A fantastic mixture of ingredients from both land and sea - all of which are slap bang in season! A hunk of bread and a leafy green salad completes this hearty meal. I'll be serving it at a family gathering in September, and since having announced this, my brothers and sisters have been asking what wine to bring with them! So, I'll share the anwser with you all... Famille Perrin Cotes du Rhone Reserve Blanc 2022 if you're partial to white wine, and Gilbert Chon Cabernet Franc 'Le Tristan' if you prefer to drink red.
Whilst this recipe may look time consuming, the hands-on time is pretty minimal. It takes a little bit of planning, but you will have some delicious ham stock left over which can be frozen and used later to make a fantastic soup. The ham and beans can be made a few days before they are needed, as can the brine. All you need is 15 minutes to cook the fish and reheat the beans, making it a great dish to serve to guests.
Ingredients (serves 4)
For the ham
1 ham hock
1 medium onion, peeled
2 bay leaves
3 cloves of garlic
For the beans
2 x 400g tins of cannellini or haricot beans, drained
30g celery, diced
30g carrot, diced
30g leek, diced
75g onion, diced
1 clove garlic, grated
2 tbsp olive oil
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme (leaves only)
2tsp tomato puree
50ml white wine
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
300g ham stock
20g flat parsley, coarsely chopped
For the cod
1 litre cold water
50g fine salt
4 x 120g-150g cod fillets, skin on, cut from the loin of the middle of the fish
1tsp of sunflower or rapeseed oil
1 knob of unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to season
To serve
Fresh Bread
Salad Leaves
Aioli (optional)
Method
To cook the ham
Put all the ham ingredients in a large pan, cover with cold water and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 2.5 - 3 hours, until the ham is tender and falling off the bone. Then remove from the heat.
Once cool enough to handle, separate the meat from everything else, discarding any fat, bones or vegetables. Pass the remaining stock through a sieve and refrigerate, reserving 300g.
Shred one quater of the ham. The rest can be frozen or used in a hash or soup with the unused ham stock.
To make the beans
Add olive oil to a pan and warm gently to a medium heat. Add the diced vegetables and a generous pinch of salt. Sweat gently to soften the vegetables, stirring constantly to avoid browning.
Add the garlic, smoked paprika, bay leaf and thyme and cook gently for a further 5 minutes.
Turn up the heat, add the tomato puree and stir continuously until the tomato is thoroughly integrated. Then add the wine and allow to bubble and reduce until it is almost gone.
Lower the heat and add the beans and ham stock. Simmer for 20 minutes until the stew has thickened a little. Then throw in the shredded ham hock and parsley and stir.
Set aside and keep warm. or cool and refrigerate if you are making the beans in advance.
To cook the cod
Dissolve the fine salt in the water and add the fish. Leave to soak in the brine for 30 minutes (no longer). Then, drain and dry on kitchen paper and set aside. This will allow the fish to firm up and keep its shape whilst cooking.
Fry the fish over a medium-high heat, skin-side down in the oil. When the skin is crispy and golden, gently turn the fish over and add the butter. Take care to turn the heat down as to not burn the butter.
The fish is cooked when it just turns opaque. Remove it from the pan and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
To serve
Spoon some of the beans into a wide bowl, top with a piece of fish, serve up your bread and fresh leafy salad alongside, and dig in! A dollop of fresh aioli would be nice on top too. If you are short of time you could substitute chorizo for the ham hock and use chicken stock instead of ham stock.
The Perfect Wine Match
Famille Perrin Cotes du Rhone Reserve Blanc, France 2022
An elegant white Rhone with round, slightly toasty fruit. Attractive peach, apricot and greengage plums on the palate with notes of fresh white flowers. Perfectly balanced with a long lingering finish.
Gilbert Chon Cabernet Franc 'Le Tristan', France 2020
A wonderful Loire Valley Cabenet Franc from Gilbert Chon and his 3-hectare vineyard of `Le Tristan` in Saint-Julien-de-Concelles. Aromatic and charming with a wonderful balance between black fruits and violets, with added uplifting acidity and juicy, ripe tannins.
