Roast Cod with Beetroot and Macadamia Crumb

Taken from Anna Hansen's new book, The Modern Pantry:

Roast Cod with Beetroot and Macadamia Crumb

I had all but forgotten that macadamia nuts even existed until I was recently given a bag along with some macadamia oil. What a joy! I began experimenting and came up with this dish. The buttery crunch of the delicate macadamia crumbs perfectly complement the sweetness of the cod and musky tang of the shaoxing verjus dressing.

You won’t need all the crumbs in this recipe but you can freeze the excess. Just flash them through the oven at 140C/Gas Mark 1 for 10 minutes to crisp them up again. They are also very good tossed through a salad to add texture and flavour.

Serves 6

600g beetroot
100ml Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar
90ml extra virgin olive oil
6 pieces of cod fillet, weighing about 200g each
A little vegetable oil
A knob of butter
1 lemon
2 bunches of watercress
150g Macadamia Crumbs (see below)
Maldon salt or other flaky seas salt
Black pepper

For the macadamia crumbs:

120g macadamia nuts, coarsely ground
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tsp coriander seeds, ground
3 tsp fennel seeds, ground
2 tsp wattle seeds (optional)
¾ tsp Urfa chilli flakes
10 fresh curry leaves, roughly chopped
1 tsp Maldon salt or other flaky sea salt
80g rice flour
160ml sparkling water
Rapeseed oil for frying

For the dressing:

250ml Shaoxing wine
250ml verjus
60ml light soy sauce
1 black cardamom pod, crushed
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp salted yuzu juice
50ml light olive oil
50ml macadamia oil

Preparation

First prepare the macadamia crumbs. Put all the ingredients except the rapeseed oil in a bowl and mix together thoroughly to make a batter. Heat 3 tablespoons of rapeseed oil in large frying pan over a moderate heat, then spoon in some of the batter, spreading it out as thinly as you can. Heat about 5cm of oil in another large frying pan and once the batter has set in the frying pan, deep fry it in the oil in the second pan until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Repeat this process until all the batter has been used, then leave to cool. Blitz to coarse crumbs in a food processor, then store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Peel the beetroot and slice it finely on a mandoline. Place in a roasting tin, add the vinegar and oil, season and mix thoroughly. Cover with foil and place in an oven preheated to 180C/Gas Mark 4. Bake for 25 minutes or until tender but still with a bit of crunch. Remove from the oven and check the seasoning and acidity, adding a little more salt, pepper or vinegar if required. Leave to cool.

For the dressing, put the Shaoxing, verjus, soy sauce and black cardamom in pan and cook over a moderately high heat until reduced by about two thirds of its volume. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Add the remaining ingredients and blitz with a hand blender to emulsify.

Season the cod on both sides with salt. Heat a little oil over a high heat in a pan that is large enough to hold the cod- use two pans if necessary. Add the butter and when it is melted and bubbling away, put the cod in, skin side down.

Squeeze over a little lemon juice, reduce the heat slightly and cook for 4 minutes. Using a fish slice, flip the cod over, being careful to keep the skin intact. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet, until the flesh is just cooked through. It should appear translucent and barely on the verge of flaking apart.

To serve, put a generous pile of bettor on six plates, lay the fish skin side up on top and then dress liberally with the Shaoxing dressing and scatter with the macadamia crumbs.