A Tasty Spanish Meal

Chef Benet Vicens runs the Bens d'Avall restaurant just a few kilometers from Soller on the north west coast of Mallorca

Recipe:

John Dory fish with fresh homemade pasta and spicy olives

Serves 4 People

Ingredients:

2 John Dory Fish, 1 Kg each

Fresh artichokes and broccoli

4 Bay leaves

For the pasta:

500 g flour

6 Egg yolks

4 Eggs

40 g Olive oil

40 g Salt

Preparation:

Combine the pasta ingredients in a food processor and create a dough. Roll out the dough using a pasta machine, allow it to dry two hours and then cut to desired size. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water to al dente and then drain. Season with olive oil before the pasta gets cold.

Clean out the fish thoroughly (only 40 percent of the animal can be eaten). Carefully tuck bay leaves under the skin.

Chop the broccoli and artichoke into small pieces and cook in a pan. The fish must be cooked for just the right amount of time because it has a very low fat content. Scald it in a pan and then place it on a grill over low heat so it can cook through slowly.

Foam sauce from fish bones, lemons and fresh herbs

Bones from John Dory fish

1 Leek

1 Onion

2 Tomatoes

10 g Chervil

10 g Parsley

2 Cloves of garlic

Lemon peel

Olive oil

10 g Butter

1 Tablespoon Pernod

Preparation:

Soak the fish bones in salted water and ice for an hour so they are completely cleaned.

Sautee the garlic with oil in a pot. Add the onions and leek and poach for 10 minutes. Poaching is a method that involves cooking in hot but not boiling water. Add the soaked fishbones and then the tomatoes.

Heat 1 liter of water and then pour into the pot. Add the lemon peel and herbs and cook for 10 minutes. Stir carefully and allow to sit for one hour. Lastly, add the butter and pernod. Remove the fish bones and mix thoroughly until the sauce is foamy.