1 day Ago By [email protected] (Rebekah Evans, The Week UK)
This delicious dish by Martin Blake, head chef at The Royal Crescent and Spa, Bath , combines flaky Cornish cod with a hearty, savoury broth made from mussels, with spicy chorizo. Ingredients: 700g fresh mussels in their shells 90ml white wine For the broth: 30g unsalted butter 1 large shallot, finely chopped 1 stick of celery, finely chopped 1 carrot, finely chopped 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped 1⁄2 tsp fennel seeds 120ml double cream 1⁄2 tsp lemon juice pinch of cayenne pepper 25g cooked basmati rice pinch of freshly chopped herbs (chives, parsley, tarragon) pinch of sea salt To finish: handful of baby leaf spinach 50g chopped chorizo 120g fresh cod fillet Method: Prepare the mussels by cleaning them under cold running water using a clean cloth. Ensure that you remove any barnacles and beards from the shells.
The mussels should be closed; if any remain open, discard them. Heat a large saucepan with a lid. Once pan is hot, add the mussels and wine and put the lid on.
Cook on high heat, shaking the pan from time to time. This should take 2-3 minutes. Now drain the mussels, reserving the cooking liquid.
Discard any mussels that haven't opened. Remove the mussels from their shells and chill in fridge. Now pass the mussel liquid through a fine sieve or cheesecloth to remove any shell or sand.
Next, make the stock. In a separate pan, melt the butter and add the chopped vegetables and garlic, sweating them on a medium heat till they are soft. Try to avoid getting too much colour on the vegetables.
Add the fennel seeds, and 150ml of the reserved mussel liquid and bring to a boil. Now add the cream, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and cooked rice. Cook on low heat for 10 minutes.
Carefully blend the mix till smooth, add sea salt to season. Bring the mussel broth to a boil, add the cooked mussels and chopped herbs. Cook till mussels are hot to touch.
Heat up a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan. Lightly sprinkle table salt on to the skin of the fish. Place the cod skin side down into the hot pan of oil and leave till skin is golden brown.
Place the pan into an oven at 170 degrees and roast for two and a half minutes. Place the pan back on the stove and add a knob of butter, once the butter is foaming baste the fish in the butter. Finish with a splash of fresh lemon juice.
Leave the fish to rest for a minute and a half before serving. Finish the dish with some spinach cooked in butter, roasted chorizo (keep any oil and drizzle over broth) and the roasted Cornish cod. Sign up for The Week's Food & Drink newsletter for recipes, reviews and recommendations.
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