Monday, March 14, 2011

Mustard-Glazed Turbot with Roasted Potatoes and Chive Puree

You know when you’re flipping through your stack of to-try recipes and there’s one that you know will be good but you keep putting it back in the pile and thinking you’ll try that one next time? It’s like you think you already know how that one is going to turn out and you think it’ll be good but you don’t foresee any surprises with it and so you keep putting it back in the stack. I do that a lot. So it was with this fish dish, and I was wrong about it. This is from the October 2010 issue of Food and Wine, and it combines a simply cooked piece of fish coated with Dijon mustard with a chive puree and crispy olives and some potatoes on the side. I thought I knew how the fish would taste after being cooked with a layer of mustard on top, and I thought I knew what the chive puree and olives would be like with it. The flavors were even better. The mustard was mellowed as it seared into the fish, and the bright, fresh, herb puree and salty hit of the oil-cooked olives exceeded expectations.

The puree was made first by very briefly blanching chopped chives and a little spinach in boiling water and then draining and rinsing with cold water. They were squeezed dry before placing them in a blender with extra virgin olive oil and some salt and pureeing. I veered off the recipe path just a bit by roasting sliced potatoes rather than boiling and then slicing. Also, for the olives, rather than cooking in oil in the microwave, I sauteed the chopped olives in oil in a pan on the stove until they were crisp. I used turbot fillets rather than cod, and any white flakey fish with good oil content would work here. I basted them with Dijon mustard, seared them for a few minutes in a pan on top of the stove, then flipped them and placed the pan under the broiler for another couple of minutes. To serve, the fish was topped with the olives, and the sauce and potatoes were placed to the side.

Crisping the olives intensified them, and crispiness itself is always desirable anyway. The mustard protected the fish, preventing it from becoming dry while cooking, and after cooking, a mellow version of its flavor seeped into the fish flesh. So, intense, tasty olives and calm Dijon flavor on the fish got a jolt of herbiness from the chive puree, and what I had thought this was going to be like wasn’t even close. I suppose the moral of this story is that you can’t always trust your own instincts, and you shouldn’t put off trying recipes in your to-try stack.



27 comments:

  1. Awesome crust on the fish, lovely potatoes and I must make this chive pesto....Looks great!!

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  2. The mustard glaze sounds so good with the turbot and love the idea of the chive puree!

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  3. Turbot is a wonderful fish, but I think you kicked it up like a hundred notches. What an amazing meal.
    *kisses* HH
    p.s. dont forget to enter my giveaway for $80 Amazon gift card

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  4. Love this post. I am *so* guilty of putting off recipes in my to-try stack. This is certainly inspiring to change that; the turbot looks amazingly delicious. Gorgeous presentation. Chive puree and crispy olives? Yum. Should not have read this when I haven't had lunch yet!

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  5. I have never cooked Turbot and I don't recall seeing it in stores. Food & Wine often have great recipes. Your dish turned out beautiful.

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  6. Hi Lisa, you've reminded me how much I love herb purees. They add a 'high' note (in Skye Gyngell's words) often missing in dishes with a lot of grounding flavours, like potatoes and fish. So easy to make too.

    My 'to try pile' is an avalanche of books, open and stacked on every flat surface around my kitchen. Should I be admitting that? Feel free to report me for book abuse. I deserve it.

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  7. Unfortunately Tom is not a big mustard fan and giving his fish a mustard flavor is probably not a good idea... Having said that; this looks far too good not to try!

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  8. Doesn't it feel good to tackle a recipe from the "to try pile"of magazine tear outs and cook book notes? Your dish looks scrumptious.

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  9. did not know I could get turbot here, love that fish and will rush and see if I can get some! your dish is fantastic.

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  10. I like that glaze..fish should really taste nice with it

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  11. There are definitely tons of recipes that i just keep pushing a side because they don't seem interesting enough. With that potato and chive puree, I'm completely enamored with this. SO glad it exceeded expectations!

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  12. We eat a lot of fish at my house and I'm always looking for new and creative ways to serve it. This really looks good, Lisa. I love the idea of chive puree!

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  13. Absolutely gorgeous pictures and post. I definitely want to give this a try.

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  14. I would be ashamed to confess everything that goes on in my mind when I grab my "to make soon" list

    No amount of therapy could help me out, I don't think

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  15. Lisa, I never had turbot...but form the picture, must taste very good specially with the glaze...lovely meal. Have a wonderful week!

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  16. wow! this looks so elegant! i am loving the sound of the chive puree:) yum!

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  17. I've often used mustard to coat chicken, pork, lamb and beef. Now, you've got me geared up to try it on fish. A great idea!

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  18. I have something similar in mind for tomorrows dinner!!! Id does sound delicious!!

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  19. I would love to try that chive puree! Turbot glazed with mustard...mmm..that sounds just as marvelous as it looks!

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  20. Fantastic! that looks sooo good.

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  21. I so know what you mean about the stack of to-try recipes from all my foodie magazines and since food blogging I've got so many bookmarked ones - I just don't have enough time and stomachs!

    I was planning on baking some fish (en papillote) for dinner tonight, but seared with mustard sounds so much more better. Now just need to pick up some chives!

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  22. This looks exquisite! Such wonderful combination of flavors and textures. Beautiful photos...making me hungry. :-)

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  23. Deliciously classy! Love the presentation and the puree sounds so very yummy! Your turbot fillet looks so handsome in photos :P I always remind the fishmonger that I need them for pictures and beg for a pretty cut ;)

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  24. This looks wonderful! The sear on it is beautiful too. I'll be trying this out :)

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  25. Oooh ,..Lisa!! What a festive & really stylish meal!! I love my fish dishes like this! That chives puréé looks magnificent!!

    A grand Spring dish!!!

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