Red mullet fillets with pesto, tomatoes, pickled fennel and flavoured broth by Jérémmy Parjouet
Ingredients
- 4 red mullets à 300/400 g (filleted, also ask to keep the bones)
- 2 kg tomatoes (of which at least 500 g Cornue des Andes or oblong tomatoes), ideally from Les Paniers de Sandrine
- 250 g different cherry tomato varieties, ideally also from Les Paniers de Sandrine
- 1 fennel
- 2 onions
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 sprig thyme
- 10 ml white wine
- 10 ml white vinegar
- 10 ml water
- paprika powder
- sugar, fine salt, ground pepper, olive oil, lemon juice
- several types of basil, some edible flower
For the pesto:
- 100 g basil
- 1 garlic clove
- 50 g parmesan cheese
- 20 g roasted pine nuts
- olive oil
For the broth:
- All trimmings (fish bones, tomato skin and meat, fennel, onions, basil stems)
- 1 onion
- 1 garlic clove
Instructions
The day before:
Skin the 2 kg tomatoes: dip them in boiling water for 10 seconds and then let them cool in a bowl of ice cubes, then remove the skin (keep it) and put it aside.
To make the tomato purée:
Chop the onion and cut the 500 g oblong tomatoes into slices. Fry the chopped onion in olive oil in a frying pan until translucent. Add the tomato slices, the garlic clove and the thyme to the onions and cook in the oven at low heat (100 °C) for 5-10 minutes. Put aside.
To make the tomato quarters:
Take another 500 g of tomatoes, quarter, remove the inner meat (store). Spread on a baking tray, sprinkle with sugar, salt, ground pepper, lemon juice, and a dash of olive oil, bake in the oven at 100 °C for 4 hours. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and pass them through a fine sieve to make a purée. Set aside.
To make the pickled fennel:
For the pickled fennel, bring vinegar, white wine, salt and pepper to the boil. Cut half of the fennel into strips, place in an airtight container and fill up with the hot liquid. Close and keep cool until the next day.
To make the broth:
Fry the red mullet bones in a pot, add the remaining fennel and the chopped onion, the tomato remains (meat and skins), a garlic clove and the basil and cover with water. Simmer for 30 minutes, turn off, cover, and leave to stand. After cooling, put in the fridge until the next day.
To make the pesto:
Crush all the ingredients in a mortar and add the olive oil. Rub the red mullet fillets on the meat side with the pesto and place in the fridge overnight.
The next day:
1. Pass the broth through a fine sieve and cook to reduce. Season to taste.
2. Cut the remaining kilo of tomatoes and the cherry tomatoes into irregular cubes, season with Fleur de Sel, ground pepper, and olive oil and refrigerate for an hour. After an hour, mix the water that the tomatoes have released with a little lemon juice and olive oil to make a tomato vinaigrette.
3. Switch on the grill function in the oven. Grill the red mullets for 2-3 minutes on the highest level of the oven.