Stuffed bream with lentils and white wine foam

• 2 large bream of 800 g
(not excluding and entirely
fresh, alternatively sea bream)
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 shallots
• 40 g carrot
• 40 g celery or 1 stick
Celery
• 40 g fennel bulb
• 150 g Puy lentils
• 1 lemon slice
• 2 thyme stalks
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 juniper berries
• 200 ml white wine (and a
Sip in advance
try out)
• 100 ml cream
• 40g butter
• Juice of 1 lemon
• possibly saffron
• Potatoes, sliced

Wash and clean the carrots, celery and fennel, peel the shallots and cut everything into 4 mm cubes. Put the good parts aside. Briefly sauté the vegetables in oil in a saucepan and then deglaze with 0.1 l of white wine. Bring to the boil briefly, add the lentils and water and cook for around 25 minutes, then season with salt and pepper.

And now the fish. We need a "round" fish, i.e. not gutted. Of course, that assumes that it is extremely fresh. In our country, you should pre-order something like this from the retailer. Scale the fish thoroughly and cut off the dorsal fins. Now cut a pocket in the fish, removing the bones and at the same time removing the innards. To do this, fillet the fish from the back. (I cut with a short, sharp knife at the base of the dorsal fin close to the bones up to the spine and then further to the end of the belly bones, turn the fish to the other side and repeat the whole process from the other side of the bones). Then cut off the spine just behind the head and in front of the tail fin with strong scissors and remove the entire skeleton with the innards. This takes a little time. Always cut audibly at the bones and take care not to damage the innards. Separate the bones from the innards, rinse, divide into 3 to 4 pieces and place in a small pot with the vegetable trimmings, 2 bay leaves, thyme and juniper berries. Cover with cold water and 50 ml white wine and simmer "quietly" for 30 minutes. If necessary, skim off the skim. Slowly pour the stock through a fine sieve. Bring 50 ml wine to the boil in a saucepan, add the fish stock, reduce everything to 150 ml, pour in the cream and reduce again. Season to taste with salt, pepper, lemon juice and possibly saffron. Finally, stir in 1 tablespoon butter. Pour into a cream siphon, screw on two caps, shake vigorously and keep warm.
Briefly heat the lentils with a slice of lemon and a bay leaf, fill loosely into the salted fish, keep the rest warm and close the fish with a wooden skewer. Cook quickly at medium heat in a closed ceramic grill on a cast iron grate - only turn once and make sure you don't damage the skin. A wide stainless steel spatula helps here. Grill a few slices of potatoes as a side dish.

Serve the fish whole with the remaining lentils, grilled potatoes and white wine foam. The dish makes a wonderful combination with the Pinot Blanc and its light scent of flowers and peach. Despite its lightness and freshness, the wine has enough structure to be an equal partner for the grilled fish with the earthy notes of the lentils.

Jean-François recommends a powerful Burgundy with a pronounced minerality, which has been slightly aged in wooden barrels. Here we were able to enjoy the top-quality wine from Leiner! A great Pinot Blanc in Demeter quality.

FIRE&FOOD Issue 2-2016