Pan-fried blue eye with corn and nduja pangrattato

Nduja, a spreadable pork sausage from the Calabria region of Italy and can be found at premium supermarkets or Italian delis. Typically eaten as a spread, or used in dishes like pasta, pizza, soups and stews, this dish incorporates nduja into a crispy pangrattato.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

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Ingredients

• 4 x 200 g blue eye trevalla fillets (skin-on)
• 3 thyme sprigs
• 1 large garlic clove
• 20 g butter
• Sea salt flakes
• Vegetable oil, for drizzling

For the creamy sauce

• 4 reserved corn cobs (stripped of corn kernels)
• 2 cups (500 ml) thin cream
• 40 g red yuzu kosho
• ½ lemon, juiced
• Salt and black pepper
• 10 g butter
• 10 g finely chopped chives
• 10 g finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

For the nduja pangrattato

• 100 g nduja
• 50 g fresh breadcrumbs
• 4 corn cobs, corn kernels only
• 1 lemon, finely zested
• Vegetable oil, for drizzling

Resting time: 10 minutes

Instructions

1. To make the creamy sauce, use a sharp knife to remove the corn kernels from the cobs. Keep the corn kernels and cobs separate.
   
2. Heat the cream and stripped corn cobs in a medium saucepan. Once the cream comes to the boil, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Use tongs to remove the cobs (and discard), then stir through the red yuzu kosho, lemon juice, a generous pinch of salt and pepper and the butter. Keep warm, until ready to serve.
   
3. To make the nduja pangrattato, in a medium bowl combine the nduja, breadcrumbs, corn kernels and lemon zest. Heat a drizzle of vegetable oil in a small frying pan over low heat, then add the prepared pangrattato mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp, then remove from the heat.
   
4. Heat a large frying pan over high heat, until smoking. Add a generous drizzle of vegetable oil, then reduce the heat to medium-high. Add the fish fillets to the pan, skin-side down. Apply a fish weight to the fish or use an offset spatula to apply pressure to the fish, pressing the skin to the pan. Cook until halfway done, then flip. Add the thyme, garlic and butter to the pan. Baste the fish fillets with the butter, until cooked to your liking, then remove from the heat and allow to rest. Fish should be opaque in the centre, and register a temperature of around 56˚C.
   
5. To serve, stir the chives and parsley through the cream sauce. Spoon the cream into a large serving plate, then top with the corn and nduja pangrattato, followed by the fish fillets. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and serve.
   

Note

• For the best crispy-skinned fish, allow the fish fillets to dry out in the refrigerator, uncovered for up to 12 hours before cooking.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

The Springtime Feast

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

G

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

G