Geoduck crudo with cucumber, szechuan peppercorn, celery leaf, and lemon
Joe Ritchie
Goldfinch Tavern at Four Seasons
Seattle, Washington
Raised in Washington State's Snoqualmie Valley, Joe Ritchie’s first job was harvesting local blueberries for ten cents a pound. In this dish, he showcases a rarely seen seafood, the geoduck clam [goo-ee-duhk] which is native to his home territory of Washington.
Ingredients:
- 1 large, live Pacific geoduck clam
- 1 English cucumber, halved
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- Salt
- 1 Szechuan peppercorn, ground
- 1 large lemon
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup fresh celery leaves
- Leaves from 3 sprigs tarragon
- Salt
For the geoduck:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Blanch geoduck and shock in an ice bath. Immediately pull off shell from siphon and peel outer membrane from siphon. Trim siphon, discarding viscera, and halve lengthwise. Rinse siphon and cut off any dark colored tissue.
For the compressed cucumber:
Peel one half of the cucumber and set aside remaining half. Halve the peeled cucumber lengthwise and remove seeds. Cut into ¼-inch cubes. Place in a vacuum bag with lemon juice and sesame oil and season with salt. With a vacuum seal, gently compress cucumbers; chill.
To assemble and serve:
Slice geoduck on an angle, as thinly as possible. Halve the remaining unpeeled cucumber half lengthwise and thinly slice. Arrange the sliced cucumber and compressed cucumber on a plate with geoduck slices. Season lightly with salt, Szechuan peppercorn, lemon juice, and olive oil. Garnish with celery leaves and tarragon.
