- Serves 4
- 4 red mullet, 500–600g each, scaled, filleted and pin- boned
- Olive oil for grilling
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the roasted garlic aïoli
- 1 garlic bulb
- 2 egg yolks
- Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 400ml olive oil
- For the girolles
- 400g girolles, cleaned and halved or quartered if large
- A drizzle of olive oil
- 100g unsalted butter
- 2 shallots, peeled and chopped
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
- 75ml sherry vinegar
- 3 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
Nathan Outlaw
27th April 2016
Red mullet with girolles and roasted garlic aïoli
This delicately flavoured fish lends itself to a range of delicious red mullet recipes. Whether grilled, pan-fried or steamed, red mullet is the ideal addition to any dish - Why not give the following red mullet with girolles and roasted garlic aioli recipe a try yourself? The sense of smell is amazing. When I cook this, the aroma takes me right back to 1999 when I was preparing a similar dish at Rick Stein’s The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow. The smell of red mullet cooking is unlike any other fish – it is utterly unique. That, and the smell of the girolles pan-frying with garlic and parsley, is enough to bring any food lover to their knees.
Ingredients
Method
Preheat your oven to 200°C/Fan 185°C/Gas 6. For the roasted garlic, wrap the garlic bulb in some foil, place it in an oven dish and bake for 45 minutes until soft. Unwrap the garlic and leave until cool enough to handle. Separate the cloves and squeeze out the soft garlic pulp.
To make the aïoli, put the egg yolks, lemon zest and juice, and the roasted garlic pulp into a small food processor. Blend briefly to combine then, with the motor running, slowly add the olive oil in a thin, steady stream through the funnel until it is all incorporated and the sauce is emulsified. Season with salt and pepper, blend for a further 30 seconds, then taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Preheat your grill to its highest setting.
To cook the girolles, heat a large frying pan over a medium heat, then add the olive oil and butter. When bubbling, add the girolles and fry for 2 minutes.
At the same time, brush the red mullet fillets with oil, season them and place skin side up under the grill.
Now add the shallots and garlic to the girolles, cook for another minute, then add the sherry vinegar. Toss in the parsley, season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
By now, your red mullet fillets will be colouring and almost ready – they will take about 4 minutes. To check, lift one up carefully and turn it over. The flesh should be white with no sign of rawness.
Place a large spoonful of the roasted garlic aïoli in the middle of each warmed plate and add a red mullet fillet. Share the girolles between the plates and serve straight away.
The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.
Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.
A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.
Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.