Calçots are a cross between a spring onion and a leek and are found in the Catalonia region of Spain. You may use ramps as a substitute if calçots are unavailable.

Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients:

Calçot “Confit”:
• 6 calçots
• Thyme oil
  
  Garlic Cream:
• 6 heads garlic
• 1 liter milk
• 200 milliliters cream
• Salt
  
  Sea Bass and Roasted Calçots:
• 4 (300-gram) sea bass fillets
• 12 calçots
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
  
  Grated Macadamia and Pepper Oil:
• 6 macadamia nuts
• 1 hot pepper
• 100 milliliters olive oil

Method:

For Calçot “Confit”:
Clean the calçots and julienne them. Blanch them in salted boiling water, and then plunge them into ice water. Pat dry and cover calçots with the thyme oil. Place in a water bath at 104ºF for 5 hours. Place calçots in a sealed jar when done.

For Garlic Cream:
Peel the garlic and blanch them 5 times, changing the water each time. Follow by boiling them with the milk until they become soft. Strain the garlic out and grind it up with the cream until it becomes a puree. Season with salt and set aside.

For Sea Bass and Calçots:
Preheat oven to 390ºF. Put the sea bass in a frying pan with olive oil, skin side down. When it begins to sear, put the pan in the oven to finish cooking.

Clean 12 calçots and season them with oil, salt and pepper. Wrap them in aluminum foil and place them in the oven until they soften. Remove and set aside.

For Grated Macadamia and Pepper Oil:
Grate slices of macadamia on a microplane and reserve in a dry place.

Combine the pepper and oil, then put the mixture into a blender until smooth. Strain the mixture and put it into a squeeze bottle.

To Assemble and Serve:
On a flat plate, draw some lines with the garlic cream. Next place the roasted calçots on the plate, with the sea bass on top. Sprinkle with macadamia slices and the pepper oil. On top of this place the calçot “confit” strips. Serve.

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