Culinary Adventure with Chef Michael Amaral

From the turquoise-and-white awnings of the Commander’s Palace restaurant in New Orleans to the medieval stone tower of Castello Banfi in Tuscany, Chef Michael Amaral’s life has been full of variety, which is in turn reflected in his Vero Beach restaurant, River Twist.

Wary of “overexplaining” his food, he notes wryly, “Sometimes I read a menu and I can tell it’s a younger chef because of how many adjectives he’s throwing in.
I kind of fly under the radar.”

Amaral’s father was also a chef, as well as a teacher of culinary arts. “One of his students was Emeril [Lagasse], who would come over to our house with a couple of kids after school.” The Lagasse connection led to Amaral’s employment at both the Commander’s Palace and a sister restaurant in Houston. When an elderly Creole chef there found out that Amaral was from Massachusetts, he told him: “This food’s going to taste a little different—there’s more flavor!” 

Wherever he has traveled, Amaral has tried to remain observant. “I think in life you kind of have to pay attention all the time, and then apply techniques in different places.” He loves Asian cuisines, and among his European influences are Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French. He notes that classical French cuisine is “very meticulous, and I appreciate that, but then you eat in Italy, where they chop the tomatoes like my grandmother did,” not worrying about making the slices of equal thickness. After all, “it’s a fresh tomato; it’s delicious.” Amaral’s travels thus give him a sense of balance as he seeks to combine attention to detail with spontaneity and flair.

His trip to Castello Banfi, a historic winery in the Tuscan countryside, involved his whole family, along with some of River Twist’s staff. Another recent adventure was a trip to Portugal, which included a meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant where squid ink was used in just about every dish, “including the ice cream,” he quips. (Actually, the squid ink was used not in ice cream but in mousse.)

If all this makes you expect a creative and eclectic menu at River Twist—apologies for the adjectives—you’re right. Even the decor is distinctive, with the bar, tables, chairs, and other items made by Amaral himself. “There’s no designer who said, ‘You have 14 booths in the harvest gold color.’” What would be the adventure in that?

Appetizer: Salt and Pepper Chicken Livers

Amaral’s father used to say: “I’ve never seen a chef walking around with a recipe book under his arm.” Nevertheless, Amaral put together a few recipes for the home cook, beginning with this Southern-style appetizer.

Serves 4 

• 1 lb. chicken livers, drained
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups vegetable oil
• Kosher salt to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Drain the chicken livers and pat them dry. Season with the salt and pepper; while the amounts are “to taste,” the chef encourages a generous hand with both salt and pepper.

Dredge in the flour. Heat the vegetable oil in a pot and deep-fry the chicken livers until golden brown, about 3–4 minutes on each side.

Serve the fried chicken livers accompanied by both onion jam and aioli for a combination of flavors.

Onion Jam

• 1 medium Spanish onion, diced
• 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp. cider vinegar

Pour the oil into a pan and add the onion. Sweat the onion, cooking it lightly, until it is light brown. Add the sugar and vinegar and cook at medium heat for 10 more minutes.

Aioli

• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 tbsp. chipotle powder
• 1 tbsp. fresh garlic, chopped
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste

Puree all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Entrée: Garlic Shrimp

The garlic, lemon, and basil make for a great combination. At River Twist, this dish is served on a bed of capellini latkes—pasta formed into cake shapes.

Serves 2

• 10 shrimp, peeled, deveined, and butterflied
• 1/2 cup whole garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, separated
• 1/4 cup water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Lemon basil butter, see below

Prepare a garlic puree: place the peeled garlic cloves in a pie pan, season with salt and pepper, and add the 1/2 cup olive oil and the water. Cover with foil and roast in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20–30 minutes. Remove foil and roast another 10 minutes until brown. Puree the soft roasted garlic and spread on a foil-lined baking pan.

Season the shrimp with salt and pepper to taste. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a pan and sear the shrimp at medium-high heat for about a minute on each side. Remove and place on the baking pan, on top of the garlic puree. Put it back in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 minutes. Remove from oven, spread with lemon basil butter, and serve immediately.

Lemon Basil Butter:

• 1/4 lb. unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
• Zest of one lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste

Combine ingredients in mixer and whip until light in color and soft, with a pesto consistency.

Dessert: Creole Bread Pudding

“In New Orleans, desserts are super sweet, and everything else is spicy—it’s very ‘in your face,’” recalls Amaral.

Serves 6

• 1 loaf French bread, diced
• 1 tbsp. + 2 tbsp. butter, separated
• 8 eggs
• 4 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp. bourbon
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup pecan halves
• 1/4 cup golden raisins

Rub 1 tbsp. butter in a cake pan and place the bread in the buttered pan.

Make a custard by whisking the eggs and then mixing in the heavy cream, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, bourbon, and salt. Pour over the bread.

Sprinkle with the pecans and raisins, and push them into the mixture. Then form the additional butter into small nubs and push them into the mixture.

Cover the pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes. Then remove the cover and bake for another 15 minutes, until it turns golden brown on top. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before serving.