Sand Whiting fillets with saffron glaze and mussels
The dish sounds complicated, because it divides into four different components,
but all that really needs be done at the very last moment is steaming the
mussels, then frying the fillets.
Saffron fish glaze
1 litre fish stock (if you don’t make your own,
you can buy excellent readymade stocks at good fishmongers, such as Mures
in Hobart)
Pinch of saffron threads
Boil together until liquid has reduced by two-thirds; you should be left with 300ml saffron fish glaze. If you make ahead, either use the same day, or freeze in an ice tray (which will give you handy little cubes of glaze you can use with other dishes). Melt in a small pan over low heat.
Herb crumb topping
3 sprigs each chervil, thyme and dill, finely chopped
Handfull parsley, finely chopped
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
100g butter, melted
Sea salt
Cracked white pepper
Mix all together and bake in moderate (170°C) oven 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside and keep warm.
Fish
12 sand whiting fillets (6 fish), allowing 3 fillets
a person
1-2 tablespoons light olive oil (do not use extra virgin olive oil), sufficient
to just cover the base of the pan
12 mussels
1 cup white wine
Place mussels in a pot with white wine, cover tightly and steam 2-3 minutes until mussels open. Remove meat from eight mussel shells. Set aside in a warm place, along with four mussels in shells for garnish.
Season whiting fillets on skin side with salt and pepper. Heat light olive oil in a heavy based frypan and sear whiting fillets skin side down for three minutes. Turn, immediately remove pan from the heat and quickly remove fillets.
To serve
Place mussel meat in plate, surround with fresh vegetables in season (here we show broadbeans and asparagus, blanched, dunked in ice water to keep the colour, then gently cooked in a pan with butter and 1 tablespoon saffron glaze) and drizzle over saffron glaze.
Top with stack of 3 fillets on top, put mussel in shell on one side and sprinkle with herb topping.
Recipe submitted by Simon West, head chef at Meadowbank Estate, Cambridge, Tasmania