Roast Turbot with Smoked Bone Marrow Crust and Red Wine Jus

⏱ 110 min · Serves 4

A proper restaurant plate at home: thick turbot steaks roasted on the bone until pearly, crowned with a smoky bone marrow and herb crust, and pooled in a glossy red wine jus. Land and sea, rich and clean, all at once.

Per serving: 712 kcal · 58.0g protein · 26.0g carbs · 38.0g fat

Ingredients

• 4 turbot steaks on the bone, 250g each (or 2 x 500g portions)
• 4 beef marrow bones, cut lengthways (about 400g)
• 1 tbsp wood chips (oak or applewood) for smoking, optional
• 60g panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tsp thyme leaves
• 1 small garlic clove, grated
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• 50g unsalted butter, plus 40g for basting
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Flaky sea salt and cracked black pepper
• 500ml full-bodied red wine (Syrah or Merlot)
• 300ml good beef or veal stock
• 150ml chicken stock
• 2 shallots, finely sliced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 400g baby spinach
• 400g new potatoes, halved

Method

1. Soak the marrow bones in cold salted water for 30 minutes, then drain and pat dry. Season the cut faces.
2. Roast the bones at 220C/200C fan for 12-15 minutes until the marrow is soft and glossy but not melted away. Scoop the marrow out and chop roughly; keep any rendered fat.
3. To smoke: put the wood chips in a foil tray in a lidded roasting tin or barbecue, heat until smoking, sit the marrow in a bowl inside, cover tightly and smoke off the heat for 8 minutes. (Skip if you prefer, or use a stovetop smoker.)
4. Mash half the smoked marrow with the panko, parsley, thyme, garlic, lemon zest, 50g soft butter, salt and pepper to a thick paste. Chill.
5. For the jus, sweat the shallots and garlic in a splash of the marrow fat until soft. Add thyme, bay, sugar and vinegar, then the red wine. Reduce hard to a syrupy 100ml.
6. Add both stocks and simmer gently for 30-35 minutes until reduced to about 200ml and coating a spoon. Strain, then whisk in the remaining chopped marrow off the heat. Keep warm; do not boil.
7. Boil the new potatoes in salted water for 15 minutes until tender. Drain and keep warm.
8. Pat the turbot dry and season. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof pan and colour the steaks skin-side down for 3 minutes. Turn, add the 40g butter and baste for 2 minutes.
9. Press the marrow crust over the top of each steak and transfer to a 200C/180C fan oven for 7-9 minutes, until the flesh lifts cleanly from the bone. Rest 4 minutes.
10. Wilt the spinach in a hot pan with a knob of butter, season and squeeze out excess liquid.
11. Plate the spinach and potatoes, sit the turbot on top, spoon the jus around and finish with flaky salt.