Confit Halibut with Caviar Hollandaise
Luke created this dish for Masterchef UK Professionals Season 18. A refined fine-dining starter built around halibut gently confit in duck fat until impossibly silky and buttery, blanketed with a caviar hollandaise, accompanied by a gem lettuce ballotine rolled with anchovy, Parmesan and Parma ham, and finished with crispy potato topped with caviar. Every critic at the table praised it, with Marcus Wareing declaring it sublime and flawless, and Monica Galetti describing the confit halibut as being like butter that just melts. Chef's Notes: Learning from the Critics' Table This dish received perhaps the most unanimously positive response of the entire Critics Round. Here's what to focus on: "The halibut is just gorgeously cooked" — Tom Parker Bowles. The confit technique is the heart of this dish. Temperature control is everything. Keep your duck fat between 130–140°F (55–60°C) and you'll achieve that impossible buttery texture where the fish essentially melts. Go too hot and you get c…
- Time: 90 min
Source: Relaxed Recipes
Ingredients
- PREPARE THE GEM LETTUCE BALLOTINE
- Halve the baby gem lettuces lengthwise. Drizzle the cut sides with olive oil and
- Char the lettuce on a very hot griddle pan or under a broiler, cut side down, fo
- Combine the finely chopped anchovies with the grated Parmesan in a small bowl to
- Lay out a large sheet of cling film on your work surface. Arrange 4 slices of Pa
- Roll tightly using the cling film to help you, tucking the Parma ham around the
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up. The ballotines can be made up to
- PREPARE THE CRISPY POTATOES
- Peel the potatoes and cut into 1cm thick rounds, or use a ring cutter for precis
- Par-cook the potato rounds in salted boiling water for 8–10 minutes until just t
- When ready to serve, heat duck fat or clarified butter in a non-stick frying pan
- CONFIT THE HALIBUT
- Season the halibut fillets generously with fine sea salt on all sides. Let sit a
- Gently heat the duck fat in a deep saucepan or straight-sided sauté pan with the
- Gently lower the halibut fillets into the warm duck fat, ensuring they are fully
- Confit for 12–18 minutes depending on the thickness of your fillets. The halibut
- Carefully lift the halibut from the fat using a slotted spoon or fish spatula. R
- MAKE THE CAVIAR HOLLANDAISE
- Clarify the butter if not already done: melt unsalted butter gently in a small s
- Set up a bain-marie. Place a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water
- Whisk the egg yolks with the lemon juice, white wine vinegar and a tablespoon of
- Remove the bowl from the heat and begin adding the clarified butter in a very th
- Season with salt, white pepper and cayenne. Taste and adjust the lemon juice — t
- Fold in the caviar just before serving, stirring very gently so as not to crush
- FINISH THE BALLOTINES
- Remove the ballotines from the fridge and unwrap the cling film. Trim the ends n
- Optionally, sear briefly in a hot dry pan for 30–60 seconds, turning once, to wa
- PLATE THE DISH
- Place a piece of confit halibut slightly off-centre on each warm plate
- Spoon a generous amount of caviar hollandaise over and around the halibut — it s
- Position a crispy potato disc alongside. Top each potato with a small quenelle o
- Arrange two ballotine pieces on the plate, angled to show the cross-section of c
- Finish with a scattering of snipped chives, a few micro herbs if using, and a de