Argan oil—which comes from the kernels of the Moroccan argan tree—is the most expensive edible oil in the world, but it’s more widely recognized as a hair and skin care product. Chef Jimmy Papadopoulos of Bellemore, challenged by C.J. Jacobson (Ema) to create a dish with the oil, says, “I didn’t even know it was edible.”
To balance the richness of the cod and pumpkin-seed paste, Papadopoulos made a salad of “sharp, acidic, underripened green things,” including green almonds (immature almonds that he compares in texture to “a juicy grape”), green rhubarb, and green strawberries soaked in sweet muscat vinegar with a little salt. He tossed it with argan oil (“as if we didn’t have enough on the cod”) and garnished the dish with dill, wood sorrel, and spigarello (a cousin of broccoli).
