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Pan-fried Halibut, Fish Head Curry
Pan-fried Halibut with Malaysian Fish Head Curry Sauce, Stuffed Battered Green Chilies, Cucumber and Green Mango Sambal, Fried Okra and Aubergine
Nikita pan-fries halibut fillets with butter and curry leaves. The dish is served over a Malaysian-style fish head curry sauce built on a base of galangal and lemongrass, strained before serving and seasoned at the last minute. Green chilies are deseeded and filled with a stuffing of fried coconut, potato and fresh herbs, then battered in a light tempura and fried to a pale golden finish. A cucumber and green mango sambal is made with fermented chili sambal paste and shallots. Fried aubergine and okra are served alongside. The dish is finished with micro purple shiso and lime leaf oil.
Later ... more about Nikita's signature fish course and the dish she described in the finals as her favourite of her menu. Halibut fillets are basted in foaming butter with curry leaves, then crowned with micro purple shiso leaves. The bowl is built around a Malaysian-style fish head curry sauce: a fresh, fragrant base of lemongrass, galangal, dried red chilies, mustard seeds and curry leaves, described by Nikita as 'a real fusion between an Indian curry and a Southeast Asian curry because it's from Malaysia.' Deseeded green chilies are stuffed with a coconut, potato and fresh herb mix (basil, coriander, kaffir lime leaf for what Nikita calls 'Thai balance'), then battered light and fried to a pale gold. A vivid sambal of cucumber and green mango is bound with fermented chili sambal paste and shallots for a fiery, sharp condiment. Crisp fried okra and baby onions sit in the base of the bowl beside the fish, finished with lime leaf oil. At the heat, the dish was served theatrically inside a cauldron with dry ice and a 'book of potions and spells', with Nikita pouring a small jar of 'liquid luck' into the bowl at the pass.
VETERAN ROUND (Spencer Metzger, heat fish course):
Spencer Metzger awarded the dish 10 out of 10, his first ever perfect score given on Great British Menu. His verdict: 'The presentation and link to brief were excellent. The halibut was absolutely perfect. I honestly don't think I've eaten a piece of fish that well cooked in a very long time. The fish head curry sauce, it was honestly delicious. The sambal was spicy and I liked it. The chili was tasty and I loved it. The balance of this dish was perfect. I believe this would appeal to everyone at a banquet. Honestly, what a pleasure. It's inspiring to see a chef cook a dish like this.'
On the score: 'This is my first ever 10 I've given on Great British Menu, and a dish like that deserves it every single day of the week.'
Mid-cook check: Spencer praised the sauce as 'delicious' but flagged how much Nikita had left to bring together at the pass. Self-score: 8 (Nikita said she didn't want to give herself 10). Peer scores: Ash 8, Louisa 8, James 10. Nikita and Ash progressed to the regional judges chamber.
JUDGING ROUND (regional judges chamber, heat):
Per Nikita's recap at the finals, the regional judges scored two sevens and an eight (lower than Spencer's 10). The principal criticism was that the dish was served in a deep cauldron with a lid on, which trapped heat and overcooked the halibut by the time it reached the table, and which was awkward to eat from. The judges nonetheless remembered the flavours fondly, recalling the fish head curry sauce as 'delicious' and praising the spice profile.
BANQUET FINAL (Tom Kerridge, Lorna McNee, Phil Wang and guest judge Will Poulter, fish course finals):
Nikita addressed both criticisms head on. She switched to larger cauldrons that could seat individual bowls (so the vessel no longer cooked the fish by ambient heat) and removed the lid, then nailed the halibut cook to a flake-perfect finish. Reception at the pass was rapturous. Cieran: 'Beautiful cook on the fish.'
Orry: 'Beautiful cooking on that fish.'
Tom Kerridge: 'Yeah, it's perfect.'
Phil Wang: 'I liked this dish last time. I love it this time. It's incredible. It's absolutely stunning.'
Lorna McNee: 'I don't think it's too spicy. I think it gives a real warming flavour. Presentation wise, it's much improved because the cauldron's slightly bigger. There's no lid on it, so your fish isn't overcooking. I love it. I think it's fantastic.'
Lorna again: 'I could drink that sauce. Real food cooked really well. Massive flavours.'
Jack: 'That sambal is amazing.'
Phil Wang: 'I completely forgot it was Malaysian while eating this. I forgot who I am.'
Will Poulter: 'There are some films that you really enjoy, but you kind of only want to watch once. This is a film you could binge watch. I would never get tired of eating this. It's delicious.'
Jamie: 'It's very different to the other dishes that we put up. In its own right, though, it's really delicious.' Asked how many thumbs up the dish would get, Lorna: 'If I had three, I would give three.' Jack: 'I'd have it again. Yeah, please.' Phil: 'A huge improvement and a great dish. Flavour wise, it's beautiful.' Pre-result, peer predictions had Nikita as a top three lock; multiple chefs predicted she would win the course. Will Poulter on the final scoring: 'I thought your dish was absolutely amazing. I absolutely loved it, and I gave it a 10. The sambal was just fantastic, and I'd do it all over again.'
RESULT: 2nd place in the fish course finals, beaten by Corrin's Secret Garden by a single point. Nikita: 'I would love to get that one point to get further, but Corrin definitely deserved it, and I'm happy to come second.'
BANQUET AND CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS:
Although outvoted as the fish course for the banquet, the dish was subsequently used at the banquet itself and was voted Champion of Champions across all banquet courses.
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