Michelin star chef Tommy Banks took the culinary TV world by storm after winning BBC2 show Great British Menu. His first cookbook, Roots, includes his winning dish from the TV competition – turbot with strawberries and cream.
This unusual turbot dish was designed as the fish course for a banquet celebrating the Wimbledon Tennis Championships – hence the strawberries and cream – but it’s also a great example of Banks’ signature play on savoury and sweet.
“While this dish is cutting edge in its combination, the technique is based on solid classical cookery,” Banks says in the book. Just a warning though – in the difficulty rating, this is at the trickier end of the scale.
Turbot with strawberries and cream
Equipment
- Thermomix
- Food processor
- Pan
- Large jar
Ingredients
- 150 g chives
- 150 ml grapeseed oil (available via Amazon)
- 150 g green strawberries cut into 2mm dice (if available, just use red ones if not)
- 150 g red strawberries cut into 2mm dice
- 150 g golden beetroot cut into 2mm dice
- 150 g fennel bulb cut into 2mm dice
- 150 g white turnip cut into 2mm dice
- 4 x 120 g skinless turbot portions
- knob of butter
- sprinkle of fennel pollen (available via Amazon)
- sea salt
For the sauce
- 2 shallots sliced
- 10 g butter
- 150 ml dry white wine
- 150 ml vermouth
- 300 ml fish stock
- 300 ml double cream
- sea salt
For the elderflower vinegar
- 20 ripe elderflower heads
- 500 ml Chardonnay vinegar
For the green herb oil
- 500 g green herb leaves (works best with strong, soft herbs like lovage or chives)
- 250 ml grapeseed oil
Method
- Make the green herb oil: Blitz the herbs in a food processor to a rough green slush. Tip this into a muslin cloth and work hard to squeeze out any water. Return the dry herb pulp to the blender. Heat the oil to 70°C and blitz with the herbs until thoroughly combined. If your blender has a heating element you don’t need to preheat the oil. Just blend the oil and herbs at 70°C for five minutes. Leave to marinate overnight before hanging oil in a muslin cloth over a bowl.
- Make the elderflower vinegar: Check the elderflower for any bugs, then stuff them into a large jar and pour over the vinegar. Place the jar in a pan of water so the water covers the jar and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and allow the jar to cool in the water before storing in the fridge.
- To make the sauce, sweat the shallots in the butter until they are soft but do not allow them to colour. Add the white wine and reduce over a medium heat until the wine is a syrup coating the shallots, then add the vermouth and reduce again.
- Add the stock and reduce by half. Finally, add the cream and again reduce by half. Check the seasoning and reserve for later.
- Put the chives in a food processor and blitz until they are a mush. Scrape the chives out of the bowl and onto a clean cloth. Squeeze the chive mush in the cloth to remove all the water – you should end up with a dry ball. Place the dry chives and the grapeseed oil in a Thermomix jug. Blitz for seven minutes at 70°C then strain through a muslin cloth.
- Season the diced strawberries and vegetables with salt and dress in one tablespoon of the elderflower vinegar and one tablespoon of herb oil.
- Roast the turbot in a pan with lots of foaming butter on a medium heat, placing it skin-side down, frying for one to two minutes on either side.
- Heat up the cream sauce, add four dessert spoons of the chive oil and whisk it in – the white sauce should be marbled with bright green oil.
- To serve, spoon the vegetable tartare (diced fruit and veg pieces) onto four plates, add the turbot and pour over the cream sauce. Sprinkle with fennel pollen to finish.
Nutrition
Roots by Tommy Banks is published by Seven Dials.
Try Tommy’s jerusalem artichoke fudge recipe.
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