Poached turbot with artichoke and Sauternes velouté

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With its exquisite firm, yet delicate, flesh, turbot is the king of the sea, so it makes sense to treat it royally by teaming with truffles and artichokes. This is a really impressive dish from Tom Aikens with a number of elements but well worth the effort.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Poached turbot

  • turbot, 4 pieces each weighing 160g

Artichoke and Sauternes velouté

Baby globe artichokes

Jerusalem artichoke slices

Truffle gnocchi

To plate

Equipment

  • Mandoline
  • Mouli

Method

1
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4
2
For the truffle gnocchi, season the Désirée potatoes with salt and then place in the oven for about 45-60 minutes until just cooked through. Do not over or undercook them
3
Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly and scoop the flesh out from the potato with a knife and put this through a mouli or ricer
4
Weigh out 400g of cooked potato and place this into a bowl. Add the egg yolk, Parmesan and flour, and mix until just combined. Lastly add the chopped truffle to the mixture and stir in gently
5
Divide the potato mixture into 4 and then roll each piece into a long sausage shape, dusting with flour as you go to avoid sticking. Roll to a diameter of 1/2cm
6
Use a lightly floured knife to cut the rolled gnocchi mix into 3-4cm lengths so they are like little barrels. Place on a lightly floured tray and set aside
7
Place a large pan of water and bring to a simmer. Add a large handful of salt, followed by the gnocchi barrels. Stir the water once and allow the gnocchi to floatto the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon from the pan and place into iced water to cool
8
Once cool, remove the gnocchi from the water and drain. Place onto a tray with a little olive oil and truffle oil
  • olive oil, to drizzle
  • truffle oil, to drizzle
9
Before preparing the artichoke and Sauternes velouté, clean the artichokes and peel in lemon water (water with lemon juice added)
10
Dice the artichokes into 1/2cm pieces. Heat the butter in a pan and when this has melted add the artichokes and thyme and cook on a low to medium heat
11
Cover with a lid and sweat for 5 minutes but be careful not to stew the artichokes or they will turn brown. Add the salt and sugar and cook for a further 3-4 minutes
  • 20g of salt
  • 50g of caster sugar
12
Remove the lid and add the lemon juice. Reduce this down by half on a high heat, wiping the sides of the pan as you go, making sure it doesn't turn brown. Add the Sauternes
  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • 300ml of Sauternes wine
13
Reduce this by half again and then add the hot chicken stock and cream. Bring to a simmer for just 5 minutes, then pureé in a blender in 2-3 batches
  • 500ml of chicken stock, hot
  • 300ml of double cream
14
Pass through a fine sieve, pressing firmly onto the artichoke pulp. Then pass again, just tapping the soup through the chinois so it is a fine liquid. You may need to do this a third time
15
To prepare the baby globe artichokes, place the oil in a pan and add the thinly sliced shallots and garlic. Add the thyme, salt and pepper. Cook with a lid on, on a low heat for 3-4 minutes
16
Add the vinegar and reduce by half, then add the white wine, reduce by half again and add the water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes before checking the seasoning
  • 400ml of white wine vinegar
  • 400ml of white wine
  • 2l water
17
For the baby artichokes take off the outer leaves, peel the hearts down with a peeler until they are smooth and no dark green bits are left and cut off the top
18
You will now only have the stalk and heart left, leaving 4cm of stalk attached. Peel the stalks until they are white, then slice half of them very thinly lengthways on a mandoline or an electric slicer
19
Cook the 8 artichoke slices in the liquor for approximately 2-3 minutes, and then leave to cool
20
The rest of the baby artichokes need to be cut with just an inch of the stalk still attached. Then cut them in half and then each half into 4 pieces
21
Cook again in the same liquor for 4-6 minutes at a simmer, then leave to cool
22
To prepare the Jerusalem artichoke slices, peel the artichokes and wash in cold water then slice very thinly on a mandolin
23
Simmer for 4-6 minutes in the liquor used for cooking the baby artichokes, then leave to cool
24
To prepare the turbot, poach the fish pieces in the artichoke liquor at 70°C for 8-10 minutes depending on the size. Reheat the baby artichoke pieces in the Sauternes and artichoke velouté
  • turbot, 4 pieces each weighing 160g
25
Reheat the baby artichoke slices with the Jerusalem artichoke slices
26
Place all the artichoke on the bottom of the bowl and then heat the gnocchi in a little of the soup with some chopped truffle and oil
27
Place this into the bowl followed by the fish, spoon on the sauce and then sprinkle on the sliced truffle and buckler sorrel to finish
First published in 2015

Tom Aikens is one of the most creative and talented chefs Britain has ever seen, with a restaurant empire to match.

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