Outside of salmon, tuna, swordfish and bream, my fish cooking skills are severely limited, partly due to a lack of interest. This recipe has taught me to love turbot. It shouldn’t work, it seems weird, but somehow it is great. The sauce does not cover the taste of the rubot, if anything it enhances it creating an interesting mix of flavours. It is also simpler that it sounds
Prep time: ~20mins | Serves: 2
Ingredients:
- 1 whole turbot
- 4 or 5 Leeks
- 50ml Red Wine
- 25ml Soy Sauce
- 25ml Balsamic Vinegar
- 50ml Water
- A sprig of fresh thyme
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 100g of Butter
- 50g of Cane Sugar
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 220C, fan on
- Trim the turbot and remote the tail
- Place in an oven tray skin side up
- Put some water to boil
- Clean the leeks and cut them in half
- Add salt to the water and put the leeks in
- While those cook, in a saucepan add the wine, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, water and sugar and whisk together
- In a frying pan, melt the butter and the thyme and garlic cloves and cook until the butter becomes of a golder brown colour
- Put the turbot into the oven and cook for 10 to 12 minutes
- Once the leeks are soft, drain them
- Put a griddle on high heat and grill the leeks with a touch of salt and pepper until they are charred on both sides
- At this point the butter should be ready. Remove the garlic cloves and thyme
- The wine should also be ready and have become a nice syrup
- The fish should have cooked by now, peel the skin, clean the fish and put the fillets in a tray
- Season the fillets with some salt, pepper and a touch of olive oil
- Add the leeks to the tray
- Mix the butter and syrup together to make the glaze
- Cover the turbot and leeks with the glaze
- Serve
Tips:
- The glaze will take the longest to make, especially if you want a denser syrup
- Leave the thyme as is rather than chopping it so it is easier to remove it
- Don’t over season the turbot, it is a delicate fish after all
- Boil the leeks until tender not more, or they will break apart in the griddle
Recommendations:
- Don’t forget the cheeks and head of the fish when geting the fillets out
- Use a full bodied red wine
Possible Substitutions:
- You can ue margarine instead of butter
- Red wine vinegar can take the place of the soys sauce or balsamic vinegar
- I believe some origano might work instead of thyme too
- Baby leeks work just as well
