Tony Shaw, Head Chef at Riverside Restaurant, West Bay, says, “Hake is a delicious fish, which is also sustainable and affordable. The addition of the razor clam and truffle hollandaise complement the fish and lift a simple dish to another level”.
Serves 4
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- 4 x 200g hake fillet
- A knob of butter
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 bunches of asparagus (3-4 spears per person)
For the truffle hollandaise:
-
- 4 egg yolks
- 25ml white wine vinegar
- 4 whole black peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 banana shallots, finely sliced
- 250g unsalted butter
- 25g truffle oil or 1g grated black truffle
For the razor clams:
-
- 4 razor clams
- 25ml white wine
- 1 crushed clove of garlic
- A sprig of thyme
- 100g smoked pancetta
- 50g broad beans
- 50g samphire
- Shallots reserved from the truffle hollandaise
1. Cut an inch off the bottom of each stem of asparagus, then peel and blanch in salted water for 3 minutes. Refresh in iced water ready to be cooked later.
2. For the truffle hollandaise, start by melting the butter slowly in a pan, and leave to stand. Skim the top of the butter and retain, discard the milky excess in the bottom of the pan. Put the white wine vinegar, peppercorns, bay leaf and shallots in a pan and cook until soft. Remove the shallots and retain for the razor clam stuffing. Strain the liquid, and leave to cool. Add the cooled liquid to a metal bowl with the egg yolks and whisk until light and fluffy, then place in a bain marie and slowly whisk in the melted butter until you have an emulsion. Add the truffle oil or grated truffle.
3. For the razor clams and stuffing, steam the razor clams in the white wine, garlic and thyme until the shells open. Take each clam out of its shell (keep the shells, as these will be used to hold the stuffing) and finely slice. Blanch the broad beans in salted boiling water, drain and refresh in iced water then pod. Slice the pancetta into lardons and pan-fry until crispy. Mix all of the ingredients – the sliced clams, broad beans, crispy pancetta and the shallots retained from making the hollandaise. Use to fill the razor clam shell.
4. For the asparagus, heat a griddle pan over a medium heat. Coat the asparagus with olive oil and place on the griddle. Griddle for 4-5 minutes, or until golden-brown griddle marks appear, turning halfway through cooking.
5. For the hake, season the hake with sea salt and black pepper and put straight into a non-stick frying pan, skin-side down, with a little olive oil. Cook for approximately 3 minutes until the skin is nice and crispy, flip over and add a knob of butter to finish and colour.
6. Plate the dish as per the photo.
www.thefishrestaurant-westbay.co.uk