John Dory and scallops with a saffron sauce

A WORD FROM THE CHEF

John Dory is a fish with a bright white flesh that is sweet and meaty in texture.

INGREDIENTS

(Serves 4)

1kg John Dory

Eight fresh scallops

500g fennel

500g onions

80g sugar

80ml white wine vinegar

350ml orange juice

20g salmon roe

2g saffron strands

80g samphire

100ml cream

20ml white wine

50g onion

50g leeks

One star anise

10g fennel seeds

METHOD

Ask your fishmonger to fillet the John Dory for you, keep the bones to make your stock, we remove the roe from the scallop leaving just the white flesh.

Wash off your fish bones in cold water add the 50g of onions and leeks, star anise and fennel seeds.

Cover the bones in cold water and bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 25 minutes. Allow the stock to sit and infuse for about one hour before passing through a fine sieve.

To make the fennel marmalade, finely slice the fennel and onion and place in a large pot and sweat until soft. Then add the orange juice, white wine vinegar and sugar then continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated.

For the sauce reduce 750ml of fish stock by 3/4 add the cream, reboil and reduce slightly. Pass through a fine sieve and leave to one side.

Prepare the samphire by picking nice tips try to avoid the woody tough base of the samphire.

Dry your fish on a clean J cloth and season with salt and pepper.

Fry the John Dory skin side down and put a little pressure on the fish to prevent it from curling up.

Fry the scallops on both sides until cooked.

Heat the fennel marmalade.

In a small saucepan, add the saffron and heat it slightly then add the white wine reduce then add the fish sauce you made earlier. Finally add the salmon roe and samphire to your sauce and arrange as shown in the picture.

Tip

If the John Dory is large it will need two or three minutes in the oven to cook through.

ABOUT THE CHEF

Norbert Neylon is the chef proprietor of The Oak Room Restaurant in Cavan since 2001.

The Oak Room moved to a new purpose-built building in May of 2017 on Bridge Street in Cavan Town.

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