Volzhsky catfish with romesco sauce
4 servings
100 minutes
This recipe from the Saratov restaurant Soho has a lot of ingredients, but don't be scared, a good half is needed to make homemade mustard. Another quarter is for the spicy Spanish tomato sauce romesco. The method for preparing catfish is simple. The fish is first salted in brine (saline solution), this method is good for its infallibility - the catfish itself, without outside help, will take as much as it needs. In the restaurant, the fish is cooked in a coal oven, but you can use the oven.
1
First, prepare the grain mustard. Rinse the seeds under cold water, place them in a deep container. Pour apple juice and 100 grams of apple vinegar over the seeds. Leave for 2 days in a cool place.
- Mustard seeds: 120 g
- Apple juice: 200 ml
- Apple cider vinegar: 152 ml
2
After 2 days, add sugar, honey, salt, and the remaining 52 grams of vinegar. Mix well, transfer to a thick-bottomed saucepan, and bring to a boil. Boil for 2-3 minutes.
- Sugar: 36 g
- Honey: 40 g
- Salt: 68 g
- Apple cider vinegar: 152 ml
3
Next, grind 1/3 of the mustard in a mortar to a homogeneous mass, add it to the remaining mass and mix well.
- Mustard seeds: 120 g
4
Store homemade mustard in sterilized jars for up to 3 months at a temperature of 2–4 degrees.
5
Prepare brine. Combine milk with water, add 64 grams of salt and 32 grams of sugar. Place the catfish in this mixture and let it brine for 20 minutes.
- Milk: 130 ml
- Water: 500 ml
- Salt: 68 g
- Sugar: 36 g
- Catfish fillet: 400 g
6
Dry the fish from excess moisture, season with vegetable oil and black pepper. Cook the fish in a charcoal oven until it reaches 55 degrees.
- Olive oil: 40 ml
- Ground black pepper: 4 g
7
Prepare romesco sauce. Wash tomatoes, bell peppers, and red chili peppers. Dry them. Remove seeds from the peppers and chop the tomatoes coarsely.
- Sweet pepper: 2 pieces
- Tomatoes: 200 g
- Chili pepper: 12 g
8
Peel the garlic, blanch the almonds in boiling water. Roast the nuts in a dry pan until golden.
- Garlic: 40 g
- Almond: 40 g
9
Combine tomatoes, bell pepper, chili, roasted almonds, peeled garlic, 12 grams of apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper in a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Tomatoes: 200 g
- Sweet pepper: 2 pieces
- Chili pepper: 12 g
- Almond: 40 g
- Garlic: 40 g
- Apple cider vinegar: 152 ml
- Olive oil: 40 ml
- Salt: 68 g
- Ground black pepper: 4 g
10
Wash the bell pepper and dry it. Roast it over an open flame. Leave the warm pepper covered in a plate for 10-15 minutes.
11
Peel the cooled pepper, remove the seeds and stem. Cut into even strips.
12
Prepare a salad with cherry tomatoes and almonds. Wash the cherries, dry them, and cut them in half. Combine the cherries, almonds, sour cream, and mustard oil in a bowl and mix well.
- Cherry tomatoes: 80 g
- Almond: 40 g
- Farmer's sour cream: 40 g
- Mustard oil: 20 ml
13
Assemble the dish. Place warm romesco sauce in the center of the plate, top with Volga catfish, and next to it add a salad of homegrown cherry tomatoes, roasted bell pepper, grainy mustard, and a slice of lemon.
- Lemon: 1 piece
- Catfish fillet: 400 g
- Mustard seeds: 120 g
14
Garnish the dish with young sorrel and basil sprouts.
- Basil sprouts: to taste
- Sorrel: to taste