Skrei fillet on blood orange lentils, Japanese rice and Asian vegetables

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 800 g fillet(s) (winter cod) with skin (winter cod) or cod loins
• 1 tsp, heaped turmeric
• ½ tsp Japanese seasoning mix (Shichimi Togarashi)
• 4 pinches of salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 250 g Lentils (Le Puy or Beluga)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove(s), very finely chopped
• 1 shallot(s), finely diced
• 1 blood orange(s), juice
• 50 ml fish stock
• 1 lemon(s), organic, finely grated peel
• 1 tsp curry powder
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp, heaped crème fraîche
• 200 g rice, Japanese or Japanese style
• 2 tbsp soy sauce, Japanese
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp sake
• 1 tbsp, light miso paste
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 3 pointed peppers, cut into fine strips (julienne)
• 2 carrots, cut into fine strips (julienne)
• 1 stalk(s) leek, the white part, cut into fine strips (julienne)
• 3 heads of Pak Choi, the green leaves separated, the white cut into fine strips (julienne)
• 1 tbsp oil, neutral
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 garlic clove(s), finely diced
• 1 cube of ginger, 2 cm edge length, finely chopped
• 1 tsp sweet paprika powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 pinch of hot paprika powder
• 1 tsp sambal manis
• 25 ml fish stock
• 2 tbsp soy sauce, Japanese
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 3 hours 15 minutes

First, cook the rice by rinsing it until no more starch comes out. Cook in a rice cooker with a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Meanwhile, boil the miso paste with the soy sauce, mirin, and sake for 3 seconds to blend everything. Stir this mixture into the cooked rice and then spread it out on a board into a 1 cm thick rectangle and let it cool. The Japanese sticky rice should become relatively firm. Then divide it into 4 smaller rectangles and, shortly before serving, fry them in sesame oil for about 2-3 minutes on each side until they take on some color. While the rice is cooking, cook the lentils in unsalted water for 20 minutes; they won’t take much longer. During this time, sauté the garlic and shallot in olive oil, then add the drained lentils, mix, add the fish stock and orange juice, and let it simmer until the lentils are still slightly soupy. Season well with curry, pepper, and salt. Mix in the lemon zest. Add crème fraîche if desired. Set aside. Cook the julienne vegetables in neutral oil until al dente, then add the garlic clove, ginger, and green bok choy leaves a little later. Mix all the spices with the vegetables, add the fish stock, soy sauce, and sesame oil, and simmer for a few more seconds. Sear the skrei on the skin, which has been cut twice crosswise. Season the white side facing up. After about 5 minutes, turn it over and reduce the heat to low. Since the fillets are relatively thick, cover for 2 minutes, then serve the fillets, cooked until translucent on the inside, on top of the lentils. Arrange the rice and vegetables as desired. The skin holds the cod together, which would otherwise quickly collapse. Personally, I wouldn’t eat it, but that’s a matter of taste. Skrei is winter cod from Norway, specifically from the Lofoten Islands, and is only available from late January to late April. This recipe can be prepared with cod loins at other times of year. If using cod loins, lightly flour the skin-side down, fry for about 5 minutes until crispy, and then place the pan in a preheated oven at 110°C for 5 minutes. This way, you don’t have to turn the fillets. In either case, avoid overcooking the fish. It should be slightly translucent on the inside, opening like the individual pages of a book.