FOR the most part, this column takes its responsibility to public service seriously. We suss out recipes so that they won't present any untoward or unforeseen difficulty for you, when you want to get the pans whizzing on a Saturday evening or a Sunday lunchtime.
We bear in mind the relative availability of ingredients, the cost of the said ingredients, and spend a lot of time looking for food which is going to give you a near certain chance of success, and which will delight your friends and family.
Not this week. This week public service goes out the window. This week we are damning the expense, damning the complications, we are damning everything, including the torpedoes. This week we are aiming for the stars.
And the stars are two of the hottest chefs in the country. Both Kevin Thornton, of Thornton's Restaurant in Dublin's Portobello, and Robbie Millar, of Shanks, in Bangor, Co Down, were recently awarded their first stars from the Michelin guide, and it doesn't take a clairvoyant to realise that these stars are only going to be the first these super chefs are going to collect.
How do you create stellar cooking? By dreaming and creating the sort of dishes which we have chosen here. Kevin Thornton's Fillet of Turbot with Beetroot and Grapefruit Sauce is a classic example of his style involved, abstract, intense, it is a thrilling dish.
Robbie Millar's Seared Scallops with Avocado Frittata, Charred Tomato and Black Beans is prototypical of his style, a melange of different flavours assembled in a knock out combination.
Neither of these dishes is that complex. All you need is time, conviction (and a touch of genius).
Kevin Thornton's Fillet of Turbot with Beetroot and Grapefruit Sauce
Ingredients
2 fillets turbot (120g each) 1 slice of brioche (cubed)
Juice of one pink grapefruit (quarter for the garnish, half for the sauce and quarter for the fish)
Olive oil
50g unsalted butter
Salt/pepper
For the Sauce
1 shallot, peeled and diced
1 pink grapefruit
Juice of half a lemon
65ml Noilly Prat
65ml vermouth
65ml white wine
1/4 litre fish stock
2 beetroots
Salt/pepper
Garnish
4 potatoes (la Ratte or Maris Pipers)
1 tablespoon capers
Baby leeks
Salmon caviar
3 baby beetroot
Method Marinate fish fillets in olive oil and place in fridge. Wash and top and tail all the beet roots. Squeeze one quarter of the grapefruit juice over the three baby beetroots and season them with salt and pepper. Wrap in tinfoil and cook in a 140C oven for 2 hours.
To make the sauce Saute the diced shallots in a hot pan with a little olive oil. Skin and roughly chop the grapefruit, and add to the pan. Dice the two beet roots and add to the pan along with the Noilly Prat, vermouth, white wine and lemon juice. Reduce by half.
Add the fish stock and further reduce by half. Season to taste. Pass through a fine sieve. Return to the heat and gently whisk in about 10g of the unsalted butter. Add half of the grapefruit juice and season to taste.
To cook the fish Season both sides of the fillets and place them on a hot pan with a little olive oil, presentation side down. Cook for one and a half minutes. Turn fillets and squeeze the remaining quarter of the grapefruit juice over them.
Remove from the heat. Arrange cubed brioche on top of the fillets. Place in a dish in the oven preheated to 160C and cook for a further one and a half minutes.
The Garnish Cook the potatoes and puree. Season them, and finish with the 40 remaining grams of butter. Cut the leeks in half and blanch in boiling salted water for one minute. Remove beetroot from tinfoil and skin. Saute capers in a hot pan.
To assemble Place pureed potatoes in the centre of the plate. Place half a tablespoon of capers on top of the potatoes. Place the fish fillet on top of the capers. Cut beet root in half and arrange around the fish. Arrange cooked leeks around the plate. Add sauce and garnish with salmon caviar.
Robbie Millar's Seared Scallops with Avocado Fritatta, Charred Tomato and Black Beans
The tomatoes
4 large plum tomatoes 25mls (1 fl oz) olive oil salt & pepper
The coriander pesto.
100g (31/2 oz) chopped coriander
100mls (31/2 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil
20g (3/4 oz) roasted pinenuts squeeze of lemon juice
1 clove of garlic salt & pepper
The sour cream
50mls (2 fl oz) whipping cream
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper
The scallops
500g (1lb 2oz) shucked, cleaned scallops (muscle & roe removed)
25mls (1 fl Oz) olive oil
Salt and pepper
The fritatta
1 ripe avocado
4 free range eggs
25mls (1 fl oz) double cream
25g (1oz) coriander
50mls (2 fl oz) olive oil
Salt and pepper
The pesto
With a pestle and mortar grind coriander with garlic, pine nuts, salt and pepper to a smooth paste. Drizzle in olive oil, add lemon juice and check seasoning.
The sour cream
Stir lemon juice and salt and pepper into cream until it thickens.
The charred tomatoes
Cross tomatoes at each end. Blanch in boiling water for about 10 seconds, then plunge into iced water. Peel, quarter and de seed. Season each quarter with olive oil, salt and pepper. Char on grill pan until slightly blackened. Remove and chop into large dice.
The fritattas
Beat eggs, cream, coriander and salt & pepper together. Peel, stone and dice avocados. Add to egg mixture. Using a small blinis pan, heat the oil until very hot and tip out excess oil. Ladle in one quarter of fritatta mixture and stir until set. Flip over and cook on other side gently. Do not overcook.
Cook three other fritattas in same way and set aside.
To serve
Warm fritattas gently in oven for three minutes. While warming fritattas season scallops and sear on both sides for about 30 seconds in a very hot pan. Leave to rest for a couple of minutes.
In the centre of each plate, place a fritatta and top with scallops. In the middle spoon in a pile of charred tomatoes. Drizzle with pesto and sour cream.
Garnish with a little more tomato and a fresh coriander leaf.
Robbie also garnishes each dish with a handful of Mexican black beans, pre soaked and cooked for about 45 minutes in fish stock.