Pike-perch fillet with leek topping on black pudding pearl barley

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 600 g fish fillet(s) (pike-perch fillet without skin)
• 100 g sweet cream
• 1 dashes Tabasco
• 1 lemon(s)
• 10 ml sherry
• 1 stalk(s) leek
• salt and pepper
• 10 ml vegetable oil
• 6 tbsp pearl barley
• 100 g black pudding
• 20 g butter
• 2 tsp marjoram
• 2 onions
• 20 g butter
• 100 ml white wine
• 300 ml fish stock
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp marjoram
• 40 ml apple cider vinegar
• 100 ml sweet cream
• 40 g butter, ice-cold
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 50 minutes

Recipe from top German gastronomy

Remove any bones from the zander fillet and cut out even-sized portions. Any belly flaps, tail end, or other pieces that aren’t suitable for separate serving can be made into a stuffing. Finely dice the meat, season with salt and Tabasco, and freeze. After half an hour, puree it in a food processor with half of the ice-cold cream. Stir in the remaining cream and season with a little lemon juice and sherry. To remove any missed bones, you can pass the stuffing through a fine sieve again. Chill. Cut the leek into pieces the same length as the zander fillets, then cut lengthwise into strips about five millimeters wide. There should be both white and light green stripes! Blanch in boiling salted water for two to three minutes and immediately cool in ice water. The leek strips should still have some bite. Season the zander fillets with lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and drizzle with lemon juice. Spread the fish stuffing thinly over the fillets and arrange the leek strips, alternating color and color, along the fish gills. The leek strips should overlap slightly, otherwise gaps may appear during cooking and the appearance will deteriorate. Brush the leek again with a little vegetable oil and let it sit in the steamer on an oiled sheet of paper for about six minutes. Cook the washed pearl barley in salted water for about ten minutes. Heat the barley in the butter, add the finely diced black pudding and marjoram. Season with salt and pepper. For the onion and vinegar fumet, finely chop the onions and fry in a little butter until translucent. Add the white wine and reduce slightly. Then pour in the fish stock and reduce everything by a third. Add the cream, bay leaves, and marjoram and simmer on low heat for ten minutes. Now add the vinegar and cold butter to the sauce and puree with a hand blender. Strain through a sieve and season with salt and pepper. Just before serving, froth again with a hand blender. To serve, warm the plates, place a portion of the black pudding pearl barley in the center, and place the pike-perch fillet on top. Pour the frothed sauce over the sauce.