Cod really doesn’t have to be battered – and as far as chef Simon Hulstone, head of Michelin-starred restaurant The Elephant in Torquay, is concerned, you can also skip the chips.
Instead, he suggests trying the fish with a parsnip purée instead. A light yet satisfying combo, and whipping it up could be easier than you think.
Cod with parsnip puree and a verjus and spring onion butter sauce
Equipment
- 3 saucepans
- Blender
- Fine sieve
- Frying pan
Ingredients
- 440 g Norwegian Cod fillet
- 2 slices iberico lardo
- 2 tbsp ground onion
- 2 tbsp borage leaf
- 2 tbsp chives fresh
- 2 tbsp fennel pollen
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the parsnip purée
- 300 g parsnip
- 180 ml double cream
- 100 g butter
For the verjus butter
- 1 cucumber flesh scooped into balls using a spoon
- 6 spring onion
- 220 g butter
- 100 ml chicken stock
- 100 ml verjus du perigord
- 2 tbsp golen sultanas
Method
- For the parsnip purée, heat the butter in a saucepan and cook the parsnips for one minute on a high heat.
- Add the cream, bring the mixture to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes or until the parsnips are tender. Blend the parsnip mixture in a blender until smooth.
- Pass the mixture through a fine sieve and into a clean pan, then season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- For the verjus butter, pour the verjus and chicken stock into a saucepan and bring to a boil, continue to cook until the volume of the liquid is reduced by three-quarters.
- Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cubed butter until smooth and glossy. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the sultanas, cucumber and spring onion. Keep warm.
- Meanwhile for the cod, season the fillets with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Pour one tablespoon of olive oil in a hot frying pan, add the seasoned Cod skin-side down and cook for two to three minutes, or until golden-brown. Turn the fish over and remove the pan from the heat.
- Place the fish onto a board or a plate and place a lardo slice on each fillet and carefully sprinkle the fennel pollen, ground onions, chives and borage on top.
- To serve, spoon the parsnip purée in the centre of serving plates and place the dressed Cod on top. Finish by pouring the sauce around the cod and serve immediately.
Nutrition
How to make Jack Stein’s cod with chard and charred sweetcorn