JOHN DORY FILLETS SEARED IN INDIAN PASTRY WITH TOMATO CARDAMOM SAUCE

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted
from chef Neil Perry's book Rockpool. Neil also shared some helpful
cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the
bottom of the page. For your convenience, we've converted the measures
- with as much accuracy as possible - from Australian to American.
For those who have metric equipment and wish to follow Neil's recipe to
the milliliter, we've included the original measures too.

In this dish, the combination of pastry, fish, sauce, yoghurt and
spinach makes a complete dish. The cardamom and tomato are a perfect
match, and the fish steams gently inside as the outside of the pastry
crisps up. This dish also works beautifully with the flat fish of
Europe and America. It is important that the vegetables are
well-seasoned and cooked until they caramelise to impart their flavour
to the sauce. The depth of flavour of aromatics is so often lost when
they are not allowed to do their job properly.

The Tomato and Cardamom Sauce goes nicely with all seafood; its deep,
rich flavour enlivens the taste buds. The tomatoes are cut up, skin,
seeds and all. Slice into thin rounds, then into julienne and chop the
julienne to give a uniform dice. Don't chop them as if cutting for
concass=E9, they lose too much juice that way.

two 1.2 to 1.4 kg ( Two 2 1/2- to 3-pound) John Dory, bought whole and
filleted
100 g (3 1/2 ounces) baby spinach
60 ml (1/4 cup) clarified butter
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) plain yoghurt
Tomato and Cardamom Sauce
200 ml (3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) peanut oil
1 large onion, finely diced
2 large knobs ginger, peeled and finely diced
10 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 tablespoons sea salt
1 knob fresh turmeric, peeled and finely chopped
6 whole cloves, roasted and ground
8 cardamom pods, roasted and ground
8 vine-ripened tomatoes, diced

Indian pastry
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
a pinch of sea salt
one 55 g (large) egg
100ml (1/2 cup ) plain yoghurt
2 teaspoons peanut oil
1 teaspoon water

To make the Tomato and Cardamom Sauce, heat the oil until very hot in a
heavy-based pot. Add the onion, ginger, garlic and salt. Lower the heat
and cook over a moderate heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning.
Cook until well caramelised, approximately 1 hour. Add the turmeric,
cloves and cardamom, and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes
and cook slowly for 20 minutes until a thickish sauce forms. Set aside.

To make the Indian Pastry, combine the two flours with the salt in a
bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the egg, yoghurt, oil and
water. Mix with a fork until they form a sticky mass, then knead on a
bench for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Allow the dough to rest
for 30 minutes. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Roll them out as
thinly as possible on a lightly floured bench. Place them between
sheets of greaseproof paper and stack them on top of each other and
refrigerate until needed. Don't roll them out in advance of the time
you need them, as they do not keep well when rolled out.

Lay out the pastry sheets on a chopping board and place a fillet at one
end. Fold the other half of the sheet over to completely enclose the
fish, and trim the pastry right to the edge of the fish. Brush both
sides of the pastry with clarified butter and wrap in greaseproof
paper. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Repeat with the others.

Heat up the sauce and keep warm. Set up a steamer to cook the spinach.
Place a heavy-based frying pan on the stove to cook the fish (do 2 at a
time). Put 15 ml clarified butter in the pan and heat to almost
smoking. Add the fish and cook for about 3 minutes. Turn the fish over
with a fish slice (spatula), and cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove
and drain on kitchen paper. Wipe out the pan and repeat the process.
Steam the spinach.

To serve, spoon about 100 to 120 ml (1/2 cup) of the Tomato and
Cardamom Sauce into the middle of 4 white plates. Place the yoghurt on
top and the spinach on the yoghurt. Cut each piece of fish in half and
place on top. Serve immediately.

Chef Neil Perry shares his tips with Epicurious:
=B7 To clarify butter: Start with 25 percent more than you need for the
recipe. Melt over low heat, then remove from heat and let stand for
five minutes. Skim the foam off the top, and carefully pour the pure
butterfat off into a jar, discarding the milk solids at the bottom.
Clarifying butter raises its smoking point, so that it can be used more
easily for frying.
=B7 Fresh turmeric can be hard to find. It can be ordered online from
Pacific Rim Gourmet at www.i-clipse.com.

Serves four as a main course.