A sumptuous Mullet in bread crust with Nubia garlic sauce and raisin and pine nut pesto: Rocco De Santis' 2-star variant.

Dish photo: Luciano Barsetti

Ingredients for 4 people

8 mullets
Lemon
Fennel
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt, pepper

For the Tropea red onion compote

One kilogram of onions
100 g of sugar
100 g of glucose
50 g Sherry vinegar

For the saffron bread

600 g of flour
250 g water
15 g saffron pistils
15 g of brewer's yeast
10 g salt
10 g granulated sugar
extra virgin olive oil

For the mint pesto

200 g of mint leaves
60 g extra virgin olive oil
40 g chopped almonds
40 g of seed oil
20 g basil
One clove of bleached garlic

For the raisin and pine nut pesto

150 g raisins
14 g extra virgin olive oil
50 g pine nuts
50 g of grape vinegar
50 g of stale bread
30 g fine desalted capers
one desalted anchovy
mint

For the Nubian red garlic sauce

100 g garlic cloves, peeled and removed from their souls
50 ml of cream
50 ml milk

For the garnish

4 tufts of mint
4 garlic flowers
4 stalks of chives

Procedure

Peel the onions, wash them and cut them into thin slices with the help of a mandoline; boil twenty milliliters of water and vinegar, then blanch the onions for a few minutes. Pour the remaining ingredients into a bowl, add the drained onions, cover with foil and let macerate for six hours. When maceration is over, transfer everything to a saucepan and simmer over low heat until it has taken on the typical consistency of compote.

For the saffron bread, pour the flour into the basket of a mixer, add the yeast dissolved in a little warm water and the sugar. Start kneading at moderate speed, then add the saffron diluted in a tablespoon of water and the rest of the ingredients; knead until a soft mass is obtained. Transfer the dough to a wooden work table dusted with a little flour and knead it by hand just long enough to make it even more homogeneous, then place it in a plumcake mold greased with extra virgin olive oil. Let it rise for about two hours and bake in a 180°C oven for 45 minutes. Once baked, unmold it, let it cool then with a slicer cut it into slices just under 3 millimeters thick.

Blanch the mint and basil leaves, cool them in ice and water, squeeze them well and mix them with the rest of the ingredients. Blend everything with an immersion blender and place in the freezer for about two hours. Whisk vigorously, breaking up the ice crystals until a creamy pesto is obtained.

Allow the raisins to soften in warm water for about 20 minutes and soak the stale bread in vinegar; meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a nonstick skillet. When the raisins are well hydrated, squeeze them and pour them into the glass of an immersion blender with the rest of the ingredients, then blend for a few minutes to obtain a smooth mixture. Blanch the garlic three times, always starting with cold water; pour the cream and milk into a small saucepan, add the bleached garlic and let it simmer on low heat for about twenty minutes. Whisk and keep aside.

Fillet the mullet by removing the center bone, but taking care to leave the two halves joined at the tail. Season with salt, pepper, grated lemon peel and chopped fennel. Brush the skin with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil then lay one side on a slice of saffron bread and, with the tip of a knife, trim the bread following the length of the fish reaching the tail attachment. Perform the procedure in the same way for the other side. Pour a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil into the bottom of a frying pan, heat it and brown the mullet on both sides, browning the bread slightly so that it adheres perfectly to the skin and is crispy.

Spread the mint pesto on the bottom of each plate with a spatula; place a spoonful of the raisin and pine nut pesto on top and lay a mullet on it. Finish with a few drops of garlic sauce, a little red onion compote, tufts of mint, chives and garlic flowers.