Home / Recipes / Pan-Seared Mediterranean Rouget with Smoked Aubergine Emulsion and Saffron-Fennel Nage

Let's Cook

Pan-Seared Mediterranean Rouget with...Pan-Seared Mediterranean Rouget with Smoked Aubergine Emulsion and Saffron-Fennel Nage

Name: Pan-Seared Mediterranean Rouget with Smoked Aubergine Emulsion and Saffron-Fennel Nage
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 8 fresh red mullet (rouget) fillets, scaled, pin-boned, scored lightly; 2 medium globe eggplants, charred over open flame; 1 generous pinch of high-grade Spanish saffron threads; 1 baby fennel bulb, fronds reserved, bulb shaved paper-thin on a mandoline; 300 ml rich rockfish stock or refined fumet; 30 ml Pernod or pastis; 1 shallot, finely brunoised; 4 cloves garlic confit; 60 g cold European unsalted butter, cubed; 45 ml cold-pressed Ligurian extra virgin olive oil; 15 ml fresh Meyer lemon juice; 50 g pitted Taggiasca olives, dehydrated and pulsed into a coarse crumb; 1 tsp wild fennel pollen; Fleur de sel and freshly cracked white pepper to taste

🍴

Cuisine

Mediterranean

👥

Servings

⏱

Prep Time

45 mins

🍳

Cook Time

35 mins

⭐

Difficulty

Hard

An exquisite coastal composition featuring crisp-skinned wild red mullet perched over velvety smoked aubergine, dressed with a reduced saffron-rockfish nage and shaved baby fennel.

MediterraneanHard

Ingredients

•8 fresh red mullet (rouget) fillets, scaled, pin-boned, scored lightly

•2 medium globe eggplants, charred over open flame

•1 generous pinch of high-grade Spanish saffron threads

•1 baby fennel bulb, fronds reserved, bulb shaved paper-thin on a mandoline

•300 ml rich rockfish stock or refined fumet

•30 ml Pernod or pastis

•1 shallot, finely brunoised

•4 cloves garlic confit

•60 g cold European unsalted butter, cubed

•45 ml cold-pressed Ligurian extra virgin olive oil

•15 ml fresh Meyer lemon juice

•50 g pitted Taggiasca olives, dehydrated and pulsed into a coarse crumb

•1 tsp wild fennel pollen

•Fleur de sel and freshly cracked white pepper to taste

Cooking Instructions

01
Char the eggplants directly over an open flame until the skins are completely blackened and the flesh yields gently. Transfer to a bowl, cover with film for 10 minutes to steam, then scrape out the smoky pulp, discarding charred skins.
02
Blend the warm eggplant pulp with the garlic confit, 20 ml of extra virgin olive oil, and lemon juice in a high-speed blender until silky and emulsified. Season with fleur de sel, pass through a fine sieve, and keep warm.
03
In a small saucepan, sweat the brunoised shallot in 10 g of butter until translucent. Deglaze with pastis, reducing by half. Add the rockfish stock and saffron threads, simmering until reduced by two-thirds into a vibrant, concentrated nage.
04
Whisk the remaining cold butter into the saffron nage over very low heat to mount into a glossy sauce. Season with a drop of lemon juice and keep warm (do not boil).
05
Toss the shaved baby fennel with a dash of olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, and wild fennel pollen in ice water for 3 minutes to curl, then pat thoroughly dry.
06
Season the scored red mullet fillets with fine sea salt. Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat with remaining olive oil. Place fillets skin-side down, gently pressing with parchment paper for 90 seconds until the skin turns blistered and intensely crisp. Flip and kiss the flesh side for 20 seconds; remove immediately.
07
To plate: Swipe a generous spoonful of smoked aubergine emulsion across warm ceramic plates. Rest two crisp mullet fillets skin-side up over the puree. Crown with curled shaved fennel, dust with dehydrated olive crumb and fennel fronds, and split the surrounding saffron nage with droplets of green olive oil.

Cooking Reviews

“

The Caprese Salad Skewers recipe was a triumph! I prepared them for a party's barbecue and everyone loved them. The basil was so aromatic, the mozzarella so fresh, and the skewers were the perfect size and an appropriate.

Michael Burns

July 1, 2023