I was inspired by a blackened catfish, a very Creole preparation, at New York’s Saloon restaurant. Taking off from it, I did a blackened pomfret with black-eye beans at Under The Over, my restaurant at Kemps Corner in Mumbai, in the 1990s. The Tequila béarnaise brought the dish together beautifully.

  • Serves

    4

  • Cook Time

    2h

Ingredients

For Salmon

  • 4 salmon fillets (120-130 gm each, with skin on)
  • 50 gm blackened spice rub
  • 20 ml lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper

For Blackened Spice Rub

  • 45 gm brown sugar
  • 30 gm onion powder
  • 30 gm cumin powder
  • 20 gm smoked paprika
  • 20 gm coriander powder
  • 15 gm garlic powder
  • 10 gm cayenne pepper
  • 10 gm fennel powder
  • 5 gm black pepper powder

For Roasted Brussels Sprouts

  • 150 gm Brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise
  • 5 gm thyme, chopped
  • 5 gm garlic, chopped
  • 20 ml olive oil
  • 10 ml honey
  • 10 ml white wine vinegar
  • Salt and pepper

For Tequila Lime Béarnaise

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 200 gm clarified butter
  • 15 gm tarragon, chopped
  • 30 ml Béarnaise reduction
  • 10 ml Tequila
  • 5 ml lemon/lime juice
  • Salt and pepper

For Béarnaise Reduction

  • 100 ml dry white wine
  • 100 ml white wine vinegar
  • 60 ml Tequila
  • 25 gm onion, chopped
  • 5 gm fennel seeds
  • 5 gm black pepper, coarsely ground
  • 5 gm castor sugar
  • 3 sprigs thyme

For Corn Hash

  • 2 ears of corn, husked
  • 50 gm butter
  • 50 gm cooking (heavy) cream
  • 25 gm onion chopped
  • 25 gm red bell pepper, diced
  • 10 gm garlic, chopped
  • 10 gm parsley, chopped
  • 5 gm thyme
  • 5 gm Pommery (grainy) mustard
  • 40 ml olive oil
  • 10 ml white wine vinegar
  • Salt and pepper

Preparation

For Blackened Spice Rub

  1. Take the spices and the brown sugar, and pulverise them into a fine powder in a blender. Store in an airtight container.

For Tequila Béarnaise

  1. Combine the Béarnaise reduction ingredients in a saucepan on low heat and reduce till a third of the volume remains. Strain and let cool. 
  2. Separately, place a stainless steel bowl with the egg yolks over a saucepan with about an inch of water in it to make a double boiler. 
  3. On low heat (removing the bowl frequently as needed), whisk the egg yolks as you slowly pour the clarified butter into them in a steady stream, a little at a time, to make a mayonnaise-like emulsion. 
  4. Tip in the lemon juice and continue whisking, making sure not to overcook the eggs or to cause the sauce to split. The egg, butter, lime juice emulsion will thicken to a fluffy, creamy consistency.
  5. Remove the bowl from the hot water and slowly whisk in 30 ml of the Béarnaise reduction (or more, if needed, depending on consistency), making sure the sauce stays emulsified. You may need to keep teasing the bowl on and off the double boiler to keep the Béarnaise at an even warmness and emulsified as you whisk it. 
  6. Season and finish with chopped tarragon and Tequila.

For Brussels Sprouts

  1. Clean the Brussels sprouts and cut them lengthwise into two halves. 
  2. Mix the other ingredients in a large bowl to make a dressing and toss in the halved Brussels sprouts to coat them well. 
  3. Sauté the Brussels sprouts in a hot frying pan with a little oil and cook till nicely charred and softened. You may need to add a splash of water or vegetable stock to soften them.

For Corn Hash

  1. Remove the husks and roast the corn on the cob directly on an open flame, rotating it frequently, till the kernels are nicely charred. 
  2. Cut the kernels off the cob with a knife and reserve. 
  3. Pour the olive oil into a pan and sauté the onion, garlic and peppers till soft. 
  4. Add the charred corn, followed by cream, and cook till excess moisture evaporates. 
  5. Toss in the mustard, vinegar and herbs, and mix well. Remove from heat immediately and monté with butter. 
  6. Check seasoning.

For Cooking Salmon

  1. Lightly score the skin of the salmon fillets, making sure not to cut too deeply into the flesh. 
  2. Pat dry the salmon fillets with a paper towel and smear a healthy amount of the blackened spice rub over the pink flesh side, along with a little salt, pepper and lemon juice. Keep the skin side dry. 
  3. Heat some oil in a nonstick frying pan and sauté the salmon fillets, skin side down, on low heat to crisp the skin. When the edges of the flesh in contact with the skin start turning white, turn the heat on high, quickly flip the fillet onto the flesh side and sear the spice-rubbed fish to blacken it.
  4. Do not overcook the salmon – it should be medium rare and pink inside.
  5. Remove from heat, flip the fillet back onto the skin side in the pan, and hold while you start plating the dish.

To Serve

  1. Lay down the corn hash and Brussels sprouts in equal quantity in the centre of four dinner plates and place a fillet of salmon, crispy skin-side down, on the vegetables. 
  2. Spoon a dollop of the Tequila Bearnaise sauce on the fish and serve.
Rahul Akerkar

Rahul Akerkar

Rahul Akerkar, the chef-founder of Qualia in Mumbai, was Scroll Food’s Chef of the Month for June. He started his culinary journey 35 years ago in the US, returning to India in 1989. Since then, he has been busy changing the way we eat. Known for setting industry trends with his creative, ingredient-driven cuisine, and warm attentive hospitality, Rahul’s award-winning restaurants secured his position as one of India’s first successful, chef-restaurateurs. In his career, he has won many accolades – he was featured in Asiaweek’s Survey of “Kitchen Gods” in 2001 and was 28 on San Pellegrino’s List of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2013. More recently, he won Chef of The Year at the Times Food Awards 2016, Mumbai. He has been guest chef in several kitchens around the world, authored numerous articles, and frequently consults to the food and hospitality industry.

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