Turbot
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fish
Clean the turbot thoroughly, removing the insides, then rinse until clean.
Rub a little coarse sea salt over the outside to reduce slime.
Make a shallow incision in the thickest part of the dark side of the fish, avoiding the fins.
Poach
In a large pot, dissolve the salt and saltpetre in enough cold spring water to cover the fish.
Bring the water to a slow boil and skim off any scum.
Simmer gently until the fish is cooked through.
Carefully lift it out and drain.
Serve
Transfer the fish to a hot serving dish and cover it with a hot napkin.
Serve immediately with rich lobster sauce, melted butter, and dressed cucumber.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Turbot
- The main fish, whose firm white flesh becomes flaky when gently poached.
- Coarse sea salt
- Rubbed on the skin to draw off slime and seasons the poaching water.
The step that matters
Simmer gently until the fish is cooked through. Keeping the water at a gentle simmer rather than a hard boil cooks the fish evenly and keeps the delicate flesh from breaking apart and toughening.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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