This sandwich is great with crisps and a pickle… and friends!
Or make them smaller and serve as canapes at your next gathering. The reason for using two cooking methods here is to create a very crisp skin by pan-frying and then a silky, moist flesh by poaching in ghee. Placing a small, wrapped plate in the base of your poaching pan will help you achieve an even result on the fillet’s top and bottom.
Ingredients
- 500g ghee
- 2 teaspoons toasted fennel seeds
- 1 star anise
- 1 x 320g boneless coral trout fillet, skin on
- sea salt flakes and freshly cracked
- black pepper
- 8 slices of fresh white bread
Tarragon mayonnaise
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons apple-cider vinegar
- 150ml olive oil
- 100ml grapeseed oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- sea salt flakes and freshly cracked
- black pepper
- 1 bunch tarragon, leaves picked and finely chopped,
- stems reserved
Serves 4
For the mayonnaise, whisk together the egg yolks, mustard, and vinegar in a bowl; slowly add the two oils to emulsify while whisking. Add lemon juice and season to taste, then stir in the tarragon leaves. Set aside.
Wrap a saucer or plate in plastic wrap so that it’s taut from edge to edge then place it in the bottom of a large saucepan – allow room for easy removal. Add the ghee, fennel seeds, star anise and reserved tarragon stems, then place over a low heat. Bring to a steady temperature of 48°C.
Heat 60ml (¼ cup) of the infused ghee in a cast-iron skillet or frying pan over a high heat to a light haze. Place fillet in pan, place a fish weight or small saucepan on top and cook for 2 minutes, or until you see colour around the edges. Use an offset palette knife to lift the fillet and move it to a clean surface in the pan. Cook the weighted fillet for another minute, or until the skin is golden brown and crisp but the flesh is still raw and cool. Remove from the pan and, using a sharp knife, cut the skin from the flesh. Set the skin aside on a wire rack to cool.
Lower the partially cooked fillet into the warm infused ghee until completely submerged and leave it poaching for 10 minutes, then remove the pan from heat and leave fish to stand in the ghee for a further 4 minutes. Remove from the ghee and rest on wire rack for 5 minutes.
While the fish rests, place 2½ tablespoons of the infused ghee in the skillet or frying pan and heat over a medium heat to a light haze. Add the skin, underside down, and cook carefully, without letting it burn, for another 30–60 seconds for more colour and crispness. Season with salt and set aside. Cut into 4 even pieces.
Pull the rested fillet into large pieces and place in a bowl. Add a few tablespoons of mayonnaise and salt and pepper; gently stir together. Spoon the mixture onto 4 slices of bread and position the crisp skin on top. Sandwich with the remaining bread slices and serve.
Recipe extracted from Take One Fish
by Josh Niland
RRP $60, Hardie Grant Books
