Roast Cornish cod, cockle chowder, grilled cucumber
- Main
- Medium
- 4
- 4 hours, plus time for the cod to cure and the cucumber oil to infuse
PT4H
This dish of rich cockle chowder with roast Cornish cod from chef Ben Boeynaems is balanced with some refreshing compressed cucumber and vibrant cucumber oil. It's garnished with a variety of sea vegetables, including sea aster and rock samphire.
Ingredients
Cod
- 4l water
- 200g of Maldon salt
- 1 sheet of kombu
- 1.5kg cod fillet , skinned
Chlorophyll Oil
- 500g of grapeseed oil
- 50g of spinach
Cucumber Oil
- 400g of cucumber skins
Cockles
Cockle velouté
- 700g of cockle stock
- 150g of double cream
- 160g of crème fraîche
- 2g of Maldon salt
- 50g of butter
- lemon juice to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Charlotte Potatoes
- 5 Charlotte potatoes , peeled and diced to 8mm
- salt
Baby Cucumber
- 2 baby cucumbers , sliced into 1/2 cm thick rounds
Sea Vegetables
- rock samphire
- sea lettuce
- salt
- olive oil
- lemon juice
For serving
- olive oil
- cockles , in their shell
- butter
- 100g of shallots , peeled, diced and blanched
- 20g of fresh chives , finely chopped
Equipment
- Vac pac maker
Method
The day before serving, brine the cod and make the cucumber oil. First, bring the water, salt and kombu to a simmer then take it off the heat. Set aside to chill
- 4l water
- 200g of Maldon salt
- 1 sheet of kombu
Brine the cod fillet in the kombu stock for 12 hours
- 1.5kg cod fillet , skinned
For the cucumber oil, first prepare an ice bath
Heat the grapeseed oil to 60°C, then remove from the heat
- 500g of grapeseed oil
Blend the oil for 4 minutes with the spinach at full speed in a liquidiser
- 50g of spinach
Transfer the oil to a sous-vide bag, and submerge into the ice bath. Once cool, strain out the spinach
Freeze the oil for around 2 hours, so that any liquid left in the oil sticks to the tray. Once frozen, pour off the oil and pass through a fine sieve
Blend the cucumber skins together with 400g chlorophyll oil, and then infuse in the fridge for 24 hours
- 400g of cucumber skins
The next day, strain the cucumber oil through a fine mesh sieve
Dry the brined cod and portion it to 140g. Wrap in cling film
Cook for a few minutes until they all open, and then strain the stock. Keep the stock and the cockles, and chill both quickly
Pick all the cockles from their shells
For the cockle velouté, add 700g cockle stock to a pan and reduce to 200ml. Add the double cream, crème fraîche and Maldon salt to taste
- 700g of cockle stock
- 150g of double cream
- 160g of crème fraîche
- 2g of Maldon salt
Blend the butter into the velouté, and then add lemon juice and black pepper to taste
- 50g of butter
- lemon juice to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the potatoes, bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the potatoes for 6 minutes, then drain
- 5 Charlotte potatoes , peeled and diced to 8mm
- salt
For the cucumber, compress the cucumber rounds with some of the cucumber oil, reserving some for finishing the chowder
- 2 baby cucumbers , sliced into 1/2 cm thick rounds
Grill the cucumbers on one side, and then set aside
Blanch all the sea vegetables in a pot of salted water. Dress with olive oil and lemon juice to taste
- rock samphire
- sea lettuce
- salt
- olive oil
- lemon juice
To assemble the dish, first preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
Pan-fry the cod portions in a little olive oil. Once golden, transfer to the oven and bake for 4-6 minutes or until cooked through
- olive oil
Add the diced blanched shallots, 100g of the Charlotte potatoes, 300g cockle velouté and the chopped chives to a pan. Gently warm the chowder, and add 100g of the picked cockles at the last minute, to prevent them from becoming tough
- 100g of shallots , peeled, diced and blanched
- 20g of fresh chives , finely chopped
Split the chowder with some cucumber oil, and then spoon the chowder onto 4 plates. Add the cod and grilled cucumbers, and then finish the dish with the dressed sea vegetables and freshly opened cockles
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Roast Cornish cod, cockle chowder, grilled cucumber
