Advent Recipe Day Twenty One: Pan Roasted Cod with Herb Gnocchi

Sprinkle each cod fillet with 7 g of salt on each side, including the skin. Wrap the fish in cling film and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour 30 minutes. Rinse in cold water and pat dry.

Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Bake the potatoes (skin on) until soft, approximately 1 hour 30 minutes. Remove the skin and push the flesh through a fine sieve (there should be about 250 g of pulp).

Cool to room temperature, then add the egg yolk, flour, Sweet/Fines herbs mix and some salt and knead until a dough is formed. Shape the gnocchi into evenly sized ovals and mark with a fork. Cook in boiling salted water until the gnocchi floats to the surface, approximately 3 - 5 minutes. Refresh by placing into iced water and set aside until needed.

Immerse the clams in salty water to remove the sand, then rinse under cold running water and set aside to drain. Sweat the shallot and garlic in oil until soft, approximately 3 minutes. Add the clams and white wine, then cover and steam (à la marinière) for 3 - 5 minutes until the clams open. Remove the clams from the stock, allow to cool and loosen from shells. Reserve until needed.

Reduce oven temperature to 160˚C. Roast the garlic cloves in aluminium foil until soft, approximately 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Sweat the shallot in butter for 3 minutes until soft. Deglaze with the wine and reduce by half and add the fish stock and reduce by half again. Add the cream and pass through a fine-mesh sieve and season. Pass the roasted garlic through a sieve and add to the sauce. Keep warm.

Blanch the samphire in salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Refresh by placing into iced water and set aside until needed.

Increase the oven temperature to 180˚C. Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof frying pan over a high heat, add the cod, skin side down, and pan-fry until golden. Add the butter and allow to foam, then remove from the heat and place in oven for 5 minutes. Remove and baste with the butter and keep warm.

If desired, aerate the sauce using a hand blender until frothy, then add the parsley and clams. Reheat the gnocchi and samphire separately in boiling water. Pour a little of the parsley and garlic sauce into the centre of a plate, top with the pan roasted cod. Arrange gnocchi and clams around the cod and finish with the samphire.