Steamed shellfish with cauliflower
Get started on salting the fish the night before for this recipe. Vary the shellfish according to what you can get hold of.
Ingredients
For the cod brandade
- 500g/1lb 2oz fresh cod
- medium grain sea salt or kosher salt, to cover
- dash olive oil
- 250ml/9fl oz full-fat milk
- 150ml/5fl oz double cream
- 1 onion, peeled and cut in half
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 thyme sprig
- 300²µ/10½´Ç³ú mashed potato
For the steamed shellfish
- 1 handful mussels, scrubbed and debearded
- 1 handful cockles (or clams), scrubbed and debearded
- 2 king scallops, separated from their shells, corals removed, but still retaining two shells (ask your fishmonger to do this for you), cleaned
- 10 raw, shell-on tiger prawn tails, butterflied
- splash vermouth
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
- dash of olive oil
- salt
For the herb-roasted cauliflower florets
- 1 romanesco cauliflower (if available, alternatively a normal cauliflower), broken into tiny florets
- dash oil
- 25g/1oz unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp chopped mixed herbs (such as parsley, dill, chervil and tarragon)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
- dash olive oil
- 100g/3½oz panko breadcrumbs
- 1 lime, segmented
Method
For the cod brandade, the night before you want to make this recipe, salt the cod. Sprinkle a layer of salt in a dish large enough to hold the cod and sprinkle more salt over the top. Put in the fridge overnight.
The next day, remove the cod from the salt, rinse off with cold water and pat dry using kitchen paper or a clean tea towel.
Poach the cod in the olive oil, milk, cream, onion, garlic cloves, bay and thyme for 8–10 minutes in a deep sauté pan.
Strain the cod and set it aside. Pour the poaching liquor into another pan, and discard the herbs, onion and garlic.
Heat the mashed potato in the poaching liquor and flake in the fish. Stir together gently to make a smooth mixture. Keep warm.
For the steamed shellfish, prepare a steamer with two basket layers. Discard any broken mussels or cockles and any that refuse to close when tapped.
In two layers of a steamer basket, arrange two single layers of the shellfish with the scallops sat in one cleaned shell in each layer. Add a splash of vermouth and a sprig of thyme on each layer and a dash of olive oil. Season with salt.
Steam for 6–8 minutes, or until all the shells are open and the prawns are cooked through. Retain all the juices and discard any mussels or cockles that don’t open or with damaged shells. Remove most of the shells and arrange the shellfish in the scallop shells. Pour the resting juices into a small pan and cook to reduce slightly. Spoon the juices over the shellfish.
For the herb-roasted cauliflower florets, preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7.
Toss the cauliflower in oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast in the oven for 5 minutes, or until softened. Remove and top with the butter and mixed herbs.
To serve, heat a dash of olive oil in a pan and fry the breadcrumbs until browned. Spoon the cod brandade onto two plates, top with the herb-roasted cauliflower and lime segments and sit a scallop shell full of shellfish alongside. Sprinkle over the toasted panko breadcrumbs.
