Pollock with tomato consommé and monk's beard

  • 6
  • 30 minutes plus marinating and straining time
Not yet rated

Tomatoes are marinated with basil to make an aromatic tomato consommé, which is served with fried pollock and monk's beard for a summery dish that celebrates the season's best. 

First published in 2022

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

consommé

Pollock

  • 6 pollock fillets, (each weighing around 180g), skinned
  • 12 knobs of butter
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 3 bunches of monk's beard, picked and washed
  • 1 fennel, sliced very thinly on a mandoline
  • 1 handful of basil leaves
  • 1 handful of capers
  • 1 lemon, zested

to serve

  • extra virgin olive oil to taste

Equipment

  • Muslin cloth
  • High-power blender

Method

1

Dice the tomatoes and combine them with the garlic, basil, Chardonnay vinegar and some salt. Leave to marinate for 6 hours

2

Once marinated, transfer to a blender and blitz on high speed until very smooth

3

Transfer the mixture to the muslin, secure at the top and hang over a bowl for 3 hours. The clear liquid that collects in the bowl is your tomato consommé. Once all the liquid has drained through, season the consommé and set aside

4

In a large, non-stick pan, add a small knob of butter and allow it to melt, then add the pollack on the side where the skin would have been, until coloured. Add another knob of butter, flip the fish and finish cooking through. Add a squeeze of lemon to finish. Repeat this process for all the fish pieces

  • 6 pollock fillets, (each weighing around 180g), skinned
  • 2 knobs of butter
5

Warm 600g of the tomato consommé very gently in a saucepan

6

In a separate pan, combine 100g of consommé with the monk's beard, fennel and basil leaves. Warm through gently, then add the capers and lemon zest

  • 3 bunches of monk's beard, picked and washed
  • 1 fennel, sliced very thinly on a mandoline
  • 1 handful of basil leaves
  • 1 handful of capers
  • 1 lemon, zested
7

Divide the fish between serving bowls and place the monk’s beard alongside. Pour over the warmed consommé, add a drizzle of olive oil and serve immediately

  • extra virgin olive oil to taste

An alumnus of Wild Honey and Arbutus, Simon Shand has gone on cook his own style of classically grounded food at The Corner Room and more recently at Shoreditch's Leroy.

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