Brill with Fish Mousse & Fennel
As seen on TV
Which Show?
Who made this dish?
Abbie: "So I'm just getting the fennel ready to go in the oven to steam and make a puree. I'm going to do the brill filled with a fish mousse. It's going to be served with some confit charlotte potatoes. And also I'm going to serve a little drink on the side which is like a yuzu ponzu. So it's going to have some kombu in there, some bonito, and there's also going to be some blanched baby leeks as well."
Aktar: "And is there a sauce?"
Abbie: "There's a fennel puree which kind of acts like the sauce."
Abbie: "I've just made the fish mousse, then I'm going to season it up with loads of lemon zest, lime zest, some nice fresh herbs."
Abbie: "So this is going to be the yuzu ponzu martini drink. So there's mirin, white soy, some nice kombu, and then I'm going to put the bonito flakes in there."
Abbie: "These are the charlotte potatoes. I'm just cutting the seaweed to go in the seaweed butter emulsion for the confit charlotte potatoes."
Abbie: "This is the fennel puree, and then I'm going to dye half of it black, which is going to be like the poker chip presentation on the dish."
Abbie: "So I'm just putting the probe in, and I'm going to cook the fish to 62 degrees and hope and pray that is nice."
{Narrator}: "Fennel puree, some with added charcoal, is first. Then blanched baby leeks doused with seaweed butter. The brill is garnished with sea herbs. Coming right now with caviar and yuzu ponzu martini waiting at the pass." Abbie ran 11.5 minutes over time at the pass.
VETERAN ROUND (Aktar Islam): Aktar: "You took an extra 11 and a half minutes. Was that the right decision?"
Abbie: "Yeah. Definitely worth taking the risk."
Josh: "The fish is a little overcooked for me. It didn't need to go to 62 degrees. It's a bit dry."
Aktar: "The cooking of your potato, are you happy with that?"
Abbie: "I think it's quite nice to sort of leave them to sit in the seaweed butter to kind of absorb the flavour."
Josh: "The potato is really nice. The fennel puree, the leeks, all the vegetables, all the garnish, is delicious."
Aktar: "You forgot a sauce. Was that the right decision?"
Abbie: "I think the fennel puree adds enough moisture to the dish."
Vince: "I think a sauce will bring it together."
Aktar's summary: "You chose to cook your brill to 62 degrees. It was overcooked. It had been better taking it out around the 50 and then leaving it to rest. If you'd done that, you wouldn't have also lost a point for being 11 minutes late. The potatoes were cooked really well. I love the flavour of the seaweed coming through in the potatoes. There was too much fennel puree on the plate. For me, it simply wasn't a substitute for a good sauce." Aktar closing: "Those 11 minutes, possibly the longest 11 minutes of your life. You didn't let the pressure get to you, so well done. That's really tough."
Peer scores: Abbie self 8, Vince 6, Josh 6, Dana 6. Aktar's score: 6 (includes penalty for being late).
