Red Mullet
This dish is a good lesson in layering flavors. Note that the sauce calls for tomato paste: you could buy it, or you could prepare it, as Chef Georges Blanc does, beginning first by preparing herb stock, then making tomato paste using the herb stock, and only then making the sauce. The good news is that the herb stock can be made long ahead! The final dish is simple: crisp pan-fried mullet fillets swimming in a pool of buttery herb sauce. But what a pedigree for that sauce!
Ingredients
- Herb Stock
- Dry white wine - 2 cups
- Water - 1 cup
- Carrot - 2, minced
- Onion - 1, minced
- Shallots - 4, minced
- Bay Leaf - 1/2
- Thyme - 1 sprig, stemmed
- Garlic - 2 cloves, peeled and minced
- Celery - 1 stalk, minced
- Lemon Zest - Zest of 1 lemon, minced
- Parsley - 1 sprig, minced
- Tomato Paste
- Tomato - 3 ripe, peeled, seeded, and chopped
- Water - 1/4 cup
- Herb stock (above) - 1 cup
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Sauce
- Unsalted Butter - 4 ounces (1 stick)
- Virgin olive oil - 1 tablespoon
- Shallot - 3, minced
- Chives - 6, minced
- Tarragon - 1 sprig, stemmed and minced
- Basil - 1 sprig, stemmed and minced
- Thyme - 1 sprig, stemmed and minced
- Chervil - 1 sprig, stemmed and minced
- Bay Leaves - 1, broken into pieces
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Lemon Juice - Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Tomato Paste (above)
- Mixed Herbs - 2 tablespoons minced (tarragon, thyme, chervil, basil)
- Tomato - 1, peeled, seeded, and cut in small dice
- Red Mullets - 12 fillets, skin on
- Salt and freshly cracked pepper
- Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons
- Fleur de sel
Instructions
To prepare the herb stock: Combine the wine and water in a cooking pot. Add the vegetables and herbs and bring to a boil; cook 30 minutes, uncovered, over medium-high heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve and set aside. The herb stock may be frozen into ice cubes and stored in a zippered bag in the freezer.
To prepare the tomato paste: Combine the tomato and water in a saucepan and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes lose their shape and almost all the liquid is gone, about 20 minutes. Stir in1 cup of the strained herb stock. Continue to simmer until thickened; the mixture should hold its shape on a spoon. Season with salt and pepper. Remove and let cool.
To prepare the sauce: Heat the half of the butter and the olive oil in a large saute pan or skillet over medium heat and saute the shallots until softened. Stir in the chives, tarragon, basil, thyme, chervil, and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Whisk in the remaining butter, a piece at a time, then whisk in the lemon juice. Add 1/2 cup of the tomato paste. Stir in the mixed herbs; season with salt and pepper. The mixture should be as thick as heavy cream; adjust the consistency to taste by cooking it down further over low heat, or thinning with olive oil, herb stock, or emulsified butter. Whisk well to combine. Set aside; keep warm, but do not return to the heat.
To prepare the fish: Season the fillets on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Put the fish in the pan skin-side down and sear until lightly browned and crisp. Turn and cook just until opaque throughout, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove; drain on paper towels. Do not crowd the pan; fry in batches if necessary.
To serve: Stir the minced herbs and fresh diced tomato into the sauce. Pool sauce in the bottom of each serving plate. Place three fish fillets on each. Sprinkle with a little fleur de sel.
