Beetle wrapped Rawas with tomato& fennel Buerre Blanc and Saffron Apple butter.

First of all let me wish all of you a very happy and prosperous new year. Year 2011 has been a wonderful journey and I can’t wait to see what’s more there for me in year 2012. Anyways after a very crazy schedule from Christmas Eve to 31^st night and serving almost 650 guests in one night I was quite relaxed and cozy on the very first day of New Year. Everyone at the restaurant was also a bit tired; so to cheer up the mood and also to kill the time we all decided to prepare something special, something that we will never get tired of eating.

There was no exception everyone has to participate and at the same time there were no rules for the creativity. As a kid I had always loved seafood and one can say that is my comfort zone as well. My mom is a pure vegetarian so whenever I used get chance to be at my aunts place I would savor on her fish specialties. So even today I decided to go for fish and that to Rawas. I love the meaty flavors of this fish; and with that all said and done I decided to prepare Rawas…. Salt baked wrapped in beetle leaves with tomato& fennel Buerre Blanc and saffron apple butter.

Ingredients	Quantity
Rawas fillet	200 gms steak
Piri piri mix	10 gms
Lemon juice	1 lemon
White wine	60 ml
Thyme	½ tsp
Garlic ( chopped)	8-10 cloves
Tomato juice	100 ml
Frozen butter	150 gms devided in equal
Egg white	3 no.
Saffron	½ gm
Golden apples	1 no.
Fennel	1 bulb
Beetle leaves	6 nos.
Brown sugar	30 gms
Olive oil	30 ml
Rock salt	120 gms
Salt & pepper	To taste

Method

• First marinate the fish in lemon juice, Piri piri mix, thyme, garlic and olive oil. Let it stand for 10 mins so the marination would be good.
• Now in glass bowl mix together rock salt, brown sugar, fresh theme and egg white.
• On a baking tray put a small heap of this mixture and make a bed for the fish.
• Wrap the fish in beetle leaves and arrange it on the salt bed; now put the rest of the salt mixture over the fish covering it completely.
• Next put the fish in oven at 165 degree Celsius for around 10 to 15 mins depending on how much thick the steak is.
• Now till the fish gets cooked lets make the sauce, put white wine in the pan and let it reduce till half the put tomato juice and fennel juliennes. After some rapid boils take it off the flame and start incorporating half the butter. Finish the sauce by adding crushed pepper.
• In a mixer jar put diced apple & saffron water with remaining butter, pulse till it forms a smooth paste.
• Check the fish by inserting a tooth pick it should slide smooth in it. Take out the fish from oven and carefully break the crust & remove the beetle leaves as well. They were to impart flavor only and to keep the fish from being over salty.
• Arrange the fish in a plate then drizzle the tomato Buerre Blanc around the fish and pour the apple butter on fish.

 

Bon appetite

Amey.