Out & About November 2017

OA food & drink

Licence to thrill Halibut leaves SIMON RHODES shaken and stirred as he sings the praises of his favourite fish M y favourite fish made a long-awaited comeback last month and boy was it popular.The 5kg loin I bought in quickly disappeared in two days. GET COOKING

Halibut has always been my top fish – I just love the fact that it is meaty, firm and delightfully tasty. It doesn’t need any big flavours to accompany it and it doesn’t need a celebrity chef trying a different take on it. This fish stands simply alone on its taste and texture. If it was a car it would be the James Bond Aston Martin DB5 (without the gadgets) – an aged classic with a pedigree that can hold itself well in any crowd. The largest of the flatfish, halibut have been known to grow as large as 300kg and 4m long in deeper waters. This is a highly-esteemed, restaurant favourite and reassuringly expensive. It has a compressed oval body with a large mouth. The dark, eye side is a greenish dark brown and the blind side is pure white. Smaller fish of 1-3kg are known as ‘baby’ or ‘chick’ halibut, and are usually found in shallower waters. The best-quality fish and largest (3-70kg) are usually caught by line, so the catch is limited, making them more expensive. Halibut live in the freezing cold waters off Scotland, Norway, Iceland and Newfoundland and will devour almost any type of fish or crustacean they come across, and the wild season runs from May to March. This fish can be cooked either by poaching, grilling or shallow frying. It is very versatile and only needs light flavours to go with it.

Oven-poached halibut with oranges and grapes Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4. Take a small ovenproof dish just large enough to take the two halibut portions. Rub the base of the dish with butter, scatter over some finely chopped shallots and some halved green grapes, and lay the halibut fillets on top. Segment an orange. Set aside half of the orange segments. Squeeze out the juice from the other half and pour the juice over the fish, together with a glass of white wine (or apple juice). Top with a piece of buttered silicone paper, buttered side against the top of the fish. Place the dish on the top shelf of the oven for 10-15 minutes until the fish is just cooked through. When cooked, remove the fish from the dish, set aside and keep warm. Pour the contents of the dish into a small pan and bring to the boil. Once the cooking liquid from the fish has reduced by half, add a little double cream and bring back to the boil. Check the seasoning and consistency of the sauce, remove from the heat and stir in the reserved orange segments. Serve with some steamed spinach and new potatoes.

Pan-fried halibut with puy lentils and smoked bacon First prepare the puy lentils according to packet instructions. In a saucepan, bring about a pint of beef stock to the boil and add 150g of puy lentils. Add a glass of red wine or port and simmer for 30 minutes. Now add some chopped smoked bacon and cook for a further 15 minutes. The lentils should be cooked al dente and the liquid mostly absorbed. In an oven-proof frying pan, add a little oil (just to cover the base of the pan) and heat. Now add the halibut fillets and gently fry for about two minutes. Then add a good knob of cold butter and baste the fillets once the butter has melted and gently turn the fillets over. Cook for another 2-3 minutes and then place the pan in the oven for 3-4minutes (180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4) until they are just cooked through. Because this fish is dense the heat will go through it quite quickly, so be careful not to overcook it. Serve the fish on top of the lentils with a slice of lemon. If there is any juice left from the lentils, spoon that over the fish.

Simon Rhodes owns: The Lobster Pot Fishmongers. Cobbs Farmshop, Bath Road, Hungerford, Berkshire RG17 0SP Telephone: 01488 686770

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