Start by brining the cod. Allow to rest in a bowl of cold water mixed with 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Leave in the water for a maximum of 3 hours – but 30 minutes is the minimum.
Next finely slice or shave the fennel and carrot. Sprinkle with salt. Add fennel seeds. Then pour the freshly squeezed juice of one orange and its zest. Next add a touch of raw honey and a grind of pepper to taste.
To make the sauce vierge, add the tarragon, thyme and parsley to a bowl and blend with 50ml of extra virgin olive oil and crucially and blitz with 50ml of white wine vinegar: if you’ve got Riesling or Muscat vinegar use this, otherwise a more generic white wine vinegar will also work. It should look like a luscious green concoction and should taste like raw enthusiasm.
Remove the cod from the brine. Rinse and pat dry carefully. Sear skin side down in a hot non-stick pan in clarified butter (works so much better than olive oil or butter). Flip once cooked half way through and allow cook quickly on the other side.
Remove from the pan, anoint the fish with the sauce and plate up with the soused fennel.
