Garrett Byrne's Poached Turbot with Mussels Hollandaise.
Ingredients
Serves 4
For the Pea Purée:
- 225 g petit pois
- 200 ml milk
- 1 tarragon sprig, finely chopped
- Pinch sugar
- Pinch salt
- Squeeze of lemon juice
For the Turbot:
- 4 x 180 g fillets of turbot
Court Bouillon:
- ¼ onion, finely chopped
- ½ a carrot, peeled & diced
- ½ a stick of celery, diced
- ¼ head of fennel, diced
- 6 black peppercorns
- 1 sprig parsley
- 1 sprig tarragon, chopped
- 500 ml water
- Sea salt
- 375 ml white wine
- 25 ml chardonnay vinegar
- For the mussels:
- 400 g mussels
- 200 ml white wine
- 200 ml water
- 2 sticks celery, finely sliced
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 1 head fennel, finely sliced
For the hollandaise:
- 3 egg yolks
- 25 ml water
- Pinch salt
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- Reduced mussel stock
- 75 g clarified butter
- 4 teaspoons chopped chives
- 20 tarragon leaves, finely chopped
To serve:
- 12 small asparagus spears, trimmed
- 100 g shelled broad beans
- 100 g peas
Method
- Begin with the pea purée. In a saucepan, combine the milk, peas, sugar, salt and chopped tarragon. Bring to the boil and simmer on a very low heat for 4 minutes.
- Remove from heat, add a squeeze of lemon juice and blitz in a blender until smooth. Strain through a sieve, add more lemon juice and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Make a court bouillon to poach the turbot. Add the carrot, celery, fennel and tarragon to a large saucepan. Add 500ml water and a pinch of salt. Add the onion, parsley and peppercorns.
- Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add the white wine and chardonnay vinegar. Simmer for another 5 minutes, then allow to rest for 10 minutes. Strain through a damp piece of muslin cloth.
- Remove the skin from the turbot and cut into four fillets. Poach the fillets in the court bouillon at a very low heat (liquid should not bubble) for 8 – 10 minutes.
- The fillets shouldn’t overlap so cook them in batches if necessary. When cooked, remove fillets and set aside. Sprinkle them with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice.
- Wash the mussels thoroughly under cold water to remove any sand and grit. Remove the beards as you go. Wash and chop the vegetables. Place a large saucepan over a high heat with the lid on. Once it gets very hot add in the mussels, vegetables, water and wine.
- Steam for 3-4 mins until cooked. Strain through a double layer of damp muslin cloth into a bowl. Measure 300 ml stock into a saucepan – strain through a muslin cloth again if necessary to remove any remaining sand or grit. Bring to a simmer and reduce to 200 ml liquid.
- Allow mussels to cool for a few minutes before removing the mussel meat. Discard the vegetables and shells. Let the mussels sit in a bowl in a little leftover stock.
- Now prepare the hollandaise sauce. Melt the butter on a low heat. In another pan, whisk together the egg yolks, water, salt and lemon juice. Add a little mussel stock. Keep whisking over a very low heat until almost tripled in volume. The heat must be low so that the eggs don’t scramble.
- Remove pan from heat and place on a damp cloth. Slowly add the butter, whisking constantly. Then slowly add the mussel stock, whisking constantly, making sure everything is mixed in before adding more. Add a squeeze of lemon juice. Add the mussel meat, tarragon and chives to the hollandaise and stir to combine.
- Bring salted water to boil and blanch the broad beans for 1.5 minutes, shell the beans when cool. Blanch the peas in salted boiling water (1.5 minutes) and do the same with the trimmed asparagus.
- Plate up pea purée, add peas, beans and asparagus. Squeeze lemon juice onto the turbot, set on top of the vegetables and top with mussels hollandaise.
Nutritional information (per serving):
Fat: 36g
Fibre: 5g
