Juanlu Fernández, chef and proprietor of the two-Michelin star Lú, Cocina y Alma**, is the creator of this recipe for Aquanaria sea bass with fermented pepper salad.Juanlu spent years training and gaining experience in such outstanding kitchens as Aponiente, before opening his own restaurant in his hometown of Jerez de la Frontera. Juanlu’s cooking reflects his commitment to a modern and elegant approach to traditional Andalusian cuisine. His technical precision, respect for the product and a deep knowledge of sauces, a key element in his dishes, stand out.
Aquanaria is Spain’s leading marine aquaculture company. Specialised in large-sized sea bass for the gastronomic sector. Aquanaria sea bass grow for more than four years in the cold and choppy waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The extreme conditions of the currents and waves keep the sea bass in constant movement, perfect for developing firm yet juicy flesh. That juiciness comes from the perfect level of infiltrated fat developed. This characteristic is highly valued by chefs, allowing them to obtain the results they want when applying techniques like smoking and grilling, which would not be possible with other leaner specimens of the fish.
FERMENTED PEPPER SALAD (PIRIÑACA)
Piriñaca is a traditional Andalusian salad, especially popular in Cádiz. The basic ingredients are tomato, pepper, onion, olive oil, vinegar and salt. It can be served as a side dish or as a base for more elaborate dishes. Thanks to its freshness, it goes particularly well with fish and seafood. In fact, its origin is linked to seafood cuisine, where it was used to bring freshness to meals after long days at sea.
Jere, Juanlu offers a reinterpretation of piriñaca from Cadiz and captures all its flavour in the form of a liquid sauce. He adds a fresh, acidic touch to the recipe, enhancing the flavour of the smoked sea bass. A contrast of flavours that gives us a dish with plenty of personality.
METHOD
Aquanaria Sea Bass
- De-scale the sea bass and remove the loins, taking great care not to spoil the fish. Separate the belly from the supreme fillet and remove the bones.
- Cure the supremes in coarse salt for one hour, then wash off the excess salt and pat dry.
- Place the sea bass supreme fillet on a metal rack in a gastronorm or another container where you can pour boiling water can fall.
- Carefully pour the boiling water only over the skin until it no longer shrinks.
- Next, place the supreme fillet of sea bass on an oven rack in a cool oven, add 200 g of vine shoots and burn them directly blowtorch to generate the smoke. Once the smoke starts to spread, close the oven and leave for 4 minutes to achieve cold smoking . Keep in the chamber.
- Store in vacuum bags with 0.4º mild oil.
Fermented Piriñaca Smoothie:
- Cut the green and red peppers into small pieces separately and set aside in a bowl, weigh out 3% their weight in salt.
- Place in 1kg vacuum bags and seal at 85% vacuum.
- Leave to ferment at room temperature for 5 days (be careful with the temperature in summer)
- With the help of a juice extractor, pass through one type of pepper and then the other, cleaning the machine in between. Store the blended products in a 1 kg format for red peppers and 700 g for green peppers.
- Using a cheesecloth or fine colander, extract 1 litre of red pepper, 700g of green pepper and 100g of oil.
- Set to maximum speed and keep cold.
Cherry Tomatoes:
- Blanch and cool in an inverted bain-marie.
- Peel and set aside.
- Place the rest of the ingredients in a pot on the heat without boiling.
- Osmotise in the liquid and place in the gastronorm, ensuring the pieces are not touching.
- Dehydrate for 2 hours at 70º in the oven.
- Store in a container with sunflower oil.
Parsley Gel:
- Blanch and cool in an inverted bain-marie.
- Reserve the water from the cold blanching.
- Place 200g of parsley with 200g of the water used for blanching in a thermomix blender
- Blend at maximum speed and strain through a fine sieve.
- In a saucepan adds 150g parsley water to 2g agar-agar.
- As soon as it starts to boil, remove from the heat and cool.
- Combine with a blender once it has set and add a pinch of salt and 0.5g xanthan.
- If necessary, add the minimum amount of green colouring.
- Place in blue piping bag with corresponding nozzle and set aside.
Radish:
- Slice using a deli slicer and keep in ice water.
PLATING
Arrange several cubes of sea bass supreme fillet, separate from each other, at the bottom of a plate. Garnish with cherry tomatoes, parsley gel dots, sliced radish and the three types of shoots. Carefully pour the piriñaca smoothie onto the plate.
