Ling and razor clams with seaweed, bacon and samphire

  • medium
  • 4
  • 1 hour 30 minutes
Not yet rated

In keeping with Nathan Outlaw's philosophy of simple yet flavour-rich fish dishes, this simply salted and pan fried ling and razor clams is dressed with an extraordinary variety of tempting treats. Shallot purée, a creamy bacon sauce and deep fried sea greens combine to provide a delightful melange of oceanic flavours. Samphire is a sea vegetable with a salty taste. Have a look through our collection of samphire recipes for more dishes using this ingredient.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Ling recipe

  • 4 ling fillets, each weighing 200g
  • 2 tbsp of sea salt
  • sunflower oil

Razor clams

Shallot purée

Bacon sauce

To plate

  • 200g of samphire
  • sea grass
  • vegetable oil
  • lemon oil

Equipment

  • Deep fat fryer
  • Stick blender
  • Blender

Method

1
To cure the ling, lay the fish on a plate and sprinkle with the sea salt. Chill the salt-covered ling for 1 hour, then wash away the salt and pat the fish dry
2
Meanwhile, to make the shallot purée, peel and finely slice the shallots. Finely grate the zest of the lemons and squeeze out the lemon juice
3
Heat a heavy-based pan, add a little sunflower oil and then add the shallots, lemon zest and juice and bay leaves. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, so the shallots don't catch
  • sunflower oil
  • 4 bay leaves
4
Add just enough water to cover the shallots, cover with a lid and cook until the onions are soft and have almost broken down to a purée. Uncover the pan and let the cooking liquid reduce to nothing. Season with salt then transfer to a blender and purée. Keep warm
5
To make the bacon sauce, cut the bacon into 2cm strips, and peel and halve the garlic cloves, removing the germ from the centre
6
In a saucepan, cook the bacon in a little sunflower oil until coloured. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, then add the cream, bay leaves and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 minute, then add the milk, season, and set aside
  • sunflower oil
  • 50ml of double cream
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 400ml of semi-skimmed milk
  • salt
7
To prepare the clams, cook the onion, carrot and celery in a pan of boiling salted water for 2 minutes, so that they are cooked but still firm. Then add the clams and cook for a couple of minutes until they open. Once cooked remove from the shells
8
In a very hot pan, steam the razor clams for 1 minute, or until opened – you don't want to cook them much longer or they will be be tough. Remove the clams from their shells (keep these for presentation), trim away any unwanted parts such as the dark brown bits, then slice the meat into 1cm pieces and set aside
9
Blanch the samphire in a pan of boiling salted water for 1 minute, then drain and refresh in ice-cold water
10
Heat some vegetable oil to 200°C in a deep-fat fryer. Meanwhile, pat the sea grass dry with kitchen paper. When the oil is hot fry it for 20 seconds then set aside to drain on kitchen paper
  • vegetable oil
  • sea grass
11
For the ling, heat the oven to 220°C/Gas mark 7. Heat a little oil in a nonstick, ovenproof pan, then place the fish presentation-side down in the pan. Cook until slightly golden slightly, then transfer to the hot oven for 4 minutes
  • sunflower oil
  • 4 ling fillets
12
Flip the fish over and cook for 1 minute more; at the same time, put four razor shell clam halves into the oven to heat
13
While the fish is cooking, combine the clam meat and diced veg in a pan with a little oil. Heat through gently and season
14
Warm four plates. Reheat the shallot purée. Reheat the bacon sauce to 80°C then froth it with a stick blender. Add the samphire to the bacon sauce and allow it to heat through
15
Place a neat spoonful of shallot purée on each plate. Add the ling and dress it with the bacon sauce and samphire. Add the razor clams and vegetables. Garnish with the deep-fried sea grass and clam shells then drizzle the plates with lemon oil to finish
  • lemon oil
First published in 2015

Nathan Outlaw cooks with understated brilliance and passionate respect for primary ingredients.

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