Pomfret chunks on a bed of broccoli purée with leek chips

CHEF MATTEO GIUDICI

Ingredients for 4 people: 

A Pomfret* fish of around 1.2kg, 12 dried tomatoes that have been moisturized, 16 pitted Gaeta olives, 100g shelled and unsalted pistachios, 1 Sicilian broccoli, 1 unsalted anchovy fillet, ½ a leek, rice flour as needed, peanut and extra-virgin olive oil as needed and salt as needed.

Directions: 
Clean, fillet and skin the Pomfret fish and cut each fillet lengthwise in order to obtain 4 pieces. Let the fillets sit in cold carbonated water for a couple of minutes.
Chop up the olives and dried tomatoes and coarsely ground the pistachios.
Dry the fillets and place each one next to the other on some cooking foil so they slightly overlap. Cover the fish with another sheet of foil and flatten them delicately with a meat pounder in order to create a rectangle of around 25cmX15cm. Remove the upper sheet of foil and sprinkle the chopped olives and tomatoes and 25g of pistachios on top. Roll up the fish using the foil underneath and secure each end candy-wrap style and then place the fish in a freezer for around an hour. Cut the fish roll into 4 pieces of around 6cm long each and place each in a separate cooking bag. Cook in a pot with water heated to 56°C for 20 minutes.
Clean and boil the broccoli then cool in ice water, saving some of the top for decoration. Blend the broccoli in a mixer with the anchovy, adding some of the water used for boiling if necessary and trickle in some olive oil. Pass the purée through a sieve to obtain a smooth cream purée. Salt to taste.
Clean the leek and cut lengthwise julienne-style. Dust the leek chips in the rice flour, shaking off any excess flour, and then fry in hot peanut oil until the chips become crispy. Remove the chips with a skimmer and place then on some absorbent paper to eliminate any excess oil.
Open the bags containing the fish chunks, dry them and roll them in the ground pistachios. Braze the fish quickly in a pan with a trickle of oil.
Spread a ladle-full of broccoli purée on each plate, place a fish chunk on each and top with the leek chips. Salt and garnish to taste.

* The Pomfret  is a member of the Bramide family and is also known as Brama brama or Brama rayi. It is a deep-water fish with a brown-plum color. A voracious predator, it is found in northern European seas as well as the Mediterranean. It is an economic fish but it is not always available at fish mongers. Its meat is delicate and soft and care should be taken to not overcook it.

Wine to pair:

Unterebner 2013 Alto Adige Pinot Grigio Cantina Tramin 

A great, classic varietal that has a bold straw-yellow color. It has a typical aroma with notes of pear and aromatic herbs. The mouthfeel is bracing, tasty and, despite its imposing structure, vibrant and very expressive.
Area of production: Sella a Termeno, in the province of Bolzano, home to the historic mountain wine farmstead Unterebner. The vineyards are situated at an altitude of around 450m above sea level where the chalky soil is pebble like and mixed with clay.

Grape varieties: Pinot Grigio

Winemaking method: The whole grapes are soft pressed right after harvest. Fermentation takes place in wood barrels at a controlled temperature (18-20°C). 80% of the wine ages in large wood barrels and the remaining 20% in French-oak barriques.

Alcoholic content: 14.3%

Lifespan: 8-12 years

Serving temperature: 10-12°C

THIS RECIPE IS OFFERED BY: CANTINA TERMENO - KELLEREI TRAMIN