A clean, bright plate where the pike-perch takes center stage: crispy skin, pearlescent flesh, silky carrot puree, and umami mushrooms that extend its sweetness without overpowering it.
Ingredients
- 300 g fresh skin-on pike-perch fillets
- 450 g young carrots or sand-grown carrots
- 250 ml ready-to-use vegetable broth
- 120 g fresh shiitake mushrooms
- 80 g fresh enoki mushrooms
- 1 piece shallot
- 1 clove pink garlic clove
- 45 g unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1 piece untreated lemon
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 0.25 bunches fresh flat-leaf parsley
- to taste fine salt
- to taste whole black peppercorns
Method
- Remove the pike-perch fillets from the refrigerator, place them skin-side down on paper towels, and season lightly with salt. Let sit and come to room temperature for 15 minutes: the surface must be completely dry to the touch, which is essential for achieving crispy skin.
- Peel the carrots and cut them into rounds about 1 cm thick. Place them in a saucepan with the vegetable broth and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook at a gentle simmer around 95 °C for 20 minutes, until the tip of a knife slides in with no resistance.
- While the carrots cook, toast the cumin seeds dry in a small skillet over medium heat (around 160 °C) for 2 minutes. Remove them as soon as they sizzle lightly, turn brown, and become fragrant without smoking. Coarsely crush them with a mortar and pestle.
- Drain the carrots, reserving the broth. Blend the hot carrots with a ladleful of cooking broth, a portion of the butter, and the crushed cumin for 2 minutes. Add more broth as needed to reach a smooth, glossy, and supple puree, then keep warm over very low heat (around 60 °C), covered.
- Clean the shiitake and enoki mushrooms. Slice the shiitake into 5 mm strips and separate the enoki into small clusters. Finely mince the shallot and grate the garlic clove.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat (around 180 °C) with a drizzle of sunflower oil. Add the shiitake and sear for 4 minutes without moving them too much until nicely browned. Add the shallot and garlic, then sweat for an additional 2 minutes until the shallot is translucent.
- Deglaze the mushrooms with the sherry vinegar and let reduce for 1 minute over high heat until the harsh acidity has completely evaporated. Add a knob of butter, season with pepper, then add the enoki and toss everything for 1 minute over low heat (around 120 °C) to form a glossy, glazed pan sauce.
- Heat a skillet with the remaining oil over medium-high heat until it reaches about 180 °C. Place the pike-perch fillets skin-side down, apply gentle pressure with a spatula for the first 30 seconds to prevent them from curling, then cook for 4 minutes undisturbed, until the skin is crisp and golden, and the cooking turns the flesh opaque two-thirds of the way through.
- Lower the heat to medium (around 150 °C), add the remaining butter, and continuously baste the fish with the foaming butter for 1 minute 30. Gently flip the pike-perch flesh-side down to finish cooking for 45 seconds, until an internal temperature of 48 °C to 50 °C is reached for pearlescent flesh.
- Transfer the pike-perch to a wire rack or warm plate, grate fresh lemon zest over top, and squeeze a few drops of juice. Let rest for 2 minutes so the juices redistribute without softening the skin.
- Spoon a generous dollop of piping-hot carrot puree into the center of each plate, spreading it into a smooth swoop. Place the pike-perch on top, crispy skin facing up. Arrange the glazed sauteed mushrooms around it, drizzle with a bit of their pan juices, then finish with flat-leaf parsley leaves and freshly cracked black pepper.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 592.3 kcal
- Protein
- 33.83 g
- Carbohydrate
- 38.39 g
- Fat
- 37.08 g
- Fibre
- 11.79 g
- Calcium
- 48.59 mg
- Iron
- 3.12 mg
- Magnesium
- 99.81 mg