knew blank canvas wasn't necessarily the best choice of verbage, but I brain cramped on coming up with anything else. I don't find potatoes to have what I would consider an overwhelming flavor on their own and since Potatoes Anna is nothing more than potatoes, butter, salt, and pepper, I consider the flavor profile somewhat on the muted level. Doesn't mean I don't love them, because I do. I remember the first time I made Potatoes Anna 40 years or so ago, I thought "Man, I can be somebody"
Thanks for the link to Emeril's take on Julia's take on tomato fondue. I actually had referenced Julia, Escoffier, and Pellaprat (damn I sound like a name dropper)before responding the first time, because I wanted to make sure that I remembered things correctly. It was good to find out that my memory isn't shot yet!
I believe there is a little confusion caused by referring to tomato fondue as a sauce. It is not so much a sauce (like a marinara) as it is more a classical French hot garnish used for a variety of dishes such as fish. Potatoes Anna is also classical French and a relatively somewhat blank canvas, so in my mind I can see it working.
Oh no confusion there, I know what a tomato fondue is, I've been making tomato fondue since I was a kid! And I wouldn't serve it with potato Anna, or a gratin dauphinois, or french fries, or sauteed potatoes, or pommes dauphines, or pommes darphin, or any classic potato recipe, including Rösti. Maybe it's just my personal taste? .. but then again, I don't think I've often seen them served together.
@French Fries do you mean to say that you do not like potatoes and tomatoes together? Is this a French thing? In Greece potatoes and tomatoes are paired together in a lot of dishes. It's one of my most favorite flavor combinations. Potatoes braised with tomato, onion, and garlic is a top favorite. Potatoes roasted with tomatoes is another.
@French Fries do you mean to say that you do not like potatoes and tomatoes together? Is this a French thing? In Greece potatoes and tomatoes are paired together in a lot of dishes. It's one of my most favorite flavor combinations. Potatoes braised with tomato, onion, and garlic is a top favorite. Potatoes roasted with tomatoes is another.
It's funny when I was trying to think of how they could go together the only thing that came to mind was Greek cooking. For example moussaka (if you put potatoes in it). No, you're right, I've had some great dishes with both potatoes and tomatoes, but usually that's where the potatoes and tomatoes are cooked together I suppose.
I don't know, I don't have a hard rule or anything like that, it's just, a rösti served with a quenelle of tomato fondue doesn't sound appealing to me, and neither would a galette of potatoes Anna with a quenelle of tomato fondue. And I don't think they would serve that in a French restaurant. At least it doesn't sound like a classical pairing.
I'd have to do some digging, but I think potatoes and tomatoes are often combined in the south of France, in Provence and thereabouts. Somewhere I even read about a kind of potato variant on ratatouille; the potatoes were par-cooked (of course) and sliced, I think instead of eggplant, and interleaved with zucchini and tomato and so forth. I believe there was even a thyme-scented tomato fondue ladled over the top before long baking.
Yes -- turns out that both eggplant and potato are common ingredients, usually one or the other, in Provençal tian, which is a lot like ratatouille. (Or perhaps ratatouille is a kind of tian, I'm not sure.) When doing this, potato and tomato are required, as are herbes de Provence, obviously. A tomato fondue may be ladled over the top or not, but it should not be too runny (the final dish should not be watery) and there shouldn't be a whole lot of it. A cheese topping is usual, often made of fresh bread crumbs (or a bit stale) tossed with grated Gruyère, fresh herbs, and a little good olive oil to keep it from burning and get a good flavor. Bake covered until very well cooked, then finish uncovered to brown on the top. There are differences of opinion about whether the crumb topping should go on from the start or only at the final browning stage.
Come to think of it, you could bake the fish with white wine and some tomatoes on top, with a little garlic and fresh herbs, and serve that potato tian on the side. If you didn't overdo the tomatoes in the tian, I think it'd go together very nicely. I'd use a firm-fleshed white fish, maybe bass or something; I wouldn't want it to weep excessively or flake all over the place.
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