By Terence van Lenten - Boutique Hotel ter Zand

White Fish with Soy Velouté

“The noblest art of making other people happy.”

Ingredients

  • 140 g white fish (p.p)
  • 250 g cockles
  • 1 Garlic clove
  • 100 g onion, diced
  • 250 g leek
  • 300 g charlotte potatoes
  • ½ bunch Parsley
  • 200 g fennel 
  • 1 stalk celery
  • 150 g unsalted butter
  • 100 ml cream
  • 1 egg
  • 150 ml white wine
  • 1,5 lt water
  • 60 g flour
  • 35 ml Tomasu Soy Sauce
  • Pepper to taste

Utilities

  • Large cooking pans, 2
  • Medium frying pan
  • Large frying pan
  • Cutting board
  • Kitchen knife
  • Whisk
  • Measuring cup

Preparation

Preparation sauce

Chop the onion and garlic. Cut the center of the celery into rings. Heat the onions and garlic in a hot pan with a little bit of butter. As soon as the garlic starts to brown, add the celery. Turn this on and then add the tops of the fennel and the leek greens.

Deglaze with white wine. Add 1.5 liters of water and let it simmer for an hour until you have a nice vegetable stock. Strain the stock as soon as it is tasty.

 Then make a roux. To do this, melt the butter in a saucepan. Once the butter has melted, add the flour and stir well. The roux is ready when it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan.

Add the stock in parts to the roux with a whisk. Season the sauce with the soy sauce and a little pepper. Put the sauce on low heat.

Make a mixture of the egg and cream. Add the egg mixture to the sauce. Stir well immediately. If the sauce is a little too thick, thin it out with a little cream or water. Don't let the sauce boil!

Preparation potatoes

Cut the leek into rings and keep the green. Cut the tops of the fennel and cut the leaves into thin strips. Keep the tops of the fennel with the leek green. Cut the potatoes into wedges and boil them for 5-8 minutes. Drain the potatoes and let them steam out.

Heat some butter in the medium-sized pan and add the pre-cooked potatoes. Add the leek rings and sauté them. Continue the steps by adding the fennel, salt, pepper and a splash of white wine. Place the potato mixture over low heat, turning occasionally.

Preparation fish

Take a frying pan and put a knob of butter in it. Place the fish with the skin in the bubbly butter. Turn the fish when the body is golden brown.

Add another knob of butter and spoon it over the fish from time to time. Once the fish is almost cooked, add a dash of soy sauce and spoon this over the fish as well. Remove the fish from the pan and let it rest for a while.

Place the cockles in the used pan of the fish, which still has all the flavor and butter in it. Stir well and add a splash of white wine to open the clams.

Plating

Spoon a few heaped spoonfuls of potato mixture into a deep plate. Then place the fish on top. Add a generous amount of sauce to the plate. Then put some cockles on the plate and sprinkle some chopped parsley over the dish.