Turbot with Roe and Jersey Royals Recipe

This turbot recipe from chef Chris Harrod sees the noble fish paired with Jersey Royal potatoes, a homemade smoked taramasalata and a variety of foraged herbs. If you're struggling to get your hands on some of the more unusual ingredients, Chris says you can replace the estuary greens with a mixture of spinach and watercress, the ground elder with young celery leaves and the arrowgrass with coriander.

Ingredients

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Braisage

200g of shallots, finely sliced
40g of unsalted butter
300g of button mushrooms, finely sliced
2 lemons, juiced
1kg fish bones, and trimmings
750ml of white wine, boiled

Smoked roe

400g of turbot roe
28g of salt
12g of sugar
1 lemon, finely zested
70g of wood chips, from birch wood
400g of extra virgin rapeseed oil
20ml of lemon juice

Jersey Royals

1kg Jersey Royal potatoes
20g of ground elder shoots
10g of garlic cloves, skin-on and crushed
15g of salt
1g of freshly ground black pepper
15g of extra virgin rapeseed oil, plus extra for drizzling
1.5l water
1 dash of lemon juice

Estuary herbs

12 young sea spinach, leaves only
12 sea plantain
12 sea aster, small leaves only
8 buckthorn plantain
12 ground elder shoots, young
300ml of water
9g of salt

Turbot

4 portions of turbot fillet, weighing 130g each
200ml of water
20g of salt
100g of unsalted butter

To finish

100g of sea arrowgrass, finely chopped

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Blender
Hand blender

Prepare the smoked roe by mixing the salt, sugar and lemon zest together. Rub this mixture all over the roes and leave for 1 hour

28g of salt
12g of sugar
1 lemon, finely zested
400g of turbot roe

While the roe is curing, prepare the braisage used to cook the fish. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the shallots. Sweat for 5 minutes until translucent but not coloured. Use the lemon juice to wash the mushrooms, then add them to the pan and cook until all their liquid has evaporated. Add the fish bones and cook for 5 minutes, then add the white wine and top up with water so all the ingredients are just submerged. Simmer for 20 minutes, then strain and reduce by half. Set aside

40g of unsalted butter
200g of shallots, finely sliced
2 lemons, juiced
300g of button mushrooms, finely sliced
1kg fish bones, and trimmings
750ml of white wine, boiled

Rinse the roes under running water and drain on kitchen paper. Place the woodchips in a flameproof tray and set them alight. Cover with a lid and allow the smoke to dissipate, then place a wire rack over the top. Place the roes on top of this, then cover the tray. Gently smoke the roe by placing the tray over a low heat and heating for 20–30 minutes

70g of wood chips, from birch wood

Place the smoked roe in a blender with the lemon juice and blitz on a high speed. Gradually pour in the oil to emulsify until it resembles mayonnaise. Taste and season with more salt and lemon juice if required – if the mix becomes too thick, it can be loosened with a little water. Set aside until ready to plate

20ml of lemon juice
400g of extra virgin rapeseed oil

For the Jersey Royals, place all the ingredients in a pan (except the lemon juice). Bring to a simmer and then turn down the heat so the potatoes are cooking at just below simmering point for 20–30 minutes, until just tender. Cooking the potatoes slowly allows for a better transfer of flavour. Strain the potatoes and, when cool enough to handle, peel them. Crush with a fork, season and moisten with rapeseed oil and lemon juice. Set aside until ready to plate

1kg Jersey Royal potatoes
20g of ground elder shoots
10g of garlic cloves, skin-on and crushed
15g of salt
1g of freshly ground black pepper
1.5l water
1 dash of lemon juice
15g of extra virgin rapeseed oil, plus extra for drizzling

To cook the fish, preheat the oven to 150°C/gas mark 2. Dissolve the salt in the water and brine the turbot for 5 minutes, then drain on kitchen paper. Pour the braisage into a casserole dish big enough to hold the fish and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and submerge the fish, then cover and place in the oven for 5–6 minutes until just cooked but firm to the touch. Keep warm

20g of salt
200ml of water
4 portions of turbot fillet, weighing 130g each

Strain the turbot cooking juices into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Whisk in the butter and lift with lemon juice (if needed) and keep hot

100g of unsalted butter

To cook the estuary herbs, bring the water and salt to a boil in a pan and add the ground elder and sea plantain. Cook for 1–2 minutes until tender, then add the rest of the herbs and cook for a further minute then drain

300ml of water
12 young sea spinach, leaves only
9g of salt
12 sea plantain
12 sea aster, small leaves only
8 buckthorn plantain
12 ground elder shoots, young

To serve, reheat the crushed potatoes in a pan and, once hot, stir in the chopped arrowgrass. Spread the smoked roe emulsion in the middle of each bowl, spooning the potatoes on top. Place the fish on the potatoes and scatter over the estuary herbs. Froth the cooking juices with a hand blender and spoon over the fish

100g of sea arrowgrass, finely chopped

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Chris Harrod

A protégé of Raymond Blanc, Chris Harrod has built his own niche in the heart of glorious Monmouthshire, creating beautiful, organic dishes that make the most of the countryside around him.

Braised turbot with smoked roe, Jersey Royals and estuary greens

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