Turbot is highly prized for its delicate flavour, and is known by some as the king of the sea. Turbot has a bright white flesh that retains this appearance when cooked.
Like all flatfish, turbot yields four fillets with meatier topside portions, the meat from the turbot is quite a robust meat which allows it to be matched with strong flavours, such as the wild mushrooms in the recipe.
This is a very complex dish and one for the more advanced cook, but it is a fantastic dish and one well worth the effort.
This dish can be made without the tortellini’s but they do make a big impression for a special dinner party. This dish will also make a perfect vegetarian starter without the turbot and substituting vegetable stock for the fish stock.
Ingredients;
For the pasta;
550g ‘00’ flour
4 whole eggs
6 egg yolks
1tblsp olive oil
Salt to taste
For the tortellini;
2-3 tbsp olive oil
250g wild mushrooms, cleaned thoroughly of any grit
50g button, finely chopped
1 shallot peeled and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic peeled and finely chopped
1tsp fresh tarragon
1tblsp butter
1tblsp truffle oil
For the Jerusalem artichoke puree;
400g Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and chopped
Water, to cover
75g butter
50ml double cream
½ lemon, juice only
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the mushroom sauce;
1tblsp olive oil
1 finely chopped shallot
170g button mushrooms
140g mixed wild mushrooms
150ml white wine
2 crushed garlic cloves
200ml crème fraiche
½tsp of thyme leaves
Salt and pepper
For the fish and to serve;
1tsp truffle oil
8 x 80-100g portion of turbot fillets
Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper
2tblsp olive oil
50g butter
200g girolles
1pkt baby spinach
Parsley cress
Method;
For the pasta;
Place the flour on a board or in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and crack the eggs into it. Beat the eggs with a fork until smooth. Using the tips of your fingers, mix the eggs with the flour, incorporating a little at a time, until everything is combined. Knead the pieces of dough together – with a bit of work and some love and attention they’ll all bind together to give you one big, smooth lump of dough!
You can also make your dough in a food processor if you’ve got one. Just place everything in, blend until the flour looks like breadcrumbs, then tip the mixture on to your work surface and bring the dough together into one lump, using your hands.
Once you’ve made your dough you need to knead and work it with your hands to develop the gluten in the flour, otherwise your pasta will be flabby and soft when you cook it, instead of springy and al dente.
There’s no secret to kneading. You just have to work the dough hard with your hands, squashing it into the table, reshaping it, pulling it, stretching it, squashing it again. It’s quite hard work, and after a few minutes it’s easy to see why the average Italian grandmother has arms like Mike tyson! When your pasta starts to feel smooth and silky instead of rough and floury, then the dough is ready. When ready wrap in cling film and put it in the fridge to rest for at least half an hour before you use it. Make sure the cling film covers it well or it will dry out and go crusty round the edges.
You can also make your dough in a food processor if you’ve got one. Just place everything in, blend until the flour looks like breadcrumbs, then tip the mixture on to your work surface and bring the dough together into one lump, using your hands.
Once you’ve made your dough you need to knead and work it with your hands to develop the gluten in the flour, otherwise your pasta will be flabby and soft when you cook it, instead of springy and al dente.
There’s no secret to kneading. You just have to work the dough hard with your hands, squashing it into the table, reshaping it, pulling it, stretching it, squashing it again. It’s quite hard work, and after a few minutes it’s easy to see why the average Italian grandmother has arms like Mike tyson! When your pasta starts to feel smooth and silky instead of rough and floury, then the dough is ready. When ready wrap in cling film and put it in the fridge to rest for at least half an hour before you use it. Make sure the cling film covers it well or it will dry out and go crusty round the edges.
For the tortellini;
Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil in a pan over a low heat and gently fry the wild mushrooms for 30 minutes, or until very tender. Set aside to cool, and then finely chop.
Return the pan to the heat without the wild mushrooms, adding more olive oil if needed. Add the button mushrooms and fry for 2-3 minutes, and then add the cooked wild mushrooms, shallots, garlic, tarragon and tablespoon of butter. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring well, then set aside to cool. Pulse the mixture lightly in a blender and add the truffle oil, season to taste and set aside.
Make sure you do not puree the mixture, leave a bit of texture in the mixture.
Make sure your pasta machine is clamped firmly to a clean work surface before you start (use the longest available work surface you have). Make sure your work surface is completely free, from kitchen objects, as you will need plenty of working space once you start making the pasta, and starting with a clear space to work in will make things much easier.
Dust your work surface with some ‘00’ flour, cut the pasta into 4 and press the first quarter out flat with your fingertips. Set the pasta machine at its widest setting - and roll the pasta dough through it. Lightly dust the pasta with flour if it sticks at all. Click the machine down a setting and roll the pasta dough through again. Fold the pasta in half, click the pasta machine back up to the widest setting and roll the dough through again. Repeat this process five or six times. It might seem like you're getting nowhere, but in fact you're working the dough, and once you've folded it and fed it through the rollers a few times, you'll feel the difference. It'll be smooth as silk.
Now it's time to roll the dough out properly, working it through all the settings on the machine, from the widest down to around the narrowest. Lightly dust both sides of the pasta with a little flour every time you run it through. When you've got down to the narrowest setting, to give yourself a tidy sheet of pasta, fold the pasta in half lengthways, then in half again, then in half again once more until you've got a square piece of dough. Turn it 90 degrees and feed it through the machine at the widest setting. As you roll it down through the settings for the last time, you should end up with a lovely rectangular silky sheet of dough with straight sides. If your dough is a little cracked at the edges, fold it in half just once, click the machine back two settings and feed it through again. Roll it down to the thinnest point where you can clearly see your hand or lines of newsprint through it.
Dust your work surface with some ‘00’ flour, cut the pasta into 4 and press the first quarter out flat with your fingertips. Set the pasta machine at its widest setting - and roll the pasta dough through it. Lightly dust the pasta with flour if it sticks at all. Click the machine down a setting and roll the pasta dough through again. Fold the pasta in half, click the pasta machine back up to the widest setting and roll the dough through again. Repeat this process five or six times. It might seem like you're getting nowhere, but in fact you're working the dough, and once you've folded it and fed it through the rollers a few times, you'll feel the difference. It'll be smooth as silk.
Now it's time to roll the dough out properly, working it through all the settings on the machine, from the widest down to around the narrowest. Lightly dust both sides of the pasta with a little flour every time you run it through. When you've got down to the narrowest setting, to give yourself a tidy sheet of pasta, fold the pasta in half lengthways, then in half again, then in half again once more until you've got a square piece of dough. Turn it 90 degrees and feed it through the machine at the widest setting. As you roll it down through the settings for the last time, you should end up with a lovely rectangular silky sheet of dough with straight sides. If your dough is a little cracked at the edges, fold it in half just once, click the machine back two settings and feed it through again. Roll it down to the thinnest point where you can clearly see your hand or lines of newsprint through it.
Lay the sheets out flat and cut out 8 large circles with a pastry cutter. Place a tea spoonful of the cooled mushroom mixture onto each disk, brush the rim of the disks with a little egg wash and fold in half over the mixture to form a half moon. Press down gently so the pasta sticks together. Now roll the pasta around your finger to form small tortellini’s. place the tortellini’s onto a floured tray and leave ready for cooking.
For the Jerusalem artichoke puree;
Place the Jerusalem artichokes into a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until tender, then drain. Cool. Place the Jerusalem artichokes into a food processor with the butter, cream and lemon juice and blend to make a smooth purée.
Place the purée into a saucepan, season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and heat gently to warm through.
For the mushroom sauce;
Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan, add the chopped onion and fry over a gently heat for 7 - 10 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent. Whilst the onions are cooking, slice the mushrooms to your desired thickness. Add the mushrooms to the onions, together with the crushed garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Pour in the white wine and bring the mixture to the boil.
Reduce the heat slightly and cook until the sauce has reduced and is almost completely evoparated.
Stir in the crème fraiche.
Bring the sauce to the boil once again and cook for 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Add the thyme, salt and pepper and taste.
Blend the sauce and pass through a fine sieve. Set aside ready for later
For the fish and to serve;
Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the tortellini’s and cook for 3mins or until the pasta is cooked through but still retains a little bit. Remove from the pan and drain. Season to taste and toss in a teaspoon of truffle oil. Keep warm.
Place the sauce into a small pan and bring to the boil, adjust seasoning and remove from the heat. Add the butter and blend with a stick blender to produce light foam. Set aside and keep warm.
Cook the girolles and the spinach in a little butter and season to taste. Keep warm.
Season the turbot fillets all over with the Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Place a large pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. When hot add the turbot fillets and cook for a minute or 2 depending on the thickness of the fillets. Make sure there is a beautiful golden crust on the fish, then flip the fillets over, add the butter and remove the pan from the heat. Spoon the foaming butter over the fish and allow to sit in the hot pan for 2-3mins or until the fish is just cooked through. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen roll.
Place 2 mounds of spinach on each plate. Place a fillet of turbot on each mound of spinach.
Place 2 tortellini’s on the plate and scatter over the cooked girolle mushrooms.
Spoon the sauce over the plate and scatter with parsley cress.
Serve at once and enjoy!!!!!
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