A dance of acidity and sweetness accompanies Pierre Gagnaire's sea bass, thanks to the delicate yet incisive presence of apricots.
The dish
It may seem like an unusual combination, but if you love the lively contrasts of international cuisine, you're sure to appreciate it: Pierre Gagnaire's sea bass with apricots is one of the most imitated seafood dishes from across the Alps. It must be said that the great French chef often plays with fruit, even offering it stuffed (see his famous pistachio-stuffed apricots); in this case, however, the twist is all in a jam that nicely mitigates the succulence of the fish.
Sea bass is firm and enveloping, never stringy in texture (provided it is cooked well!). These ideal characteristics are complemented by the freshness of a typical summer ingredient, which adds juiciness and astringency to the dish. Here is the recipe from the Elle&Vire website, for which the chef has created dishes based mainly on the excellent “house” butter.
The recipe
For the peas
- 400 g peas in pods
- 16 lemon balm leaves
- 100 g cream with 35% fat
- 50 g butter from the Condé-sur-Vire dairy with 82% fat
- Water as needed
For the apricot jam
- 10 Bergeron apricots
- 40 g Condé-sur-Vire dairy butter, 82% fat
- 70 g Excellence cream, 35% fat
For the sea bass filet
- 8 sea bass filets
- 80 g Condé-sur-Vire dairy butter, 82% fat
- 1 lime
- Matcha tea powder, to taste
- Salt to taste
- Ground pepper to taste
To garnish
- 24 fresh almonds
- Dill
Set aside 16 large pea pods. Shell the rest and boil them. Blend the cooked peas with a little water and the lemon balm leaves. Pass through a sieve. Bring the cream to a boil. Add the boiling cream and butter. Keep warm. Boil the 16 pea pods and cool immediately.
Stone the apricots. Cook them in butter in a frying pan, setting aside 8 halves. Blend the remaining apricots, pass through a sieve, add the hot cream and keep warm.
Salt the sea bass filets a few minutes before cooking. Roast them in hot butter with a touch of matcha tea powder and lime zest, then finish cooking with a little lime juice.
Assemble the dish by placing the pea mousseline, apricot jam, sea bass filet, pea pods, and apricot halves in that order; finish with fresh almonds and dill.
