Pan-fried kob with pea and mint velouté

Serves 4 A LITTLE EFFORT 1 hr

WHAT YOU NEED

75g unsalted butter + extra, to fry

50g shallot, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

100ml MCC/sparkling wine

splash aniseed liqueur

75g cake flour

200ml fish stock

50g frozen peas

leaves of 2 mint sprigs

juice of ½ a lemon

salt, to taste

white pepper, to taste

50g chorizo, sliced into rounds

olive oil, to fry

4 x 180g kob fillets, pin-boned

100g baby potatoes

200g Brussel sprouts

230g broccolini

 

HOW TO DO IT

1 Melt the butter in a large pan over low heat. Add the shallots and garlic, and sweat until soft, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat and add the MCC/sparkling wine and a splash of aniseed liqueur. Cook over medium heat until the liquid has reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add the flour and, using a wooden spoon, stir until a roux has formed. Add the fish stock and stir until smooth. Add the frozen peas, mint leaves and lemon juice. Stir until well combined.

2 Remove from heat. Using a stick blender, blitz the mixture until smooth. Pour the mixture through a chinois (a conical-shaped sieve) to remove any lumps. Season with salt and white pepper, to taste. Set aside until needed.

3 Place the chorizo rounds in a pan over medium heat and fry until crispy, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chorizo from the pan. Set aside until needed. Reserve the oil that’s left over in the pan to drizzle over the dish when serving.

4 Parboil the baby potatoes and Brussel sprouts in a large pot filled with salted water until soft, about 5 minutes. Set aside until needed.

5 Place the broccolini in a steamer. If you don’t have a steamer, place the greens in a colander set over a pot of simmering water, covering the colander with a lid. Steam the broccolini until just cooked, about 5 – 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of cold water to blanch. Set aside until needed.

6 Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Heat a knob of butter in a pan over medium heat. Add a splash of olive oil and pan-fry the kob fillets, skin-side down, until crispy, about 3 minutes per fillet. Transfer the fillets to a shallow baking tray and bake in the preheated oven until cooked through, about 8 minutes.

7 Reheat all of the components when ready to serve. Assemble the dish by pouring 125ml (½ cup) velouté into 4 shallow serving bowls. Arrange a few slices of fried chorizo rounds, baby potatoes, Brussel sprouts and broccolini in the velouté. Place a kob fillet skin-side up on top of the vegetables. Dot with the chorizo oil.