Red Snapper en Croute de Sel with Harissa and Pistachio Butter

Ingredients

This OCR card preserves the source reconstruction as supplied. Use the linked dependency names where shown.

Method

Source image: IMG_5364.JPG Status: draft, needs Cheesy review Yield: not clearly visible in source image

Cheesy Summary

Whole red snapper baked in a seasoned salt crust, served with harissa sauce, pistachio butter, artichoke confit/vinaigrette, couscous croquettes, gem lettuce, and artichoke chips.

Dependencies / Missing Base Recipes

• Artichoke Chips, referenced from page 372.
• Exact yield/serving count is not visible.
• Some ingredient quantities on the far left and far right of the photo are soft and should be verified before final upload.

Components

• Artichoke confit and artichoke vinaigrette
• Harissa sauce
• Couscous croquettes
• Salt-crusted red snapper
• Pistachio butter
• Finish and plating

Artichoke Confit and Artichoke Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 2 lemons
• 12 baby artichokes
• Salt
• 1 1/2 cups olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Freshly ground white pepper

Method

1. Juice the lemons, reserving about 2 tablespoons of juice for the vinaigrette.
2. Combine the remaining lemon juice with cold water and hold the cleaned artichokes in that acidulated water as they are trimmed.
3. Trim the artichokes down to tender leaves, peel the stems, and remove any tough leaf remnants.
4. Reserve 6 artichokes for chips and use the remaining artichokes for confit and finishing.
5. Cook the artichokes gently in olive oil with salt until tender, about 45 minutes.
6. Cool the artichokes in the cooking liquid.
7. For the vinaigrette, whisk Dijon mustard with the reserved lemon juice, then slowly whisk in some of the artichoke confit oil until emulsified.
8. Season with salt and white pepper. Hold the artichokes and vinaigrette chilled.

Harissa Sauce

Ingredients

• 15 canned piquillo peppers, rinsed and seeded
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup sliced shallots
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon piment d'Espelette
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 2 tablespoons tomato puree
• Salt

Method

1. Sweat the shallots and garlic in olive oil until they begin to soften and lightly caramelize.
2. Add the piquillo peppers, cumin, coriander, piment d'Espelette, honey, vinegar, and tomato puree.
3. Simmer briefly until the flavors come together.
4. Blend with additional olive oil as needed until smooth.
5. Pass through a fine sieve, season with salt, and reserve chilled.

Couscous Croquettes

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked couscous
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon za'atar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon piment d'Espelette

Method

1. Combine the couscous, egg, za'atar, salt, and piment d'Espelette.
2. Spread the mixture on plastic wrap and form into tight logs.
3. Chill until firm.
4. Cut into small cylinders and reserve chilled until frying.

Salt-Crusted Red Snapper

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 2 1/2 cups coarse sea salt, plus extra for garnish
• 6 eggs
• 7 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon piment d'Espelette
• 4 teaspoons fennel pollen
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• Dried fennel stems, about ten 4-inch pieces
• 2 whole red snappers, about 2 pounds each, scaled with fins and gills removed
• 2 tablespoons milk

Method

1. Mix the flour, coarse salt, eggs, egg yolks, piment d'Espelette, fennel pollen, and white pepper into a pliable salt dough.
2. Divide the dough into discs, wrap, and rest at room temperature.
3. Roll the dough into sheets large enough to enclose each fish.
4. Season the fish lightly and place the fennel stems inside the cavity.
5. Wrap each snapper fully in the dough, sealing the edges.
6. Brush with milk and bake until the crust is firm and the fish is cooked through.
7. Rest the fish briefly before opening the crust.

Pistachio Butter

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup cultured butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped pistachios
• 1 tablespoon pistachio oil
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon piment d'Espelette

Method

1. Mix the softened butter with pistachios, pistachio oil, salt, and piment d'Espelette.
2. Hold at room temperature for service.

To Finish

Ingredients

• Canola oil, for frying
• 2 heads gem lettuce
• Salt
• Freshly ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Artichoke Chips, referenced from page 372
• Reserved harissa sauce
• Reserved pistachio butter
• Reserved artichoke confit and vinaigrette

Method

1. Heat the oven for the fish and heat frying oil for the croquettes.
2. Trim the gem lettuce into serving pieces, rinse, and dry.
3. Shave or slice the reserved artichokes and dress with artichoke vinaigrette.
4. Bake the salt-crusted fish, then rest briefly.
5. Fry the couscous croquettes until crisp, drain, and season.
6. Open the crust, remove the fish, and separate the fillets from the bones.
7. For each plate, arrange gem lettuce, artichoke confit, artichoke chips, couscous croquettes, a spoon of harissa, and red snapper.
8. Spoon pistachio butter over the warm fish.

Cheesy Upload Notes

• Mark as advanced whole-fish entree.
• Link Artichoke Chips once the page 372 base recipe is reconstructed.
• Cheesy may want to split the harissa sauce, pistachio butter, and artichoke confit into reusable sub-recipes.

Confidence Notes

• Title, components, and major method flow are readable from IMG_5364.JPG.
• Yield is not visible.
• Some far-column ingredient quantities and baking details are soft; verify against a sharper source before marking upload-ready.
• This reconstruction is paraphrased and should be checked against the source image before upload.