A Magpie Cafe fish recipe for you cod lovers to try at home

Ingredients - serves 4

4 x 200g cod fillet (skin on)

1 cooked ham hock (stripped)

Vegetable stock or the liquor from the hock

1 medium onion (finely diced)

1 fennel (finely diced)

150g freshly shelled peas

150g runner beans (cut into small diamond shapes)

100g green beans (cut into small pieces)

1 clove garlic (crushed)

50g unsalted butter cut into cubes

Chopped parsley

Salt and pepper

For the garnish:

8 Langoustine tails (shelled and deveined)

4 spring onions

100g self raising flour

1 teaspoon cornflour

Pinch of salt

Chilled sparkling water

Oil for deep frying (Rapeseed or sunflower)

Lemon and Pea shoots

Method

In a pan, heat a little oil and add the onion, carrot and fennel.

Lightly sauté without colour and add the garlic, cover with stock or the liquor from the hock and bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook gently to reduce the stock by a third then add the peas and both beans and then the ham hock to warm through.

Finish the broth with the butter by dropping in a little at a time and swirl the pan to incorporate it, add the parsley and season as required. If you choose to cook your own Ham Hock, place it in a pan of cold water with onion, carrot, Bay leaf and peppercorns.

Bring to the boil (skim if necessary) reduce to a simmer and cook for around 3-4 hours or until the meat will easily pull away from the bone. For the cod, heat a little oil in a pan, season the cod with salt and pepper.

Carefully lay the fish into the pan, skin side down and cook over a moderate/high heat for 2-3 minutes.

Turn the fish over and cook for a further 2 minutes before placing into a pre heated oven (gas 8, 220˚C) for 6-8 minutes.

While the fish is cooking make a batter, place the flour, cornflour and pinch of salt in a bowl and slowly whisk in the sparkling water until it resembles the consistency of single cream.

In a deep pan pour in the oil, fill to about one third of the pan.

Gently heat the oil, to test when the oil is hot enough to fry drop a little batter into the oil and it should come straight back to the surface bubbling. Dip the Langoustine tails into the batter and carefully lay them into the oil, followed by the spring onions.

Deep fry for 2 minutes or until the batter is crisp and golden turning if necessary, remove them from the oil and place onto kitchen paper to drain.

To serve, spoon the broth into warm bowls, place the cod onto the beans and top with the Langoustines and spring onion, finish with wedges of lemon and pea shoots.