An unusual one from the eminent Mr. Stein – eminent when it comes to fish cookery. John Dory may be delicious but it can be tricky to source so some other flavoursome skin-on suitable substitute would be worth a try, such as Gurnard, Bream or Sea Bass.
Planning
| serves: | 4 |
| preparation time: | 25 mins |
| cooking time: | 30 mins |
Ingredients
- 4 x 175g fillets of john dory or gurnard, skin on
- 50g butter, melted
- 750g cos lettuce, shredded
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 75g rindless smoked streaky bacon
- 1 leek, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 300ml chicken stock
- 300ml hoppy pale ale
- handful parsley, chopped
- Salt & pepper
Method
Place the fish fillets on a plate and sprinkle generously with salt. Leave for about 15-20 minutes, then rinse off and pat dry with kitchen towel. Brush the fish with a little of the butter and season with pepper.
Heat a little butter in a frying pan and add the bacon and fry until golden and crisp. Add the remaining butter, the leek and garlic and fry gently for 5 minutes, until softened. Then add the beer and chicken stock to the pan and reduce the volume of liquid by ¾ over a high heat. Turn down as much as possible and cover to keep warm.
In a separate pan heat a little oil over a medium heat and cook the fish skin side down for about 6-7 minutes until the skin is crisp and the fish is opaque. Back to the original pan, stir the shredded lettuce into the sauce and allow it to wilt then stir in the chopped parsley and season if needed with salt and pepper. Divide the lettuce and bacon between 4 plates and top with a piece of fish and spoon the sauce around. Serve immediately.
I really enjoy making this one – thank you for inspiring me for the weekend cook!
You’re welcome. 😉