Flavorbomb
A rogue guide to making everything taste better
If you live for wildly addictive, life-affirming taste sensations that knock you off your feet, yet can’t figure out how to make them at home, you have just found your kindred cookbook spirit. Welcome to Flavorbomb, by Bob Blumer, and published by Penguin Random House Canada.
Blumer, a gastronaut, artist, and eight-time Guinness World Record holder, is the creator and host of the television series Surreal Gourmet and Glutton for Punishment, and a producer and host of World’s Weirdest Restaurants. His shows air on various networks in more than twenty countries worldwide.
Rob and Bonnie Lloyd have been fans of Blumer’s mind-bending creativity and ‘flavor bomb’ dishes for many years. Luckily, Blumer is a fan of Lloyd Cellars’ wines. For the 2020 holidays, the trio has decided to team up to pair a couple of Blumer’s Flavorbomb recipes, along with a selection of other past cookbook recipes that love Lloyd Cellars wine!
The Lloyd’s met Blumer through their years as wine co-hosts for MUSEXPO: The United Nations of Music & Media in Los Angeles. Each year, Blumer hosts a private brunch at his home in the Hollywood Hills for the conference’s winery partners. It was at one of these brunches that Blumer ‘tested’ the following Swingin’ Salmon Burger recipe on the Lloyd’s and friends, so we thought it appropriate to start the Flavorbomb narrative with this delicious pescatarian burger.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing some amazing holiday gifting ideas, including one with Blumer’s new book, as well as five recipes in a series of stories as part of the launch of our new News & Recipes blog. We now share Blumer’s Swingin’ Salmon Burger recipe, which pairs beautifully with both our Carneros Chardonnay and Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir!
Swingin’ Salmon Burger
Pair with Lloyd Cellars 2019 Carneros Chardonnay or/and 2017 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir
Equipment
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food processor
Ingredients
- 1 lb Fresh salmon fillet Avoid previously frozen salmon if possible
- 1 Poblano chili or jalapeño chili
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Egg
- 3 Green onions, finelysliced
- 2 Cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 Red bell pepper, trimmed and diced
- 2 tbsp Sourcream or mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp Dijonmustard
- 1/4 cup Parsley, roughly stemmed
- 1/4 cup Breadcrumbs or Panko
- 4 Airy burger buns (ideally brioche)
- 4 tbsp Homemade aioli or store-bought mayonnaise
- 1 Zest of lemon + 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tbsp Dill, chopped finely
- 1 Ripe avocado
- 3 tbsp Olive oil, divided
Instructions
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Using a sharp knife,remove skin from salmon. Remove any pin bones from the salmon, then roughly cutsalmon into ½-inch cubes. Reserve.
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Blacken poblano over a gas burner or BBQ. Put it in a bagfor 5 minutes, then peel off and the discard skin along with the seeds andstem. Reserve.
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To a food processor, addegg, green onion, garlic, poblano, bell pepper, sour cream, Dijon, cilantro,breadcrumbs, lemon zest + juice, salt ad pepper. Pulse four or five times. Addsalmon and pulse another 4 or 5 times or until coarsely chopped and blendedwith the other ingredients—but well before the point that it turns to mush. Ifyou don't have a food processor, chop salmon into tiny pieces, then blend withall the aforementioned ingredients in a bowl. Form salmon mixture into 4patties. Reserve.
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In a small bowl, blend aioli or mayo with dill. Reserve.
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In a medium bowl, use afork to mash avocado. Add a pinch of salt and lemon juice. Blend and reserve.
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Ifbuns are too thick or too dense, pull a little bread from the center of the tophalf, or slice a bit off from one or both of the cut sides. While patties are cooking, brush buns with oil andtoast, cut side down, in a pan or on a grill until cut side is lightly browned.
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To a sauté pan overmedium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon oil. When pan is smoking hot, add patties andcook, loosely covered, for about 4 minutes per side, or until the outsides arecrusty and the centers are just cooked (i.e. opague).
Notes
Advance work Aioli can be made up to a day in advance. Patties can be made up to a day in advance. Plan-overs Patties freeze well and will last in airtight wrapping for up to 6 months.
