Rory O’Connell’s Grilled Irish Hake with Cider Butter Sauce, Cayenne and Apple

Ballymaloe Cookery School Co-Founder, Rory O’Connell, returned to the Bord Bia Quality Kitchen Stage at this year’s Bloom, where he demonstrated how to make this delicious dish.

Serves 4

• 4 x 150g pieces of Irish hake or other fish such as cod, haddock or halibut
• A little plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper
• 25g soft butter or 1 tablesp. olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve:

• 4-8 tablesp. apple cider butter sauce – see recipe below
• 4 pinches of cayenne pepper
• 2 tablesp. of sweet apple which has been peeled, cored, very finely diced, and tossed in a little lemon juice (optional)
• Fennel, chervil or watercress sprigs for garnish

Method:

• Place a heavy frying pan or grill pan on a heat and allow to get quite hot. Dry the pieces of fish and then dip in the seasoned flour on both sides. Shake off the excess flour. Butter the flesh or skin side of the fish with a scant amount of the butter or brush with olive oil.
• Place the fish buttered or oiled side down on the hot pan. The fish should immediately sizzle on contact with the hot pan. Allow the fish to cook for about 6 minutes until golden brown. Use a fish or egg slice to carefully turn over the fish and cook on this side until the fish feels gently firm to the touch and cooked.
• Serve on hot plates with a little of the sauce, a small dusting of cayenne pepper, a scattering of diced apple, and a herb garnish. Pass any extra sauce separately.

Apple cider butter sauce:

• 3 tablesp. apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablesp. apple juice
• 1 tablesp. finely chopped shallot
• 1 tablesp. cream
• 100g-120g cold unsalted butter, diced sea salt
• A small squeeze of lemon juice

Method:

• Place the vinegar, apple juice, and shallot into a low-sided saucepan and reduce over a medium heat until all of the liquid has evaporated. Be careful not to allow the liquids to over reduce and burn.
• Add in the cream and allow to bubble for a moment.
• On a very low heat, start whisking in the butter a few pieces at a time; they will begin to emulsify into a creamy looking sauce. Continue until all of the butter has been incorporated.
• Season the sauce with a pinch of salt and a small squeeze of lemon juice. Keep the sauce warm, but not hot, until you are ready to serve. I sometimes place the sauce in a jug, which I then sit into a saucepan of hot water to maintain a warm heat.

Potato, red onion and rosemary crisp cakes

Serves 4-8

• 300g raw, peeled and thinly sliced potatoes
• 3 tablesp. clarified butter, melted
• 1 tablesp. olive oil
• 100g thinly sliced red onion
• 1 tablesp. rosemary sprigs
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

• Preheat oven to 250°C. Line an oven tray with parchment paper.
• Mix the potatoes with the butter and olive oil. Divide the potatoes into 8 even-sized bundles. On the parchment lined tray, arrange each little bundle in barely overlapping slices to create thin square or circular single-layer flat cakes. Toss the sliced onions and rosemary sprigs in the remaining butter in the potato bowl and place them on top of the potatoes. Season each cake with salt and pepper.
• Place in the pre-heated oven and cook for approximately 30 minutes until dark golden at the edges and crisp. Serve as soon as possible.