Jamie MacDonald’s Seabass with Orzo, ‘Nduja and Leeks
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I have never thought to put crème fraiche together with ‘Nduja until cooking with Jaime in his kitchen in Sheffield. It works beautifully, and I will do so again. ‘Nduja is a spicy Calabrian sausage meat, a bit like a spreadable salami, if you’d rather leave the meat out, use chilli flakes or a chilli paste such as harissa for a bit of heat in with the leeks to cook.
Jamie MacDonald is a comedian, he is also blind. I’ve met a few comedians over the years, Amy Mason was one of my first guests on the podcast back in season 1. My stepfather Peter is partially sighted, and I am a used to spending time with him, but other than Peter, I haven’t spent any time with someone who is blind, let alone cooked with a blind person before. Cooking with Jamie was a magnificent experience because it confirmed something about cookery that I’ve known to be true all along, taste is everything. Apart from Jamie’s talking scales, he can’t see to read weights and measures, his kitchen is the same as mine, sharp knifes, a myriad of bottles to choose between in the cupboard, a hefty chopping board and so on. Jamie cooks like someone who loves cooking.
Cooking alongside Jamie for the podcast was a riot. Lots of laughter, he is a comdien after all, and whilst we cook, we discuss Edinburgh fringe, toxic masculinity, wild swimming, noisy owls, so-called Scottish risotto as cooked by his mum circa 1980s and I ask the silliest question Jamie has ever been asked. All the while, the fish gets fried and we make an incredible lunch to eat together in his very sunny garden in Sheffield.
Please listen in, or watch on YouTube - and most importantly - please tell all your friends. This podcast stands apart from the rest, you get chat, cookery knowledge, a great recipe each week to try out and a new best friend in the kitchen!
INGREDIENTS
To feed 4
4 sizable fillets of seabass, pin boned, skin slashed ¼ cm deep with a very sharp knife and seasoned with salt
250g orzo
3 large leeks, washed well and cut into rings
1 – 2 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp ‘Nduja, to taste, or use chilli flakes or harissa paste
150ml creme fraiche
3 tbsp olive oil
25g butter
Large sprig of thyme, leaves picked
Small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
1 lemon, cut into wedges to serve
Salt and pepper, to taste
Dressed green salad, to serve
METHOD
In a large frying pan, add 1 tbsp of olive oil, leeks, garlic and butter and cook over a moderate heat until softened. Add the ‘Nduja and the thyme leaves, turn up the heat slightly to cook off any liquids and fry off the ‘Nduja. Season well with salt and pepper and keep warm, to one side.
In a saucepan of boiling salted water, add the orzo and cook to al dente as per the packet instructions. Drain and keep back one cup of the pasta cooking water.
Add the drained orzo to the cooked leeks in the pan and loosen with a splash of the pasta cooking water. Add the creme fraiche and parsley and stir well to combine. Keep to one side, with a lid on to keep warm.
In a non-stick or good cast iron frying pan, add the remaining olive oil and heat to a shimmer. Carefully lay the seabass fillets down in the hot oil in the pan, pressing the centre down firmly as you do, and cook over a high to moderate heat for around 3 mins, skin side down, use a spatula to flip the fillets over and briefly cook for 20 – 30 seconds more, turn off the heat. The skin should be crisp and the fish opaque. You may need to cook slightly longer, depending on the fillet size.
Serve the crisp fried fish on the leeks and orzo with a lemon ¼ to squeeze over to serve.