Jean-Philippe Blondet’s Halibut, Oyster and Seaweed

For the Seaweed and Salted Lemon Bread

Makes one 600 gram loaf – serving 8 portions

Ingredients  

• 270 gr white flour “T55”
• 105 gr buckwheat flour (toasted in a pan until light brown)
• 8 gr golden honey
• 7 gr salt
• 1 gr fresh yeast
• 45 gr butter (unsalted)
• 185 gr water (luke warm)
• 30 gr green sea lettuce (finely chopped)
• 20 gr red dulse (Palmaria palmata)
• 35 gr salted lemon skin (cut into very small cubes – “brunoise”)

Method

NOTE: It is recommended to make the bread with a standing-mixer and hook attachment. Kneading the dough by hand can also be done, but will just take a little longer.

1. Utilizing a standing-mixer, combine all the ingredients except for the sea lettuce, red dulse and salted lemon in the mixing bowl.
2. Knead the dough for 7 minutes at low speed (setting #1), and then increase to a medium speed (setting #2) for a further 2 minutes.
3. Once the time has elapsed, and the dough has come together, add the finely chopped sea lettuce and the brunoise of salted lemon skin and mix these into the dough.
4. Once thoroughly incorporated, leave the dough to rest in the bowl for 20 minutes covered with a cloth.
5. When the dough has rested, knead it on a clean lightly floured surface into a round shape.
6. Allow the dough to rest and rise for 30 minutes preferably in a warmer area of the kitchen.
7. Bake the loaf in a deck oven at 240˚C on top, and 180˚C on the bottom for about 40 minutes. If using a convection oven, the temperature should be 240˚C for 35 – 40 minutes.
8. Once the time is over, and the bread is nicely browned, remove the loaf from the oven, and leave to cool on a cooling rack.

For the Oyster Jus 

Makes 6 portions

Ingredients

• 12 pcs oyster (we use fresh Irish Maldon oysters)
• oyster water from 12 oysters (the water inside the oyster when opening it)
• 90 gr button mushrooms
• 120 gr Cumberland sausage
• 120 gr Roscoff onions (keep 1 tsp finely chopped onions aside to finish the jus)
• 30 gr seaweed (equal parts green lettuce and red dulse)
• 6 gr black peppercorns (whole)
• 90 gr olive oil
• 240 gr dry white wine
• juice of ½ a lemon
• 5 ml Sherry vinegar
• to season white pepper (ground)

Method

1. Roughly chop the Cumberland sausage and using a high sided saucepan, sweat the sausage in olive oil.
2. Add in the diced onion and gently roast, and then add the thinly sliced mushrooms and black peppercorns. Continue to roast lightly.
3. Deglaze the pan with white wine and reduce this by half.
4. Once the white wine has reduced by half, add the oyster water and ¾ of the seaweed, and cover this with water and cook for 20 minutes to infuse the flavours into the jus.
5. In the meanwhile, marinate the finely diced Roscoff onions in Sherry vinegar and with a handheld blender, blitz the mixture by pulsing twice. Set the mixture aside to use later.
6. Using a fine sieve, strain the jus into a clean saucepan, and bring this to a boil.
7. Once boiling, add the flesh of 6 oysters and a few pieces of roughly chopped
   seaweed.
8. Blitz the mixture in the pan with a handheld blender.
9. Season with lemon juice and ground white pepper.
10. To serve, add a teaspoon of the marinated Roscoff onions to the bottom of a serving container, and top off with the oyster jus.

For the Stuffing

Makes 6 portions. The stuffing is placed between the slice of bread and the fish.

Ingredients

• 240 gr Cumberland sausage
• 6 pc oyster (use the remaining oyster from the jus recipe
• 90 gr Roscoff onion (minced)
• 6 gr crushed black pepper
• 18 gr pepper dulse (dried) – Osmundea pinnatifida
• 30 gr brandy
• 120 gr mascarpone
• 24 gr salted lemon skin

Method

1. Finely chop the Cumberland sausage, oyster, and Roscoff onion and combine in a bowl with the other ingredients.
2. Flatten the stuffing between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper until it is 2mm thick.
3. Keep chilled until ready to use.

For the Smoked Eel Emulsion

Ingredients

• 120 gr smoked eel (cut into small pieces)
• 25 gr shallots (fine slices)
• 3 gr crushed black peppercorn
• 1 L cream
• 50 gr dry white wine
• 3 gr salt
• 1 L water

Method

1. Sweat the sliced shallots in olive oil, add the eel, the black pepper and deglaze with white wine.
2. Add water to cover the ingredients.
3. Cook for 20 minutes, and strain through a fine sieve.
4. In another pan, reduce the cream, and combine the same quantity of reduced cream with the same quantity of eel stock.

For the Buckwheat Crisps (garnish)

Ingredients

• 68 gr buckwheat flour (toasted in a pan until light brown)
• 3 gr Fleur de Sel
• 150 ml Water (warm)
• 20 gr salted butter
• 15 gr egg (whole)

Method

1. Combine flour, warm water, salt and whole egg into a bowl and mix to create a batter.
2. In a pan, melt the butter until it browns (“beurre noisette”) and cool it down slightly (keeping it a fluid consistency).
3. Add the cooled beurre noisette to the batter, and mix.
4. Leave the batter to rest in a fridge for approximately 20 minutes.
5. Once 20 minutes has passed, melt a small cube of butter in a hot sauté pan and ladle a thin layer of the mixture into the centre as if making a crepe.
6. Cook until crisp and then flip it onto the other side, leaving it to cook for a few seconds.
7. Remove the buckwheat crepe from the pan and leave it to rest in a 140˚C oven for 5 minutes until fully dried.
8. Break the buckwheat crisp into pieces to later garnish the plate.

For the Garnish

Makes 6 portions

Ingredients

• 30 rings Roscoff onion
• 6 pcs oyster
• 12 leaves green sea lettuce
• sprinkle per plate pepper dulse (dried)
• 24 pcs smoked eel (diced)
• 6 pcs Oyster leaf – Mertensia maritima

Method

1. Peel and cut the onion into 1cm thick rings and caramelize them in a hot pan with
   olive oil.
2. Set aside on a paper towel to remove any excess oil.

For the Halibut Fillet

Ingredients

• 6 halibut fillet pieces, measuring 100-110g per portion

Method

1. Cover the halibut with coarse sea salt for 10 minutes, and then wash away the salt.
2. Portion the halibut in nice pavé pieces.
3. Slice the seaweed bread into 1cm thick slices, and toast it in between 2 trays until completely dry.
4. Cut the stuffing into a square larger than the bread, and sear it in a pan between 2 pieces of greaseproof paper to keep it intact.
5. Poach the halibut for 1 minute in fish stock or lightly salted water and then roast it in a pan.
6. When the fish is almost done, place the stuffing on top of the bread, and lay the fish on top of the stuffing – creating 3 stacked layers.
7. Continue cooking the stacked layers in the pan with butter, continually basting until the fish is cooked.
8. Remove the stacked layers from the pan and cut the bread to the same size as the fish.
9. Just before plating, warm the oyster in its own juices for a few seconds

To Plate the Dish

1. Lay the layered fish and bread onto the plate.
2. Add 5 caramelized onion rings, 4 pieces of smoked eel, a few pieces of green sea lettuce, a sprinkle of the dried pepper dulse, the oyster leaf and heated oyster.
3. Top the fish with some broken shards of the buckwheat crisp.
4. Finish the dish with the eel emulsion.
5. Serve.

Recipe courtesy of Jean-Philippe Blondet of Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester.
Jean-Philippe Blondet Chef Feature.

Image © Pierre Monetta.