John Dory, chanterelles and meadowsweet beurre blanc
- medium
- 6
- 1 hour 45 minutes plus overnight infusing
Pam Brunton’s John Dory dish is a vision in golden yellow tones. The dish is made up of sweet yellow mangetout, delicate golden chanterelle mushrooms, Marcona almonds, whitecurrants, meadowsweet flowers and lightly caramelised fish. The dish is served with a beurre blanc, which is infused with meadowsweet flowers, dashi and vanilla. The dashi is made from the John Dory’s fish bones – including a lightly smoked fish head – kombu seaweed and bonito flakes, before being blended with shiro miso, a meadowsweet flower vinegar infusion and, of course, butter.
Pam says: “Meadowsweet flowers have the aroma of vanilla, hay and fresh farm cream, and a light floral flavour with a serious backdrop of bitter almond.”
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 90g of chanterelles, cleaned
- unsalted butter, for frying
- 60g of mangetout, ideally yellow, or other crunchy, sweet seasonal vegetables like yellow fine beans or shaved fennel
- sunflower oil, for frying
- 6 John Dory fillets, around 125g each (you could also use sea bass), bones and 1 head reserved
- unsalted butter, for finishing
- lemon juice, for finishing
- Marcona almonds, to garnish
- whitecurrants, to garnish
- meadowsweet flowers, to garnish
BEURRE BLANC
- 25g of meadowsweet flowerheads, stems removed
- 120ml of dry white wine
- 60ml of chardonnay vinegar
- 175g of kombu seaweed
- 750g of fish bones, from your chosen fish, including 1 cleaned head, hung over a fire and lightly smoked till dry (or dried and lightly roasted in a low oven), then cut into pieces
- 15g of bonito flakes
- 60g of shallots, finely sliced
- 1cm of vanilla pod, seeds scraped and pod reserved
- 5g of white miso paste
- 200g of unsalted butter, ideally cultured, diced
- 0.5g of xanthan gum, about a knife tip if you don’t have microscales (optional)
- meadowsweet oil, or almond or plum kernel oil, to taste
Equipment
- Temperature probe
Method
The day before, make an infusion for the beurre blanc. Combine the meadowsweet flowerheads with the wine and vinegar and leave to infuse in the fridge for at least 24 hours or up to 48 hours
- 25g of meadowsweet flowerheads, stems removed
- 120ml of dry white wine
- 60ml of chardonnay vinegar
After infusing, strain through a sieve, squeezing the flowers well to extract all the liquid and flavour. Weigh out 150g and set aside in the fridge until needed
For the dashi, put the kombu seaweed in a pan with 1 litre of cold water. Over a low heat, bring the temperature up slowly to 70°C, then remove from the heat, cover and steep for 30 minutes
- 175g of kombu seaweed
Remove the kombu seaweed (you can keep this for other dishes, such as braised kelp) then add all the fish bones and bonito flakes and bring the temperature back up to 80°C. Infuse again as above for 1 hour
- 750g of fish bones, from your chosen fish, including 1 cleaned head, hung over a fire and lightly smoked till dry (or dried and lightly roasted in a low oven), then cut into pieces
- 15g of bonito flakes
Taste and season the stock lightly with salt. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, then strain it again, lining the sieve with muslin cloth. Weigh out 175g of the dashi and keep in the fridge until needed
To make a vinegar reduction for the beurre blanc, place the 150g meadowsweet infusion in a saucepan with the shallots and heat until it starts to simmer
- 60g of shallots, finely sliced
Add the vanilla, then reduce the liquid by half (you’re looking for 75g strained weight). Add the 175g of the dashi and heat through
- 1cm of vanilla pod, seeds scraped and pod reserved
Transfer the hot stock into a blender and add the miso. Blend on high and add in the butter a few cubes at a time to emulsify, followed by the xanthan gum, if using. Blend for another minute, then taste and adjust the seasoning with salt. Set aside and warm gently to serve
- 5g of white miso paste
- 200g of unsalted butter, ideally cultured, diced
- 0.5g of xanthan gum, about a knife tip if you don’t have microscales (optional)
To serve, fry the chanterelles in a little butter and lightly blanch the mangetout in a pan of salted water (or alternatively you can grill them)
- 90g of chanterelles, cleaned
- unsalted butter, for frying
- 60g of mangetout, ideally yellow, or other crunchy, sweet seasonal vegetables like yellow fine beans or shaved fennel
Warm the sauce gently and stir in a few drops of meadowsweet oil (there is no need to emulsify the oil into the sauce)
- meadowsweet oil, or almond or plum kernel oil, to taste
To cook the John Dory fillets, preheat a frying pan over a medium heat, add a little sunflower oil and season the fish. Fry the fish presentation-side down for 2-3 minutes until golden brown on the underside and cooked two-thirds of the way through. Remove the pan from the heat, add a knob of butter and let it foam, then baste until it just turns opaque, about another 30 seconds. Carefully remove the fish from the pan and turn golden-side up onto a tray. Squeeze over a few drops of lemon and, if you like, brush with the butter from the pan. Add a few flakes of sea salt and transfer to plates
- sunflower oil, for frying
- 6 John Dory fillets, around 125g each (you could also use sea bass), bones and 1 head reserved
- lemon juice, for finishing
- unsalted butter, for finishing
Arrange the mangetout, chanterelles, almonds and whitecurrants on and around the fish. Finish with the flowers and a few spoonfuls of the warm meadowsweet butter sauce and serve immediately
- Marcona almonds, to garnish
- whitecurrants, to garnish
- meadowsweet flowers, to garnish
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