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Cod Wrapped in Squash With Enoki and Shallot Ragù and Smoked Fish Bone Sauce Recipe
by Hrishikesh Desai
6-8
4 hours
Ingredients

  • cod loin, allow for 120g cod per person, or 50–60g for a tasting menu portion

Tarragon oil

  • 25g of fresh tarragon
  • 350ml of sunflower oil
  • salt, to taste
  • iced water

Smoked bone sauce

  • 500g of fish bones
  • 500g of chicken stock
  • 175g of white wine
  • 175g of rice wine vinegar
  • 1 shallot
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • 5g of carom seeds
  • 6g of salt
  • 40g of cane sugar
  • 15g of double cream
  • 2g of shiro dashi
  • 250g of smoked butter, diced
  • soya lecithin, as needed

Black tuile

  • 100g of T55 flour
  • 100g of egg white
  • 100g of butter, melted
  • 2g of squid ink

Cod brine

  • 200g of salt
  • 200g of cane sugar
  • 1kg water
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • 5 black peppercorns
  • 5g of carom seeds
  • lemon zest, from 1.5 lemons

Salmon mousse

  • 200g of salmon, diced
  • 2 egg whites
  • 2 ice cubes
  • 400g of double cream

Crab mix

  • 200g of white crab meat
  • lemon zest, from 1 lemon
  • 1 handful of chopped tarragon
  • 1 handful of chopped chives

Cod roll

  • 1 butternut squash
  • meat glue, for dusting
  • duck fat, for warming the cod

Enoki mushroom and shallot ragù

  • 100g of butter
  • 200g of shallots, julienned
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • 50g of dashi vinegar
  • 200g of chicken stock
  • 10g of double cream
  • 4 bunches of enoki mushrooms, just the top 3 cm
  • 5g of scallop roe powder
  • lemon juice
  • salt
  • 30g of chopped chives
  • 10g of chopped tarragon

Turnip Purée

  • 50g of butter
  • 500g of turnip, thinly sliced
  • 2 shallots, sliced
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • 200g of dashi vinegar
  • 200g of double cream, simmered until reduced by half
  • 1 dash of lemon juice, to toaste
  • 5g of shiro dashi
  • 1 pinch of xanthan gum, or as needed to thicken
  • salt

Pickled Turnip

  • 1/2 turnip
  • lemon juice
  • 150g of rice wine vinegar
  • 75g of mirin
  • 75g of cane sugar

Garnish

  • coriander cress
Method
1

Begin by blanching the tarragon for the herb oil, and then transferring it to iced water. Once cool, squeeze out as much water as you can. Add the blanched herbs to a Thermomix along with all the remaining tarragon oil ingredients except the salt. Blend and heat to 80°C

  • 25g of fresh tarragon
  • 350ml of sunflower oil
2

Once at temperature, blend in the salt and pass the oil through a muslin cloth

  • salt, to taste
3

Pour the oil into a sealed piping bag and let it hang overnight so that the cloudy substances settle at the bottom of the point. The next day, get rid of the solids and pour off the oil

4

Grill the fish bones over charcoal until slightly smoky

  • 500g of fish bones
5

Add the bones to the chicken stock, then bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes

  • 500g of chicken stock
6

Strain off the bones and then add the wine, vinegar, shallots, thyme, carom seeds, salt and sugar to the infused chicken stock

  • 175g of white wine
  • 175g of rice wine vinegar
  • 1 shallot
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • 5g of carom seeds
  • 6g of salt
  • 40g of cane sugar
7

Place the stock back on the heat and cook until it has reduced to around 500ml

8

Strain the aromatics from the reduced stock, and then add the double cream and shiro dashi

  • 15g of double cream
  • 2g of shiro dashi
9

Emulsify in the smoked butter with a hand blender

  • 250g of smoked butter, diced
10

Check the seasoning and adjust to taste

11

Weigh the sauce, and add 0.8% by final weight of lecithin. Use a stick blender to blend in the lecithin, then strain once again and rest for at least 15 minutes

  • soya lecithin, as needed
12

Mix all the ingredients for the black tuile, and then transfer to a fridge to chill

  • 100g of T55 flour
  • 100g of egg white
  • 100g of butter, melted
  • 2g of squid ink
13

Mix all the ingredients for the cod brine, stirring until the sugar and salt has dissolved. Add the cod and set it aside to brine for 30 minutes

  • 200g of salt
  • 200g of cane sugar
  • 1kg water
  • cod loin, allow for 120g cod per person, or 50–60g for a tasting menu portion
14

Put the bowl and blade of the food processor in the freezer to chill thoroughly

15

Once chilled, put the blade back in and add all the ingredients for the salmon mousse except for the cream

  • 200g of salmon, diced
  • 2 egg whites
  • 2 ice cubes
16

Blend to a smooth paste, then drizzle in the cream while the motor is still running

  • 400g of double cream
17

Pass the salmon mousse through a sieve

18

Mix all of the ingredients for the crab mix with 200g salmon mousse

  • 200g of white crab meat
  • lemon zest, from 1 lemon
  • 1 handful of chopped tarragon
  • 1 handful of chopped chives
19

Preheat the oven to 170°C

20

Spread the chilled tuile mix on the seaweed mould

21

Bake for 4–6 minutes, then set aside. Depending on the number of moulds you have, you may need to repeat. You need one seaweed tuile per serving

22

Cut the butternut squash in half around the middle, setting aside the bottom half with the seeds

  • 1 butternut squash
23

Peel the squash, and then use a Japanese sheeting peeler to get long, thin sheets of squash

24

Blanch the butternut squash sheets in salted water for 30 seconds, then chill them in ice water. Once cool, pat dry and set aside

25

Dust the one side of the cod loin with meat glue – this will stop the fish flaking

  • meat glue, for dusting
26

Spread a layer of crab mix over the meat glue

27

Wrap the loin in the sheet of blanched butternut squash, and then wrap the cod in cling film. Tighten the ends of the cling film to secure everything in place, but try to keep the cod as flat as possible 

28

Steam the cod in a steam oven at 95°C until the core temperature reaches 40°C

29

Once at temperature, cool the cod in an ice bath, and keep in the fridge until ready to serve

30

For the ragù, sweat the shallot and thyme in the butter with a pinch of salt

  • 100g of butter
  • 200g of shallots, julienned
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
31

Deglaze the pan with vinegar and then add the chicken stock

  • 50g of dashi vinegar
  • 200g of chicken stock
32

Cook until the stock has almost completely evaporated, then add the double cream and warm up to emulsify. Set aside

  • 10g of double cream
33

For the turnip purée, sweat down the shallots, thyme and turnip with a pinch of salt in the butter

  • 50g of butter
  • 500g of turnip, thinly sliced
  • 2 shallots, sliced
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
34

Meanwhile, reduce the dashi vinegar in a separate pan until it’s just a glaze
Add the double cream and a touch of water, and cook slowly until the turnip is completely broken down and soft

  • 200g of dashi vinegar
  • 200g of double cream, simmered until reduced by half
35

Add the dashi vinegar glaze and blend in a Thermomix, then add a squeeze lemon juice and shiro dashi

  • 1 dash of lemon juice, to toaste
  • 5g of shiro dashi
36

Heat the mixture to 60°C, then whisk in a pinch of xanthan gum to stabilise the mixture. It's thick enough when no moisture leaks out of the sauce when spooned onto a plate. Adjust the seasoning as required

  • 1 pinch of xanthan gum, or as needed to thicken
37

Use a melon baller to scoop out small balls of turnip, about 5 small balls per person for an à la carte serving, or 3 for a tasting menu portion

  • 1/2 turnip
38

Blanch the turnip balls until just cooked in salted water

39

Compress the turnip balls three times in lemon juice 

  • lemon juice
40

Blow torch the turnip balls to give them some colour

41

Warm all the ingredients for the pickling liquid, stirring until the sugar is dissolved

  • 150g of rice wine vinegar
  • 75g of mirin
  • 75g of cane sugar
42

Compress the turnip three times again, but this time in the pickling liquid

43

Place the turnip balls in the tarragon oil to marinate before service

44

When ready to serve, portion the cod into 5 x 3 cm pieces

45

Warm the cod in duck fat at 47°C for about 20 minutes, or until the interior temperature of the cod reaches 47°C

  • duck fat, for warming the cod
46

Warm the smoked bone sauce and then foam it with a hand blender

47

Add the enoki mushrooms to the ragù and stir gently, then add the scallop roe powder. Season with lemon juice and salt and finish with the chopped chives and tarragon

  • 4 bunches of enoki mushrooms, just the top 3 cm
  • 5g of scallop roe powder
  • lemon juice
  • salt
  • 30g of chopped chives
  • 10g of chopped tarragon
48

To serve, pipe a ring of turnip purée on the plate – in the restaurant they use a a lazy Susan to get a neat circle

49

Spoon the ragù into the border of the purée, and then place the turnip balls in the centre

50

Top the turnip with the fish, and then garnish with the tuile. Pipe small dots of turnip purée onto the tuile, and top each dot with some coriander cress

  • coriander cress
51

Serve with a spoonful of the foamed sauce on the side