Cod Véronique
a recipe for poached fillets with fish based velouté, white grapes, and basil oil
Cod Véronique
Serve: 2
Ingredients
Fumet
Fish bones and head (from 1 white-fleshed fish)
10g unsalted butter
1 small white onion
1 leek (white part only)
1 small garlic clove
1 bay leaf
3 black peppercorns
500g water
a drop of lemon juice
sea salt
Fish velouté
25g unsalted butter
25g plain flour
400g fumet
50g double cream
1 egg yolk
sea salt
Basil oil
30g fresh basil leaves
150g sunflower oil
Fish
2 cod fillets (use sole or any other flat fish if you like)
1 shallot
25g dry white wine
25g fumet or cold water
lemon
unsalted butter
sea salt
Toppings
10 white grapes
fresh dill
Method
Basil oil
Pick the basil leaves and place them in a food processor.
Add 150g of sunflower oil into the basil and pulse a couple of times until the basil is fully blended with the oil.
Once the oil is prepared (see photo below), place a fine sieve lined with kitchen paper over a bowl. Pour the blended basil oil through the sieve and let it drip into the bowl, allowing the solids to separate from the liquid.
Fumet
Separate the head from the spine, then take the spine and cut it into three pieces. This exposes more of the bone, making it easier to clean and remove any blood under cold running water. Rinse the spine thoroughly - this step is crucial for achieving a clear fumet.
Remove the eyes from the head and rinse it under cold water as well.
Next, cut the onion in half and slice the white part of the leek, ensuring it’s free of any soil. Smash a garlic clove with the side of a knife.
In a pot, heat the unsalted butter over medium-low heat. Place the bones and head in the pot and let them sweat for 2 minutes without colouring. Then stir in the onion, leek, and smashed garlic.
Toss in 1 bay leaf and 3 black peppercorns, then cover everything with cold water - about 500 g, or enough to just submerge the ingredients.
Bring the fumet to a light simmer - be sure not to let it boil, as this can make the liquid cloudy and bitter. Keep the heat low and cook for about 20 minutes, skimming the impurities from the surface frequently.
Once 20 minutes have passed, add a small drop of lemon juice and season lightly with sea salt (keep in mind that the fumet will serve as the base for the fish velouté, so we’ll re-season later). The stock should be clear and clean, as shown below.
Reserve about 25g of the stock for poaching the fish, and the rest to make velouté.
Cartouche
Cut a square of baking paper slightly larger than your poaching vessel.
Fold it in half to form a triangle as shown in the first photo, then fold the triangle 3 more times.
Hold the folded parchment and measure the radius of your poaching container. Cut the open edge into a half-circle. Make a small slit of about 2 mm at the tip to allow a little steam to escape during cooking. Unfold the paper to reveal your cartouche.
Fish velouté
Gently warm the fish stock you prepared earlier.
Next, make the blond roux: in a pot, melt 25 g of unsalted butter over low heat. Once melted, stir in 25 g of sieved plain flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture changes from white to a pale yellow - about 4 minutes.
Gradually whisk in the warm fish stock, adding it slowly to ensure a smooth, lump-free sauce. Let the velouté simmer gently over low heat for about 15 minutes, then season with salt to taste. If the sauce becomes too thick or you don’t have enough stock, add a little water to achieve the right consistency.
Finally, lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming.
Green grapes
Heat water in a kettle until boiling.
Using a sharp knife, make a small ‘X’ shape at the top of each grape. This will help the skin loosen when you blanch them. Place the grapes in a heatproof bowl.
Blanch the grapes by pouring the hot water over them and letting them sit for about a minute, or until you see the skin begin to loosen.
Once blanched, shock the grapes in ice water to stop the cooking process. Peel off the skin starting from the ‘X’ incision.
After peeling, submerge the grapes in cold water to slow down oxidation. For extra protection, you can add a drop of lemon juice. Keep the grapes in the fridge to maintain their freshness and add a cool contrast to the dish.
Prep the fish
Butter one side of the cartouche and brunoise one shallot.
Using fish tweezers, remove any pin bones from the fillets. If you don’t have tweezers, use a piece of kitchen paper for a better grip. Season both sides of the fillets with sea salt. Roll the fillets and place them upright in an oven dish as shown below.
Add the brunoised shallots, 25g of dry white wine, the 25g of reserved fumet (or cold water), a squeeze of lemon, and season with salt.
Place the cartouche, buttered side down, over the fish and tuck in the sides.
Serve the cod Véronique
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Poach the fish for 8-10 minutes, or until cooked through. Cooking time may vary depending on your oven.
After the fish is cooked, you’ll notice some liquid has gathered in the poaching dish. This ‘liquid gold’ is full of flavour - strain it and stir it into the velouté.
Gently warm the fish velouté over low heat. Once it’s warm, turn off the heat and carefully stir in the liaison - a mixture of double cream and egg yolk. This will enrich the sauce, giving it a silky, smooth texture. The sauce should be shiny and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Cut most of the grapes in half, leaving a few whole to thinly slice as shown below.
In a serving bowl, add the warm fish velouté and the cooked rolled cod. Garnish with drops of basil oil, the halved and sliced grapes, and a frond of dill.
