Etouffée of Huss – by Ramon Farthing

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Ramon Farthing serves this smart version of a fish chowder as a lunch dish. The dense-but-soft texture of huss means that it's best suited to combinations with other contrasting fish in stews and soups. It absorbs flavours well. Ingredients(serves two) 100g unsalted butter 1 pinch seaweed salt 25g finely diced shallots 300g huss in 2-3cm chunks Maldon salt Black pepper 1/4-1/2 lemon 50ml dry vermouth 150g chopped and washed huss bones 250ml light chicken stock 250ml light fish stock 80ml crème fraÁ®che 4 cooked Belle de Fontenay potatoes 50g pousse d'épinards 12 cooked baby leeks 75ml whipping cream METHOD Melt 50g butter in a medium-sized sauteuse. Add the seaweed salt. Sweat the shallots. Add the huss pieces skin side down (1). Cook for one minute over a low heat. Turn. Sprinkle a little Maldon salt and black pepper on top. Squeeze lemon juice over the fish. Take the pan off the heat. In a second pan, put the vermouth, huss bones and half the chicken stock. Boil and reduce almost to a glaze. Add three-quarters of the fish stock, reduce again by about two-thirds and check the seasoning. Spread the crème fraÁ®che over the top of the fish(2). Strain the reduction and pour it around the edge of the sauteuse. Cover the pan with foil and bake for five minutes at 170°C. Slice the potatoes quite thickly and reheat in some of the remaining combined stock. Use the last of the stock to blanch the spinach and reheat the leeks. Drain the three vegetables and keep hot. Strain the liquid in the sauteuse into a fresh pan (3). Add whipping cream, boil and beat in the rest of the butter. To serve, put the huss in two large soup dishes. Pour over a generous amount of sauce and finish with the vegetables.


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      Photos © Sam Bailey