I buy fish whole whenever possible. You can get a better sense of how fresh it is this way and the head and bones can be used for stock. For this dish I bought a whole line-caught Florida Red Snapper. I had the fishmonger remove the guts and scrub the scales off. I have forgotten to ask them to do this on a couple of occasions. If you don't have a scaler at home this is a nightmare.
I filleted the fish and ran the dull side of a knife against the skin to remove as much of the moisture as possible. I learned this technique from the French Laundry cookbook. I made a stock with the head, tail and bones. I dusted the filets with wondra flour, which helps the skin to crisp nicely, and seared them in hot oil.
I made a sauce with the fish stock, saffron and fennel seed. The fish is sitting on top of some braised dinosaur kale and a leek and celery root puree. It is topped with some dehydrated kale chips.
I filleted the fish and ran the dull side of a knife against the skin to remove as much of the moisture as possible. I learned this technique from the French Laundry cookbook. I made a stock with the head, tail and bones. I dusted the filets with wondra flour, which helps the skin to crisp nicely, and seared them in hot oil.
I made a sauce with the fish stock, saffron and fennel seed. The fish is sitting on top of some braised dinosaur kale and a leek and celery root puree. It is topped with some dehydrated kale chips.