Crazy Cool Fish Lettuce Wraps and Torrontés

This has to be the most out of the box dish I’ve ever cooked in my life.While reading up on Argentina and trying to find which wine shop carries Torrontes (mine unfortunately doesn’t have one), my co-worker mentioned a good food pairing she’d had with that particular wine was Cool Ranch Doritos. Inspiration hit instantly.

A fish dish naturally lends itself to being paired with a white wine due to its juicy acidity, stony minerality, and light-bodiedness. But instead of a typical fried fish lettuce wrap with the same boring garnishes of pickles and tartar sauce, I wanted to add little fun with some Cool Ranch Dorito flakes.

On their own, the sweet, salty kick of the Cool Ranch Doritos complement the floral and lively fruit notes of Torrontes really well–props to my co-worker. Adding a delicate protein like haddock fish, homemade tartar sauce, pickled shallots and grape tomatoes added a little fat and acid to stand up to the wine’s minerality and texture. The result: a refreshing, flavorful midday snack, perfect for a hot day.   

Finished dish

Fish Lettuce Wraps with Cool Ranch Dorito Flakes Serves: 12 individual lettuce fish wraps

Ingredients

• Fish

  • 1lb White fish cut into 1½-2 inch pieces 

  • 2 tbsp Avocado oil 

  • 2 tbsp Unsalted butter 

  • Salt and pepper to taste 

  • Homemade Tarter Sauce

    • 2 Large garlic cloves 

    • 3 Large pinches of salt

    • 2 tsp of Onion powder 

    • 10 Cornichons, minced 

    • 1 tsp Cornichon juice

    • Juice of 1 lemon 

    • 1 Egg yolk 

    • 1 tsp of Dijon mustard

    • ¾ cup Avocado oil

    • Pickled Shallots

      • 2 Large shallots, sliced with a mandoline 

      • ¼ cup Apple cider vinegar 

      • ¼ cup Water 

      • ½ tbsp fish sauce 

      • ½ tbsp brown sugar 

      • Salt and pepper to taste

      • ½ cup Diced grape tomatoes 

      • Cool Ranch Doritos, smashed to pieces 

      • 1 Head of Butter lettuce, rinsed 

Instructions

1. Homemade tartar sauce (Make 1-2 days ahead of time; keeps for about 2 weeks)

   1. Make a garlic paste.*

   2. Blend garlic paste, onion powder, minced cornichons, cornichon juice, lemon juice, egg yolk and dijon mustard in a bowl until the yolk turns bright yellow (about 30 seconds).

   3. Slowly add in the oil, blending constantly until thick and light and color. Cover and chill.

   4. Pickled shallots (Make 30 minutes-2 days ahead of time)

      1. Combine water, apple cider vinegar, fish sauce, brown sugar in a bowl.

      2. Add sliced shallots and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill.

      3. With a rolling pin or bottom of a heavy pan, smash the Cool Ranch Doritos until fine.

      4. Season fish with salt and pepper; then pan-sear**.

      5. Assemble lettuce wrap starting with the homemade tartar sauce, fish, Cool Ranch Dorito flakes, diced grape tomatoes, pickled shallots, and finish with more Cool Ranch Dorito flakes.

*Recipe credit: Fine Cooking

**Recipe credit: New York Times Cooking

About Zolo Torrontes

As one of the leading sustainable winemakers in Argentina, winemakers Fabian Valenzula and Jean Claude Berrout along with vineyard manager Carlos Correas strive to make a wine bursting of citrus, tropical fruit, and white flowers. All the grapes are hand-harvested, and nitrogen is introduced throughout the pressing of the grapes to eliminate contact with oxygen. The result is a highly aromatic, lively wine full of orange peel, fresh honeydew, and fresh jasmine flowers, begging for hints of spice. Additional suggested dishes include spaghetti squash with Thai peanut sauce and chicken tikka masala.