Red Mullet (Rouget) Fillets in Potatoes on Red Onion-Marrow Bone Confit
This unusual pairing of red wine and fish includes a sauce which is red all the way down -- red wine, port wine, beet juice, red onions. The potato slices are cut very, very thin, almost transparent; be very careful when slicing this thin on the mandoline or V-slicer.
Ingredients
- Red Onion - Marrow Bone Confit
- Bone with Marrow - 1 ounce, split lengthwise
- Red Onion - 1, minced
- Port Wine - 1 cup
- Red Wine - 1 cup (alt. Cote du Rhone)
- Beet Juice - 1 cup
- Butter - 1 tablespoon, chilled
- Red Mullet (rouget) fillets - 4, scaled and deboned
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Sage Leaves - 8
- Yukon Gold potato - 1 large, peeled
- Clarified Butter (see Basics) - 1 ounce
- Bread - 4 slices, crusts removed
- Chive blooms - for garnish
Instructions
To make the sauce: Scrape the marrow from the bone. Reserve one 2-1/2-inch piece and mince the remaining marrow, dipping the knife in hot water to make the cutting easier. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, cook the onions with the port, red wine, and 3/4 cup of the beet juice until the liquid is almost all gone and the onion is soft. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of beet juice and heat through. Swirl in the cold butter off the heat and whisk until blended. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the marrow. Keep warm over tepid water or in a thermos.
To prepare the fish: Season the mullet fillets with salt and pepper. Top each fillet with a sage leaf. Cut the potato into very thin slices on a mandoline or V-slicer. The potato slices may be cut earlier and put in cold water to hold until use.
Pat the potato slices dry with paper towels and place two potato slices on each side of each fish fillet. Salt and pepper lightly again. In a non-stick skillet over high heat, heat the clarified butter. Sear the fish fillets until golden brown and crisp on both sides; the sage leaves should start to show through the potato wrapper. Drain fillets on paper towels.
To serve: Spoon four to five tablespoons of sauce in the center of each plate. Place a fish fillet on each and garnish with chive blooms.
