Fillet of John Dory with orange glazed endive

Day 1 As it requires 2 days to mature, begin by making the curry oil. Place a large frying pan over a medium heat until hot, then add 5 g curry powder directly to the pan. Cook the powder, stirring constantly to ensure it does not catch or burn, for 2 minutes until the spices are toasted

Add 100 ml very light oil and cook to 60°C. Remove from the heat, leave to cool then store in a suitable container for 2 days until required

Day 2 Another thing you can do a day in advance is making the cauliflower purée.Remove the outer leaves and slice 1/4 cauliflower into small florets, discarding any excess stalk. Melt 25 g unsalted butter in a large pan over a medium heat, then add the cauliflower florets to the pan. Sweat the cauliflower for 3-4 minutes until tender, then add 25 ml milk to the pan, cover with a lid and increase the heat slightly

Cook until it is very tender, then drain the cauliflower and transfer to a blender, discarding the liquid from the pan. Blend the cooked cauliflower in the food processor, gradually adding cream until fully combined.
Season the purée to taste. Cover the bowl in cling film and keep in the fridge, reheat when required

Day 3 These two elements done the actual cooking is simple:

In advance of making the dressing, place 30 g sultanas in a bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover. Leave the sultanas in the bowl overnight to soak

Prepare an endive by removing any brown outer leaves, then slice the head in half lengthwise, dusting the cut sides thoroughly with 10 g icing sugar. In a large pan, melt 30 g butter over a medium heat and cook until foaming. Add the endives to the pan, sugar-side down, and cook until they begin to caramelise.

Use a microplane to finely grate 1/2 lemon and an orange and add the grated zest to the pan. Continue to cook the endive, turning every couple of minutes, until they are well coloured and caramelised all over

Meanwhile, juice 1/2 lemon and the orange and add to the pan along with t1 tbsp red wine vinegar. Reduce the heat and allow to cook very slowly until the endive is tender and the liquid has become a sticky caramel. Season and set to one side, keeping warm until required

To finish the dressing, drain the soaked sultanas and place in a pan along with 10 g lightly toasted pine nuts, a tbsp baby capers and 20ml of the prepared curry oil. Heat very gently and stir to combine

Meanwhile, coat 4 John Dory fillets (St. Pierre, zonnevis in other languages; each approx 145 g) in the remaining curry oil and leave to marinade for 10 minutes.

It's a delicious fish, tasting a bit like brown shrimps.

Place a large, non-stick pan over a high heat and allow it to get very hot. At this point, add the fish fillets to the pan skin-side down. Using the curry oil marinade as cooking oil, leave the fish to cook for 2-3 minutes and allow the skin of the fish to crisp up

Once the fish skin has become crispy, reduce the heat to medium and turn the fish over to cook for a further minute. Remove the fish from the pan, season with salt&pepper, and sprinkle with a little lemon juice. Leave to drain on the kitchen paper.

To serve, use a teaspoon to add a swipe of re-heated cauliflower purée around the top and bottom of each plate and place a piece of endive in the centre.

Allow the endive to fan out slightly before topping with the John Dory.

Add some coriander leaves to the warm dressing and drizzle over the fish. Serve immediately.

(Here the original recipe by the Galvin Bros)

Follow me on Instagram: peterschoenmaker7