Seasonal Recipe of the Week – Turbot with English asparagus and courgette fritters, by Andrew Nutter
Ingredients
(Serves four)
1 large courgette
Salt and pepper
1 pinch curry powder
50g plain flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
50g dry white breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
1tbs olive oil
4 x 200g fillets of turbot, skinned and boned
For the dressing
2tbs sherry vinegar
6tbs extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper
To finish
Vegetable balls (courgette and carrot)
Mixed leaves
1 bunch English asparagus, trimmed and blanched
Method
Slice the courgette into 1/2 cm lozenges, season with salt and pepper and a pinch of curry powder.
Toss the courgette in flour, then into the egg and finally into the breadcrumbs to get a nice even coating. Deep-fry in hot oil at 180°C for 2 minutes until it is a light golden colour. Keep hot.
Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan, season the turbot then seal in the hot oil until lightly coloured, turn and continue cooking until cooked through. When ready to serve arrange the salad, vegetable balls and asparagus on a plate. Add the hot courgette fritters and top with the turbot.
Finally, mix the vinegar, oil and lemon together, add a good grinding of salt and pepper and drizzle over the top.
Andrew Nutter, chef-proprietor at Nutters Restaurant in Rochdale
Recommended wine
Turbot suits and indeed deserves a grand partner, a wine with discretion and gravitas, not a luscious fruit bomb style. So my thoughts immediately turn to France's classic vineyard areas. A regal bottle of my favourite white Burgundy, a Chablis 1er cru from Bernard Raveneau, is a match made in heaven. An intense, mineral expression of the finest Chardonnay with great underlying power yet finesse, an incredibly accomplished wine that pairs up wonderfully with the turbot's firm, slightly meaty yet delicate texture. This wine will also cope admirably from any heat from the curry and the challenging, early season English asparagus.
Richard Rotti, group wine buyer, Caprice Holdings