John Dory with Brussels sprout mousse

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 4 small fish fillets (John Dory), approx. 80 – 100 g each
• some flour
• 200 g Brussels sprouts
• 40 g bacon
• 1 small shallot(s)
• 2 eggs, size M
• 110 g butter
• 3 tbsp almond slivers
• 3 tbsp orange juice (straight juice)
• 1 medium-sized garlic clove(s)
• Salt
• pepper
• Lemon pepper
• Cayenne pepper
• some olive oil
• 1 pinch(s) of sugar
• some nutmeg

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 55 minutes

and bacon croutons with orange-almond hollandaise

For the Brussels sprout mousse and bacon croutons, trim the Brussels sprouts and make a cross-shaped cut in the stalk to cook faster. Bring a pot of water to a boil with a little salt and a pinch of sugar, then add the Brussels sprouts. Finely dice the bacon and shallot. Fry the bacon in a pan, drain on kitchen paper, and keep warm in the oven at around 60°C. Briefly sauté the finely diced shallot in the remaining bacon fat in the pan until translucent; do not brown. Separate the eggs, reserving the yolks for the sauce, and beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. Once the Brussels sprouts are tender, drain the water and use a hand blender to purée the sprouts along with the sautéed shallot cubes until finely chopped. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and add a knob of butter (approx. 10g). Then carefully fold in the beaten egg whites. I always first mix 2 tablespoons of egg whites with the Brussels sprout mixture before carefully folding in the rest. Sprinkle with the bacon croutons when serving. For the orange and almond hollandaise, beat the 2 egg yolks with a pinch of salt and 3 tablespoons of fresh orange juice (bottled or homemade) in a bowl over a pan of hot water until thickened. Make sure the mixture never gets too hot, or the egg will curdle. Briefly toast the slivered almonds in a dry pan, but do not let them overbrown. Melt 100g of butter in a saucepan and slowly add them to the egg mixture in a very thin stream, stirring constantly. Add the slivered almonds and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. For the John Dory, clean and dry the fish fillets, season with salt and lemon pepper, and lightly flour both sides. Fry in a pan with a little olive oil and the crushed garlic clove. Since John Dory fillets are usually very thin, I recommend frying them for no longer than 2 minutes per side over medium heat. Serve with small, new potatoes.