Sous vide salt cod poached in olive oil with langoustine cigars and hermitage jus

Not yet rated

This sous vide salt cod recipe from Michael Wignall combines cod, baby squid and langoustine for a visually stunning seafood spectacular.

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Sous vide salt cod

Cod salt mix

Baby gems

Langoustine cigars

Crispy squid

Cod dressing

  • 4 sprigs of dill, finely chopped
  • 4 sprigs of chervil, finely chopped
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 400ml of extra virgin olive oil

Cigars

  • 190g of feuille de brick pastry

Hermitage jus

To plate

Equipment

  • Deep fat fryer
  • Sous vide or water bath
  • Muslin cloth
  • Vac pac maker
  • Vac-pac bags
  • Wooden skewers

Method

1
For the cod, crush all the ingredients for the salt together and mix in a bowl. Clean and trim any sinew from the cod fillets
2
Sprinkle a layer of salt mix on a long piece of cling film, lay the cod on top and cover with the rest of the salt mix
3
Roll tightly in cling film and press between two heavy trays of 1 hour. Turn the fish over and press for a further 1 hour
4
Rinse off the salt in ice water and pat dry with kitchen paper. Remove the skin and roll tightly in cling film again. Using a sharp knife, portion into 8 x 50g pieces
5
At this point the cling film can be removed. Place each piece into its own small vac pac bag and vacuum each bag
6
For the gem hearts, remove the outer leaves of the lettuces. Reserve the small, pale inner leaves. Allow 2-4 per portion. Keep refrigerated until serving
7
Bring the fish stock to the boil. Remove the heads from the langoustines and poach for 10-20 seconds - just enough to make the shell easier to remove. Drain and plunge straight into ice water. When cold, break away the shells
8
For the langoustine mix, add the peeled langoustines to a blender with the lemon, ginger, coriander and salt. Blitz to a purée. Keep the mixture refrigerated
9
For the cigars, using a ruler and a sharp knife, cut the feuille de brick into 10cm x 8 cm rectangles. Place one layer of pastry onto a board and spread 2mm thick with the langoustine purée
  • 190g of feuille de brick pastry
10
Lay a wooden skewer through the middle and roll the pastry around it. Repeat the process for 7 more cigars. Transfer to a cling-filmed plate and refrigerate until serving
11
For the hermitage jus, in separate medium heavy based pans, colour the mushrooms and shallots to golden brown. Combine the two then add the garlic, peppercorns, tarragon, star anise, hermitage wine and fish stock
12
Bring to a boil and reduce by half, skimming constantly. Change into a new pan if needed. Pass twice through a fine cloth or muslin. Keep refrigerated until serving
13
For the squid, remove the legs from squid body and clean them in ice water. The squid body may be reserved for another dish or frozen for up to 2 weeks. Combine the flour and salt
14
Dust the squid legs in the flour mix and fry at 180°C for 30 seconds or until crisp. Drain on a paper towel. Keep the oil for the langoustines
  • 1000ml of oil
15
Poach the cod in a water bath at 50°C for 9 minutes. Meanwhile combine the fresh herbs, lemon juice, salt and oil in a medium pan
16
Warm the oil but do not boil. Remove the cod from their bags and place into the infused olive oil. Coat
17
To serve, lay out 8 plates. Remove the cod pieces from the herb infused oil dressing and drain on a paper towel. Gently flake and place a few pieces on each plate
18
Deep fry the langoustine cigars in the squid oil at 180°C until golden. Pull the skewers out and add to the plates
19
Gently toss the baby gem leaves in foaming butter. Season and place around the cod
20
Garnish with the fried crisp squid tentacles. Sauce with hermitage jus and lastly, drizzle with some of the herb infused oil dressing

Michael Wignall could have been a professional BMX biker. It was a fortunate day for foodies everywhere when he decided instead to work under legendary Northern chef Paul Heathcote.

Get in touch

Please sign in or register to send a comment to Great British Chefs.

You may also like

Load more