Cod cheek escabeche with a light mousse of mojette beans and sorrel

By Nicolas Guiet, l’U.Ni – Nantes

For 4

Ingredients :

100 g (3.5 oz.) mojette beans (Coco variety)
4 cod cheeks
8 smooth clams
8 razor clams
100 g (3.5 oz.) baby shiitake mushrooms
1 bunch sorrel
1 shallot
½ carrot
1 egg yolk
200 g (7 oz.) heavy cream
10 cl (3.4 fl. oz.) white wine
5 cl (1.7 fl. oz.) white vinegar
Coriander seeds and white pepper

Step 1 : Cook the mojette beans in cold water in a pan. The water should fully cover the beans. Let cool.

Step 2 : Blend the beans to make a smooth purée and add half the bunch of sorrel.

Step 3 : Vigorously whip the heavy cream until firm and add the bean purée in two batches to obtain a light mousse. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse.

Step 4 : Cook the shellfish in an oven (steam) or in a couscous pan for about 15 minutes. Remove them as soon as they open and let cool. Shell them and season with a dash of olive oil and a dash of lime juice.

Step 5 : Cut the stems of the baby shiitakes. Place them in a pan of cold water and cook on gentle heat. Season the mushroom-infused water with a little salt. Set aside a small portion of this broth and blend the rest with the remaining sorrel and half of the egg yolk.

Step 6 : Sweat the shallot and the carrot with a dash of olive oil. Add a few coriander seeds, the white pepper, the white wine and the white vinegar. Bring to a boil and pour over the cod cheeks to cook them.

Step 7 : Cover with plastic wrap and leave to cool at room temperature.

Step 8 : To serve, alternate the pieces of cod cheek with the shellfish and the bean mousse. Sprinkle the plate with the shiitake broth. Decorate with a few arugula leaves and edible flowers.