Recipe: Shad Roe with Dandelion Greens and Mustard Vinaigrette

the appetizer:

The Young Man & the Sea by David Pasternack presents new twists on seafood recipes, like Seafood Salad Esca, Fettucine, Rock Shrimp, Corn & Jalapeño, and Shad Roe with Dandelion Greens and Mustard Vinaigrette.

Shad Roe with Dandelion Greens
and Mustard Vinaigrette

Serves 4

To me, this dish is spring squared—shad roe and dandelion greens are quintessential spring ingredients. Shad roe must be cooked medium-rare, or it gets sawdusty, and the eggs get a little hard. When buying shad roe, look for orange eggs; if they're red, the eggs get gamy. Warning: Shad roe is not for everyone. Like I tell my waiters, "Don't oversell shad roe. If the customers know what it is, let them order it. If they don't know, let them find out about it somewhere else."

2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar (preferably Chianti)
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup whole milk
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 shad roe sacs
2 cups dandelion greens, rinsed well and spun-dry
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

In a small mixing bowl, combine the mustard and vinegar. While still whisking, add 4 tablespoons of the olive oil in a slow, steady stream to form an emulsion. Set aside.

Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large straight-sided saute pan over a medium flame.

Pour the milk into a wide shallow bowl, and put the flour in a similar bowl. Coat the shad roe sacs with milk and then dredge in the flour, shaking off the excess. Transfer to the pan, and cook until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.

Put the dandelion greens in a salad bowl. Whisk the vinaigrette again, pour over the greens, and toss to coat. Cut each piece of shad into 1/4-inch slices. Divide the greens among four serving plates and top each serving with six slices of shad roe. Drizzle the dressing that remains in the salad bowl over the shad, top with a sprinkling of salt, and a grinding of pepper, and serve.