
Herb-crusted turbot with hassleback potatoes, clams and butter sauce
2 November 2021
Category
Main
Serves
4
Preperation Time
2 hours plus strainibg time for the oil
Ingredients
4 turbot fillets weighing approx. 220g each
50g of chopped chives
200g of sunflower oil
10g of olive oil
300g of chopped shallots
15g of parsley stalks
300g of white wine
135g of double cream
30g of white balsamic vinegar
250g of unsalted butter chilled and cubed
sea salt
100g of Panko breadcrumbs
50g of parsley
15g of chervil
80g of unsalted softened butter
100g of white bread
40g of Parmesan finely grated
250g of clams live purged in salted water for 2 hours (replace the salted water with fresh salted water halfway through)
1 dash of olive oil
2 sliced shallots
10g of parsley stalks
125ml of white wine
20g of samphire
4 Ratte potatoes or other large new potatoes
1 sprig of fresh thyme
olive oil for drizzling
sea salt
crème fraîche to garnish
caviar
to garnish (optional)
Instructions
1Begin by making a herb oil ideally the day before, as it will need time to strain overnight. Pour the oil into a saucepan and gently heat to 50°C. Add the chopped chives, then blend either in a jug blender or using a stick blender until dark green in colour (this will take a good few minutes). Line a fine sieve with muslin cloth or a j-cloth and set it over a bowl, then pour the oil into it. Leave the oil to strain in the fridge overnight
2The sauce can be made in advance too. Pour the olive oil into a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the shallots and parsley stalks (tying the stalks together makes it easier to remove them later), then gently cook until soft but without colour
3Pour in the white wine, bring to a simmer then leave to reduce until sticky and syrupy (around 20-30 minutes). Pour in the cream and white balsamic, then slowly whisk in the butter bit by bit. Lift out the stalks, transfer the sauce to a blender then blitz until smooth. Reserve in the fridge until needed
4To make the herb crust, place all the ingredients in a blender and blitz until smooth. Roll the mixture out until 4mm thick between 2 sheets of baking paper. Reserve in the fridge to chill and firm up
5For the clams, place a good quality medium saucepan over a high heat. Once hot, add the oil, quickly followed by the drained clams, shallots and parsley stalks. Pour in the wine, cover with a lid and cook for around 3 minutes
6After 3 minutes, the clams should have opened up (discard any that haven't). Drain, leave until cool enough to handle, then pick the meat out of the shells and set aside in a pan to reheat before serving
7For the potatoes, preheat an oven to 185°C/gas mark 4. Trim a little bit away from the long side of each potato so they sit flat on a plate. Make incisions all along the way of the potato with a 2mm gap between each cut to hasselback them – it helps to put a wooden spoon or similar next to the potato to ensure you don’t accidentally cut all the way through them. Transfer the potatoes to a sheet of tin foil, add the thyme sprig, season with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap up the parcel and cook for 25 minutes
8While you wait, pick through the samphire and remove any tough or woody stems. Blanch the samphire in boiling salted water for 30 seconds, then drain and refresh in iced water. Drain again and add them to the pan with the clams to reheat before serving
9Take the chilled herb crust out of the fridge and carefully cut it into the same size as your turbot fillets, so they will completely cover the fish. Place the turbot fillets on a baking tray, then cover with the herb crust
10After 25 minutes, open the foil on the potatoes and spoon over the oil that has collected in the bottom. Return to the oven, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes until golden brown
11Remove the potatoes from the oven and turn the heat down to 150°C/gas mark 2. Place the herb-crusted fish in the oven and cook for 10 minutes
12Meanwhile, very gently reheat the sauce and the clams with samphire. Towards the end of the cooking time for the fish, return the potatoes to the oven to warm up and warm your serving plates
13Leave the fish to rest for 2 minutes before plating. To serve, place each piece of fish on the left side of the plate. To the right, add a potato and top with a dollop of crème fraiche. Pour the sauce in the centre of the plate, then finish with the clams, samphire, dots of the herb oil and caviar (if using)