Neven's Irish Seafood Trails on Wednesday 5th January at 8.30pm on RTÉ One.

Ingredients

Serves 4

  • 4 x 180g brill fillets, pin boned & skin removed, each cut into 2 pieces
  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 30g butter
  • 2 tbsp fresh thyme
  • sea salt
  • parsley leaves, to garnish

For The creamed mushrooms

  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 25g butter
  • 400g mixed wild mushrooms (such as King Oyster, Shiitake, Beech, Girolle)
  • 2 gloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 tbsp Madeira wine
  • 1 tsp thyme leaves, picked
  • 100ml cream
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the balsamic lentils

  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 150g smoked bacon lardons
  • 1 large carrot, finely diced
  • ½ celeriac peeled, finely diced
  • 500g Beluga or Puy lentils, pre-cooked
  • 3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp of caster sugar
  • 200ml beef stock
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the sautéed spinach

  • 350g baby spinach
  • 30g butter
  • Salt & ground black pepper

Method

For the creamed mushrooms

  1. Dice all the mushrooms & set aside
  2. Heat a pan over a medium heat and add the rapeseed oil & butter
  3. Add in the diced mushrooms and crushed garlic
  4. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until just softened
  5. Add in the Madeira wine, thyme & stir through
  6. Finish with cream and season with salt & pepper
  7. Cook for 3-4 minutes and set aside until needed
  8. For The Balsamic Lentils
  9. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan over a medium heat, seal off the bacon lardons
  10. Add in the diced carrots and celeriac, until softened but not coloured
  11. Add in the balsamic vinegar and caster sugar
  12. Stir in the lentils and then pour in the stock and allow to simmer for 4-5 minutes until the carrot & celeriac are cooked and completely tender
  13. Season to taste
  14. Stir the parsley into the braised lentils
  15. Garnish with the parsley leaves to serve.

To cook the brill

  1. Heat a non-stick frying pan with the rapeseed oil & butter
  2. Season the fillets with sea salt
  3. Carefully add the fillets to the hot pan and scatter over some fresh thyme
  4. Cook for 2-3 minutes until golden brown
  5. Using a fish slice carefully turn over and cook for a further 2-3 minutes until cooked through
  6. For the Sautéed Spinach
  7. In a large frying pan melt the butter & add in the spinach
  8. Season with salt & pepper and toss to wilt the leaves for 2-3 minutes
  9. Once wilted, place the spinach on kitchen paper to absorb any excess moisture

To serve

  1. Spoon the balsamic in the centre of the plate, followed by the cooked brill
  2. Spoon over the creamed mushrooms and finally the wilted spinach to the back and finish with fresh parsley leaves

Neven's Irish Seafood Trails on Wednesday, 5th January at 8.30pm on RTÉ One.