Hake fish with crab and a Bilbaina sauce: Paco Roncero Restaurant

Paco Roncero by Hungry for More. A dish with stuffed hake by chef Paco Roncero.

Paco Roncero is not like any chef. Not only is he the star chef at his restaurant in Madrid, he’s also a judge in cooking reality TV shows Master Chef Colombia and Top Chef Spain. Besides that he has written several cookbooks and participated in various running competitions such as the NY marathon and a half Iron Man. But most importantly, you can expect spectacular dishes in all the restaurants that are managed by this top chef, especially in his beloved Paco Roncero Restaurant in Madrid. Avant-garde Spanish cuisine with classic techniques, influences from all around the world and local top-quality products make Paco Roncero’s dishes so special. To give you an idea of the amazing flavours, the chef shared the recipe of his interpretation of hake fish with crab and a Bilbaina sauce.

Recipe: Hake fish with crab and a Bilbaina sauce (4 pers.)

Ingredients & preparation: Hake fish

Ingredients:

800 g hake fish
100 g salt
1 l water

Preparation:

Descale and eliminate the viscera and gills of the fish.
Make a cut, just behind the operculum, obliquely and towards the head, to the central spine. Repeat the same cut on the other side, until the head is separated.
Make a cut, with a fine and sharp knife, along the back, from the end of the head to the tail, taking care not to tear the back of the fish.
Repeat the same process with the other loin of the fish.
The central spine is uncovered and can be removed easily.
Introduce the hake loins in the brine for 6 minutes.
Remove from the brine and dry with absorbent paper.
Cut portions.

Ingredients & preparation: Hake fish water

Ingredients:

20 ml extra virgin olive oil
400 g hake fish bones and head

Preparation:

Put the spines and head in water and ice for 2 hours.
Remove from the water and thoroughly clean the spines and the head of gills and eyes. Dry off.
Place in a vacuum bag with the olive oil and cook at 65 ºC for 5 hours.
Remove the bags from the water bath, open and filter the broth through a metal mesh strainer with a straw.
Store in the refrigerator.

Ingredients & preparation: Crab

Ingredients:

500 g crab
20 g salt
0,5 l water

Preparation:

Bring the salt water to a boil in a large saucepan.
Introduce the sea bass and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the water and remove the clamps.
Return the body of the sea bass to the water and cook for 6 more minutes. Cool to room temperature.
Clean the tongs and extract all the meat.
Open the body of the sea buck, keep all the juice that it releases and the false anemones that we will use to make the sea crab coral.
Clean the meat of the sea oxen, taking care that no pieces of bone remain, and join with the flesh of the tongs.
Cut it into portions of 10 g and save individually in flaneras with plastic wrap.
Cook the juice of the crab bass with the false anemones for 2 minutes and crush in an American glass. Prepare salt and sugar if necessary.
Strain and store in a plastic pastry bag.

Ingredients & preparation: Bilbao sauce

Ingredients:

10 g garlic
1 g chili
20 ml Jerez vinegar
100 ml extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

Peel and laminate the garlic.
Hydrate the chili in plenty of cold water and cut into slices.
Fry the garlic slices in the olive oil and add the chili pepper.
Add the vinegar and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and leave to infuse covered for 20 minutes.
Strain through a metal mesh strainer with cheesecloth and store the oil on one side and the fried garlic on the other.

Ingredients & preparation: Black garlic oil

Ingredients:

20 ml pasteurized egg
30 g black garlic
100 ml Bilbao sauce
8 g fried garlic

Preparation:

Clean and peel the black garlic and crush in an American glass with the fried garlic of the previous Bilbaina oil and the egg.
Add the Bilbaina oil to fine yarn until a homogeneous and smooth emulsion is obtained.
Put to a point of salt and store in plastic pastry bag.

Ingredients & preparation: Cream of piquillo peppers

Ingredients:

6 piquillo peppers
6 g garlic
75 ml cream
15 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 g salt

Preparation:

Put 75 ml of cream to reduce by half. The rest of the cream is reserved.
Peel and cut the garlic into slices and poach in a saucepan with the oil.
Add the piquillo pepper cut in julienne clean of pips.
Let poach for 30 minutes and add the reduced cream and cook 5 more minutes.
Add the rest of the liquid cream, cook 5 minutes and add salt.
Grind in an American glass until obtaining a creamy and homogeneous puree.
Pass through a metal mesh strainer and store in a saucepan in the bain-marie with leather film.

Ingredients & preparation: Garlic oil

Ingredients:

100 g garlic
100 ml extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

Cut the head of garlic in half without peeling and brown with part of the oil in a saucepan.
Add the rest of the oil and bring to a temperature of 50º, let cool and vacuum pack.
Strain through a fine mesh sieve before using.

Ingredients & preparation: Bilbaina pilpil

Ingredients:

0,1 g salt
0,1 g Xantham gum
100 g garlic oil
200 ml hake fish water

Preparation:

In a tall glass put hake water and xanthan and hydrate.
With the help of a Turmix add the oil to fine yarn and emulsify.
To put to point of salt and to heat for rations in a saucepan.

Ingredients & preparation: Chili oil

Ingredients:

20 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 g red chili

Preparation:

Clean the red chili peppers and cook with the oil at 50 ºC for 15 minutes.
Place in a vacuum bag and cook in the Roner at 60 ºC for 5 hours.
Open the bags, strain and store the oil in pipettes.

Ingredients & preparation: Reduction of Forum Vinegar

Ingredients:

100 ml Cabernet sauvignon vinegar

Preparation:

Add the vinegar to a saucepan and put on the griddle until cut in half. When it starts to pick up thin thread point remove from the heat cool and store in a sleeve at room temperature.