Olive Oil Poached Black Cod with Horseradish Emulsion

  • Red Beet Purée

  • 1 large beet or two medium beets

  • 3 shallots

  • 2 tablespoons butter

  • sea salt to taste

  • fresh black pepper to taste

  • vegetable stock to cover

Peel and chop the beets into small pieces, peel and chop the shallots into small pieces. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a small sauce pan, add the shallots and allow to sweat for a couple minutes, add the beets and sweat for a couple minutes longer. Lightly season with salt and pepper and cover with vegetable stock. Bring the mixture to a boil and turn down to a low flame and allow to cook until all the vegetable stock has reduced. By this time the shallots and beets should be fully cooked. Transfer to a blender and add the remaining butter, blend to a fine puree. Double check the seasoning, set aside, cover and keep warm.

  • Pickled Ramps

  • 3 oz of ramps, cleaned and greens removed

  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds

  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds

  • 1 teaspoon fenugreek seed

  • 1 teaspoon dill seed

  • 2 clove

  • ½ cinnamon stick

  • 1 small dry chili pepper

  • ½ bay leaf

  • 1 cup of white vinegar

  • ¾ cup sugar

Clean and wash the ramps, bring salted water to a boil and lightly cook the ramps. Drain into ice water to stop the cooking process. Combine the spices and tie into cheesecloth pouch. Add the vinegar, sugar and spice pouch into a non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil.  Meanwhile, drain the ramps from the ice water and put into a clean container. When the pickling liquid comes to a boil, turn down and allow to cook for a couple of minutes then add the liquid to the ramps. Cover and allow to cool. The ramps can be done several days in advance and stored inthe refrigerator. If more ramps are pickled, then needed, they can be eaten as they are or saved for future use. Finally, if ramps are not available, onions will also work just eliminate the blanching of the onions, add them directly to the pickling liquid bring to a boil and take off the stove.

Ingredients

  • 4 x 6 oz pieces of Black Cod (filet, no bones)

  • 1 pint of extra virgin olive oil

  • 2 sprigs of thyme

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 2 sprigs savory

  • 2 cups of red beet puree (see recipe)

  • 6 baby leeks

  • 2 tablespoons pickled ramps (see recipe) onions can be

  • substituted for ramps

  • 1 cup vegetable stock

  • 2 tablespoons horseradish oil

  • 2 tablespoons butter

  • 1 lemon

  • sea salt

  • fresh ground pepper

  • dash cayenne pepper

Garnish:

  • 4 roasted golden beets

  • micro beet tops

For the dish:

Wash the baby leeks very well, making sure to remove all the dirt and sand. Blanch them in boiling salted water until tender and then remove into ice water to stop the cooking.  Drain from the ice water and cut the leeks into 1-1 ½ ” pieces. Put the olive oil in a pan, large enough to hold all the black cod filets, with the herbs until it’s about 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile for the horseradish emulsion, peel the horseradish and chop into small pieces, put into a blender, cover with grape seed oil, a pinch of salt and blend on high speed until you have a very fine puree. In a small saucepot, combine 1 cup of vegetable stock with 2 tablespoons horseradish oil, with the juice of half a lemon, sea salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil; add the 2tablespoons of butter and blend using a hand blender or normal conventional blender, blend until the mixture is emulsified. Check the seasoning and balance out the flavor with salt, pepper and lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne.  et aside and keep warm. You will need to blend it one more time when you are ready to plate the dish. Season the fish with salt and fresh ground pepper and put into the olive oil, you can judge the temperature of the oil by the size of the bubbles coming off the fish. If your oil is too hot, it will look like a deep fryer, you want the fish to poach, therefore, the bubbles should be big and rise to the surface very slow, the smaller and faster the bubbles rise the hotter the oil is. The fish should take about 10 to 12 minutes to cook. While the fish is cooking, reheat the beet puree, and double check the seasoning. Sauté the leeks in a hot sauté pan, it is good to caramelize them by giving them a little color, add the pickled ramps, check the seasoning and finish with ½ teaspoon of butter if you wish. The butter is not necessary. Reheat the horseradish emulsion. When the fish is cooked, remove from the oil onto a paper towel to absorb any excess olive oil. To plate, divide the beet puree among four large soup bowls, spoon the sautéed leeks and ramps into the center of the beets. Place the fish on top of the beet puree.  Blend the horseradish emulsion and spoon the emulsion around the fish. Top each fish with a couple pieces of golden beet and some micro beet tops. Serve immediately.