Coastal John Dory cooked at low temperature, served with smooth cucumber purée and crunchy marinated cucumber, and whisked butter with anise seed

preparation

METHOD:

Cucumber purée:

Peel, cut lengthwise into two, de-seed with a spoon, then slice the cucumbers. Cook them in boiling salted water for 2 mins. Drain and then plunge them in cold water. Drain again and blend into a smooth purée. Mix in the anise seeds (add 3.5 g of anise seeds for each kilogramme of purée). Spoon the purée into a sieve covered with a clean tea towel and put this in the fridge. Leave the purée to drain overnight. The following day, strain the purée through a fine sieve, then adjust the seasoning. Leave to chill.

Marinated cucumber:

Peel and cut the cucumber into regular diagonal slices of around 1 cm. Bring the vinegar and sugar to the boil in a pan, then leave to cool. Place the cucumber pieces and vinegar mixture in a bowl. Leave this to marinade for half a day. Drain.

Whisked butter with anise seed:

Mix the softened butter with the anise seeds in a bowl. Leave to infuse in the fridge. 
Then bring to boil the vegetable stock with 2 g anise seeds. Leave on the boil for 5 min in order to concentrate the mixture, then add the cream. Bring back to boil. 
Continue boiling until the liquid has reduced by half. Off the heat, add the aniseed butter and continuously blend, using a hand-blender. Taste, then adjust the seasoning. 
Leave to infuse for a few minutes. Drain through a fine sieve.

Cooking the John Dory:

Melt the butter on low heat in a frying pan, add the anise seeds and leave to infuse for 15 min. Maintain the temperature of the butter close to 60-65°C (warm to the touch, but not hot enough to burn). A few minutes before serving, place the fillets into the butter preparation and leave them to cook on low heat, until they register 50°C in the centre, approximately 5-6 mins. When cooked, delicately lift out the fish.

Decoration and presentation:

On each plate, spoon the cucumber purée into the bottom of a 4 cm-diameter pastry cutter. Cover with a layer of diagonally-sliced cucumber, add a pinch of salt. 
Place the John Dory on each plate with, at the side, a small ramekin filled with butter whisked with anise. Finish by sprinkling over a few grains of fleur de sel and anise.