Fish Consommé
- 1 sea bass head
- 1 calf’s foot
- 3 1/2 ounces carrots, chopped (100 g)
- 2 cups onions, chopped (50 cl)
- 1 ounce celery (30 g)
- 1 small bouquet garni
- 7 ounces light chicken stock (200 g)
- 5 white peppercorns
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1 cardamom seed
- 2 black peppercorns
- 3 small capers
- 1/2 ounce organic lemon (15 g)
- 7 ounces fresh fennel (20 g)
- 1 slice Espelette pepper
- 1/2 ounce butter (15 g)
- 1 lemon
Cuttlefish
- 7 ounces thick cuttlefish meat (200 g)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (2 cl)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice (1 cl)
- fleur de sel
- black pepper
Clams
- 12 Red Hawk lettuce leaves
- 4 1/2 lbs littleneck clams (2 kg)
- 40 small capers
- 12 lemon balm leaves
- fleur de sel
Instructions
Step 1: Sea Bass
Scale and clean the sea bass, removing the head and tail. Cut away the fillets from the central bone. Take out the ventral bones, and remove the skin. Finally trim the fillets, so as to be left with very white pieces.
Cut into 8 steaks, 5 1/2 ounces (160 g) each, from the meatiest part of the fillets. Coat the fillets with olive oil, and season with fleur de sel. Protect both sides with parchment paper and cook over a very low heat in order not to brown. Finish cooking in a very low oven to avoid browning the fish.
Step 2: Fish Consommé
Open the calf’s foot, blanch in salted water and cool.
Cook the calf’s foot with the vegetables, diced into a mirepoix, in 2 quarts (2 liters) of water. Bring to a boil, skim, and cover with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit the top of the pot. Simmer for 3 hours and strain the clear liquid.
Clean the bass head of the gills and bloody parts. Pour 7 ounces (200 g) of the liquid into a pot with the light chicken stock. Remove any impurities, and add the white pepper and the thyme. Cover with a piece of parchment paper cut out to fit the top of the pot. Simmer for 1 hour, strain through a cloth and cool in a flash freezer.
Just before serving, reduce the consommé, thicken with a bit of butter and infuse with 1 lemon slice, the cardamom, crushed black pepper, fresh fennel, capers and the Espelette pepper. Let sit for 15 minutes and strain the sauce through a fine-meshed chinois. Season with some lemon juice and salt.
This recipe was originally published in "Culinary Encyclopedia by Alain Ducasse" (Éditions Alain Ducasse). See all credits
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