Breaded Sardines with Picada and Roe

By corlear

Ingredients

• For the sardine stock:
• 6 sardines (13/4 oz each)
• 0.4 º olive oil
• 11/4 cup water
• For the sardine gelatin:
• 11/4 cup sardine stock (see previous step)
• pinch powdered agar-agar
• 0.4 sheets gelatin (previously rehydrated in cold water)
• salt
• For the seawater slices:
• 11/2 cup seawater
• 11/4 cup water
• 2/3 oz powdered agar-agar
• 3 sheets gelatin (previously rehydrated in cold water)
• For the mock roe:
• 1 seawater gelatin slice
• 1 oz Kalix caviar
• sunflower oil
• For the sardine filets:
• 6 sardines (13/4 oz)
• For the bread slices:
• 1 oven ready baguette
• FOR THE DECONSTRUCTION PICADA:
• For the almond praline:
• 11/4 cup raw almonds, whole
• 1/2 cup 0.4º olive oil
• salt
• For the parsley oil:
• 2 oz parsley
• 1/4 cup sunflower oil
• salt
• For the saffron oil:
• pinch saffron strands
• 1/4 cup sunflower oil
• For the garlic mayonnaise:
• 2/3 oz garlic
• 1/2 cup 0.4º olive oil
• 3/4 tbsp egg yolk
• To finish:
• 1 tsp scallion, diced
• 24 small fresh chervil leaves
• 16 small fresh fennel leaves
• 0.4 º olive oil
• salt

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

Note: The cooking of the sardines is very important: they need to be semi-raw to get the desired texture.

For the sardine stock:
1. Cut off the gills and gut the sardines.
2. Brown the sardines in oil and drain.
3. Simmer the sardines in water for 20 minutes. Strain, keeping the liquid, and sieve.

For the sardine gelatin:
1. Mix 1 cup of seasoned sardine stock and the powdered agar-agar.
2. Stirring continuously, bring to the boil over a medium heat, remove from the heat and whisk. Add the gelatin and dissolve in the liquid.
3. Pour a 1/10" layer into a container.
4. Leave to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
5. Once it is set, cut 4 slices of gelatin into the shape and size of sardines fillets.

For the seawater slices:
1. Mix the two types of water and the powdered agar-agar together.
2. Stirring continuously, bring to the boil over a medium heat, remove from the heat and whisk.
3. Add the sheets of gelatin and dissolve in the liquid. Leave to rest for 2 minutes.
4. Choose a tray that is as flat as possible, with a low edge and which is heat resistant. It should be made out of wood.
5. Add the jellied liquid until it slightly covers the whole of the base. Quickly pour off any excess liquid.
6. Randomly move the left and right sides up and down until you have an even thin layer of gelatin.
7. Leave to set in the fridge for at least one hour.

For the mock roe:
1. Place the Kalix caviar into an icing bag.
2. Put 1/4 oz of roe in the shape of a cornet on the gelatin slices.
3. Wrap into a cornet as tightly as possible, with one and a half turns.
4. Place them in a container with sunflower oil.
5. Keep in the fridge.

For the sardine filets:
1. Scale, filet and remove the bones from the sardines.
2. Place the filets in three on greaseproof paper, leaving a gap between them, and with the flesh in contact with the paper.

For the bread slices:
1. Freeze the baguettes, remove the crust and use the meat slicer to cut them vertically into thin strips (1/10" thick).
2. Place between greaseproof paper and wrap in clingfilm. Keep in the fridge so that it does not dry out.

FOR THE DECONSTRUCTION PICADA:
For the almond praline:
1. Put the almonds in the cold oil and fry over a low heat.
2. Stir continuously, remove from the heat when the almonds are golden brown.
3. Use a slotted spoon to remove them and season with salt while hot.
4. Put the recently fried almonds in the Thermomix at 140ºF.
5. Blend and gradually add the 1/8 cup of oil used to fry the almonds. Work until the mixture is creamy in consistency.
6. Season with salt, strain and put in a baster

For the parsley oil:
1. Remove the leaves from the parsley.
2. Blend with the sunflower oil in the food processor.
3. Use the back of a spoon to press it through a sieve. Season with salt.
4. Put in a baster.

For the saffron oil:
1. Roast the saffron in foil at 345ºF for 1 minute.
2. Crumble the saffron with your fingers into a fine powder and mix with oil.
3. Use the back of a spoon to press it through a sieve.
4. Put in a baster.

For the garlic mayonnaise:
1. Blanche the garlic without peeling 2 times.
2. Peel and blend the garlic and oil together in the food processor. Pour the oil into another dish.
3. Put the egg yolks in the blender and thicken with the oil. Season with salt.

Final Steps & Preparation:
1. Make two equal columns alternating dots of almond praline and garlic mayonnaise on either side of a square plate.
2. Put 3 chervil leaves, 2 fennel leaves and a little diced scallion on each column.
3. Season the 12 sardine fillets and place the bread strips on the skin side of 8 of them.
4. Heat 0.4º olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and seal 8 breaded sardine filets, making sure that 4 are barely done and 4 are cooked through.
5. Remove the flesh from the 4 fillets that are more cooked, so only the skin sticks to the bread.
6. Seal the remaining 4 sardine fillets with the skin side down. Remove from the heat and place one roe of the Kalix roe on each fillet and on the skin.
7. Heat the sardine gelatin and the sardine with Kalix in the salamandra for 8 seconds.
8. Put 5 drops of parsley oil and 4 drops of saffron oil on the columns with the picada.
9. Place the sardine gelatin, on top of the bread with the sardine skin facing downwards, placed diagonally between the columns with the picada and starting diagonally from the top of the plate. Then put the sardine with the mock Kalix roe and finish by adding the sardine with the crunchy bread.