Serves 4
- 1 Large John Dory (2kg fish)-filleted & portioned by your fishmonger (retain the bones for stock)
- 8 purple potatoes (pommes violette) - washed and parboiled
- 200g picked & washed samphire
- 8 green & 8 white Claremont Farm asparagus spears peeled and washed
- 4 carrots – washed peeled and roughly cut
- 1 large potato washed & peeled prefer spunta or maris piper
- 4 cloves garlic
- 100g unsalted butter
- 50ml double cream
- Maldon sea salt, white pepper, pinch of caster sugar
- Pure vegetable oil for sauté
For the Bisque (makes enough for this dish and a bit more to drink like elixir)
- Dory bones Fresh Filey crab shells (2-3kg usually available from the fishmonger)
- 4 or 5 ripe vine tomatoes cut in half
- 1 bulb garlic split in half
- 4 sticks celery
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion (all roughly chopped)
- 100g parsley stalks
- ½ lemon
- 4 bay leaf
- 100g thyme
- 50ml cognac
- 10g butter
- 1 pint cream
- 6 peppercorns
- Seasoning to taste
Method
Like all good restaurant dishes this is all about the quality of the ingredients and the advance preparation so this method starts with the items that can be done the day before or morning of the dinner party.
For the Bisque
First make a stock using the Dory bones and roasted crab bones (shells go into a hot 180oven for ten mins), garlic, herbs, vegetables and lemon. Cover the ingredients with cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 4 hours. Skim off any impurities with a ladle along the way. Strain the liquid, passing through a muslin cloth and reduce through boiling by half. Then add the cognac, cream and butter, bring back to the boil, whisking as we go until thickened and of pouring consistency, whisking in a little more butter at the end if necessary. Adjust the seasoning to taste including a pinch of sugar if balance is required. This can be chilled and reheated as required or kept warm for service.
For the Puree
Put the carrots, potato and garlic into a pan with salted cold water and 50g butter. Simmer until the vegetables are cooked soft. When still hot spoon the vegetables and a little of the liquid into a liquidizer. Seasoning and adding a little butter and cream along the way.
NB – Please be careful using hot liquid and vegetables in the liquidizer. Either use one with a locking lid or keep your hand firmly over the lid with a tea towel to protect your hands. Keep warm ready for service.
Get Cooking
The dish itself is quick as long as the potatoes are parboiled and cut in half ready for sauté. The asparagus and sapphire is ready washed pickled and peeled. Have a hot tick bottomed sauté pan for the fish and potatoes.
Get three pans on the heat. One for the Dory, one for the potatoes and a saucepan with seasoned water and butter (bring to the boil).
Potatoes face down in a hot pan with a little oil and sea salt.
Dory skin side down in the oiled pan with a little sea salt. Allow these to begin to brown the skin of the fish should be golden brown like autumn leaves. Turn, add butter and leave off the heat to finish cooking. This takes 3 to 4 minutes in total. Use the same technique for the purple potatoes.
While these items are finishing in the butter drop the asparagus and samphire into the water for 1 minute.
Take all the items and drain onto kitchen paper before plating. Dress as photograph and finish with water cress or pea shoots.
Enjoy !!!!!
Paul Askew