Freelance chef Adam Banks draws from a local larder to create dishes that nourish both body and soul.
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:
2 x 150g pieces of hake
300g Jerusalem artichoke, peeled and diced into 1 inch pieces
150g kalettes of similar cabbage, blanched
2 anchovy in olive oil fillets
2 long banana shallots, peeled and finely sliced
20g toasted, crushed hazelnuts
1 lemon
30g parsley roughly chopped
Method for base
Begin by removing the fish from the fridge, allowing it to come to room temperature.
In a bowl, add the hazelnut, zest of half the lemon, and the chopped parsley, mix together and leave to one side.
In a small pan add a splash of sunflower oil and heat on a medium heat, add the shallots and the anchovy and begin to cook slowly.
In a separate pan with a lid, heat a splash of sunflower oil and a knob of butter on a low to medium heat, add the artichoke and stir. Cook the artichoke, stirring occasionally, but making sure to replace the lid after stirring, until very soft with colour. Turn the heat down if its getting too much colour too quickly, allow the artichoke to catch slightly so that it caramelises. Add the soft artichoke to a blender, with a pinch of salt and a little splash of white wine vinegar. Blend until completely smooth.
Now the shallots should be getting really soft and sticky, turn the heat up and add the kalettes to the pan so that they begin to fry and crisp up around the edges.
Heat a frying pan and add a splash of sunflower oil and a knob of butter. Once it’s hot add the fish skin side down – the fish may spit and crackle a little so take care. Cook the fish skin side down 75% of the way; this should take 3-5 minutes, try not to move the fish around too much as this will stop you achieving a crispy skin. Once the flesh side of the fish feels warm to the touch the fish can be flipped over and finished off the heat in the pan for about 20 seconds. Serve the fish on a warm plate with a spoonful of the artichoke puree. In a separate bowl serve the kalettes with a good sprinkling of the hazelnut mixture. Add a little squeeze of lemon over the fish.
