What do you get when a Scot meets a Spaniard in a five-star kitchen?
Executive chef Jose Martin Ruiz Borja of Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel and executive chef Leslie Stronach of the InterContinental Hotel Bangkok.
The answer is a gastronomic unification between the fresh clean taste of seasonal European produce and the characteristic pungency of Mediterranean spices.
Created by executive chef Leslie Stronach of InterContinental Hotel Bangkok and executive chef Jose Martin Ruiz Borja of the Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel, the fourth course of the 2013 Bangkok Chefs Charity Gala Dinner, set to take place three weeks from now, will delight diners with an impressive fish dish that promises to invoke a sense of dining at a Scottish beach resort in the Mediterranean.
Roasted Chilean sea bass, potato and fennel boulangere, piquillo sauce and beurre blanc with pea tendrils represents beautifully how the two different European cuisines can come together.
"The inspiration behind the recipe derives from the fact that Scotland and Spain are the best places for seafood. The top-notch quality fish will be complemented by a great sauce, from Jose's Spanish heritage, and my Scottish love of potatoes and fennel," explained Stronach.
"To go with the Bangkok Chef Charity's culinary theme for this year, the dish is also a marriage between the classic and modern. We combine traditional flavours, such as the pepper piquillo sauce, with a light, modern approach to cooking."
Jose Borja added: "Meanwhile the potatoes are prepared in French boulangere style with fennel and saffron to give a modern touch to the dish." The sea bass, imported from France, will be classically pan-fried before being presented in a small medallion shape with a cylinder of potato and fennel layers (previously soaked in saffron-infused chicken stock), rich pepper sauce, green parsley coulis and very light and sweet pea sprigs from France. This flavourful gourmet fish menu will be served with the Grand Reserva, Chardonnay 2010, Rapel from Chile. Bright yellow in colour, elegant and complex, the wine recalls light tropical fruits and toasted hazelnuts intermingled with mineral notes. Mild and creamy with pleasing acidity and a long finish on the palate. It has spent nine months in medium-toast French oak barrels.
Roasted Chilean sea bass, potato and fennel boulangere, piquillo sauce and beurre blanc with pea tendrils.
Roasted Chilean sea bass, potato and fennel boulangere, piquillo sauce and beurre blanc, with pea tendrils
Roasted Chilean sea bass
Ingredients:
Preparation:
1. Roast the fish in the oven at 160C for about 10 minutes. Set aside until required.
Potatoes-fennel boulangere
Ingredients:
Preparation:
1. Soak potato and fennel slices in chicken saffron stock, then layer in a mould and bake at 150C until tender.
2. Let it cool, cut into portions and reheat when required.
Beurre blanc
Ingredients:
Preparation:
1. Heat wine and shallots in a sauce pot until the liquid boils, reduce by half.
2. On low heat, add the butter slowly, and whisk rapidly. Season to taste and strain.
Piquillo sauce
Ingredients:
Preparation:
1. Heat wine and shallots in a sauce pot and reduce by half. Add the paprika, peppers and fish stock, cook till tender.
2. Blend the sauce and strain, add fennel confit and season to taste.
To assemble:
On a warm plate, set the sea bass on top of the piquillo sauce. Place the potatoes and fennel boulangere on one side, add the beurre blanc sauce and garnish with pea tendrils on top of the fish.
