Generally I get the inspiration for a brand new dish from one thing I’ve loved in a restaurant. Very seldomly I attempt to copy a dish precisely, however I do use the mixtures of elements or preparations. At two Michelin star restaurant Don Alfonso 1890 close to the Amalfi coast I had grouper that had been perfumed with vanilla and lemon zest, cooked sous vide, with a sabayon of anchovy brine, mashed potatoes, onion ashes, and fried basil. I didn’t assume the onion ashes had been very particular and the fried basil gave the impression to be included principally to have one thing inexperienced on the plate (which frequently makes a dish look higher). The fish had been cooked sous vide at 55C/131F, and subsequently it was only a tad dry. Once I requested the chef about that, he stated that the company wouldn’t respect fish served medium uncommon (which I can think about, as a result of in Italy each meat and fish are served extra executed, resembling properly executed tuna steak reasonably than uncommon). I particularly preferred the concept to fragrance the fish with vanilla and lemon zest. The mix with the mashed potatoes and sabayon additionally labored very properly. To incorporate some greens (potatoes rely as greens in Italy, however not in my e-book), I included some slow-roasted cauliflower. Anchovy brine (colatura di alici) is a specialty from the Amalfi coast that’s not obtainable right here. As an alternative I’ve made an anchovy-flavored hollandaise sauce. On the restaurant the anchovy taste wasn’t very outstanding, which was the identical in my model. So I suppose you may omit the anchovies altogether. I used to be proud of the results of this dish and can make it once more.
As an alternative of grouper you may use any tender white fish that won’t flake an excessive amount of in the best way that cod does. So halibut, wolffish, turbot, and sea bass are all good substitutes. I used halibut, as a result of grouper will not be simply obtainable right here.
Components
Serves 4
- 600 grams (1.3 lbs) grouper, halibut, turbot, or sea bass fillet
- 500 grams (1.1 lbs) potatoes
- 1 cauliflower
- olive oil
- salt and freshly floor white pepper
- 75 grams (5 Tbsp) butter
- 1 egg yolk
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) dry white wine
- 1 shallot, chopped
- grated zest of 1 untreated lemon
- 1 vanilla pod
- 4 anchovy fillets, drained and chopped
- 1 Tbsp minced recent flat leaf parsley
Directions
Preheat the oven to 160C/325F (not fan compelled). Break the cauliflower into florets, discarding the trunk, and place in a big oven dish or on a baking sheet. The cauliflower ought to be organized in a single layer. Season with salt and drizzle with about 5 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss the cauliflower to cowl it with the oil.
Roast the cauliflower within the oven at 160C/325F (not fan compelled) for two to three hours, stirring each half-hour or so. When you can’t flip off the fan in your oven, use 150C/300F as an alternative and stir each quarter-hour. The fan causes the cauliflower to prepare dinner inconsistently and burn in spots.
The cauliflower is prepared as soon as it’s good and brown, however not black. It should shrink significantly, and the flavour will likely be properly concentrated. Individuals who don’t normally get pleasure from cauliflower will typically get pleasure from this rendition.
Divide the fish into 4 parts. Season the fish on either side with salt (1 teaspoon of desk salt for 600 grams of fish) and a bit little bit of freshly floor white pepper. Divide the grated zest of a lemon over either side of every portion of fish. Halve the vanilla pod lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds with a small knife. Rub either side of every portion of fish with a little bit of the seeds. Reserve the empty pod for the sauce.
Vacuum seal the fish and permit the fish to dry brine within the fridge for not less than 1 hour. This text explains why that is vital.
The potatoes will retain extra of their taste in the event you prepare dinner them sous vide as properly, however you may additionally simply boil or steam the potatoes. Peel them, chop them into chunks of not more than than 3 cm (1 inch) thickness, vacuum seal in a single layer, and prepare dinner them sous vide for 90 to 120 minutes at 85C/185F.
When you personal ‘solely’ one sous vide equipment, you may prepare dinner the potatoes sous vide first and hold the mashed potatoes heat in a pot on the range as described under, after which prepare dinner the fish sous vide. To do this, pour out a part of the water at 85C/185F used for the potatoes (you may reserve this scorching water for dipping the fish, see the recommendation on the finish), and add chilly water to deliver it all the way down to 50C/122F. Then set the sous vide to 50C/122F and put the fish within the water.
Place a chopped shallot in a saucepan with 120 ml of dry white wine, the empty vanilla pod, and 4 drained and chopped anchovy fillets.
Convey to a boil after which decrease the warmth to scale back gently…
…till solely about 2 tablespoons of liquid (30 ml) is left.
Sift the liquid and return it to the saucepan. Press down with a spoon on the shallots within the sieve to get as a lot taste out of them as doable.
It’s a problem with this dish to serve every little thing heat on the similar time. So ensure that to make use of preheated plates, by placing the plates within the oven with the cauliflower. (Porcelain plates are actually resistent to 160C/325F of warmth.)
When the potatoes are executed, place them in a pot with a tablespoon of minced parsley, a beneficiant glug of additional virgin olive oil, and salt to style.
Mash the potatoes. If wanted add some milk, water, or further virgin olive oil.
The mashed potatoes shouldn’t be too delicate and runny, however not too dry both. Preserve the mashed potatoes scorching on very low warmth in a lined pot, stirring at times to stop the underside from burning.
The fish solely wants about quarter-hour of sous vide cooking at 50C/122F, assuming that the fillet will not be thicker than 1.5 centimeters (1/2 inch). Whether it is thicker, lookup the heating time within the desk in this text.
Make the sauce on the finish, whereas the fish is within the sous vide. It’s because the sauce is liable to breaking in the event you permit it to get too scorching.
Add 1 egg yolk and 75 grams diced butter to the saucepan with the liquid that you just ready earlier utilizing white wine, shallot, anchovy, and empty vanilla beans.
Enable the butter to soften over low warmth, stirring.
Preserve stirring over low warmth till the sauce has develop into thick, after which flip off the warmth. If the warmth is simply too excessive otherwise you prepare dinner it for too lengthy, the sauce will break.
It’s best to do the plating of this dish with two folks. One is making the sauce, whereas the opposite plates the mashed potato and cauliflower.
Take the fish out of the sous vide on the final second (it isn’t an issue in any respect if the fish is stored within the sous vide for five, 10 and even quarter-hour longer) and place it on prime of the mashed potatoes. Pour some scorching sauce on prime of the fish. By inserting the fish between the mashed potatoes and the sauce, it should hold its heat higher. Serve the dish as quickly as doable, as a result of it should nonetheless cool off reasonably shortly because the fish was cooked at 50C/122F.
A option to serve the fish at the next temperature is to briefly dip the bag with the fish inside in almost boiling water after sous vide cooking. Then take it out of the bag, and place it on prime of the mashed potatoes.
Wine pairing
Due to the butter sauce and vanilla that is nice with an oaked buttery white wine, resembling an oaked Chardonnay (white Burgundy like Meursault). The most effective is an oaked white Bordeaux of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, resembling a Pessac-Léognan. The Sauvignon works properly with the lemon zest, the oak with the vanilla, and the Sémillon with the butter.
