Name: Brown butter-poached halibut with celeriac purée & caper crumbs
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 200g butter; 1 shallot finely chopped; 1 bay leaf; 4 peppercorns; 2 skinless, boneless halibut fillets, cut from the thick end, about 100-150g/4-5.5oz each; cavolo nero kale or spinach, to serve; knob of butter (from the amount above); 300g celeriac peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces; 200ml milk; 75ml double cream; knob of butter (from above); 4 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs; 1 heaped tsp capers roughly chopped; 1 tbsp roughly chopped parsley

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Brown butter-poached halibut with celeriac purée & caper crumbs

Brown butter-poached halibut with celeriac purée & caper crumbs

Good Food team

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Serves 2

Easy

Prep: 25 mins

Cook: 40 mins

A star rating of 4.9 out of 5.24 ratingsRate

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This elegant seafood dish will really wow someone special with its delicate flavour and texture - pollock or plaice also work well

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Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

200g butter
1 shallot

finely chopped
1 bay leaf
4 peppercorns
2 skinless, boneless halibut

fillets, cut from the thick end, about 100-150g/4-5.5oz each
cavolo nero

kale or spinach, to serve

For the puree

knob of butter

(from the amount above)
300g celeriac

peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
200ml milk
75ml double cream

For the crumbs

knob of butter

(from above)
4 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
1 heaped tsp capers

roughly chopped
1 tbsp roughly chopped parsley

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Nutrition: per serving

kcal753
fat54g
saturates32g
carbs31g
sugars9g
fibre9g
protein32g
salt1.8g

Method

step 1

To make the purée, melt a small knob of butter in a saucepan, add the celeriac and cook over a medium-high heat until starting to brown a little, about 5 mins. Pour over the milk and cream, and season well – the celeriac should be just covered, so add more milk if needed. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 mins or until tender. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid, and transfer to a food processor. Blend until smooth, then sieve into a clean saucepan, pushing the celeriac through with the back of a spoon or spatula. Add a little of the cooking liquid to loosen the purée if needed, and taste for seasoning.
step 2

To make the crumbs, heat a small knob of butter in a frying pan, add the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring, until golden brown. Throw in the capers and cook for 30 secs more. Tip into a bowl and leave to cool a little, then stir through the parsley.
step 3

Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 2. Gently melt the butter in a small ovenproof saucepan or frying pan, big enough for the fish fillets to fit snugly. Once melted, add the shallot, bay leaf and peppercorns. Keep heating until the butter turns a light brown colour and smells nutty. Leave to cool a little. Gently lower the fish fillets into the warm butter, basting any exposed fish, and transfer to the oven. Cook for 3-4 mins, depending on the thickness of the fish, then turn the fillets over and cook for a further 3-4 mins or until just opaque and feeling firm.
step 4

While the fish cooks, reheat the purée and steam the greens. To serve, spoon the purée into the centre of each plate; use the back of the spoon to spread out slightly into a circle. Top with the greens, then carefully place the halibut on top. Drizzle with a little of the poaching butter and scatter with the crumbs.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, October 2014

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A star rating of 4.9 out of 5.24 ratings

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