Ingredients
• 2 x 60g pieces of wild seabass
For the sorrel oil:
• 200g fresh sorrel, picked
• 200g rapeseed or vegetable oil
For the charred lettuce sauce:
• 6 heads Gem Lettuce
• Sorrel oil (see below recipe)
• Rapeseed oil
• Salt
For the leeks:
• 2 young garden leeks, root on
• 30g leek juice (extracted by juicing the outer tops of the leeks)
• 10g water
• 1g salt
• 2g sugar
• 5g butter
For the sorrel and yuzu emulsion:
• 2 eggs
• 8g salt
• 300g sorrel oil
• 60g crème fraiche
• 10g lemon juice
• 10g yuzu juice
To garnish:
• Oxalis iron cross
• Oxalis iron cross flower
• Blackened charred lettuce
Method
To make the seabass:
1 Take two nice thick 70g pieces of wild seabass.
2 Leaving the skin on, place the seabass onto an oven tray, skin side down, and season to taste with salt and olive oil.
3 For the best results, cook in a combination oven with ½ steam and ½ roast for 6 minutes. However, 180°c for 5-6 minutes in a fan oven will work just as well.
To make the sorrel oil:
1 Blitz the sorrel and the oil together in a blender for about 6 minutes until the sorrel is really broken down.
2 Pour the mixture into some cheesecloth and hang to extract the pure sorrel oil.
To make the charred lettuce sauce:
1 Cut the lettuce in half and season with salt and rapeseed oil.
2 Place the lettuce into a dry, non-stick pan and sear until the edges of the lettuce are charred.
3 Leave to cool then put through a juicer, then season the juice with salt and sorrel oil.
To make the leeks:
1 Cut the leeks into 6cm long pieces, leaving the root on.
2 In one pan, heat the leek juice, water, salt, sugar, and butter. Put two of the leeks into another pan, with a little of the liquid mix from point 2, cover with a lid and simmer for 4-5 minutes until the leek is tender.
4 Once cooked, remove the leeks from the pan and set aside to cool. Reserve the liquid for reheating when ready to serve.
5 Cut the root from the end of the leek and deep fry until golden and crispy.
6 Cut the leek into 3 equal ‘barrels’ and reheat in the liquid for serving. Season with salt.
To make the sorrel and yuzu emulsion:
1 Boil eggs for four and a half minutes then plunge into ice water to stop cooking process.
2 In a small jug, use a stick blender to blitz the eggs into a puree.
3 Slowly add 150g (half) of the sorrel oil, whilst still using the hand blender.
4 Then add the salt, lemon juice, crème fraiche and yuzu juice.
5 Slowly but continuously poor the remaining 150g sorrel oil, ensuring emulsion doesn’t spill out.
To plate:
1 In the middle of a shallow bowl, place a spoonful of the yuzu and sorrel emulsion and scatter with a couple of charred lettuce leaves.
2 Next, add a good spoonful of the lettuce sauce over the top and rest your piece of seabass on top. Finish the dish with the crispy leek root, and garnish with the oxalis and more charred lettuce bits.
To find out more and try Lisa’s cooking in person, visit Northcote.com