Confit Char Recipe with Peas - Great Italian Chefs

This vibrant confit char recipe from Norbert Niederkofler is as much a celebration of the humble pea as it is the beautiful tender flesh of char, from a luscious pea cream to the beautiful pea shoot garnish. The chef even juices the pods to create a fresh pea stock.

Ingredients

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Imperial

Char and char caviar

240g of char fillet, Norbert uses char from Val Passiria
40g of char caviar
grapeseed oil

Parsley oil

500g of parsley
150ml of rapeseed oil

Pea cream

1kg fresh peas, in the pod
50g of shallots, finely sliced
20g of butter
100ml of water
20ml of grapeseed oil
10g of fresh mint
salt, to taste

Mint gel

30g of fresh mint
3g of agar agar

To garnish

50g of peas
rocket flowers
pea shoots
fresh horseradish

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Dehydrator
Juicer
Muslin cloth
Food processor
Microplane
Squeezy bottle (3)

To begin, dry the char caviar in a dehydrator for 12 hours

40g of char caviar

To make parsley oil, clean and blanch the parsley and plunge into ice water. Transfer to a clean cloth and squeeze out any excess liquid

500g of parsley

Add the parsley to a blender with 75ml of oil and start blending. Gradually add the rest of the oil until it becomes a purée, then allow to stand in the fridge for 24 hours

150ml of rapeseed oil

The next day, pass through a fine sieve and transfer to a squeezy bottle. Use within 1 or 2 days of making for the most vibrant colour

To make the pea cream, separate the peas from the pods and set the pods aside for later. Blanch the peas in salted boiling water for 2 minutes, then refresh in iced water

1kg fresh peas, in the pod

Sauté the shallots in the butter until soft but without colour, then add the peas and cook briefly. Blend in a food processor with the mint at high speed, then blitz in the water and the grapeseed oil to make a nice smooth cream. Season with salt, pass through a fine sieve and transfer to a squeezy bottle

50g of shallots, finely sliced
20g of butter
20ml of grapeseed oil
10g of fresh mint
salt, to taste
100ml of water

To make the pea stock, place the reserved pea pods in a juicer. Pass the resulting juice through muslin cloth to remove any impurities, then season with a little salt

For the mint gel, bring 300ml water to the boil, add the mint and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the infusion and allow to cool (reserve the cooking liquid)

30g of fresh mint

Once the mint has cooled down, drain and squeeze well to remove any excess water. Mix the mint with the infusion in a food processor at high speed for about 1 minute then pass through muslin cloth

Bring 100ml of the liquid to the boil, add the agar agar and dissolve. Add the rest of the infusion then pour onto a baking tray and allow to cool for about 20 minutes until it sets. Once set, blend with a hand blender to obtain a smooth gel and transfer to a squeezy bottle

To repare the pea garnish, remove the skins from the shelled peas and lightly crush them between your fingers to split the peas. These will add a little crunch to your garnish

50g of peas

Now all of your elements are complete, it's time to cook the fish. Divide the char into 4 portions and pour the grapeseed oil over the fillets in a small but deep baking dish so they are completely covered. Cook in the oven at 60°C for 9 minutes (if your oven won't go that low, confit the char in a saucepan instead, using a cooking thermometer to keep the temperature consistent)

To plate, spoon some of the pea stock into bowls. Sprinkle the dried char eggs on top of the fish and place in the bowls to one side. Pipe on the pea cream and and mint gel and scatter the raw peas over the top. Using a microplane, grate over a little fresh horseradish and finish with the parsley oil, rocket flowers and pea shoot cress

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Norbert Niederkofler

By only using ingredients grown and produced in the nearby Dolomite mountains, Norbert Niederkofler gave birth to a cooking philosophy famous across Italy.

Char from Val Passiria with peas and horseradish

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