Six by Nico, Leeds: Exclusive recipe for Yorkshire restaurant’s Chippie course 'Fish Supper'

Six by Nico is renowned for its creative and consistently evolving concept founded by chef Nico Simeone and will be opening its branch on East Parade, Leeds. The restaurant will have room for 72 guests as well as an onsite bar, with a full bar gantry, cocktail and wine service serving trademark drinks including Nico’s Three Aged Cocktails.

The grand opening will take place on July 3, 2023 and the new branch will be Yorkshire’s first. The restaurant will include a six-course tasting menu which will change every six weeks, each one with a different theme, inspired by the name Six by Nico.

The chef has introduced its new menu called The Chippie, which will be the debut six-course tasting menu and will be a nod to the Glasgow chip shop.

The Chippie menu is a unique spin on chip shop classics including courses such as Chips and Cheese, Scampi, Steak Pie, Fish Supper, Smoked Sausage, and a Deep Fried Mars Bar. We have the exclusive recipe for Nico's Fish Supper course.

At £39 per person, the menu will also offer the option for guests to enjoy selected drinks pairing for an additional £30.

Since opening in Finnieston in 2017, Six by Nico has expanded to locations in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool, London Fitzrovia, London Canary Wharf, Belfast, Dublin and Aberdeen.

Exclusive recipe preview of Six by Nico’s Fish Supper course

Fish Supper includes cod, pickled and confit fennel, Shetland mussels, beer emulsion and pepper dulse.

The recipe serves: Four people

Cooking time: 10-20 minutes depending on skill level

Preparation time: Two hours

Ingredients

Cod

- 1kg Cod Fillet

- 50g Maldon Salt

Pickled Fennel

- Two Fennel Bulbs

- 50g Samphire

Pickle Liquid

- 300ml white wine vinegar

- 200ml water

- 100g sugar

- 100ml Rapeseed Oil

- Pinch salt

Shetland Mussels

- 100g Shetland mussels (any mussels will work)

- 330ml good quality beer

Beer Emulsion

- 100ml British lion egg yolks

- 25g Dijon mustard

- 25ml white wine vinegar

- 50ml mussel reduction

- 500ml Neutral Oil

- Lemon juice

- Salt

Beer Scraps

- 200g self-raising flour

- 330ml lager

- Pinch of salt

- 5g malt vinegar powder

- Mara seaweed dulse flakes to finish

Method of Fish Supper

Cod

To prepare the cod loin, take off the skin, then remove the belly. Salt the cod loins, then wrap them tightly in cling film and leave them to set in the fridge for 12 hours. Portion the loin to 60g, then set it aside until it is ready to cook.

Pickled Fennel

Bring all the pickle liquid ingredients together in a pan and bring to a boil. Set them aside and chill.

To pickle the fennel, trim the tops from the bulb, then shave it as thin as possible, careful not to include any root. Put it into a vacuum pack bag with a good pinch of salt, then seal it. Reserve it until it’s ready to cook.

Confit Fennel

Trim the tops from the fennel and shave the bulb as thin as possible, being careful not to include any root similar as above. Seal it in a vacuum pack bag with rapeseed oil and a good pinch of salt, then cook it in a water bath at 65C for two hours, and then chill it.

When it is ready to cook, preheat a pan on the stove, then add one tablespoon of confit fennel, one tablespoon of pickled fennel, and one tablespoon of samphire. Saute for one minute or until it is hot.

Pickled Mussels

To prepare the mussels, wash and debeard them. Place a pan on the stove and preheat it to medium-high temperature. Throw in the mussels, fennel trimmings and one bottle of beer. After three minutes, strain the mussels and reserve the liquid for the mussel emulsion. Pick the mussels from the shells and double-check that there are no beards or shell pieces, then vacuum pack them in bags with pickle liquid and store them in the fridge until ready to serve.

Reduce the reserved cooking juices from the mussels to a thick syrup, then chill it in the fridge.

Beer Emulsion

To make the beer emulsion, place 50ml of reduced mussel liquid with the egg yolks, white wine vinegar, mustard, and salt into a blender and slowly emulsify it with the oil. Be careful not to add it too quickly as it will split the emulsion. Season with a dash of lemon juice and salt if needed. Store it in a piping bag until it is ready to serve.

Salt and Vinegar Beer Scraps

Place the self-raising flour, a pinch of salt, and lager into a mixing bowl and whisk them together to form a smooth batter.

Place the batter mix into a squeeze bottle, then squeeze it into 170C oil and cook until golden brown. Drain and place it onto a piece of kitchen towel to absorb any excess oil. Season it with salt and malt vinegar powder.

To Build the Dish

Heat a pan to medium heat, then add a small splash of neutral oil, cook the cod fillet on one side for two minutes, then turn it to the other side and finish for one minute.

Top with beer scraps. While the fish is cooking, heat the fennel mixture until warm.

To dress the plate, place a few dots of beer emulsion and top with Mara Pepper Dulse, a few pickled mussels, and garnish with a few sprigs of dill. Finish the dish with the cod and a drizzle of rapeseed oil.