With a spectacular eggplant caviar, the red mullet takes on a whole new flavor and appearance: Antonino Cannavacciuolo’s version will amaze you!

Ingredients

SERVES 4

For the red mullet

4 red mullets
1 slice of white sandwich bread
500 ml sunflower oil
natural salt
Italian extra virgin olive oil

For the eggplant caviar

3 eggplants
1 bunch of fresh basil
1 clove of garlic
Italian extra virgin olive oil
natural salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 bunch of herbs (thyme, rosemary, marjoram)

For the passion fruit sauce

200 g sugar
1 tablespoon water
150 g passion fruit purée

For finishing and/or plating

1 passion fruit
1 eggplant
rice flour as needed
500 ml of sunflower oil
Maldon salt to taste

Instructions

For the red mullet

Fillet and debone the red mullet by cutting them open like a book, leaving the tail attached. To prevent the tail from burning during cooking, cover it with parchment paper, brush it with oil, and wrap it in aluminum foil.

Pass the slice of bread through a pasta sheeter to flatten it, then cut it into small brunoise cubes. Break them apart well with your hands, fry a handful at a time in sunflower oil (being careful not to let them brown too much), and drain on paper towels.

Season the red mullet with salt and oil. Place it on a sheet of parchment paper and cook it in a skillet over moderate heat on one side only.

Transfer it to a baking sheet and cover the top fillet with the fried bread brunoise. Finish cooking under the broiler of a preheated oven set to the highest temperature, making sure it remains tender.

For the eggplant caviar

Wash the eggplants, cut them in half lengthwise, and score the flesh with the tip of a knife. Season the flesh with oil and salt, and place the bouquet garni on top. Place in an oven preheated to 175° and bake until the eggplant flesh is tender (about half an hour). Remove from the oven, discard the herbs, and, using a spoon, separate the flesh from the skin.

On a cutting board, finely chop the eggplant flesh with a knife.

In a skillet, sauté the garlic clove (with the core removed), remove it, and cook the chopped eggplant (to give it more texture as the liquids evaporate).

Season to taste by adding a grating of pepper, julienned basil, a drizzle of raw olive oil, and, if necessary, salt.

For the passion fruit sauce

In a small saucepan, caramelize the sugar. Add the passion fruit purée and a tablespoon of water. Stir and return to the heat. Reduce the mixture until it reaches a syrupy consistency.

To finish

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the skin from an eggplant, cut it into julienne strips, coat them in rice flour, and fry at 150° until crispy. Drain and place on paper towels.

How to serve

Drizzle passion fruit sauce onto each plate, then place quenelles of warm eggplant caviar and the red mullet straight from the grill, removing the foil covering its tail. Scatter Maldon salt flakes, passion fruit seeds, and finally a julienne of fried eggplant skin here and there.

Find all the chef’s recipes here