Serves 4 portions
Ingredients
1.5kg aka amadai, unscalled, fillets taken off delicately & bones removed, portioned in
4 pieces of 140g (discard the tail part)
200g clarified butter
Fine sea salt
Fleurs de sel
1 bottarga, preferably grey mullet
Bouillabaisse
3kg green crab
5kg small rock fish, preferably bouillabaisse
2 leeks, split open, rinsed and chopped
1 garlic, cut in two
3 fennel bulbs, peeled and chopped
4 white onions, peeled and chopped
6 vine ripe italian tomatos, chopped coarsely
80g parisian mushrooms, washed, peeled and chopped
Pinch saffron, preferably mancha
3 celery stems, washed, peeled and diced
1 pinch spigol, mixed spices from spain
3 sprigs thyme, washed and dried
1 fresh bay leaf
3g black pepper, toasted & crushed
75 ml extra virgin olive oil
80g tomato paste
250cl ricard (200ml for the chefs aperitif with sufficient ice)
75cl dry white wine
25ml extra virgin olive oil, preferable organic manni ‘per me figlio’ from tuscany
Lemon, preferably from menton or sicily
Fine sea salt
Rouille
200g potatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces
500ml bouillabaisse, not reduced
4 garlic cloves, peeled, blanched 3 times, sprouts taken out
3 organic eggs
4 organic egg yolks
300ml extra virgin olive oil
15g gelatine sheets, soaked in ice water
1 pinch saffron powder, preferably mancha
Fine sea salt
White pepper from the mill
Garnish
1 fennel, peeled, cut into regular medallions of 2cm diameter and 4mm thick, reserve the green leaves
4 rate potatoes, peeled and cut into regular medallions of 2cm diameter and 5mm thick
200ml orange juice, sieved
1 orange
½ tbsp butter
Fine sea salt
White pepper from the mill
Method
Marinate bouillabaisse
Clean the rock fish, taking out the gills and eyes. Chop into small regular pieces, rinse under cold water for 1 hour and leave to strain. Chop the crabs in regular pieces and mix with the fish. Add all vegetables, herbs and spices. Add 75ml olive oil, mix well and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Bouillabaisse
Heat the olive oil a heavy bottom sauté pan. Sweat the marinated fish and crabs. To remove the moisture dry, but without browning them. Add the tomato paste and sweat ‘dry’. Add the ricard and white wine to deglaze and reduce by half. Fill to level with cold water and add the salt. Bring the water rapidly to the boil and skim off all the impurities. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes without stirring. Removing the impurities from time to time. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before passing the broth through a vegetable mill and filter to extract all juices. Reduce the broth until a good flavor concentration is obtained. Take 100ml and bring to the boil. Take the pan on the side and whisk the extra virgin olive oil until emulsified. Add a little lemon juice and rectify the reduction if required with salt. Reserve warm until later, but do not boil.
Rouille
Put the blanched garlic and potatoes into a small heavy bottom pan. Cover with the bouillabaisse and cook slowly until the potato and garlic is cooked to a fondant. Add the mixture to a thermomix and emulsify until a smooth consistency is reached. Add gelatin, eggs, eggs yolks and saffron. Strain through a fine sieve and check seasoning. Correct with salt if needed. Place the mix in a ½ litre siphon bottle. Put in the ½ litre siphon, add 2 co2 chargers, shake well and reserve in a warm area until needed.
Garnish
Blanche the fennel in boiling salt water for 1 minute, drain. Bring the orange juice to boil. Add the saffron, a little salt and using a micro-blade, grate ¼ of the fennel skin. Slowly confit the fennel. Cover with greaseproof paper until the orange juice is reduced. Add the butter and glaze the fennel evenly. With scissors, cut a little green off the fennel before serving over the glazed fennel confit. Cook the potatoes in salt water until fondant. When cooked, glaze with a little olive oil and grate the bottarga, using a micro blade, evenly over the potatoes.
Aka amadai cooking
Salt the fillets on the meat side with a little sea salt. In a large frying pan bring the clarified butter to 160c. Place the fish on the scale down and bake until cooked perfectly and the scales become very crispy (this will take 6 to 7 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet). Rest the fish for 2 minutes and reheat slightly under the grill, sprinkle with fleurs de sel.
To serve
Place the fennel and the potato in a half circle on the pre-heated plate, place the fish on the plate. Garish with ½ sphere of rouille and add the bouillabaisse on the side, serve immediately.
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