Hamachi with Sweet Corn Velouté and Black Truffles

This fish course involves a few components, but none of them are complicated and the resulting dish is marvelously fragrant and colorful. The hamachi is lightly seasoned with thyme, salt and pepper and then pan-fried until just cooked in the center. The hamachi is then plated atop a creamy sweet corn velouté with baby corn and okra sauteed in butter. Finally the dish is finished with a generous shaving of black truffles. I know that okra isn't everyone's cup of tea, so if you're not a fan, just substitute asparagus for the okra.

Makes 4 servings
prep time: 30 minutes
cook time: 15 minutes
passive time: none

for velouté
3 ears fresh corn
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black truffle oil

for vegetables
70 grams baby corn (8 ears), shucked
40 grams small okra(8 okra)
1 tablespoon cultured unsalted butter

for hamachi
300 grams hamachi
6 sprigs thyme, stems discarded and leaves finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

for serving
20 grams fresh black truffle (about 1 truffle)

Directions:

1. Shuck the corn and use a sharp knife to slice the kernels off the cob. If you have a juicer, just pass the corn through your juicer to extract the milk. Otherwise, blend the corn and filter the milk through a piece of butter muslin, squeezing on the pulp to get as much milk as possible. You should end up with about 1.5 cups of corn milk.

2. To prep the vegetables, blanch the baby corn and okra in well salted water and then drain and shock in ice water. When chilled, drain the vegetables and dry well using paper towels. Peel the stems of the okra and then slice them in half at an angle. Slice the corn in half at an angle.

3. Season the hamachi with the thyme, salt and pepper and then drizzle with the olive oil.

4. To make the velouté, pour the corn milk into a pot, add 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, while constantly stirring with a silicone spatula to keep the mixture from burning. Your velouté should have the consistency of a thick pourable gravy. Depending on the amount of starch your corn contained, you may need reduce it a bit or thin it out with a little milk. When it's finished, add 1/4 teaspoon of black truffle oil and stir to combine. Cover with a lid and keep warm while you prepare the other components.

5. For the hamachi, heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat until very hot. Add the hamachi and fry on one side until well browned then roll the hamachi onto another side and brown that side. Continue rolling and browning until all side of the hamachi are browned. Transfer to a plate when done.