Chef Cole Schardein, Rupee Restaurant. Photographs by Bri Dwyer

Where do you draw inspiration from when thinking of new seafood dishes and why?

Whenever I’m thinking of a new dish, seafood or otherwise, I first go to what’s in season. Especially at this time of year, some amazing products have such brief windows of seasonality, like asparagus and garlic scapes, so I always try to take advantage of them while they’re around. With seafood in particular, I generally want to pair it with something that will pair well but not overpower the delicate flavor of the fish. With sablefish for example, it’s so delicious on it’s own with salt and a slice of lemon, it’d be a shame to take the spotlight away from such a fantastic product.

What is the restaurant's philosophy for sourcing sustainable seafood?

Rupee Bar has always prioritized sustainability with the products we use. Whenever possible we try to buy produce from local, sustainable farms and proteins from local, sustainable sources. Liz Kenyon, Rupee’s founding Chef, played a huge role in instilling this attitude in me. She was always looking for ways to get seafood products as sustainably as possible and highlighting other non-salmon fish that are just as delicious and much less environmentally costly. This is something I’ve tried to maintain at Rupee Bar.

Why do you enjoy working with Sablefish?

I have a couple Sablefish fisherman in my family, so I have eaten quite a lot of it and have some degree of personal attachment to the fish. But mainly I love how fatty and buttery the flesh is and how crispy and delicious the skin can get. It always makes me sad to see someone take the skin off our Sablefish dish and leave it on the side of the plate. To me the skin is handily the best part of the fish.

Can you describe the flavor profiles of the dish you created?

I really wanted the fish to be the star of the show in this dish, so I tried not to go too crazy with the rest of it. I think the chile and cinnamon add some nice aroma to the beans, the asparagus adds a little nuttiness and the scapes give it some sweet, garlic-forward flavor. The lemon also goes a long way here to balance out the richness of the whole thing with some brightness. I do think the whole dish is a little heavy for this time of year but on a cloudy June day in Seattle, some buttery beans and buttery fish is right up my alley.

What do you hope guests take away when dining at your restaurant?

I hope they find satisfaction in the unique experience that Rupee Bar is. I started as a line cook at Rupee Bar about two and a half years ago with very little knowledge of Sri Lankan food, but I found a lot of inspiration reading books and learning about the cuisine and the food culture in that part of the world. Although much of our food doesn’t necessarily directly resemble dishes you might find there, we have always tried to represent the flavors of the cuisine while sourcing seasonal, local ingredients. My hope is that our guests have some understanding of that concept and find delight in it; I am not trying to cook Sri Lankan dishes, but rather find inspiration from a cuisine that I have become enamored with, yet have no personal ties to, and to highlight local ingredients and producers in the process.

Recipe: Seared Sablefish with Braised Beans, Garlic Scapes & Asparagus

Roasted sablefish: (each portion about 6oz)

2 5-6 oz portions of sablefish filet, with skin intact

1 cup chopped asparagus

½ cup chopped garlic scape

¼ cup compound butter (add more if desired)

All braised beans with liquid

Parsley leaves to garnish

For the Beans:

2 cups dried Great Northern Beans, or preferred dried white bean
1 stick cinnamon
1 dried ancho chile (guajillo or chipotle would work fine too)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 tsp salt

For the Compound butter:

½ cup butter, room temperature
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 Tbsp chopped chives
1 Tbsp chopped garlic scape
Zest from 1 lemon
1 Tbsp fish sauce

Recipe Day 1:

Soak beans in water, cover by about 2x the volume of the beans to compensate for the expansion with hydration. Leave to refrigerate overnight.
Cut sablefish into 5-6 oz portions, salt liberally on the flesh side and leave uncovered in the fridge, skin side up, overnight. This helps dry the skin out for a much crispier result after the sear.
Mix all ingredients for compound butter with a fork or a small food processor just until evenly combined. Leave to refrigerate overnight.

Recipe Day 2:

Preheat the oven to 350 F
Drain the soaked beans and place in a baking dish with the cinnamon, dried chile, garlic, salt and enough water to cover everything.
Cover the dish with foil and cook in the oven for 90 minutes (check the beans, they might need a bit more time, they should be soft but still have a little bite to them).
In a pot over medium/high heat, saute the asparagus and garlic scapes in neutral oil with a pinch of salt until tender (3-4 minutes)
Add the beans with all their liquid to the pot, remove the cinnamon and chile and discard.
Bring the liquid to a simmer and add the compound butter in small chunks, stirring to emulsify, add as much as you like, I like them pretty buttery. Season with salt and the juice of 2 lemons or to your preferred taste.
Heat a saute pan over high heat with a layer of neutral oil, allowing the oil to heat up.
Once the pan is hot, but not smoking, lay the fish in, skin side down, and hold the flesh down to prevent the skin from contracting (I use my hand, but if you have a patty or fish weight, that will work well too).
Turn the heat down to medium, there should be a light sizzle coming from the fish. We want the skin to get crispy but not burn. Keep it there until you start to see browning around the edges (4-5 minutes)
Flip the fish once the skin is crispy, flip it over and turn the heat down to low to let the flesh cook through (it should reach an internal temperature of 135 F, I use a cake tester to poke through the layers of the flesh. If there is resistance between the layers, it needs more time)
Plate your beans in a bowl and set the fish right on top, skin side up. Sprinkle some flake sea salt over the skin and garnish with leaves of parsley around the fish. Enjoy with a side of sourdough bread or something of the like.