Ingredients
The following ingredients have 4 Servings
- 2 leeks, sliced
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 40g/1½oz butter, plus extra for greasing
- 600g/1lb 5oz cod loin, skinned and cut into 3cm/1in chunks
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 50ml/2fl oz dry white wine
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 70ml/2½fl oz white wine vinegar
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 sprigs fresh tarragon, plus 1 tsp freshly chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 peppercorns
- 4 free-range egg yolks
- 300g/10½oz unsalted butter
Instruction
- Gently fry the leeks, carrots and onion in the butter until softened and starting to caramelise. Add the cod and flour and stir over the heat for a minute or two. Stir in the wine and cook for another minute to allow the sauce to thicken a little. Season with salt and pepper
- For the béarnaise sauce, gently heat the vinegar in a saucepan. Add the shallots, tarragon sprigs, bay leaf and peppercorns. Heat gently over a medium heat until the volume of liquid has reduced by at least half. Strain and set aside until cooled.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and butter a shallow ovenproof dish.
- Beat the egg yolks with a teaspoon of water. Stir the mixture into the strained, cooled vinegar and pour into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until the sauce has increased in volume and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Melt the unsalted butter in a saucepan. Remove the bowl from the heat and slowly pour in the melted butter in a steady stream, whisking continuously, until the mixture has thickened and is smooth. Fold in the chopped tarragon and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Spoon the cod and vegetable mixture into the ovenproof dish. Pour over the béarnaise sauce and bake for 15-20 minutes.
