Equipment
Ingredients
Spice Blend
- 5 g fennel seeds, toasted and ground
- 5 g coriander seeds, toasted and ground
- 2 g smoked paprika
- sea salt
Sweetcorn Velouté
- 500 g sweetcorn kernels, fresh or frozen
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 30 g unsalted butter
- 300 ml vegetable stock
- 100 ml heavy cream
Sea Bream
- 4 sea bream fillets, skin-on, descaled, pin-boned
- 30 ml grapeseed oil
Chilli Butter
- 60 g unsalted butter
- 1 red chilli, finely diced
- 2 g aleppo pepper
- 15 ml lime juice
Nutrition (per serving)
Method
Prepare the spice blend by mixing the toasted ground fennel, coriander, smoked paprika, and salt in a small bowl. Pat the fish fillets completely dry with paper towels. Score the skin lightly 3 times without cutting into the flesh.
For the velouté, melt 30g butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the shallots and garlic until soft but not browned (about 3 minutes).
Add 450g of corn kernels (reserve 50g) to the pan. Add vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for 8-10 minutes until corn is tender. Add heavy cream and simmer for 2 more minutes.
Transfer the corn mixture to a high-speed blender. Blend on high until extremely smooth. Pass through a fine mesh sieve into a clean pan, pressing on solids to extract all liquid. Season with salt to taste and keep warm.
For the chilli butter, melt 60g butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until the butter foams and smells nutty (beurre noisette). Remove from heat immediately. Stir in the diced fresh chilli, Aleppo pepper, reserved corn kernels, and lime juice. Set aside in a warm place.
Heat grapeseed oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Rub the flesh side of the fish with the spice blend. Salt the skin side. Place fillets skin-side down in the hot oil. Press firmly with a spatula for 10 seconds to prevent curling.
Cook undisturbed for 4-5 minutes until the skin is crisp and the flesh is opaque 2/3 of the way up. Flip carefully and cook on the flesh side for 1 minute or until cooked through (internal temp 60°C/140°F).
To serve, spoon a generous amount of sweetcorn velouté into the center of a warm plate. Place the fish atop the sauce, skin-side up. Spoon the warm chilli butter and reserved corn kernels over and around the fish.
Chef's Notes
- Passing the corn sauce through a sieve is the difference between a rustic chowder and a Michelin-style velouté. Don't skip it.
- When making the chilli butter, the lime juice is crucial to arrest the cooking of the butter so it doesn't burn, and to provide acid balance.
- If you cannot find Sea Bream, Red Snapper or Branzino (European Sea Bass) are excellent alternatives with similar skin textures.
- Pressing the fish down with a spatula for the first few seconds of cooking is the secret to perfectly flat, evenly cooked fillets.
Storage
Refrigerator: 2 days — Store components separately. Fish best eaten fresh.
Freezer: 1 month — Sauce freezes well; fish does not.
Reheating: Gently reheat sauce on stovetop. Fish is best prepared fresh, but can be warmed in oven at 150°C/300°F.
