Royal Fillet of Cod

• Serves 6

• Preparation time:

• Cooking time:

Ingredients

6 (170 g) cod fillets

MASHED POTATOES:

1 kg red creamer potatoes, unpeeled, halved
3/4 cup (175ml) heavy cream
2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter
Nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

CRUST:

1/2 pound (250 g) butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons (30 g) margarine
2 tablespoons (30 g) chopped parsley
2 tablespoons (30 g) chopped thyme
3 tablespoons (25 g) chopped chives
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1 cup (250 g) of white bread crumbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

SAFFRON SAUCE:

1 cup (250 ml) sparkling wine
1 teaspoon (5 g) saffron
1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream)

GARNISH:

6 green onions
3 cherry tomatoes, halved
Rosemary sprigs

Method

Preheat oven to 165°C.

To prepare mashed potatoes, place potatoes into salted cold water, bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are easily pierced with the tip of a knife, about 20 minutes. Drain, and press potatoes through a potato ricer into a heated bowl. Stir in cream, butter and nutmeg. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, and keep warm.

For crust, in a large mixing bowl, whip butter and margarine with an electric mixer, at medium to high speed until doubled in size. Add herbs and garlic. Mix well. Add eggs, egg yolk, bread crumbs and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Whip for 2 minutes and set aside.

Arrange fillets on a baking pan, pat dry, and season with salt and pepper. Place crust mixture on a sheet of parchment paper; level off to 1/4 inch (1.2cm) thick. Cut parchment and crush, using a sharp knife to fit size of each fillet, and gently slide butter on top of each fillet using a warmed spatula. Bake for 15 minutes.

For sauce, in a small saucepan over low heat, infuse sparkling wine with saffron for 5 minutes. Add cream and simmer for 15 minutes or until sauce thickens. Do not boil. To serve, arrange mashed potatoes in centre of each plate, top with fillet and garnish with green onion, tomato and rosemary sprigs.

Notes

Why is saffron so expensive?

Scientifically, saffron is the dried stigma of the crocus flower (Crocus sativus). Each blossom produces only 3 stigmas. They must be harvested by hand and it takes over 35 000 flowers to produce one pound of the spice. Fortunately, a small amount is all it takes to season a dish, so it is quite economical.

A simple way to get as much flavour as possible from a few threads of saffron is to place them in the palm of one hand and grind them with the heel of the other. By doing so, you expose a greater amount of surface area and release more of the essence.