Roasted sea bass with cockles, a fennel and vanilla salad and a fennel and dill purée recipe

Ingredients

• 1 kg wild line caught sea bass (scaled and filleted into 4 portions) can be substituted for sea bream
• 15 cockles
• 50 g Sauternes sweet wine
• Olive oil
• Butter

• ½ bulb of fennel
• 1 vanilla pod
• 25 ml grapeseed oil

• ½ bulb of fennel finely sliced
• 150 g water
• 8 g Pernod
• 25 ml double cream
• Chopped dill

Fennel and Vanilla Salad
1. Vanilla oil marinate the vanilla pods in grapeseed oil and leave in a warm place for 24 hours. 30 minutes before serving, slice the fennel on a mandolin and season with salt, lemon and the vanilla oil.
2. Leave to soften in a warm place for 20 minutes. Save some vanilla oil to glaze the fish just before serving the dish.
Fennel and Dill Puree
3. Slice the fennel finely with a mandolin, place in a pan with the water and Pernod, boil until soft (approximately 15 minutes) and strain keep this cooking liquid.
4. Put the softened fennel and double cream into a food blender and blend while gradually adding the cooking liquid until a smooth purée is produced. Finally, add the dill.
Sea Bass and Cockles
5. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan, sear the fillets of sea bass and season with salt and a squeeze of lemon. Finish with a knob of butter and glaze with vanilla oil.
6. Place the cockles and Sauternes in a hot pan and cook until the clams open (approximately 1 minute) at which point season with salt and lemon.
To Serve
7. Place the fennel and vanilla salad in a small heap slightly off centre on the plate. Add the sea bass on top (skin side up).
8. For the tear drop of fennel and dill purée, put a spoonful of purée onto the plate and drag the back of a spoon through the spoonful.
9. Dress the dish with the surf clams, glaze the top of the sea bass with vanilla oil and drizzle a little vanilla oil over the plate.