Recipe: Turbot fillet with orange and fennel
This flavourful meal is surprisingly light and aromatic. Fennel and orange are a delicious flavour combination and by slow cooking the fennel, it becomes tender, much milder and completely irresistible.
Serves 4
- 4 medium oranges
- 2 whole fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
- 150ml white wine
- 20ml Pernod (or other aniseed-based liqueur)
- 600g turbot, skinned, boned and cut into 4 fillets
- Salt
- Butter
- A handful of fennel fronds
Preheat the oven to 140°C. Zest the oranges and juice two of them. Peel the other two using a sharp knife, discarding the peel and pith. Cut these oranges into segments ensuring no pith is still attached.
Arrange the sliced fennel, half of the orange zest, the orange juice and orange segments in a baking dish with the wine and Pernod. Mix together, cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for one-and-a-half hours.
Lightly sprinkle the turbot fillets with salt. When nearly ready to serve, heat enough butter to cover the bottom of a large frying pan/skillet over a medium heat, just foaming.
Carefully place the turbot in the pan and cook until the fillet is cooked to two-thirds of the way up. Cover and immediately take off the heat, leave for five minutes to rest and finish cooking.
Spoon the baked fennel and orange into serving bowls, then place a turbot fillet on top. Sprinkle with a little of the remaining orange zest and fennel fronds before serving.
Recipe taken from Fish by Mat Follas (Ryland Peters & Small)
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