A Cornish Christmas alternative

Looking to enjoy a Cornish alternative to Christmas dinner?

One of Cornwall’s best-known chefs, Ben Tunnicliffe boasts a string of accolades and has been an advocate of seasonal Cornish food for almost two decades, experimenting to create dishes that really pack a flavoursome punch! This recipe is an alternative to traditional Christmas lunch, but retains some festive ingredients. Turbot, regarded as the king of fish, can be substituted for another species, but cooking times will vary, depending on the cut.

Turbot roasted on the bone, with sprouts, chestnuts, pancetta, roast potatoes and hollandaise sauce.

(Serves four)

You will need:

• 4x 200g turbot troncons
• 8 medium or large potatoes
• Approximately 100g duck or goose fat/dripping
• 200g sprouts
• 100g pancetta
• A small bunch of parsley
• 4 egg yolks
• 25ml white wine vinegar
• 250g butter
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. To begin cooking, add the fat to a suitable roasting tray in the oven and melt, before adding and turning the potatoes to coat them. Season well and put back in the oven, turning them every 10 to 15 minutes until golden.
2. To make the hollandaise sauce, whisk the egg yolks together with salt, pepper and white wine vinegar, doing so over a pan of simmering water. When the mixture becomes a ribbon-like texture (a trail of the mixture should sit for around five seconds before merging back into the rest), remove from the heat and slowly add butter, whisking while you do so. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
3. Meanwhile, heat a frying pan for the turbot. Season the fish well, add your chosen oil to the pan and when smoking, add the turbot, white skin side down. Cook until golden then turn onto the dark skin side. Allow to seal, then place the pan in the oven or transfer to a baking tray, roasting it for approximately eight to ten minutes.
4. Now, place a frying pan on a moderate heat and add the cooked pancetta lardons. When they start to sizzle, add the sprouts, allowing them to fry and brown. Next chop your parsley, and add it with the chestnuts when the sprouts are hot through.
5. To assemble the dish, carefully remove the dark skin by simply peeling it off. Spoon the sprouts, nuts, pancetta and parsley onto four warm plates. Place the roast potatoes to the side and lay the fish on top, before spooning over the hollandaise sauce and serving.

TOP TIP

Save yourself some time by doing some prep the day before: Peel, wash and cut the potatoes, storing in cold water; trim the sprouts and blanch in salted boiling water until tender. Refresh them in cold water, before draining and cutting into halves of quarters. You can also cut the pancetta into lardons and fry in a dry pan until golden brown, as well as cut or break the chestnuts in half. Set all aside until required.