Brown Butter Haddock Brandade

Instructions

Prepare the Brandade
Poach the smoked haddock: Place smoked haddock in a saucepan with milk, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then remove from heat immediately. Cover and let stand 10 minutes until fish flakes easily.

Cook the potato: Meanwhile, place potato cubes and garlic cloves in a small pot of salted water. Simmer until completely tender, about 15 minutes. Drain well, discarding garlic, and return to the pot to steam dry for 2 minutes.

Make the brandade: Remove haddock from milk (reserve liquid), discard skin and any bones, and flake into a food processor. Add drained potato and pulse to combine. With motor running, drizzle in olive oil until smooth. Add 2–3 tablespoons of reserved poaching milk for a creamy but pipeable consistency. Fold in chives and lemon juice, season to taste. Transfer to a piping bag and refrigerate until needed.

Prepare the Fennel and Sea Beet Purée
Sweat the fennel: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add shallot and fennel, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fennel is very soft, about 20 minutes. Add stock, cover, and simmer until fennel is completely tender and stock has mostly evaporated.

Blanch the sea beet: Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Blanch sea beet (or spinach) for 30 seconds, then shock in ice water. Squeeze completely dry.

Blend the purée: Add fennel mixture, blanched greens, and cream to a high-speed blender. Blend until completely smooth, 2–3 minutes. Pass through a fine-mesh sieve for silkiness. Season to taste and keep warm.

Prepare the Perry Butter Sauce
Make the reduction: In a small saucepan, combine perry, shallot, and vinegar. Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce until approximately 3 tablespoons of liquid remain—this is the critical flavor base.

Mount with butter: Reduce heat to low and add cream. Whisk in cold butter one cube at a time, allowing each to emulsify before adding the next. The sauce should be glossy and coat a spoon. Keep the sauce warm but never let it boil once butter is added, or it will break. Season with salt and white pepper. Strain and keep warm over a bain-marie.

Prepare the Buckwheat-Seaweed Crackers
Make the batter: Whisk together buckwheat flour, rice flour, seaweed flakes, fennel pollen, and salt. Add cold water and whisk until smooth. The batter should be thin and pourable.

Fry the crackers: Heat 1 inch of neutral oil in a deep skillet to 350°F (175°C). Working in batches, drizzle thin streams of batter into the hot oil—it will puff and crisp almost immediately. Fry until golden and crisp, about 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Season lightly with salt while warm. Store in an airtight container.

Prepare the Mooli Salad
Shave the mooli: Using a mandoline or vegetable peeler, shave the mooli into thin, long ribbons. Place in ice water to crisp for at least 15 minutes.

Dress the mooli: Just before serving, drain mooli well and pat dry. Toss gently with rice wine vinegar, mirin, and sesame oil. Coil the ribbons into loose tangles resembling fishing line—a tribute to Tatty's handline legacy.

Confit the Haddock
Make brown butter: Melt butter in a wide, low-sided saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking, swirling occasionally, until the milk solids turn golden brown and the butter smells nutty, about 5–7 minutes. Remove from heat immediately to prevent burning.

Cool the butter: Let the brown butter cool to 140°F (60°C)—critical for gentle confit. Add thyme sprigs and crushed garlic.

Confit the fish: Season haddock portions with salt. Gently submerge in the warm brown butter. Place over the lowest possible heat (or transfer to a 140°F/60°C oven) and cook for 12–15 minutes until fish is just opaque and flakes easily but is still silky in the center. The fish should reach 125°F (52°C) internal temperature for perfect texture.

Plate the Dish
Warm the purée: Gently reheat the fennel purée if needed.

Assemble: Place a generous swoosh of fennel-sea beet purée off-center on each warm plate. Carefully lift a haddock portion from the butter, letting excess drain, and place beside the purée. Pipe three small quenelles of brandade around the fish. Drizzle perry butter sauce around the plate. Top the fish with a coiled mooli tangle. Finish with a dramatic buckwheat-seaweed cracker and scatter micro herbs.