A note from Peter on the recipe:
The recipe depends upon seasonal produce and especially upon colour. It utilises rhubarb because of that circumbended desire for these strange rhizomes that not infrequently and inexplicably accosts me, perhaps because of familiarity, affect or idiosyncrasy, I know not.
As I grew up in the village of Chieveley, Berkshire, so named by the Romans for the proliferation of chives growing in the vicinity, I always use chives as the final visual and comestible adornment to the dish.
Orange Roughy with Gingered Rhubarb and Blood Orange Reduction
Ingredients
- 2 fillets of Orange Roughy or other sturdy white fish (John Dory, Pollock, Grouper, even Halibut. I confess that with the addition of a sprinkle of cayenne the sauce is also excellent with roast pork.)
- 1 shallot
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 knob of butter
- 1 bunch of chives
- 9 blood oranges
- 3 stems of rhubarb
- 2 ounces (50g) of fresh ginger
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp arrowroot
- 2 bulbs of beetroot
Method
For the sauce and condiments
The essence of this sauce is simplicity and concentration of the blood orange flavor as well as a deepening of the colour. So, finely chop the shallot and the garlic and sauté in olive oil with the knob of butter until beginning to caramelise. Meanwhile juice 8 of the blood oranges and add to the pot. Leave to simmer for 45 minutes or until reduced by half. Remove and strain. Return to heat. When ready to serve, add one teaspoon of arrowroot powder mixed with the remaining half lemon and half blood orange. Stir until the sauce thickens and takes a sheen.
Cut the rhubarb into inch lengths, retaining four 4 inch lengths. Place in a baking dish, grate ginger over them and sprinkle with blood juice of half a blood orange. Cover and bake for 10 minutes at 400°F (200°C). Once the rhubarb is out of the oven take off the cover to allow it to breathe and then place somewhere warm. Slice the beetroot laterally into quarter inch rounds. Place in a roasting dish, salt and pepper, olive oil and place in over at 355°F (180°C) for 30 minutes, turning once and timing this to come out crisp with the fish.
For the Fish
Cut the Roughy into four inch fillets, pepper, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Leave while preparing the rest of the concoction.
Heat frying pan with olive oil and a splash of canola oil to just starting to smoke and insert Roughy. Depending upon thickness of the fillets, one to two minutes on each side until slightly brown and crisp at edges. Remove and plate the fish, with four lengths of rhubarb and dollops of the blood orange reduction.
For the beetroot, remove and stack, place two small slices of rhubarb on top and then add segments of the remaining half of blood orange to decorate. Sprinkle with chives.
Peter Goodrich is Professor of Law at Cardozo Law School, Yeshiva University. He was founding Dean of the School of Law at Birkbeck College, University of London, and is the author of many works across law and the humanities. Notable efforts include Reading the Law, Languages of Law, Legal Emblems and the Art of Law, and, most recently, Schreber’s Law.
‘Cooking with the Legal Humanities’ is a series of blog posts sharing recipes from the many keen cooks who lurk within the global cultural legal community.
