I’m taking you back 26 years to my early days as chef at the famed Le Cirque in New York City, to the site where restaurant Daniel is housed today. This dish was created composed of four main ingredients—sea bass, leeks, potato and red wine. The original recipe is now served only at Café Boulud while every year at Daniel we create a new recipe around the same four elements, but with new techniques and presentations.
The art of any great chef’s classic dish that we remember is that it is composed of fairly simple elements. In this recipe, the trick is in the special technique of overlapping translucent sheets of potato, which requires the large Idaho variety sliced very thinly—either with a turning slicer or mandoline—to wrap around the sea bass. By the time you roast the potatoes crispy on all sides, the fish is perfectly cooked. I also add a pomme purée to offer a contrasting texture of potato.
It’s my interpretation of fish and chips—more elegant with a real Lyonnais slant.
RECIPE
Serves 6 – Preparation 1 hour – Cooking 30 minutes
DRINK PAIRING - A Syrah based wine such as Cornas or St. Joseph
INGREDIENTS
For the Paupiette
- 6 boneless, skinless sea bass fillets, 7 ounces (198.5g) each
- 2 very large Idaho baking potatoes, peeled
- Canola oil for frying
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper
For the Sauce Meurette
- 1/2 bottle (375ml) dry red wine
- 1/2 cup (120ml) ruby port
- 1/2 cup (40g) shallots, peeled and sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon (1g) cracked black pepper
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1 cup (240ml) veal stock (see base recipes)
- 1/2 lb (2 sticks/224g) cold butter, cut into small pieces
For the Pomme Purée
- 1 1/2 pounds (about 9/681g) peeled Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 pint (480ml) heavy cream
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons (28g) butter
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper
For the Leeks
- 4 large leeks, two sliced and rinsed, and two cut into 1/2-inch (1.25cm) dice
- 2 cups (40g) packed spinach, washed and stemmed
- 2 tablespoons (28g) butter
- 6 baby leeks or scallions, each cut into a 4-inch (10cm) baton from the stem end
- Sugar
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper
To Finish
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) clarified butter
- Fleur de sel
Make the Paupiette:
Make each filet as rectangular as possible [about 5 x 2‐inch (12.75 x 5cm)] by slicing horizontally through 1‐inch (2.5cm) of the thick end of the filet and folding it over towards the thinner side to flatten the surface. Cut a vertical score on the tail end of each filet, a few inches from the end, making sure not to cut all the way through, and tuck that end under.
Fill 1/3 of a heavy bottomed saucepan with oil and heat to 250°F (121°C). Slice potatoes into long sheets on a Japanese turning slicer and cut sheets into (at least 36) 1‐inch (2.5cm) wide by 8‐inch (20cm) long rectangles.
Fry potatoes until cooked and translucent but not colored. Drain onto a parchment paper‐lined tray in a single layer and let cool at room temperature. Line up 5-6 slices of potato with the long ends overlapping by 1/4‐inch (0.5cm) to reach the length of a portion of fish. Repeat with remaining potatoes to make 5 more portions and store sheets in‐between pieces of parchment paper.
Up to 6 hours before serving, season fish on all sides with salt and pepper and place one portion in the center of a potato sheet. Wrap one side of potato over the fish, and then tightly wrap the other side over the top, overlapping by 1/4‐inch (0.5cm). Repeat with remaining 5 fillets and store chilled.
Make the Sauce Meurette:
In a large saucepan, combine the red wine, port, shallots, cracked pepper and thyme and simmer until reduced to 1 cup (240ml). Add stock and reduce by half. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve. When ready to serve, bring to a simmer, remove from the heat and whisk in butter a few pieces at a time just until melted. Season with salt and pepper.
Cook the Pomme Purée:
Place potatoes in a large saucepan, and cover with cold salted water. Bring to a simmer and cook until tender. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, simmer the cream with the thyme until reduced by half. Add butter, stir to melt, remove the thyme and keep warm. Strain the water from the potatoes, and return to the pan over medium heat, stirring until all of the moisture evaporates. Pass potatoes through a food mill, return to a clean saucepan over low heat and whisk in the cream mixture until well combined. Season to taste, pass through a fine-meshed tamis or drum sieve, and keep warm.
Make the Leek and Spinach Purée:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and place a bowl of ice water on the side. Boil the two sliced leeks and spinach until very tender, and then chill in the ice water.
Transfer leeks and spinach to a blender and puree with enough ice water to make a smooth, thick puree. Pass through a fine-meshed sieve.
Cook the diced leeks:
When ready to serve, divide the butter into two medium sauté pans and warm over medium heat. Add the 2 diced leeks to one pan and baby leeks to the other, along with a pinch of sugar and a splash of water. Cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 6‐8 minutes. Add leek puree to the diced leeks, and season to taste both preparations with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
Cook the Fish:
Melt the clarified butter in a large nonstick pan over medium‐high heat. Carefully add the bass, and sear, undisturbed on one side until golden brown, about 3‐4 minutes. Delicately turn over, and sear the other side for 3‐4 more minutes or until golden. Let the fish rest for one minute.
Plate:
For each serving, place a spoonful of potato purée on the bottom of a warm dinner plate. Place a spoonful of diced leek with purée in the center. Top with a piece of fish and a baby leek. Spoon sauce around the bass and sprinkle the fish with some fleur de sel.
CHEF TIPS:
1. If you don’t have a Japanese turning slicer, you can slice the potatoes on a mandoline, and use two 4-inch (10cm) long sheets of potato per row.
2. After adding butter to the sauce, do not bring back to a simmer, as it will break. If it does, remove from the heat and whisk in a splash of cold water to bring it back together.
