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Serves 4
Ingredients
1 John Dory weighing 1.6 kg or 2 weighing 800 g each.
Have the fishmonger fillet the fish.
Keep the heads and trimmings.
1 bunch watercress from the garden or, better, Indian cress
1 new Easter cabbage
2 stalks lemongrass
2 roasted garlic cloves
3 sprigs fresh coriander
50 ml coconut milk (1/4 cup)
3 sprigs mint
2 mangoes
1 apple
50 g sugar (2 oz)
200 ml chicken stock (3/4 cup)
1 onion
50 g fresh ginger (2 oz)
1/2 pear
1 fresh turmeric root
2 handfuls seaweed (varech) to put in the steaming water
Return from the Indies spice mix:
1 tsp mace,
½ star anise,
1 tsp coriander,
1 tsp lily petals,
½ tsp grilled caraway,
½ tsp ,
½ tsp sechuan,
½ tsp bitter orange peel,
1 clove,
a touch of cayenne pepper,
1 cm cinnamon,
½ vanilla pod,
2 tsp curcuma,
½ tsp black pepper
The caramel :
5 ml crushed green cardamom (1 tsp),
30 g sugar (1 oz),
50 ml rice vinegar (1/4 cup)
Fish stock :
2 leeks, white part only,
1 carrot,
1 onion,
1 small celery stick,
1 clove garlic,
thyme,
parsley,
bay leaf,
zest of 1 orange,
1 slice fresh ginger,
200 ml sweet wine (3/4 cup),
1 litre water (4 cups)
Indispensable : a couscous steamer or big steamer
Basic preparation
At least 7 or 8 hours in advance, prepare the spice mix. In a dry sauté pan, warm all the spices except the vanilla, Cayenne pepper and lily flowers. When a lovely aroma fills the kitchen, add the rest of the spices and blend the mixture to a fine powder in a powerful coffee grinder. Prepare the spice bouillon: with the head and bones of the John Dory, prepare a fish stock. Roughly slice the onion and the peeled ginger. Sauté these in butter until they become translucent, then add 15 ml (1 tbsp) of the Retour des Indes spice mix and stir with a wooden spoon. Pour in 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) of the fish stock and let the mixture infuse at a simmer for 30 minutes, with the thinly sliced lemongrass and the roasted garlic cloves. Meanwhile, heat the sugar to make a caramel. When it's a light golden colour, add the cardamom, then the rice vinegar to stop the cooking. Finally, add the chicken stock. Let the mixture simmer for 20 minutes. Mix the two infusions and add the mint and fresh coriander, then the coconut milk. Remove from the heat and chill for at least 6 hours.
Discard the big outside leaves of the cabbage, separate the other leaves, remove the largest ribs, then cut them into 0.5 cm (1/4 inch) strips. Peel the apple and mangoes, removing the seeds and pit, and cut them into 1 cm (1/2 inch) dice. Cook, covered, to make a compote, then uncover at the end to reduce the liquid. Wash the cress and remove the biggest stems, keeping the little bunches. Peel the turmeric and ginger and cut into tiny dice (wear gloves, as turmeric stains the hands). Blanch them separately. Peel and cut the pears into small, even dice (called matignon). Squeeze lemon juice over the dice and toss, to prevent them from discolouring.
Last minute
Divide the fillets into four equal portions, cut into two or three pieces each. Set aside on a plate under plastic wrap. Place the cabbage in cold water and heat to cook al dente, then keep it warm in a pan with a knob of salted butter. Warm the mango compote. Warm the spice infusion. Add a few pieces of fresh butter, mixing with a whisk, to give it roundness. Check the seasoning. Place the seaweed in the water of the steamer. When it boils, cook the fillets in the upper part of the steamer, with the outside against the basket. This is how the aroma of the sea penetrates best. The water should come to a rapid boil for about 3 mins.
In each plate, place the cress on one side of the plate, the buttered cabbage on the other, and a quenelle (spoonful) of compote at the top. Place the fillets asymetrically on the plate. Using the tip of a knife, place a little diced pear on each fillet. Season with a little fleur de sel. Finally, place a few sprigs of coriander on the compote.
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© Olivier Roellinger - Maisons de Bricourt.
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