Confit cod with egg yolk and saffron

by Nuno Mendes
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servings 6
2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

Cod

  • 720g of cod
  • 60g of caster sugar
  • 40g of salt
  • 20g of kombu
  • 200ml of olive oil

Confit yolks

  • 200ml of olive oil
  • 9 eggs

Fish fumée

  • 100g of fennel
  • 50g of onion
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 pinch of orange zest
  • 1 pinch of lemon zest
  • 1 pinch of saffron
  • 5g of butter

Potatoes

  • 12 Jersey Royal potatoes
  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 sprig of fresh thyme
  • salt

Mayonnaise

  • 1 bulb of garlic
  • 250ml of olive oil
  • salt

To plate

  • 1 tbsp of black peppercorns, crushed
  • 2 sprigs of dill

Method

1
Skin the cod, remove the bones and reserve 200-300g for the fish fumée
  • 720g of cod
2
Combine the sugar, salt and kombu in a coffee or spice grinder or in a powerful blender. Cure the cod in the kombu mixture for 35 minutes
  • 60g of caster sugar
  • 40g of salt
  • 20g of kombu
3
Preheat the oven to 45°C. Rinse the cod in water and cut into 6 portions. Place the cod on a tray, pour over the olive oil and cook for 20 minutes
  • 200ml of olive oil
4
Turn the oven up to 65°C. Fill an oven tray with the olive oil, 4cm high. Separate the egg yolks from whites and add the yolks, one by one, into the oil. Place in the fan oven to confit for 55 minutes
  • 200ml of olive oil
  • 9 eggs
5
Rinse the 200-300g of fish bones in cold water for 20 minutes, then drain. Chop the fennel, onion and garlic and sweat in a pot, adding the orange and lemon zest
  • 100g of fennel
  • 50g of onion
  • 1 bulb of garlic
  • 1 pinch of orange zest
  • 1 pinch of lemon zest
6
Place your fish bones in a deep roasting tray and stir in the fennel mix. Cover with water and cook in the fan oven at 120°C/gas mark 1 for 1 1/2 hours
7
Heat the saffron gently in a dry frying pan until it starts to look toasted and gives off an aroma. Strain the fish liquid into a bowl. Add 1 confit yolk along with the toasted saffron and a dash of butter. Blitz the fumée with a hand blender until it foams
  • 1 pinch of saffron
8
Boil the potatoes in water with the olive oil, garlic, fresh thyme and salt until soft. Drain and allow to cool slightly before peeling
  • 12 Jersey Royal potatoes
  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 sprig of fresh thyme
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • salt
9
Preheat the fan oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Roast the bulb of garlic for 30 minutes, squeeze the garlic out of its skins and then purée. Mix the purée with 2 of the confit yolks and a pinch of salt, then slowly add the oil to make a mayonnaise
  • 1 bulb of garlic
  • salt
  • 250ml of olive oil
10
To serve, place the pieces of confit cod on each plate, and position a confit yolk next to each. Spoon over the fish fumée until almost covered. Spoon small droplets of mayonnaise next to the cod and yolks, then scatter half a sprig of torn dill across each plate
  • 2 sprigs of dill
  • 1 tbsp of black peppercorns