NOTE FOR DAWN
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THIS week's recipes are two old-fashioned recipes that would have been served in a restaurant with great showmanship and flourish and are probably still served in places like London's Savoy.
The hospitality industry and the food scene that goes with it will constantly change: we are adapting to new ingredients, cutting edge technology and consumer tastes every day.
However, there are always going to be those experiences or dishes that stand the test of time, albeit with a modern twist or alternative approach – and Crepes Suzette is one of them.
When I was training to be a chef, this was a dish that would have been a mainstay of most restaurant menus, but times have changed. Very few restaurant dining rooms have the space to afford a Crepes Suzette stand, never mind the space to serve it in the dining room.
It is a similar story for fish served on the bone, as most waiters would not have the skill to remove it from the bone at the table – another sign of the times.
So while times change and tastes develop, some things will get better, but the flavours remain and the legends live on.
Whole Fish with Garlic, Parsley and Red Wine Vinegar
(Any flatfish can be used in this recipe, I have used brill in the photo.)
4 x 400g fish, scaled and gutted
125ml extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1 large handful of flat leaf parsley, picked from stalks
3 tblsp red wine vinegar
2 lemons, halved to serve
Preheat your frying pan to a medium heat. Scatter a large tray with some flour and season with salt and pepper. Make six incisions on the skin of each fish and lightly dust the fish with the seasoned flour mix and shake off any excess.
Grease the frying pan with a little of the olive oil and place the fish skin side down in the pan until golden and crisp, turn over and continue to cook for a further four minutes or until cooked through.
Heat the remaining oil and garlic in a saucepan until the garlic has started to colour. Remove from the heat and add in the parsley and the red wine vinegar and stir. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Place the fish on the plate, drizzle over the sauce and serve with a wedge of lemon.
Other fish you can use would include dover sole, plaice or flounder.
Crepes Suzette
Makes 4-6
100g plain flour
2 eggs
200ml milk
Pinch sugar
Pinch salt
2 tblsp melted butter
For the sauce
60g sugar
Juice of 2 oranges
2 oranges halved
Dash of Grand Marnier
Put the flour in a mixing bowl with the eggs and start adding a little of the milk at a time. Whisk until you have a smooth creamy batter and have used up all the milk. Add in the salt and sugar and whisk again. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.
Melt the butter in the frying pan over a medium heat and when the butter has melted remove the excess liquid into a bowl for later use. Pour a ladle of the creamy batter into the hot pan and spread the batter evenly over the base.
Allow to cook for 1 to 2 minutes and then flip over and cook on the other side for 1 minute or until it is golden.
Repeat until all the batter used. Use the excess melted butter liquid to grease the pan if it becomes dry.
For the Suzette sauce, place the sugar in a dry frying pan on a moderate heat until it starts to melt and caramelise. This is the perfect time to caramelise the oranges, so place the halved oranges face-down on the sugar until caramelised and the sugar has melted.
Remove from the pan and leave to the side. Add the juice of the oranges to mix with the sugar and stir until completely combined.
Add in the Grand Marnier, shake the pan a little and the steam from the pan will ignite the alcohol and will burn it off – this is perfectly normal, don't panic!
To serve, fold your pancakes into quarters and place into the liquid and put on the plate with the oranges and another dusting of sugar, for good measure.
