The perfect crunch for the holiday season: Tyrolean Ham Crackers with Cream Cheese and Speck Julienne
Serves 4
500 g pikeperch fillets with skin
8 slices of HANDL TYROL Finest Bacon
200 g tomatoes
150 g HANDL TYROL Tiroler Speck PGI Pork Belly
1 onion
100 g lentils, soaked overnight
1 tbsp tomato paste
200 ml tomato juice
500 ml vegetable stock
50 ml olive oil
cumin
2 anchovies
1 tbsp of capers
pitted olives
1 lemon, untreated
1 tsp paprika
bay leaf
fresh parsley
For the original Tyrolean cuisine you'll need Tiroler Speck IGP Pork Belly
Preparation
Level of difficulty:
Advanced
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Remove the stems of the tomatoes and cut a small x in to the skin. Place the tomatoes into boiling water until the skin starts to crack. Remove with a slotted spoon and plunge into a bowl of cold water. Now you can peel of the skin with a small knife. Set aside to cool.
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Cut the Tiroler Speck PGI Pork Belly into small dices. Save the rind of the speck for later.
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Cut peeled tomatoes into quarters, remove seeds and dice, then set aside. Finely chop the shallots. Combine a drizzle of olive oil, 1 tbsp of capers, 2 anchovies, 3-4 pitted olives, and season with cumin, then shortly pulse in the food processor.
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Heat some olive oil in a saucepan, add the shallots and the Speck and fry gently. Season with some fresh grated garlic. Add 1 tbsp tomato paste and stir until roasted. Now deglaze with vegetable stock and tomato juice. Add the soaked lentils, the capers-olive-mixture, 1 tsp paprika and a bay leaf. Stir thoroughly. For extra taste add the rind of the speck. Let simmer on medium heat until the lentils are soft and tender.
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Pan fry some slices of Fines Bacon in a skillet and let drain on a paper towel. Finely chop some parsley.
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Using a sharp knife, make shallow cuts into the skin of the Pikeperch fillet, place them roughly 1 centimetre apart. Then cut the whole filet into 4 pieces. Sprinkle with salt and press the skin-side into some flour. Pad slightly to remove excessive flour. Heat some olive oil in a heavy skillet and add two garlic cloves. Sear the fillet skin-side down for 4 minutes until the skin is crispy. For a perfect result, cover the filet with baking paper and weigh down with another smaller skillet or pan.
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Meanwhile add the tomato cubes to the lentils and season with some fresh grated lemon zest. Flip the filets and ad ½ tbsp butter. With a tablespoon scoop the pan juice over the filets until the fish is perfectly cooked.
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Distribute the speck-tomato-lentils on 4 plates, place the filets on top and garnish with the crispy bacon and chopped parsley. Drizzle some olive oil on top.
For a perfect result, cover the filet with baking paper and weigh down with another smaller skillet or pan!