Turbot, eel, potato & samphire

Preparation

Fillet the turbot, keep the bones to make a proper fish stock and set the the fillets aside. Then fillet the eel, keep the trimmings and cut the fillets into brunoise. Then peel the potatoes and cut into brunoise also. Finely dice the shallots and remove the woody ends from the samphire.

Beurre blanc

Cut the shallot and bring to the boil with the white wine, vinegar, eel trimmings, thyme and black pepper. Let it simmer until almost all the moisture is gone, it needs to remain acidic though. Strain the gastrique, then add cream, reduce by half and mix in the ice-cold butter with a whisk. Season with salt & lemon juice and set aside.

Finishing the dish

On a high heat, panfry the potato golden brown and crunchy, then spoon through the eel cubes, but be careful not to break the texture or overcook the eel. Finally add the samphire and shallots and take of the heat. Allow to heat in the pan to take the rawness out of the samphire and sjallots. Season to taste with salt, pepper & lemon juice.

Warm through the beurre blanc, but be careful not to split the sauce. Finally fry the turbot on a really high heat to create some colour and texture.

Plating

Spoon the potato/eel mixture onto the plate, drizzle the sauce around and place the panfried turbot on top.