Butter-Poached Turbot with Champagne Beurre Blanc and Caviar

⏱ 50 min · Serves 2

The grandest fish in the sea, gently poached in butter until silky, cloaked in a glossy Champagne beurre blanc and finished with a cool spoonful of caviar. Restaurant-level luxury, achievable in under an hour — pour yourself a glass of the cooking wine.

Per serving: 790 kcal · 40.0g protein · 9.0g carbs · 66.0g fat

Ingredients

• 2 turbot fillets, skinless, 160g each (ideally cut from a 2kg fish)
• 250g unsalted butter, cubed and cold
• 1 tbsp light olive oil
• 2 banana shallots, very finely diced
• 150ml Champagne (or good dry sparkling wine)
• 3 tbsp Champagne vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
• 75ml fish stock
• 50ml double cream
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 20g caviar (Oscietra or Baerii)
• 1 tbsp snipped chives
• 200g baby leeks, trimmed
• Flaky sea salt and white pepper
• Pinch caster sugar (if needed)

Method

1. Take the turbot out of the fridge 20 minutes before cooking and pat very dry. Season lightly with fine salt.
2. Make the sauce base: in a small heavy saucepan, sweat the shallots in a knob of butter with a pinch of salt over low heat for 5 minutes until soft but not coloured.
3. Add the Champagne vinegar and 120ml of the Champagne. Simmer briskly until reduced to about 2 tablespoons of syrupy liquid, then add the fish stock and reduce by half again.
4. Pour in the cream and bring to a bare simmer. Now, off direct heat, whisk in 120g of the cold cubed butter a few pieces at a time, returning briefly to low heat as needed, until you have a glossy, emulsified sauce. Never let it boil.
5. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve, pressing the shallots. Whisk in the remaining 30ml Champagne, the lemon juice, salt, white pepper and a pinch of sugar if it needs rounding. Keep warm in a bowl over (not in) barely steaming water.
6. Blanch the baby leeks in salted boiling water for 3 minutes until just tender, drain and toss with a little butter and salt. Keep warm.
7. Butter-poach the fish: melt the remaining 100g butter with the olive oil and 2 tbsp water in a wide pan over the lowest heat until creamy and around 60–65°C. Slide in the turbot and poach very gently for 7–9 minutes, spooning butter over, until the flesh is opaque and just flakes.
8. Lift the fish onto kitchen paper for a moment. Divide the leeks between two warm plates, set the turbot on top and spoon the Champagne sauce generously around.
9. Scatter with chives and crown each fillet with a spoonful of caviar. Serve immediately, with the rest of the Champagne.