Red mullet with edible crystallized scales, cucumber consommé, tomato emulsion with cider liquor and raw cauliflower

Salmonete con cristales de escamas comestibles, consomé de pepino, emulsión de t
Martín Berasategui
Chef: Martín Berasategui
Country: España
City: 20160 Lasarte-Oria (Guipúzcoa)
Address: Loidi, 4
(+34) 943366471

The infallible Martín Berasategui has created a vast array of important work in 2007, all of which corresponds perfectly with his unmistakable style of cuisine, as per usual. We all know that such a studious and untiring chef makes a thousand attempts in his basic preparations before opening new culinary pathways. He takes inspiration from certain criteria, techniques, articulations, sauces… and from there he designs fascinating variants that are always, and we mean always, superb. He has an immaculate, profound approach in conceiving his formulas-remarkably complex dishes that confirm his methods and always manage to surprise, time and time again, with their astonishing level of perfectionism.
In keeping with this philosophy and character, he has given us the red mullet with edible scales. The filet is served at an angle with the skin below, the previously massaged tiny scales in an upside-down colander, under which a pot is placed to recover the oil. Through a continuous application procedure of virgin olive oil at 200ºC to the white meat of the red mullet, the layers of scales, underneath, are made to stand upright. With this process the dish gains in texture, flavor, color and idiosyncrasy. And from there we are left with nothing to do but sing the praises of the maestro: the fish is placed over a bed of bonito tartare and magnified in different spaces with a lightly jellied cucumber consommé, “oceanized” with mussel broth, a tomato and cider liquor emulsion and a salad of cauliflower blended with vinaigrette and herbs.



The Recipe



Red mullet with edible crystallized scales, cucumber consommé, tomato emulsion with cider liquor and raw cauliflower
Ingredients

  • 1 red mullet filet, 50-60 g
  • 300 g extra virgin olive oil

CUCUMBER SKIN INFUSION

  • 50% liquefied cucumber
  • 50% clarified mussel juices
  • Liquefied cucumber skins
  • 700 g cucumber skins obtained through peeling (more or less 2.5 kg cucumbers) will give you 450 g of liquefied skins.

GELATINOUS SOUP OF CUCUMBER SKINS

  • 100 g cucumber skin water
  • 100 g clarified mussel juices
  • 0.6 g xanthan gum

RAW CAULIFLOWER

  • 1 cauliflower
  • Vinaigrette for the raw cauliflower:
  • 100 g grated cauliflower crown
  • Virgin olive oil
  • Sherry vinegar

TOMATO EMULSION

  • 300 g heirloom tomatoes
  • 100 spring onions, chopped.
  • 100 g cider liquor
  • 60 g cocoa butter Mycryo, Cacao Barry

bonito tartare

  • 400 g bonito
  • 250 g monkfish
  • 5 g shallots
  • 25 g chives
  • 35 g balsamic vinegar (70 to 35 g)
  • 30 g virgin olive oil
  • 1 bunch of parsley.
  • Black olive stones

For the bread:

  • 200 g olive paste
  • 700 g water
  • The ink of two frozen baby squids
  • Organic bread

PREPARATION:

For the red mullet:

1. Filet the red mullet carefully, keeping the scales intact.
2. Bone the red mullet.
3. Massage the filet with an undulating motion without breaking the scales.
4. Heat the extra virgin olive oil to its maximum temperature (approx. 200ºC) without burning.
5. In an upside-down colander place the red mullet at an angle with a pot below to catch the oil.
6. Using a pan, pour the hot oil against the grain of the scales until the fish is cooked and the scales have pricked up and are crispy like little crystals.
7. Finish with scale salt and plate.

Very important:

For optimal results, the red mullet must be placed in ice until the last moment, in a bag without wrapping.

For the liquefied cucumber
Peel the cucumbers well, liquefy and strain well.
For the soup
Mix the two waters with the xanthan gum mix in a mixer.
This preparation should be done just before serving.

Method
For the raw cauliflower:

Cut all the crowns off the cauliflower, without the stalks, and place in a Thermomix. Blend on the 10 setting in three turns of 1-3 seconds each.
Mix with the vinaigrettes or the herb salads.

For the emulsion:

Poach the spring onion for 5 minutes, add the tomato and continue cooking as if making a compote for approximately 10 minutes.
Deglaze with the cider liquor and cook for 5 additional minutes. Pass through a fine sieve, add the Mycryo and emulsify.

For the tartare

Chop all the ingredients (bonito, monkfish) into 1x1 cm pieces. Add the remaining ingredients leaving the vinaigrette last so that it holds the tartare. Adjust the salt.
Note: bonito can be substituted with mackerel, but the procedure remains the same.

For the stone:

Remove the crust from the organic bread and break it up with your hands into small, irregular pieces.

Place the kalamata olive paste, drained of its oil, into the Thermomix with the water and squid ink.
Blend on maximum speed until the mixture heats up.
Follow by passing it through a sieve and adding the pieces of bread that we will have stored on a tray.
Leave the bread to soak up the mixture, checking that the inside of the bread are perfectly stained with the ink.

Using your hands, remove the pieces of bread from the mixture and place on a tray covered with parchment paper. Bake at 120ºC for 2-3 hours.
Before removing them from the oven, make sure that they are perfectly dried. Store in an airtight container with silicon gel.

FINISHING

At the center of the design plate place one serving of cucumber consommé.
Top with the red mullet, the quenelle of bonito tartare and a baby romaine leaf above.
To one side, place 2 slices of cauliflower and top with a thin line, 6 cm long, of raw cauliflower.
Finish by surrounding the red mullet with the tomato emulsion of Mycryo Cacao Barry.
 

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