Our fish for November is Brill.
This increasingly popular flat fish has become one of our best sellers of late.
It’s a firm fleshed flat fish which is very similar to Turbot and can be used in its place. It's a little cheaper than Turbot which is always good! Fished all along the South Coast, we get Brill delivered from Sussex to Cornwall.
Its large size makes it an excellent candidate to be baked whole – a method that's both foolproof and looks seriously impressive. This recipe is sure to delight!
Give it a go and let us know.
Serves 2 - 4
Ingredients
1 brill, weighing approx. 1kg, scaled and gutted
2 bulbs of fennel
300g of Piccolo cherry tomatoes
100g of pitted Kalamata olives
1 garlic bulb, cloves peeled
1 lemon, sliced into wedges
200ml of olive oil
150ml of white wine
1 small bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped
salt
Method
Preheat an oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Trim and wash the fennel, then cut each bulb into 6 or 8 wedges, leaving the root attatched so the pieces stay together. Blanch the fennel in the boiling water for 4 minutes, drain well and place on a clean tea towel, patting dry so the oil doesn't spit when frying them later
Heat 100ml of the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the fennel pieces, cut-side down. Sauté until lightly golden, then transfer to a deep roasting tray, big enough to fit the whole fish in
In the same frying pan, add the tomatoes and fry over a high heat for 5 minutes until they start to blister and take on some colour
Add the olives and garlic to the pan, toss together, then pour in the wine and cook for 1 minute. Pour everything in the pan into the roasting tray with the fennel, along with half of the lemon wedges. Season with salt and stir everything together
Trim the fins and tail from the brill, rinse and pat dry. Season both sides with salt and place in the roasting tray, nestled amongst the vegetables. Drizzle over the remaining olive oil and bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes, until the fish easily comes away from the bone at the thickest part
Serve in the roasting tray sprinkled with the chopped parsley and the remaining lemon wedges
Enjoy!
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