Seared turbot with celeriac, brown shrimp, mussels and shellfish velouté

  • medium
  • 4
  • 2 hours 30 minutes
Not yet rated

A warming turbot recipe from Geoffrey Smeddle feels both achievable and extravagant, give it a go when you're in need of cheering up in the winter months. If you can't get hold of shellfish stock, use 1/2 of the mussel reduction combined with fish stock to make up the 600ml of liquid need for the shellfish velouté.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Turbot

Shellfish velouté

Celeriac purée

Creamed kale

Mussels

Equipment

  • Stick blender
  • Blender
  • Fine chinoise

Method

1
For the velouté, add the butter to a medium saucepan and place over a medium heat. Once the butter is foaming, add the shallots, fennel and garlic and sweat until soft with no colour - then add the mushrooms. Continue to cook until the mushrooms release all their moisture and the pan is almost dry
2
Add the white wine and vermouth and reduce by half. Pour in the shellfish stock and reduce by half again. Then, add the double cream, parsley and thyme
3
Bring to a simmer. Adjust the seasoning accordingly and remove from the heat, adding the tarragon to infuse as it cools. Once completely cool, season to taste, pass through a fine strainer, cover and store in the fridge until required
4
For the purée, add the diced celeriac, nutmeg and a pinch of salt to a medium saucepan and cover with the cream and milk. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer, being careful not to let it boil over
5
Continue to cook for 10-15 minutes until soft and tender. Remove from the heat, strain off the liquid and reserve. Add the celeriac to a blender with a small amount of the liquid and blend until smooth and thick. Allow to cool and store in a suitable container until required
6
To prepare the kale, remove the leaves from the stem, tear into bite-size pieces and submerge in salted, boiling water for 2 minutes, then remove and refresh in ice cold water. Once cool, remove from the water and squeeze as much of the liquid out as possible
7
Add the double cream to a pan with the nutmeg and minced garlic. Bring to the boil and reduce for 2-3 minutes. Add salt to taste before adding the kale. Cook for a further 2 minutes, remove, cool and set aside the in the fridge until required
8
To cook the mussels, add a small amount of rapeseed oil to a medium saucepan and place over a medium-high heat. Add the shallots, celery and fennel and sweat for a couple of minutes until soft but not browned
9
Stir in the mussels, wine and vermouth, cover with a lid and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove the mussels from the pan and strain and reserve the remaining liquid
  • 500g of mussels
  • 200ml of white wine
  • 45ml of dry vermouth
10
Place the liquid back on the heat, adding the thyme, parsley and tarragon, and bring to a simmer. Reduce by a quarter, then remove from the heat and allow to cool. Remove the mussels from the shell and store in the reduced liquid. Refrigerate until required
11
To prepare the garnish, remove most of the root from the baby leek leaving a small amount intact to hold it together. Use a small knife to make an incision lengthways from the centre to the end of the green tip
12
Add the leeks to a pot of salted, boiling water and cook for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes. Remove with a pair of tongs and set aside. Add the Romanesco florets to the same pot of water and cook for 2 minutes, strain and add to the tray of leeks
13
Remove the turbot from the fridge 20 minutes prior to cooking. Add just enough rapeseed oil to cover the base of a large, non-stick frying pan and place over a high heat. Season the fish with salt and add to the hot pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes until golden
14
Meanwhile, use 4 separate pots to warm the purée, kale, mussels and velouté until steaming hot. Add the 20g of butter to a small frying pan and once foaming toss the baby leeks, Romanesco and a pinch of salt in the pan to heat through
15
To finish the turbot, reduce the heat, add the brown shrimp, butter and lemon juice and turn each fillet over. Use a spoon to baste the fish in the pan juices
16
Just before serving, use a stick blender to blitz the velouté into a foam
17
To serve, arrange a bed of kale in the centre of each plate. Place the fish on top of the kale. Add the purée, mussels, leeks and Romanesco to each plate and spoon the foam over each element. Garnish with the leaves of wood sorrel and serve immediately
First published in 2015

Geoffrey Smeddle, proprietor and chef of The Peat Inn in Fife, started his career working for Herbert Berger at The Café Royal and for Christopher Galvin in London. He then sealed his reputation as one of Scotland’s top chefs by opening Terence Conran's Etain, in Glasgow.

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