TURBOT CONFIT AND SMOKED WITH WHITE TRUFFLE NANTAIS SAUCE

Swap your usual Christmas fowl for turbot. The mild flavoured fish soaks up the creamy, buttery notes of the white truffle nantais sauce beautifully.

Serves 4 Prep time 1 hour Cook time 20 minutes

white truffle nantais sauce 100ml Chardonnay

20ml Champagne vinegar

20g shallots, diced

100ml cream

100g butter, chilled and cubed 30g white truffle paste (available from Amazon.com)

» In a small heavy saucepan, simmer wine, vinegar and shallots over moderate heat until liquid is reduced to about one third of the volume.

» Add cream and simmer the mixture until slightly thickened. Gradually add butter a few cubes at a time.

» Strain the sauce through a fine sieve into another saucepan, before adding the white truffle paste. turbot

500ml olive oil

4 sprigs of fresh thyme a pinch of salt

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

4 turbot, skin and bones removed 20ml extra virgin olive oil fleur de sel, to taste

» On a pan, heat the olive oil to 65°C. Add fresh sprigs of thyme and sliced garlic. » Lightly season the turbot with fine salt and gently slide into the olive oil. Poach the turbot at 65°C for 15 minutes.

» Remove the turbot from the pan and pat the fillet with paper towel to drain off the excess oil. Set the fish aside to rest for 1 minute before drizzling it with extra virgin olive oil and fleur de sel.

vegetable garnish

80g baby carrots, peeled and trimmed 140g Romanesco florets, trimmed

120g beetroot, peeled and sliced in half 20g shallots

30g butter salt, to taste » Blanch the baby carrots, Romanesco florets and beetroot separately in salted boiling water until tender and cooked. » Sauté shallots in butter until translucent. Then add carrots and Romanesco florets. Sauté for for 1 minute, then set aside. Repeat step with beetroot separately and season with salt to taste. Set aside.

assembly 8 caper berries 30g cherry tomatoes 12 edible flowers 12 fennel blossoms 40 alder wood chips

» Assemble according to photo on page 90 or as desired.

» Just before serving, place the alder wood chips into the camber of the smoking gun. Ignite and cover the whole dish with a cloche. Place the hose of the smoke gun under the cloche and smoke the dish for 30 seconds. Serve immediately.