Poached Skate with Crash Hot Jersey Potatoes

The combination of strands of softly cooked skate flesh and slightly crispy Jersey Potatoes is a deeply pleasing in itself, but combine with the fresh tangy sauce and it goes off the scale

Ingredients

For the Crash Hot Jersey Potatoes

500 g Jersey Potatoes
2 Tbsp Caraway Seeds
2 Tbsp Thyme leaves

For the Court Bouillon

1 Onion, sliced
3 Celery Sticks, sliced
3 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
2 Tsp Sea Salt
12 Black Peppercorns
1 litre of Water

For the Skate

500 g Skate Wings

For the Sauce

Pinch of Saffron strands
2 Tomatoes, skinned, seeded and diced
1 Tsp crushed Coriander Seeds
1 Tsp Ground Cumin
1 Piquante Roasted Pepper, cut into thin strips
2 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
10 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Lemon juice
Sea Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper

Method

Heat the oven to 200 degrees C
Cook the Potatoes in well salted boiling water until tender

For the Court Bouillon

Put all the ingredients into a large shallow pan
Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes
Cut each Skate Wing in half
Add them to the Court Bouillon and simmer gently for 10 minutes

For the Sauce

Steep the Saffron in a couple of teaspoons of warm water for five minutes
Then put the Saffron and its water, Tomatoes, Coriander, Cumin, Pepper, Garlic, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Lemon juice, one teaspoon of Sea Salt and ten turns of the Black Pepper mill into a small pan and, just before the Skate is ready, warm the sauce through over a very gentle heat
Stir the Coriander and Mint into the sauce

Lift the pieces of skate out of the court bouillon, drain off the excess liquid and set aside on a plate

When the Potatoes are done, drain them well
Place the Potatoes on a non stick baking tray
Gently crush each potato with the back of a fork or potato masher until they just bursts open
Sprinkle over each Potato some Caraway Seeds and Thyme leaves
Place in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until the Potatoes start to turn brown and crispy at the edges

To Serve

Spoon the Crash Hot Jersey Potatoes onto the four warmed plates
Place the Skate Wing alongside
Spoon some Sauce over each piece of skate
Put your thumb over the top of the bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and drizzle a little of it around the outside edge of each plate
Do the same with the Balsamic Vinegar
Then sprinkle around a few Sea Salt flakes and coarsely crushed Black Pepper
Add seasonal vegetables of your choice