Viva Brighton Issue #57 November 2017

RECIPE
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Hake wrapped in prosciutto
John Bardsley, executive chef at the
Aqua chain of restaurants
I employ chefs. From 18-year-old chefs to
40-year-old chefs to whatever. I hire people first
for honesty and reliability, because everything
else I can teach. I will hire someone who’s got a
bit of fire in their eyes over somebody who tells
me they’ve worked in kitchens for ten years.
Yes, skills are important, but I find passion and a
willingness to learn – and to take criticism – far
more important.
Everybody likes seeing their own food on the
menu, so we actively encourage involvement
from the junior chefs. It keeps them interested
and it inspires them. Once a month, all of the
head chefs will gather together and anybody
who has an idea for a dish will be invited along
as well. We’ll go through and we’ll cook every
single dish together. That’s when we, as a team,
refine the recipes before we decide what makes
it onto the menu.
I’m a strong believer in training. We have
a number of chefs who are on NVQs at the
moment and they have to prove that they
can do certain things to hit certain units, so
wherever we can, we make those requirements
a part of what we’re doing. We can amend
menus, and put special dishes on there if we
need to. That makes it much more realistic for
them, because you’re making a béchamel to
make penne pollo, or you’re making a béchamel
to make blue cheese sauce… you’re not just
making a béchamel because that’s what you’ve
been told to do.
We’re going to do one of the dishes from
our lunch menu: hake wrapped in prosciutto,
mustard creamed leeks and confit potatoes. To
make enough for two, you’ll need: 2 fillets of
hake (skinned), 4 slices of prosciutto ham, 12-14
new potatoes, half a litre of vegetable stock, 50g
butter, 10g chopped garlic (approx. 2 cloves),
500g leeks, 1 small white onion, 100ml cream,
10g mustard and salt and pepper to season.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
First, season your hake and fold it over into a
parcel. Wrap the hake in the prosciutto and
place in the fridge while you prepare the rest of
the dish.
Halve the new potatoes and place in a dish,
adding the vegetable stock, garlic and butter.
Cover with greaseproof paper and then tin foil,
and bake in the oven until the potatoes are soft -
around 45 minutes.
Slice the leeks and onion and sweat off in a
large pan. Once they are soft, add the cream and
mustard. Reduce the cream until nice and thick,
then season and allow to cool.
To serve, place the hake into a hot, lightly oiled
pan and seal the prosciutto, taking care as you
turn it that the ham stays in place (this is best
done using a fish slice).
Once sealed, add the potatoes to the pan and
bake in the oven until the fish is cooked, which
should be around 8-12 minutes, depending on
your oven. Warm the leek mix in a separate pan.
Serve the potatoes first in the centre of the plate,
followed by the leeks. Place the fish on top and
garnish with a little fresh watercress.
As told to Rebecca Cunningham
47-49 Chapel Rd, Worthing. aqua-restaurant.com
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