The '80s Seafood Fad Bobby Flay Still Believes In
Most people associate the 1980s with nostalgic snacks like Fruit Roll-Ups and the original Cool Ranch Doritos (via Go Puff), but the decade also gave life to many American dishes. As Fine Dining Lovers shares, it was during this time that Sloppy Joe's, tiramisu, and beef stroganoff became popular in nearly every household kitchen. The restaurant scene had its own trends too, with minimalism taking over the dining experience, Mirror 80 reports. This translated to both plating and the food itself, which often meant that portions were small and the food sometimes looked prettier than it actually tasted.
Also called Californian cuisine, this style of cooking that dominated the '80s favors highlighting one single ingredient throughout an entire dish. Per Cooking Light, instead of building layers of flavor, ingredients are enhanced with only acid and just enough seasoning. Nowadays, the Californian cooking approach is used primarily for plant-based dishes, but back in the '80s, Bobby Flay says he had a habit of using it on seafood (via Bon Appétit).
Bobby Flay still believes in using vinaigrette on fish
Since Californian cuisine involves the use of acid as a main flavor component, vinaigrettes — especially raspberry vinaigrette — quickly became popular in the '80s, TASTE reports. Though most people now know what a vinaigrette is, the French technique of emulsifying oil and vinegar was such a novelty to Americans at the time that it was referred to as "a new spin on the concept of sauce" in The Chicago Tribune.
Suzanne Tracht, who ran a restaurant at the height of the '80s vinaigrette craze remembers chefs treating the ingredient as "the best thing since sliced bread." Bobby Flay, who graduated from culinary school in 1984 (via Food Network), was one of those chefs. "I was working for Jonathan Waxman back at Jams in the '80s, and we would use vinaigrettes as sauces because we were cooking 'light Californian cuisine,'" Flay revealed to Bon Appétit. Since becoming a professional chef, he has dabbled in everything from Southwestern food to Spanish cuisine, and steakhouse fare (via Food Network), but one thing apparently hasn't changed: Flay still uses vinaigrette as a sauce, especially when making certain seafood dishes.
Why vinaigrette works well with fish
Some cooking trends, like turning everything into jello and gelatin, or topping everything with decorative foam, are best left in their prospective decade, but using vinaigrette on fish isn't one of them — at least according to Bobby Flay. As the celebrity chef explained to Bon Appétit, finishing off cooked fish with vinaigrette has two effects. "The heat allows the flavors in the vinaigrette to open up. Plus, it moistens the fish," Flay told the publication.
No matter what type you use, whether it be made with garlic and herbs or the classic '80s favorite of raspberry vinaigrette can enhance any sort of roasted fish. As Serious Eats elaborates, the acid in the vinaigrette, either lemon juice or vinegar, cuts through the fishiness with a distinct brightness, creating an overall balanced flavor profile. For his fish vinaigrette, Flay prefers using lemon juice over vinegar, and a 50-50 mix of olive oil and vegetable oil (via Bon Appétit). He flavors it with honey, capers, shallot, salt, and pepper, and the result is a timeless vinaigrette that goes perfectly with fish.