Fennelled fish of the day
- medium
- 4
- 3 hours
This recipe from Elena Arzak would be made with whichever fish was in season at the restaurant, but she particularly recommends mackerel. The dish gently layers the flavour and fragrance of fennel seeds, pressing them into the cured mackerel and infusing them into butter. It is served on top of a delicate ajo blanco, a traditional Spanish garlic and almond cold soup.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Cured mackerel
- 1 mackerel, washed, filleted and deboned
- 300g of rock salt
- 100g of cane sugar
- 25g of ground fennel seeds
Ajo blanco
- 100g of breadcrumbs
- 260g of milk
- 35g of almonds
- 40g of pine nuts
- 1 garlic clove
- salt
- vinegar
Pear concasse
- 100g of water
- 100g of cane sugar
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1/4 lemon, zested
- 1 pear, peeled
- 1 lime, zested
Candied coriander seeds
- 100g of coriander seeds
- 100g of water
- 100g of cane sugar
Fennel butter
- 1/2 vanilla pod
- 30g of garlic oil
- 1 tsp ground fennel seeds
- salt
- 300g of butter, at room temperature
- 1g of chopped parsley
Samphire
- 30g of samphire
- 300g of water
- salt
- lemon juice to taste
For garnish
Equipment
- Steam oven
Method
Wash, fillet and debone the mackerel
- 1 mackerel, washed, filleted and deboned
Mix together the salt and sugar
- 300g of rock salt
- 100g of cane sugar
Cover the fish with the salt and sugar mixture and leave to cure, skin facing up, for 20-25 minutes (the precise time will depend on the size of the fish)
Flip the fish over and press the fennel into the flesh of the fish firmly. Leave to one side
- 25g of ground fennel seeds
For the ajo blanco, soak the breadcrumbs in cold water. Squeeze out the excess water and then blend with the rest of the ingredients. Adjust the seasoning with salt and vinegar to taste
- 100g of breadcrumbs
- 260g of milk
- 35g of almonds
- 40g of pine nuts
- 1 garlic clove
- salt
- vinegar
Transfer the hot oil to a heatproof bowl and rapidly cool over a bowl of ice so that the oil maintains its vibrant green colour
Strain the mixture over a sieve to remove the pulp
Add the water, sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest to a pan and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool
- 100g of water
- 100g of cane sugar
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1/4 lemon, zested
Pour the syrup over the pear and steam in a steam oven at 90°C for 25 minutes
- 1 pear, peeled
Once steamed, finely dice the pear
For the candied coriander seeds, mix all ingredients together in a dish and then immediately strain the mixture to remove the excess sugar
- 100g of cane sugar
- 100g of water
- 100g of coriander seeds
Add the sugared seeds to a hot pan and cook until they begin to caramelise
For the fennel butter, first scald the vanilla pod in water, and then scrape out the seeds
- 1/2 vanilla pod
Mix the garlic oil with the ground coriander, the vanilla seeds and salt. Slowly incorporate the flavoured oil to your room temperature butter. Finally, add your chopped parsley
- 30g of garlic oil
- 1 tsp ground fennel seeds
- salt
- 300g of butter, at room temperature
- 1g of chopped parsley
For the samphire, add the samphire, 40g fennel butter, water and some salt to a pan. Simmer until the water has evaporated, then add lemon juice to taste
- 30g of samphire
- 300g of water
- salt
- lemon juice to taste
To serve, add the ajo blanco to a black plate
Top with the mackerel, some diced pear, lime zest and a few candied seeds
- 1 lime, zested
Drizzle with dill oil, and garnish with a few springs of samphire
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