Poached turbot with oysters and champagne

I didn't intend to make such a ridiculous dish. That's the thing about fish markets. You have to wing it sometimes and make the best of what looks promising. Which is why I ended up attempting poached turbot with oysters and bubbly, dauphinoise potatoes and sauteed samphire.

We arrived at Saturday lunchtime, a time which coincides with hoards of silver haired shoppers scrambling for yellow haddock. Little looked good except one stall which had 5 terrific whole turbots at £10.50 a kilo. That's the same price as squid, for a beautiful firm flatfish with a flavour and reputation equal to Dover sole. I remembered an Escoffier inspired recipe in Leith's Fish Bible and with a bit of googling managed to work out that I had all the ingredients at home except soured cream, oysters and the turbot.

Escoffier was France's pre-eminent chef in the early 20th Century and still known today as the patron saint of chefs. He was head chef at the Savoy where he invented dishes such as the Peach Melba whilst also devising kitchen management principles that are still employed in virtually every restaurant you'll ever visit.

I'm afraid I couldn't justify using champagne to poach the fish. But we had a leftover bottle of Freixenet Cava from New Year which did the job nicely enough and still allowed for a cheeky glass each. Not being owner of a fish kettle (let alone a turbot kettle!) I used a large roasting tin covered in foil.

The result was very good indeed, but predictably dated. The flavour relies on the classic combination of wine, herbs, lemon and butter, but twisted by the throaty dry saltiness of the cava and oysters. The Savoy now serves pan fried turbot fillet with poached rock oysters, potato terrine, cucumber tagliatelle and saffron miso - an altogether more interesting and glamorous affair I'm sure, but for now I'm happy with my Escoffier homage.  

Serves 2

1kg+ turbot

1 bottle champagne, cava or prosecco

1 bay leaf

6 black peppercorns

4 sprigs thyme

1 sprig parsley

2 shallots finely chopped

For the sauce

15g beurre manié (equal quantities of butter & flour mixed to a paste)

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons chopped chives

3 tablespoons soured cream

6 oysters

Put the fish in a large roasting tin and add the bay leaf, peppercorns, thyme, parsley and shallots. Pour over the champagne and cover loosely with tin foil. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 180º/gas mark 4, removing the tin foil and basting half way through.

Remove the oysters from their shells, reserving any juice.

When the turbot is cooked, lift it onto a serving dish and keep warm. Strain the turbot cooking liquid into a saucepan and bring to the boil until it is reduced by half. Reduce the heat and whisk in the beurre manié a little bit at a time until the sauce is syrupy. Season to taste carefully and then stir in the chives and sour cream. Continue to taste whilst adding the lemon. 

Add the oysters and juice to the sauce and bring back to the boil. Remove from heat and pour over the turbot. Serve with dauphinoise potatoes and sauteed samphire.