Fillet of bass with braised oxtail and rainbow chard

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

x1 oxtail

1 litre good quality beef stock

250ml tomato juice

Mirepoix of vegetables (diced carrots, celery, onion, leeks, garlic, rosemary and thyme)

1 tablespoon of tomato purée

1 bottle of good red wine

X 2 sticks of salsify (peeled and cooked in acidulated water to keep white)

Chicken mouse (blitz one chicken breast with two egg whites and 100ml of cream before passing through sieve and chilling)

X 4 sea bass fillets (200-300g each)

½ jar good quality Choucroute or Sauerkraut.

200g diced Morteau sausage

Black garlic purée (Peel the garlic bulb and simmer in full fat milk until tender and then blitz to a purée)

Rainbow chard  (enough stalks to have red, yellow and green leaves on each serving)

METHOD

Oxtail

  • Sear the oxtail in a hot pan until golden brown
  • Remove the oxtail from the pan; add the mirepoix and sauté until coloured
  • Add the tomato purée and cook for one minute
  • Add the red wine and cook to reduce to a thick syrup consistence
  • Add the beef stock and tomato juice and bring to the boil
  • Return the oxtail to cooking liquor and cook at 120˚C until tender
  • Remove the oxtail, allow to cool so that you can pick the meat from the bones
  • Pass the cooking liquor through a sieve and in a clean pan reduce to a thick gravy
  • Mix the cooled oxtail meat with the uncooked chicken mousse
  • Press the oxtail meat mixture flat and put a salsify stick in the middle and roll like a cigar to give the visual impression of the oxtail bone being back
  • Steam the oxtail cigar until above 70˚C.  Chill until required to serve.
  • Cut the cigar into approximately 8cm lengths and reheat in the reduced cooking liquor.

Sea Bass

  • Pan fry the fillets, skin-side down until the skin is golden brown and the fish cooked three quarters of the way through.
  • Add butter to the pan and turn over the fish cooking the flesh side for less than a minute

Choucroute

  • Sauté the diced Morteau sausage and add the choucroute

Rainbow Chard

  • Blanch, drain and reheat in butter

To assemble, dot the plate with black garlic purée, place the bass on top of the choucroute and the oxtail to one side. Scatter the chard leaves over the top and serve with the reduced cooking liquor as a sauce.